"Confusion." Bugsy orders dryly, catching Ran off guard. As Venonat's eyes start to glow with pink energy however, he bursts into action.
"Shadow Sneak! Don't give it an easy target!" He orders hurriedly. Spinarak obliges instantly, sinking into her own stretching shadow even as waves of pink psychic energy start to radiate off of Venonat's fuzzy form. The barrier surrounding the arena, upheld by one of the Gym's dutiful Mr. Mimes, ripples gently as the attack strikes it, but the attack crucially doesn't initially hit Spinarak before impacting the barrier.
Only as his dutiful bug-type resurfaces a mere foot from Venonat does she briefly get hit by the purple fuzzball's super-effective attack and then only briefly, as her forward momentum carries her into Venonat. Both pokémon squeal in pain, but Venonat's squeal is the louder one, as it is sent flying by the impact, a ghostly afterimage of Spinarak sticking to its form and biting away at it for a second before fading away.
"Again!" Ran commands instantly, looking to push the temporary advantage and keep Venonat too pressured to call upon its super-effective psychic abilities once more.
"Disable." Bugsy counters succinctly, Spinarak already partially sunken into the ground when Venonat's antennae flash brightly for a moment. Ran can only watch in dismay as Spinarak's attack fails, as she gets forcefully thrown out of her own shadow and is caught out in the open.
"Psybeam." Bugsy continues, calling for an even stronger psychic-type attack now that both pokémon are fighting at a closer range.
Ran growls out his next order, feeling his temper rise as the momentum shifts against them, "Night Shade!"
Venonat's eyes start to glow pink once more, but before it can muster the more complex attack that builds off of Confusion, Spinarak shows just how well-drilled she is. Her own body glows with purple energy for a mere moment, tripling in size, with her mandibles exceeding even that factor of growth, easily quintupling in size as they stretch ever outwards, dripping incorporeal poison as they close in on Venonat from two sides.
With a haunting shriek, the mandibles connect with Venonat's form before disappearing a few inches deep into its body on either side, the glow in its eyes instantly cutting out as psychic-energy gets disrupted by ghost-energy. Ran smiles in triumph, punching his fist forward as he follows up with another order.
"Poison Sting! Don't give it time to recover!"
Spinarak obeys immediately, her whole body tensing briefly before she rocks forwards on her many legs, poison darts flying out from her small mouth in a rapidly-expanding cone, closing the short distance to the pained Venonat easily and hammering into its body.
"Supersonic." Bugsy instructs, his own volume rising to make sure that between the pain it's suffering and its own cries, Venonat still hears him well enough to carry out his orders.
"Don't let up!" Ran urges his own pokémon, unsure of any better order to give in the moment.
Venonat's antennae start vibrating on top of its head, clearly sending out supersonic waves for multiple seconds on end. To Ran's intense relief however, they don't seem to hit or affect Spinarak, as his own bug-type merely keeps up her barrage of Poison Stings. Venonat resists the attack and it's hardly all that impactful in the first place, but every small bit counts, as Venonat looks substantially worse for wear than Spinarak.
The purple bug-type realizes that its Supersonic isn't having any effect, dropping the attack. Before it can act and before Bugsy can give another order however, Ran is already shouting out an order of his own.
"Night Shade again! Don't give it time to pull any funny business!"
"Ps- Tackle it. Get in there." Bugsy starts to say, only to cut himself off and go with another order instead.
Once more Spinarak calls upon ghost-type energy to form an enlarged specter of herself, but this time Venonat doesn't offer an easy, stationary target. Instead the fuzzy purple sphere with feet darts forwards the few feet separating both pokémon before leaping directly at the center of Spinarak's large ghost form, trusting that it'll find its target at the center.
Its trust is justified, but as it passes through Spinarak's Night Shade it cries out in clear pain, the ghost-type energy eagerly collapsing onto a target foolish enough to throw itself right into the center of it. Venonat's cry isn't the only one however, as a loud thwack makes it very clear that its full-body Tackle connected with a pained Spinarak.
