"Three." Sylas said. He knew Vandal couldn't take the whole set on his own, but he didn't want to send Baron or Duchess against a flying pokemon. He considered the options momentarily, then went against his better judgement and sent out Baron. This fight was more for Vandal than himself, so he was letting the scyther save his strength.
Baron could use the training anyway. "Use growl." he said. Baron obliged and growled at the Beedrill, intimidating it and lowering its attack.
"Twineedle!" Bugsy commanded. The beedrill lunged forward and jabbed at Baron with each blade in quick succession. Both hits connected, but Baron responded immediately with a Headbutt.
"Pin Missile!" Bugsy commanded his Beedril, who released a flurry of five spikes at Baron, four of them striking the Cubone successfully.
The Beedril then went in for another Twineedle, which Baron blocked handily with his Club. He threw the Bonemerang at the Beedrill, hitting it once, and dodged an attack, waiting until it came back, striking the Beedrill again in the head. Baron Growled again, causing the Beedrill to not put as much power into its attacks.
"Baron, he's almost done." Sylas assured the cubone, who was starting to show some damage from all the smaller hits stacked together.
"Twineedle again." Bugsy commanded. The beedrill swooped down and jabbed Baron twice.
"Club him!" Sylas shouted. While the beedrill was still close, Baron raised his bone and bashed his opponent with it. The beedrill flinched and Baron hit it again, knocking it out.
"Go, Yanma!" Bugsy called out his Dragonfly Pokemon to battle. "Use Supersonic!"
The Yanma began to make a high-pitched screeching noise, leaving Baron dazed confused. Baron was able to work through the confusion, and hit the Bug-Pokemon with a powerful Headbutt, causing it to flinch slightly.
Because of his confusion, Baron accidentally hurt himself with his next attack, leaving him open for Bugsy's Yanma to fire a Sonicboom at the Cubone, breaking his confusion.
Both Pokemon were weakened heavily, and the next blow would be the deciding one.
"Keep going, bud. You've got it." Sylas said, trying to encourage Baron as he was about to collapse from fatigue and injury. The cubone panted heavily and leaned on his club for support, but kept his eyes on the Yanma. The dragonfly pokemon was landed, also getting some encouragement from Bugsy.
Baron suddenly straightened up and rushed towards the Yanma. Sylas could see he was going for a last headbutt. The yanma struggled up and rose into the air, making Baron's attack miss. The yanma fired off a Sonicboom, knocking Baron out.
Sylas sighed and withdrew Baron. "You're up." he said to Vandal. The scyther wasted no time, swiftly running to the yanma and finishing it off with a swipe of his blade.
"Alright, here we go, then!" Bugsy shouted excitedly. "Scyther! Let's see what you can do!"
Bugsy called out his Scyther, a powerful female with sharp blades, and a beautiful green carapace. Her abdomen was larger than that of a male, like Vandal, but her blades were just as deadly.
"Use Razor Wind!" Bugsy commanded his Scyther, who sliced the air with her blades, sending forth a powerful wave that would return and strike Vandal.
Vandal lunged for the other scyther, noting her larger size. He took a couple swings at her while she was occupied with the Razor Wind, then took the attack and was buffeted by wind and sustained many small slices all over his body. Stumbling ahead in a slight daze, he bumped into her and was promptly thrown several feet through the air.
He landed roughly in front of Sylas, and quickly regained his composure and rose to his feet. She was a lot stronger than he'd expected.
"Vandal, use agility." Sylas said. His scyther visibly sped up, lightening on his feet.
"Scyther, slash." Bugsy said.
As Vandal approached, the other scyther leapt forward and swung crossways at him. The attack connected with his midsection and knocked him a bit sideways, then she hit him again from the other side.
"Vandal, focus on speed. She's strong and fast. Use agility, then Fury Cutter."
He rolled aside and focused on his speed once again, then moved in close and struck at her chest. The strike connected, but did little damage.
