Oh sure Brawly’s Hitmonchan danced like a Butterfree and stung like a Beedrill but if he had to run around after an opponent then he was doing something wrong. To make sure that didn't happen anyone who knew what they were doing made sure early on that their Hitmonchan learnt one of two moves that would be used throughout their entire battling career.
Mach Punch, or Bullet Punch if you were feeling adventurous, were great gap closers for a Pokemon that typically wasn’t that fast on its feet. Those moves gave them temporary speed to square off against an opponent up close where a Hitmonchan’s fists could deal some damage.
Hitmonchan sped forward under its own power towards the Mawile, ready to kick things off.
“Iron Head,” Harry called out from the other side, just late enough that Hitmonchan would be too late to abort.
Steel type tracks like Iron Head or Iron Tail had a peculiar effect, essentially acting as a very powerful defensive move in the locations where it was activated. Most other type interactions were fairly straightforward but for those moves in particular it meant that despite the type advantage, Hitmonchan might as well have been trying to punch a block of reinforced concrete.
Hitmonchan’s fist struck home on the impenetrable steel as the Mawile swung its large maw forward, the two attacks colliding. Brawly grimaced. Brawly’s Hitmonchan was strong and experienced enough to avoid injuring himself but Brawly knew from experience that it could’ve been a close thing.
Even though his first attack had been blocked, it didn’t matter because Hitmonchan was now in range and he was already winding up his next attack.
Power-Up Punch helped increase his attack power, it just needed to land and that’s why they’d trained for this classic one-two combo, starting with Mach Punch to close the distance.
Only it seemed the Mawile knew what to do next too, leaping up and past the surprised Hitmonchan’s extended fist to deliver a punch with her own stubby arms. Sucker Punch.
It was a Dark type attack so it shouldn’t have done too much damage and Hitmonchan didn’t respond more than turning its face to minimise the blow, but the attack still came as a surprise and the Mawile used its momentum to leap past him towards the centre of the arena.
“Misty Terrain Ielle!” Shouted Harry.
That must’ve been the Mawile’s nickname, Brawly thought. Not a lot of people bothered doing that for their Pokemon, he didn’t, but it was kind of interesting that Harry had.
The Mawile’s larger mouth, the one that was partially disguised as a ponytail lifted up and opened as it pointed towards the sky. Then a ball of pink energy was shot up.
“What attack is that?” Brawly questioned out loud. It was obviously a field move of some kind but not one Brawly had ever heard of. “Close the distance Hitmonchan!” Even if he as curious, there was no need to just give his opponent an opening.
Hitmonchan recovered and spun around to reinitiate a Mach Punch but one of the weaknesses of the attack was that it only really went in a straight line so it took vital moments to turn and then move, at which point the glowing pink sphere had aalready reached the apex of its ascent and exploded.
Pink mist scattered all around, falling down to the ground and covering the hard surface of the arena, including the \Mawile.
Hitmonchan shot forward at the same time, but the Mawile was already being covered by the pink fog as it fell down and he skid to a stop in the place the Mawile had been. The movement of the air behind him momentarily parted the mist to reveal the Mawile indeed had disappeared before the mist leisurely flowed back into place and it was now completely covering the arena.
Now Brawly was no stranger to field tactics. He’d battled people using Blizzards or Sandstorms to cover their Pokemon for sneak attacks before but this was definitely a new one. The Misty Terrain settled around the arena somewhere between one and two feet high, tall enough that the short figure of the Mawile was completely hidden from view.
The perfect strategy for an ambush predator.
“Clever!” Brawly called out across to his opponent.
“Why thank you,” the other trainer graciously replied, lips pulled up in a smirk. “But we haven’t won yet…”
“Mon hitmon hit!” Hitmonchan growled as he looked around him warily. There was a giggling reply from somewhere in the mist.
“Use Vaccum Wave to part the mist,” Brawly ordered. He wasn’t entirely sure if it would work but he wanted to test if the attack would actually affect the terrain or not now it’d settled.
The blast of air that came from Hitmonchan’s fist did indeed part the Misty terrain for a few moments but it was clear that it was only a temporary thing, the fog quickly recovering the ground it had lost. Perhaps if he kept at it or used a broader ranging effect then he might be able to disperse it, but that sort of move wasn’t in Hitmonchan’s repertoire. Hariyama knew Whirlwind, which might do the job. But Hariyama wasn’t out right now, Hitmonchan was.