As the ghost-type energy evaporates, a slightly trembling Spinarak is getting back onto her feet, whilst the unconscious Venonat lies defeated next to her. Ran pumps his fist in elation, shouting praise to Spinarak, who perks up slightly. In the audience, which is stirred up by the first decisive result, he can distinctly pick out Josie's enthusiastic cheers and his father's trademark loud, echoing claps.
Their support buoys Ran's mood even further, but one glance at Bugsy is enough to remind him that the fight isn't over just yet. With his first pokémon already upgraded from Weedle or Caterpie to the significantly more threatening Venonat, to poison-types at least, Ran watches with no small amount of trepidation as Bugsy selects his second pokéball once he's recalled Venonat.
It's not exactly surprising, after Venonat, to see Bugsy once more opt for a pokémon he doesn't use a lot on the lower badge levels as Scyther materializes. Still, at least Ran had anticipated Bugsy's selection this time, as the large light green Mantis Pokémon's secondary flying-typing does give it a very favorable matchup against Spinarak. Not that his prediction proving accurate does anything to ease Ran's mood. In fact, it's closer to the opposite.
Irritatingly, Ran knows that the sight of a Scyther appearing on Bugsy's side presses buttons he shouldn't be letting get pressed. Even with that quiet rational thought in the back of his mind however, he still feels his temper rise once more, the sight of a pokémon like the one that nearly cost him his dream three years ago working on him like a red cloth on a Tauros.
With Spinarak not at her best and any exchange of attacks likely to be brief and heavily against her, Ran gives the only orders he sees any use in, under the circumstances.
"Scary Face and String Shot! Slow it down as much as you can!" He barks out, Spinarak trilling obediently as she restarts the fight.
"Quick Attack." Bugsy commands with quiet confidence, Scyther dashing forwards in a single green streak and bowling over Spinarak in two seconds flat. The attack is so fast, that Spinarak can't even get Scary Face off, merely being sent ragdolling by the impact of the larger pokémon as she does her best to recover.
"Hang in there!" Ran encourages her, even as Bugsy simply instructs his Scyther to keep his attack up.
In short succession, Spinarak gets battered three more times, her attempts at Scary Face and String Shot not even getting an opportunity to be executed fully before Scyther is racing past her, sending her tumbling to the ground once more. Ran winces in sympathy as his brave bug-type struggles to get back on her feet once more. Blessedly, Scyther pauses for a moment after its fourth Quick Attack in short order, clearly needing to catch its breath for a few seconds.
Taking a look at Spinarak, now visibly struggling to remain standing, he accepts that the next hit she takes will knock her out. The thought to gamble it all on a single Shadow Sneak, now likely recovered from Venonat's earlier Disable, pops into his head, but he dismisses it instantly. Though it'd likely do some damage, Scyther's speed is a greater threat than its full health, as the Mantis Pokémon is hardly known for its sturdiness.
Ultimately, there's only one real order to give.
"Get ready, Spinarak! String Mine!" Ran orders, Spinarak squeaking obediently as she tenses in place before staring right at Scyther.
"Finish it, Scyther. Wing Attack." Bugsy orders slowly, clearly intrigued by the unfamiliar command Ran just gave. Still, his order draws a wince from Ran as the super-effective move is announced.
Scyther rushes forwards once more, only slightly slower than during its previous Quick Attacks, whilst the wings on its back glow ominously with white flying-energy. Choosing for a slightly slower though more damaging attack is a mistake in this case however, one Ran is happy to punish his opponent for.
"NOW!" He barks, when Scyther's already closed half the distance.
Obediently, Spinarak rolls over onto her back immediately, before shooting dual malformed String Shots directly above her from both her mouth and abdomen. Rather than the normal long, tightly wound strings fired to make the attack cover a greater distance at speed however, Spinarak instead fires off wide blasts of webbing, hundreds of tiny strings flying in every direction in a poor man's facsimile of a Sticky Web. The fine strings of webbing lose nearly all of their momentum after just a few feet and leave her entirely defenseless, leaving the variation on String Shot useless in most cases.