"Keep at it." Sylas urged. Vandal and Bugsy's Scyther began exchanging blows, quickly moving to a blurred pace. Every hit Vandal landed in succession grew stronger than the last, and the other scyther started to weaken. She was no pushover though, beating down Vandal's stamina.
For several minutes this continued, both sides furiously trying to strike the other down. The fight seemed to find a critical point, and Vandal started to visibly gain the upper hand. She seemed to slacken, and he was able to push her to one side of the ring.
Finally, they separated and Vandal took a step back and wound up for a big strike. They seemed to darken, and a thick black haze engulfed them and hid them both from view. A strike was heard, and the haze faded away to reveal Vandal still standing. The other scyther was unconscious on the ground, and Vandal was on the opposite side of it he had been when the fog had formed.
"Was that a ... night slash?" Sylas mumbled. Vandal walked over to him, slouching and with a slight limp, but with a look of satisfaction on his reptilian face.
"Huh. I lost." Bugsy said, looking slightly puzzled. "Good job, Sylas. You've trained your Scyther well. Here, you've earned this Badge."
Bugsy handed the small metallic token to Sylas, signifying that he had defeated the Gym Leader.
"You should be proud of yourself. Not many people can train a Bug-Pokemon as well as you have." Bugsy said with a smile. "So, who's next? I've got time for one more battle today, so who wants to go next? Magnus? Duncan? Which one of you wants to go first?"
"Well, Duncan? Would you like a go?" Magnus asked his friend. "I don't mind waiting... Or should we toss a coin?"
"We'll flip a coin," Duncan said, reaching into his pocket to pull one out. He selected a small coin from the change in his pocket and held it out, "Alright heads you battle, tails, I battle, the loser will just have to battle tomorrow."
Duncan flipped the coin and it landed on heads, "Alright Magnus, looks like you get this one, I'll take on Bugsy tomorrow then," Duncan put away the coin and stepped back to give Magnus some room for his battle, "Good luck to the both of you."
"Alright then... We're ready." Magnus said to Bugsy, staring his brother-in-law down. Right now, they were two trainers about to battle. "Choose your Pokemon first, Bugs. Ladies first, as they say."
Bugsy glared at Magnus, muttering something under his breath. He didn't like it when people teased him about his feminine appearance, even though he knew that Magnus didn't mean it.
"Very funny... Butterfree, show him how funny we can be." Bugsy called out his Butterfree to battle. One thing about Bugsy, was that all of his Pokemon were female. Not because he chose them for that reason, it was merely coincidence.
"Alright, Bugsy... Bore! You're up!" Magnus called out his massive Rock-Snake Pokemon to battle.
"How many Pokemon, Magnus? Three?" Bugsy asked, before beginning.
"Three will be fine, Bugsy. But, for the last pairing we each need to use our strongest Pokemon. No holding back."
"Ha! I'm fine with that, Magnus. Let's start."
Will start the battle later... Once I can think better.
"Butterfree, use Confusion!" Bugsy's Butterfree, the faster Pokemon, attacked first, unleashing a psychic force at Magnus' Onix, dealing some moderate damage.
Magnus had Bore counter with a Rock Throw, slamming the Butterfree into the wall of the Gym. As it struggled to stay aloft, the Butterfree flew high above the Onix, releasing a fine dust onto the Rock Snake Pokemon, putting it to sleep. Magnus had prepared for the possibility of a Sleep Powder, however, and a swallowing noise was heard coming from Bore, who woke up promptly, thanks to a Chesto Berry that Magnus had the Onix hold in its mouth before the battle.
Bore then snaked around the Bug-Pokemon, squeezing it tightly in a Bind, before it passed into unconsciousness.
"Surskit, Water Sport!" Bugsy called out his next Pokemon, a Water-Bug Type Pokemon, which sprayed the field with a stream of water, which would limit the effectiveness of any Fire-Type attacks.
"Onix, use Rock Throw!" Magnus had his Onix attack again, but the large Rock-Type missed the tiny Bug, which fired a spray of Bubbles at the Onix, taking it down.
"Eon, let's go!" Magnus called out his next Pokemon, his Vaporeon, to battle. "Sand-Attack!"