If this were a normal battle where substitutions were allowed then Brawly would have probably chosen to swap Hitmonchan out at this point, but these were the rules he’d set out and there was still something they could do.
There was a shifting of the fog from the side and Hitmonchan spun around to deliver another Vacuum Wave only for Mawile once again not to be revealed. Hitmonchan was being careful but as he thrust out a few more Vaccuum Waves the Pokemon found himself frustrated as Mawile remained hidden from view, taunting him in Pokespeech.
“Iron head!” Harry suddenly shouted.
“Detect!” Brawly countered.
The Mawile shot up from Hitmonchan’s side, her larger jaws turning to steel as she whipped it around at the Fighting type.
Detect gave him preternatural awareness and Hitmonchan swayed out of the way as Ielle continued past, falling back into the fog without a sound like she was a freaking Sharpedo instead of a land-bound part Steel type. Then she bounced back a moment later, repeating the attack from another angle.
Hitmonchan swayed out of the way again, this time delivering a light punch to the other Pokemon as she sailed past but one Brawly knew would have only done minor damage.
“Clever strategy Mr Hemming, but it’ll take more than that to stop my Hitmonchan!” Brawly said confidently. “He’s trained to dodge hits with some of the best fighting types around!”
“You had a good counter,” Harry Hemming replied as his Mawile giggled, sailing past with another swipe at Hitmonchan. “But how long do you think your Hitmonchan can keep that Detect running?”
Brawly grit his teeth. They both knew Hitmonchan couldn’t keep it up forever. Detect and other moves like Protect required a lot of energy to perform. Not too much, but they were definitely more intensive than regular attacks and the longer a Pokemon tried to keep one up, the harder it would get.
Until the move failed.
“Chan!” Hitmonchan grunted as he took a strike to his raised arms, skidding back as the Mawile fell back into the Mist.
He didn’t block the next attack, coming from the side and that time he stumbled.
“Alright Play Rough Ielle!” Harry shouted. That didn’t sound like a move Brawly had ever heard of but it definitely was one, but it also sounded like a close contact attack. Now was their chance!
“Drain Punch!” Brawly ordered as the Mawile lunged out of the mist, eyes mean as it glowed with a pink aura.
Whatever attack that was, as long as Hitmonchan managed to deliver the return blow he’d survive.
Ielle was indeed hit but her jaws swung around, grabbing onto Hitmonchan’s second punch and she swung herself forward at the Fighting type’s face!
“Hiiit!” Hitmonchan bellowed as the not so cute Fairy type pummelled him, unable to do more than reach out to yank her away and off him.
The Mawile sailed back into the mist as Brawly’s Pokemon stumbled, clearly dizzy and on his last legs after whatever the hell that last attack had been. Another hit would end it.
“Come on Hitmonchan!” Brawly shouted, but knowing that this was probably it. The Misty Terrain was still up, there was no way that Mawile wasn’t going to be able to land a final hit with the initiative all going to her. “Ready up one more Drain Punch, you can do it!”
Hitmonchan steadied himself, pulling back a fist it began to glow with the telltale energy of his best attack. He’d managed a hit on the Mawile before and despite the part Steel typing Mawile weren’t incredibly durable. One or two more hits like that could definitely turn things around in their favour.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Fairy Wind!” Harry Hemming shouted.
“Damnit,” Brawly muttered to himself as a ranged attack not unlike a simple Gust sped forth from somewhere in front of Hitmonchan. The Misty Terrain was scattered forward, revealing the Mawile several feet away and Hitmonchan saw his opportunity and charged forward with his remaining strength.
But it wasn’t enough. The pink tinged winds buffeted him, making the Fighting type stumble. His raised fist stopped glowing and then Brawly’s first Pokemon fell to his knees and then onto the ground face first.
He had fainted.
“Good battle,” he complimented, feeling his heart pound in his chest as he raised Hitmonchan’s Pokeball. The draining feeling of having a Pokemon knocked out struck him but Brawly was obviously tough enough to handle it and it only set his adrenaline running higher.
This guy was the real thing.
He’d counted five different attacks, Brawly thought as he withdrew his Pokemon. Misty Terrain, Iron Head, Sucker Punch, Play Rough and then Fairy Wind made five. That was one tough Mawile to know more than four attacks, only the strongest or most dedicated of Pokemon could remember more than four moves at a time.