In these exact circumstances however, it works to a tee. Scyther's straight dash towards Spinarak's prone form carries too much speed to be aborted, its Wing Attack hitting the defenseless Spinarak with crunching force and knocking her out on the spot, her soft underbelly denting worryingly and a trail of her blood trailing away from her unconscious body and leading to some twenty feet away, where Scyther finally comes to a stop.
Ran lets out a horrified shout and recalls Spinarak instantly, the severely-wounded Bug-type kept safe in stasis until they can make it to the pokécenter. He pays Bugsy's apologetic grimace no attention, cold gaze instead locking on Scyther, who is covered in countless tiny white threads which stick together at every opportunity and visibly hinder Scyther's movements, as it tries to break some of the strings with its blades or by beating its wings.
Logically, Golbat is the obvious choice, because Scyther is slowed down and weak to Air Cutter. But today is an opportunity to get even, not just for Ran, but for his first partner as well.
"Ekans, it's up to you! Show everyone what you've got!" He announces, his starter appearing on the field and, upon spotting his opponent, hissing threateningly, tail rattling ominously.
Bugsy's expression grows sharper as Ekans appears, the Gym Leader examining the poison-type curiously before his attention returns to Ran once more, "The last time your Ekans faced a Scyther of mine in this building, it didn't end well for you."
Ran nearly has to bite his tongue off to contain what would undoubtedly be a less than friendly answer, but his starter has no such compunctions, uninterested in formalities or niceties and instead immediately Glaring at Scyther.
The move, not audibly called out by Ran, catches both Scyther and Bugsy by surprise, leaving them unable to react before Scyther's attention is locked on Ekans' menacing, glowing yellow eyes. With Scyther well and truly spellbound and Bugsy seemingly scrambling to adjust to the surprising start of the battle, Ekans takes the opportunity to transition from Glare into Leer, a visible full-body shiver running through Scyther as the tip of Ekans' forked tongue darts out for a moment, seemingly tasting the air in anticipation of a tasty meal.
Ran watches mutely, happy to let Ekans keep setting up according to one of the basic strategies they'd initially planned out for the start of battles before Ekans even knew the moves he's now executing. His seeming inaction is supposed to have the added benefit of making his opponents doubt themselves. At this moment, with Bugsy seemingly floundering, that appears to be working perfectly, vindicating the countless months Ran spent stuck in Azalea Town with only Ekans for company.
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Ran is perfectly content to keep letting Ekans act on his own initiative, knowing that his starter has more than enough plans drilled into him for a hesitating opponent. Finally, however, the Gym Leader realizes that Ekans will keep acting on his own initiative so long as the situation doesn't change, at which point he finally gives out an order of his own.
"Double Team." Bugsy orders confidently, clearly willing to accept that Scyther will continue to be hindered by the many status-affecting moves Ran's team has used and instead focusing on keeping him unhurt.
As Scyther seems to blur in place before a ring of threatening illusory doubles starts forming around Ekans, Ran finally speaks once more as well, "Set yourself up for success."
Ekans hisses obediently, closing his eyes and letting his tongue dart out once more, testing the air as Bugsy and the crowd watch curiously, unsure about the meaning of Ran's order. Ekans knows however, and that's all Ran needs for now. With Scyther's Speed and Defense already hampered and Glare's effect causing random bouts of paralysis, there's no point in trying to attack it or hamper it further whilst using the energy-intensive Double Team. Instead, Ekans can afford to take his time and slowly use Stockpile, hiding the hard-to-see move under a confusing command and a distracting visual cue.
For an Arbok, a well-prepared opponent would likely catch on in short order. They'd have to, because Arbok can usually execute the move in mere seconds. But for an Ekans, who doesn't tend to learn the move at such an early point in its lifespan… Ran has high hopes that Bugsy won't catch on fast enough. If he does, the plan will fail, because Ekans still needs significantly more time to use Stockpile, their training enough to learn the move, but not yet master it to the point of being able to execute it swiftly.