Magnus had Eon start by kicking up dirt into the eyes of the Surskit, making it harder for it to see. The Pond Skater attempted a Quick Attack, to get a quick hit in, but it was unable to connect, its vision still partially blurred. Eon kicked up more dirt into the eyes of the Bug, further lowering its ability to make connecting blows. This trend continued, Eon kept digging into the ground and spattering the Surskit with dirt, and the Surskit kept trying in vain to hit Eon.
"Quick Attack, Eon!" Eon then switched to the offensive, and after a few Quick Attacks, Bugsy's Pokemon was unconscious.
Both Trainers returned their Pokemon to their pokeballs, and each grabbed another pokeball from their arsenal, pausing for a mere moment.
"Go, Quillz!" Magnus called out his Typhlosion to battle, the powerful Fire-Type growled fiercely.
"Go, Scizor!" Bugsy called out his own Pokemon, the lightning-fast Bug-and-Steel Type Pokemon.
"You finally evolved her, huh?" Magnus asked of Bugsy, upon seeing the Scizor. "Lovely color, her shell is practically gleaming."
"Thanks... You can admire her later, right now, we battle."
Yes, Bugsy had two Scyther. He evolved this one, the one he had raised for years.
"Quillz, end this quickly." Magnus said to her. "Flamethrower!"
The large female Typhlosion blasted a river of flame at the Scyther, who managed to evade the attack by starting with a Quick Attack, striking Quillz hard.
"I see..." Magnus said softly. "Despite the fact that Scizor is much slower than a Scyther, he keeps Quick Attack to deal damage quick-and-dirty. Quillz, use Flame Wheel, get in close!"
Quillz curled herself tightly into a ball, and engulfed herself in violent flames. The Scizor was once again able to evade the incoming attack, and it's pincer began to glow black as it came in for a Night Slash. Waiting until the attack hit, Quillz unleashed another Flamethrower, hitting the Scizor directly.
"Ha! You're finished." Magnus shouted, just a little too soon. The Scizor was still standing after the attack, but Magnus expected it to be out, a Flamethrower should've dealt enough damage for a knock-out. Looking down at his feet, he realized what was up. The Surskit's Water Sport was still in effect, taking away some of the power of a Fire-Type attack. Bugsy smirked, as his Scizor stepped close to a tree, and kicked off. The Scizor then swallowed a Sitrus Berry that it was holding, restoring some of its health, before attacking again.
"Scizor, use Giga Impact!" Bugsy asked his most powerful Pokemon to deal a devastating physical attack, one that could likely bring down Quillz easily. The Pincer Pokemon slammed into Quillz, knocking her back several feet and causing her to fall to the ground.
Magnus looked down at his Pokemon. Quillz had been bested in battle, despite her effort and power. He walked over to her, kneeling down and petting her unconscious form.
"You made me proud, girl..." He muttered softly to her, before returning her to her pokeball. "Bugsy, thank you for allowing me to challenge you."
"No problem, Magnus." Bugsy said, smiling. "I expect a rematch from you before you leave. I'm not letting you leave town without a Badge."
"Alright... you've got it, Bugsy." Magnus said, smiling softly.
"Uncle Magny, you lost!" Beth cried out, going to hug her uncle. "Are your Pokemon gonna be okay?"
"Heh. They'll be fine, sweetie. We'll just take them to the Pokemon Center a little bit later, and once we're done there, we'll head out to catch that Oddish for you. Okay?"
"Yes sir!" Beth said, hugging her uncle.
"Sorry, guys." Magnus said to his friends, apologetically. "I couldn't win."
Please forgive me for the following meta-game rant.
"I know..." Magnus said, going over the match in his head. There were many mistakes that he had made, that he could have corrected. "Hmm... Maybe I need to change Quillz' move-set. It's not exactly optimized for her capabilities. Maybe I could replace..."
Magnus was distracted in thought on their way to the Pokemon Center, letting the Breeder part of his mind take over, and go over many, many statistics on Quillz as a Pokemon: her nature, her characteristics, among other things.