That wasn’t entirely true. Some specialist Pokemon like his own Hitmonchan could learn a big variety of certain types of moves at one time with little difficulty. In Hitmonchan’s case it was a bunch of punching attacks like the three elemental punches on top of Drain Punch and Mach Punch and then he’d held onto a couple other moves like Detect too. Still, Mawile probably didn’t count for that exception to the rule. It was definitely worthy of being called a seventh or eighth Badge tier Pokemon.
The Misty Terrain was finally fading away and the Mawile was looking back towards her trainer, looking kind of smug.
“Good job Ielle,” Harry Hemming said warmly as he withdrew the Pokemon. Off to the side their only audience, which was the other guy’s Gardevoir, was clapping and cheering for her teammate.
“You did great too,” Brawly whispered to his own Pokemon but he already knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. Hitmonchan was going to feel pretty down after losing to a Mawile of all things. Brawly knew the rest of the team were going to make fun of him over the loss to a Pokemon that the rest of them, including him, usually considered to be pretty weak.
Well that wasn’t the case anymore. You should never judge a book by its cover, a lesson Brawly would have to keep in mind. Harry Hemming looked like a pretty straight-laced office worker, but there was more to him than met the eye too.
Brawly had seen enough. Harry Hemming was on the level. He had Brawly’s vote if he wanted to be a Gym Leader.
But that didn’t mean they were finished yet!
“Ready for one more?!” He asked, reaching for another Pokeball. He’d specified two battles after all.
“Absolutely,” Harry replied across the arena, putting away his Mawile’s ball and withdrawing another one.
“Come on out, Medicham!”
“Go Happy!”
Brawly’s Medicham took to the field and across from it another small Pokemon appeared.
This wasn’t another Mawile of course. Instead the small form of a Marill appeared and true to its nickname it looked pretty darn happy.
“Huh,” Brawly said as the Pokemon bounced up and down excitedly. Whatever he’d expected Harry to pull out now, it hadn’t been this.
Like Mawile, Marill weren’t exactly considered to be strong Pokemon either. They were usually pet Pokemon for kids or they were occasionally used by people who enjoyed camping who liked a Pokemon that could be one part cuddle buddy and the other part water source. Brawly had seen trainers with an Azumarill once or twice in Gym matches, but usually an aspiring trainer who was going to train up a Water type went for something with either a bit more of a reputation as a battler or on the more practical side something that was bigger and better suited to carrying passengers on its back. A Walrein, a Tentacruel or for the bravest of trainers a Gyarados was what people often used in higher tier battles like these.
He grinned. After that last battle, Brawly couldn’t wait to see what this Marill was made of.
He had wanted to send out Hariyama, but Brawly’s opponent clearly wasn’t using his ace, which he assumed must be the Gardevoir so Brawly respectfully wouldn’t do the same either. Instead he had decided to go with his second strongest Pokemon. Medicham was a powerhouse in his own right and he’d been with Brawly the second longest out of his current team.
“Alright you caught me by surprise before,” Brawly told the other trainer. “But me and Medicham are ready for any tricks this time.”
“Marill!” the Marill replied for its trainer. “Marill mar!”
“Cham!” Medicham replied, nodding stoically to his opponent and shifting into a battle stance with one leg raised. Medicham was smart enough to know not to let the deceptively weak form of the Marill lull him into a false sense of security. Brawly wouldn’t be using him if he didn’t think the opponent was worthy of Medicham’s time.
“I’ll start us off!” Harry declared, gesturing forward and it was clear that he was enjoying their battle as much as Brawly had been. “Marill, use Aqua tail!”
Brawly was surprised when the Marill’s disposition suddenly changed completely and it charged forward on four legs, tail raised and with an impressive Aqua tail forming from the blue orb at the end of the rapidly approaching mouse Pokemon’s tail.
Usually Aqua Tail came out as a sort of whip, more rarely it wound up looking like a whirlpool like this. Already it was a sign that this Pokemon was no run of the mill Marill.
“Get in there with a Force Palm!” Brawly ordered. That size of attack wasn’t going to be easily dodged. Medicham would have to either weather the hit or slip past it somehow and to do that he’d have to get close to the Marill first. Getting close would at least help to minimise any damage Medicham did take.
Medicham charged forward in kind, palm glowing and ready to thrust forward as the Marill jumped up, swinging his tail around in a clearly practised motion to strike the Fighting/Psychic type on the side.
Medicham was fast enough to land the blow against Happy but not fast enough to avoid being hit by the Aqua Tail in return. The Marill was sent flying back while Medicham had to brace himself, sliding sideways along the ground to bleed off the momentum of the hit.