Fortunately, Bugsy clearly thinks Ekans' scenting of the air is leading up to something else, because he keeps Scyther using Double Team as he tensely watches Ekans for any surprises. Long seconds pass, Ran's gaze also locked on Ekans for the small visual indicators that Stockpile is working. Knowing what he has to watch for, Ran smiles in satisfaction as Ekans' scales seem to puff up slightly, a sign that the skin underneath is growing taut due to the energy Ekans is storing inside himself.
At the next stage, those same scales will become a slightly darker purple, stored energy intensifying Ekans' general characteristics, but unfortunately they don't get that far, as Bugsy finally catches on.
"It's using Stockpile. Disrupt it with Slash." The Gym Leader orders sharply, catching Ran off-guard by calling for the famously dangerous move. From a technical perspective, Slash is no more and no less than its name implies, a pokémon slashing at another with whatever sharp body part it possesses, generally some form of claws. In Scyther's case, its blades are of course the weapon of choice.
But the technical description isn't the reason for Ran's surprise. No, that's Slash's well-earned reputation for being a potentially crippling attack at the lower levels. Compared to a lot of other attacks, Slash has a high damage output compared to a relatively low learning curve, meaning that it often shows up in surprisingly low-level fights, long before either participating pokémon is actually strong enough to weather the effects of the nasty attack.
It's this awareness which flashes through Ran's mind in an instant when hearing the name of the dreaded attack, but he doesn't let it faze him, trusting in Ekans' strength to see them through.
"Poison Sting! Find the real one and follow up with Acid!" He orders hurriedly, as the many Scythers all raise their right arm and race towards Ekans.
Ekans' head rises up immediately, a fusillade of small poisonous darts shooting out of his mouth as he starts sweeping it around in a wide arc, passing futilely through illusion after illusion. Before he can even get through half of the incoming army however, they arrive, Scyther's many doubles disappearing as the real one appears just a foot to the side of Ekans' swinging head, razor sharp blade hacking at Ekans' neck mere inches behind the skull.
Ekans' entire body gets wrenched downwards, the blade mercifully not piercing skin but still carrying so much momentum as to carry Ekans out of his coiled position as he gets carried along by the neck for a few feet before slamming into the ground as Scyther loses speed and finally comes to a stop.
"Wrap!" Ran orders instantly, not wanting to give Bugsy and Scyther time to reopen the distance or build up speed once more.
Bugsy's order to use Double Team comes a moment too late, as Ekans manages to react with surprising speed considering the hard hit he just took, hurriedly slipping around Scyther's lower right leg and managing a single loop before Bugsy has even finished speaking. Immediately, Ekans starts to build on his initial success, wrapping himself fully around Scyther's legs once, then once around its abdomen and once around its thorax, tying the bug-type's arms down against its own sides.
"Acid!" Ran orders, as Ekans finishes winding around Scyther, the two pokémon coming eye to eye as Ekans slowly tightens his grip further and further.
Ekans neck bulges obscenely as he starts gathering enough Acid to spit at Scyther, but Bugsy isn't done just yet, ordering his pokémon to use Wing Attack to try and break free.
Scyther's wings glow with flying-type energy, twitching frantically in place as it tries to free them from Ekans' grip. It visibly impacts Ekans, as Ran's starter winces in agony, but he doesn't let up as he finishes preparing his own attack.
"Get out of there!" Bugsy finally shouts, his calm facade breaking now that the fight is drifting firmly out of his grasp. It's a futile effort however, as Ekans' grip is unrelenting whilst his head rears back.
Finally, like a cannon going off, his head moves forwards before blowing back, as a thick purple ball of acid shoots out of Ekans' maw, jaw temporarily unhinging to create enough room, and flies right at Scyther's defenseless face. The bug-type cries out in pain as his head, neck and upper thorax get covered in the biting substance, the impact worsened by the recipient's inability to roll with the blow, as Ekans keeps his target well and truly immobilized.