"Uncle Magnus." Beth addressed her uncle, snapping him out of his though-induced trance. "What'cha thinkin' about?"
"Oh, sorry." Magnus apologized for ignoring her. "I was just thinking of how I can help Quillz to become a better battler. I haven't exactly raised her for that sole purpose, she's more of a good friend to me than anything else."
"So, you want to help Quillz to get better at battling?" Beth asked, curiously. "Like how?"
"Well... Hmm. Oh, I know. Beth, you know that Pokemon have different types of moves, right?"
"Attacking moves, and moves that do other stuff, right?" Beth answered.
"Right, but for attacking moves, there are two types: Physical moves, and Special moves." Magnus explained. "Different Pokemon are better at one type than the other. And different Pokemon are better at defending against one type over another as well."
"What is Quillz good at?" Beth asked, addressing the issue. She was very keen on being able to pick up on queues, and at telling what people were getting at.
"Well, Typhlosion in general are better at using Special moves than Physical moves. Quillz is naturally better at using Special moves than other Typhlosion, but because she's such a Mild-mannered Pokemon, her Defense against Physical moves isn't as good."
"That's why she didn't do so well against Scizor!" Beth exclaimed. "Even if she did have a type advantage."
"Right. Not to mention that Bugsy's Scizor is a higher level than she is. I wasn't well-enough prepared for the battle."
"You'll win next time, Uncle Magny." Beth reassured him. "Maybe you should challenge him to a one-on-one. That water probably messed you up, too."
"Smart kid..." Magnus said, mussing up her hair.
The group arrived at the Pokemon Center, giving their Pokemon to the nurse to rest and recover, while they all sat down for a little break themselves.
Sylas sat down and let Duchess out for a stretch-and-walk while Vandal and Baron were recovering. She stretched certainly, then curled right up next to him and closed her eyes.
She really likes her sleep. he thought, absently putting his hand around her and scratching her soft-furred underside.
"So how do you plan on training Quillz?" Sylas asked once Magnus sat down, "Are you going to tutor, or use technical machines?"
"I don't know..." Magnus said, rifling through and reorganizing his backpack. "I have a few TMs with me, but I might have to re-teach her some old moves. For now, though... I think I'll be alright. I think I'll take tomorrow to go over some things with my Pokemon. I'll challenge Bugsy again the day after."
Magnus heard the chime ring, and went to go get his Pokemon from the recovery area. He grabbed his pokeballs, and strapped them back into his belt. Magnus walked back over to Sylas, who was watching Beth play with Garnet. He sat down for a bit, to relax until the sun went down completely before they headed out to the Forest.
"Oh, by the way..." Magnus said to Sylas. "Congratulations on beating Bugsy. You did well."
"Thanks, I actually didn't expect it to go so well." Sylas said, lifting Duchess up off his lap a bit so he could go retrieve Baron and Vandal from the Nurse. He let them out of their capsules so he could congratulate them.
Baron was naturally accepting of the praise, but strangely so was Vandal. He looked proud, and even had a bit of wet shine in his eyes.
Magnus decided to let Quillz out from her pokeball to get a little bit of a stretch. She beamed from the spherical capsule, and rubbed her head against Magnus' arm.
Don't feel so bad about losing. Quillz reassured him. That Scizor was a powerful opponent, and the battle could have gone either way. It's not your fault.
"I know, girl..." Magnus petted the Typhlosion's head, rubbing behind her ears. "I just feel bad, is all. I made you go through that fight... Did it hurt?"
I'm not going to lie to you, it did hurt quite a bit. We Pokemon can handle more than you humans can, though...
"I know that, Quillz." Magnus said to his long-time partner. "And I'm glad for that... You've saved my life more than a few times, you know... Thank you, Quillz."
Don't sweat it... I wouldn't do it if I didn't love you, you fragile little creature. Quillz licked Magnus across the face, and then walked over to Baron and Vandal, to congratulate the two on their victory.
Good job, boys. She congratulated them. You guys did well, I'm proud.
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