Happy spun around in the air, landing on his feet back on his own side of the battleground.
Geeze, no Pokemon that cute should be going around with that kind of expression, especially after taking a point blank hit like that, Brawly thought to himself. Did normal Marill have teeth that sharp?
“Aqua Ring, Happy,” was Harry’s order to his Pokemon as Medicham shook himself and waited for orders.
An orbiting ring of water formed around the Marill and Brawly knew it would slowly heal the water mouse over time.
“Use Confusion,” Brawly ordered. Medicham wasn’t as great with the Psychic side of his type as one that had been trained by an actual Psychic type trainer, but he could still use some Psychic attacks.
Medicham put his hands to his head, focusing and a blur of psychic energy appeared around Marill, dealing some damage and making the Pokemon wince and teeter slightly.
Sometimes a Confusion could disorient a Pokemon but not this time. Happy the Marill shook himself and growled before charging forwards again.
“Iron tail this time, Happy!” Harry ordered.
“Force Palm again!”
The Marill leapt forward again, spinning around with his tail raised. This time Medicham didn’t manage to land a direct blow in return, choosing to attack the other Pokemon’s tail directly and the two attacks collided, stalemating for a moment before Happy spun around in midair for another swipe. Medicham responded with multiple Force Palms, initiating a deadly trade of deflections for several seconds before Marill bounced back.
Both Pokemon eyed each other, breathing heavily. Brawly figured Medicham had come out of the exchange for the better but that Aqua Ring was going to cause problems if he let this drag out. Already he could see scuff marks from the hits Marill had already taken disappearing on the blue mouse Pokemon’s fur.
Marill was a Fairy type now, which was all well and good, but it was still a water type!
“Use Thunder Punch!”
Medicham was surprised by the order, it wasn’t his best trained attack and Brawly’s Pokemon usually stuck to Fighting or Psychic type moves. He’d still picked up the attack from training with Hitmonchan though.
“Bounce into Hydro Pump!” Harry ordered.
The Marill leapt into the air and almost completely dodged Medicham’s attack, taking a glancing blow as it soared out of reach. Then, inhaling deeply it prepared to use the most powerful of the traditional Water type attacks.
“Detect!” Brawly shouted in a panic.
Medicham was barely able to activate the move, dodging the powerful spray of water as the Marill soared overhead, producing more momentum on account of the powerful spray of water.
But it couldn’t last forever. Harry Hemming’s Marill was strong but it couldn’t keep a Hydro Pump up indefinitely and the attack tapered off as it touched the ground.
“Dual Force Palm! finish it!” Brawly ordered, seeing the Marill was absolutely exhausted at this point. Aqua Ring wouldn’t stop you feeling tired.
Medicham sped forward again, ready to finish the battle but the Marill wasn’t unconscious yet.
“Come on Happy, use Aqua Tail one last time,” Harry ordered.
Marill regained its composure, creating another Aqua Tail as it readied itself for Medicham to approach. This wasn’t like the first one, the attack much weaker and taking on the regular form of a whip. That Marill had to be on its last legs.
Medicham thrust both palms forward, disregarding personal safety as Happy swung his tail around.
Both Pokemon collided, an explosion of dust coming from the point of contact.
Brawly leaned forward, desperate to see the result of their final clash.
The dust parted, revealing an unconscious Marill and a stumbling, panting Medicham. Brawly’s second strongest Pokemon looked like a stiff breeze would see him joining the other Pokemon in unconsciousness.
It was Brawly’s victory, by the slimmest of margins.
If anyone had told him yesterday that a Marill on its own could do that to his Medicham then he’d have laughed in their face and then demanded a battle to prove otherwise. The Fighting type specialist let out a bark of laughter as he and his opponent withdrew their Pokemon. Today had been just full of surprises.
“Well you’ve got my vote!” Brawly declared, striding forward across the arena towards the other trainer. “As long as we can do that again!”
Not only that, but it’d just be good to have another guy around his own age about running a Gym too, Brawly thought to himself privately.
“I look forward to it,” Harry Hemming said, giving a promise to have them both battle again one day as their hands clasped together. Brawly beamed at him.
“C’mon I’ve got a healing station you can use,” Brawly offered and started to lead his new friend back out of the stadium.
Things were getting too relaxed around Hoenn anyway. Then Harry Hemming had come in like a tidal wave and washed away his expectations and Brawly couldn’t wait to see what happened next.