At that moment, Scyther's attempts at freeing itself with Wing Attack sharply cut off, a Glare-induced attack of paralysis hammering its system. Instantly, Ran orders Ekans to capitalize on the opportunity with Bite.
Ekans' large fangs, usually hidden by laying flat against the roof of his mouth, click down into place as they glow with discomforting dark-type energy. Bugsy encourages Scyther to try and break out once more, but his words carry the taste of futility, as Ran leans forwards eagerly, grinning in delight as his starter lets out a threatening hiss.
Then Ekans' head shoots forward, biting down harshly on Scyther's upper thorax, the bug-type letting out a final pained shout as the combined damage from Wrap, Acid and Bite finally becomes too much for it to bear. Ran watches eagerly as Scyther's eyes drift closed, its legs giving out as it falls to the ground, Ekans riding his prey down before, when the referee lifts his flag and announces the conclusion of the fight, finally unwinding and proudly slithering towards Ran.
"Scyther is unable to battle! Gym Leader Bugsy is out of pokémon! Ran Carr is the winner!" The referee's call comes, ringing through the quiet arena. Then the announcer takes over, recapping the fights with more than a little embellishment and singing Ran's praises as the spectators break polite applause, Josie's wolf whistle easily audible over the large crowd's polite noise.
Ran's attention is on Ekans first and foremost, his starter winding up his body, head coming to rest on Ran's shoulder from behind, allowing Ran to easily whisper some praise to his battered pokémon as he takes a closer look at where Scyther's Slash had impacted. To his surprise however, there's no sign of damage whatsoever. Taking a closer look at Ekans' scales, he turns accusing eyes on his starter.
"You already used Swallow, didn't you?" He asks, amused by Ekans' initiative. The poison-type hisses unapologetically, head wiggling in what Ran has learned through the years to be Ekans' approximation of a shrug.
Not begrudging his starter's decision to heal himself now that the battle is won, Ran turns his attention to Bugsy, who is already waiting for him in the middle of the field. His footsteps feeling lighter than they have in years, even with Ekans' added weight, Ran strides towards the center of the field as well, eager to receive whatever Bugsy decided to name his badge.
"As the Azalea Town Gym Leader, I hereby proudly present you with the Hive Badge." Bugsy declares, unveiling a circular badge colored and embossed to resemble a three-spotted Ledyba's back.
Ran gladly accepts the badge, immediately moving to pin it to the inside of his jacket, next to his no longer lone Zephyr Badge.
"You performed very well against challenging odds, your team shows the signs of a dedicated trainer who is willing to dedicate himself fully to allow each of his pokémon to reach their full potential. I'm sure that you're worried about that Spinarak of yours but, having trained a few of my own, please let me assure you that it will recover just fine, as long as you don't bring it out of its ball again before seeking medical attention." Bugsy continues to speak whilst wringing his hands, showing a willingness to reassure Ran to the crowd whilst handily absolving himself of any blame for his excessive use of force in their fight.
Ran doesn't respond audibly, merely offering the smallest nod he feels like he can get away with under the circumstances. It's clearly not enough however, as Bugsy's own expression finally falls into a disappointed frown, likely from Ran seeing through his ploys. For the second time following a triumphant Gym challenge, Ran is met with a Gym leader's lowered voice as they tell him something they don't want the crowd to listen in on.
"I assume this grudge of yours towards me is about me winning the sponsorship three years ago," Bugsy notes warily, seeming quite unimpressed by the idea, "Which is a shame, because really, it's pretty childish of you. We went for the same opportunity and I outperformed you. Suck it up."
"You cost me three years," Ran finally audibly replies, forgetting to keep his voice down but the sheer disbelief he feels is so strong that it still only comes out as little more than a whisper, "You almost forced me to give up on training forever."
"Ah," Bugsy softly lets out, leaning back slightly as he looks at Ran taxingly, seemingly reevaluating him, "I see. Okay, that'll tie nicely into the advice bit of this conversation."
Before Ran can even start to puzzle over just what that's supposed to really mean, Bugsy starts in on him, "Firstly, purely from a battling perspective. You have a Golbat. Maybe you really can't control it and you didn't dare to use it, or maybe you figured you didn't need the type advantage. If it's the former, either sort that out or trade or sell it to someone that can and get yourself pokémon you can control. If it's the latter, get over yourself. You're at a point in your career where not using any advantages you can get doesn't make you look strong, it makes you look foolish."
"Secondly, though you're probably not ready to actually listen to this yet, particularly not from me," Bugsy continues, pausing for just a moment before barrelling on nevertheless, "Specializing in a type doesn't just affect your pokémon. It's a two-way street. No matter in which direction you look, the effects aren't always beneficial. Bad trainers create bad pokémon and… well I wouldn't call them bad, but some types definitely tend to influence less-than-desirable traits in their trainers. In your case, revenge and anger can be powerful motivators, but don't let them consume you. Use them to drive you, because clearly that's working for you. That you've come this far without help does you credit. But please remember, the world isn't out to get you. I beat you in the sponsorship final because I needed the sponsorship, not because I had anything against you. There's a thin line between motivation and obsession, I think it'll serve you well to just keep that in mind."
Ran doesn't muster a response, merely squinting his eyes suspiciously at Bugsy's words, unwilling to accept them at face value. The Gym Leader doesn't seem to mind however, as he simply takes a half step back, before raising his speaking volume for the benefit of the crowd once more, "I also award you this TM for U-Turn and of course the cash prize associated with winning your second Badge. But that's not all! In my position as a new Gym Leader, I've only recently gotten my hand on some fascinating exotic bug-type pokémon!"
The crowd, previously only mildly interested, breaks into excited whispers at Bugsy's declaration, as Ran waits uncomfortably for whatever other shoe Bugsy is about to drop, "Though I look forward to unveiling these new additions to my roster at a later time, one of them is unfortunately not a long-term match for my Gym, as it will lose its bug-typing upon evolution. Having contacted its original owner, I could easily return it for another pokémon. However, in my capacity as Azalea Town's Gym Leader, I need to think not only about my own reputation, but also the reputation of this great town! It is for these reasons that I, with great pride, present you, Ran Carr, an Azalea Town trainer, with this pokémon, native to the exotic continent of Sinnoh!"
Ran has to blink, twice, as Bugsy suddenly unveils a black pokéball with a golden circle running along its middle, a smaller gold-rimmed red circle forming a smaller circle two-thirds of the way between the middle and the top. When he offers the ball to Ran, Ran can only stare at the Gym Leader in confusion.
"Don't worry, though it doesn't remain a bug-type, I assure you that it is and will remain a poison-type both now and after evolution. Which should make it a perfect fit for your team." Bugsy assures him placidly, voice still carrying far enough for the audience to follow along easily. Everyone is now watching with bated breath, even as Bugsy is still holding the ball outstretched, waiting for Ran to accept it from him.
With the anticipatory crowd watching his every move, Ran forces himself to reach out a hand and accept the ball from Bugsy's hand. If this is some kind of plot on Bugsy's behalf to hinder his team by forcing a subpar pokémon on his team, he'll just sell it or return it later on.
"Thank you," He grinds out, as Bugsy then also hands him the promised TM for U-turn.
"You're welcome," Bugsy smiles benignly, "I look forward to watching you at the Conference, where you'll surely do a fine job representing Azalea Town."
Bugsy frowns for just a moment after those words, which Ran is more than happy to take as his dismissal. Before he can turn on his heels and depart the arena however, Bugsy finally speaks up one more time, "Oh, and once she's healed, you should keep your Spinarak out in Ilex Forest overnight, while you're traveling towards Goldenrod. Just a tip."
Ran frowns in turn, but offers Bugsy a final polite nod, before finally striding swiftly towards the exit. His dad's already waiting at the door, beaming with pride, while Bugsy turns to move back to his side of the field, their battle and its aftermath already having run long. Ran badly wants to see Karolina's high-level battle, but for now, he has a wounded pokémon to get to the pokécenter.