The glass dome of the Gym intensified the sunlight coming in from outside, shining a harsh light on the battlefield. Once again, James stood on the challenger's side, ready to redeem himself and win the Hive Badge. Bugsy stood on the other side, net in hand, ready to face off against this repeat opponent.
“Are you ready, James?” the Gym Leader called. “Remember, you'll find things no easier than the last time!”
“I'm ready whenever you are!” James shouted back. Cyndaquil stood by his side, primed for battle. The match official stepped up and began his introduction.
“Attention! The Azalea Gym rematch between James the challenger and Bugsy the Gym Leader will now begin! The prize will be a Hive Badge. Trainers are permitted to use three Pokémon, and once one side's Pokémon are rendered unable to battle, the challenge will end. Finally, only the challenger is permitted to make substitutions! Trainers ready?”
“Yeah!” James called, readying a Pokéball.
“Let's do this!” Bugsy answered, preparing his own Pokéball. The official nodded and pointed to the centre of the field.
“Alright, battle begin!”
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“Ledyba, let's go!” The Five Star Pokémon began its frantic jumping back and forth as it emerged, ready to take on its first challenge. James nodded and threw his first Pokéball.
“Geodude, come on out!” Geodude folded his arms as he landed, ready to execute the new battle strategy James had developed.
“Okay, James, you have first move!”
“Right! Geodude, use Defense Curl!” Geodude rolled up, building up its defense, readying for a strike.
“Now, Ledyba, Comet Punch!” Bugsy knew the move wouldn't have much effect on a Rock-type Pokémon, but he was curious why James wasn't attacking straight from kickoff. Ledyba pummeled his opponent, with little effect, and jumped away before Geodude could do anything to it.
“Okay, Geodude, Defense Curl one more time!” James knew what he was doing. If Ledbya would just come a bit closer, Geodude could hit it.
“Ledyba, Mach Punch! Don't let it keep upping its defense!” Bugsy was now truly suspicious, and wanted to take out Geodude before it could cause any havoc. Ledyba approached and prepared a glowing fist, but James reacted first.
“Now! Rollout attack!” Geodude bounced off the floor, spinning hard, and crashed heavily into Ledyba. The ladybug hit the ground and panted hard; the super-effective move had caused major damage.
“Oh, now I get it.” Bugsy nodded as comprehension dawned. “Defense Curl powers up Rollout each time it's used, and so James waited for Ledyba to get in close before launching a heavy attack. Impressive. He's really improved since our last match.”
“Keep up that Rollout, Geodude!” Not only would Defense Curl power up Rollout, but the move would increase in power every time it hit, and James intended to take full advantage. Geodude rocketed at Ledyba, hammering the Bug-type with tremendous force. Ledyba wavered, but didn't fall, surprising both James and Geodude.
“Now, Ledyba, Mach Punch again!” Bugsy knew Ledyba was punching above its weight already, and it would probably go down soon. He wanted to make sure Geodude was carrying as much damage as he could inflict, since it would be important later in the match.
The two Pokémon collided, and Ledyba definitely came off worse. It stayed on its feet, though, and glared at Geodude defiantly.
“Wow, Ledyba's tougher than I thought,” James thought to himself. “It looks like it's gassed, but it's stood up to two big hits already. Time to finish this fight up.” He pointed at Ledyba as he called out to Geodude. “Rollout, once more! Finish this!”
“Ledyba, Mach Punch!” A final collision created a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared, Ledyba's dazed expression was evidence it had finally been defeated.
“Ledyba is unable to battle! Geodude wins!”
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From the stands, Hunter saw Ledyba go down and nodded.
“He's off to a good start.” he remarked. “That should give him and Geodude some confidence for the other two Pokémon.”
“But remember, Scyther's still in reserve, and Bugsy could bring it out anytime. A good start isn't good enough in this Gym.” Jen was still worried about the Mantis Pokémon, and hoped it didn't come out anytime soon.
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“Return, Ledyba!” Bugsy thanked his Pokémon before taking out another Pokéball and tossing it onto the battlefield. “Spinarak, you're up next!” The bright green spider stared straight at Geodude, who smiled calmly back. James, however, recalled his Rock-type.
“Take a rest, Geodude. I'll need you later.” He took out Pidgey's Pokéball and tossed it out, releasing the Tiny Bird. “Pidgey, let's show 'em how much we've improved your speed!”
“This should be interesting,” Bugsy mused, knowing that Pidgey would be difficult for Spinarak to handle. “Okay, after you!”
“Pidgey, Quick Attack!” Pidgey's attack hit home, and Spinarak winced slightly, but held its ground.
“Now, Spinarak, Spider Web!” Just like when he battled Jen, Bugsy wanted to stop James switching out, meaning Spinarak was now entirely Pidgey's responsibility. James smiled, though. He was confident that his Flying-type could win this round herself.
“Pidgey, Gust!” The swirling wind attack swept up a lot of the detritus on the field, buffeting Spinarak with twigs and nuts along with the super-effective move. “Now, Wing Attack!”
“Poison Sting!” Spinarak jabbed Pidgey with the spike on its head as Pidgey's wing hit it, and instantly violet sparks shot across the Tiny Bird's body.
“Already!?” James knew it was a possible side effect of Poison Sting, but on the first hit? Now, with Pidgey poisoned, he had to deal with Spinarak so he could switch again. “Quick Attack!”
“Poison Sting again!” Aanother collision, another jab with Spinarak's stinger. “Now, quickly, Constrict!” This time, Spinarak's webbing wrapped around Pidgey and squeezed it, causing minor damage. As Pidgey flew clear, she shuddered as more poison sparks shot across her body. James knew she couldn't keep going too much longer, so he prepared to land a final hit.
“Pidgey, Wing Attack now!” Pidgey shot at Spinarak, her wings outstretched.
“Spinarak, Poison Sting!” One last time, Pidgey's wing smacked Spinarak, while its stinger jabbed her, but Pidgey had done her job. Spinarak lay knocked out in front of her.
“Spinarak is unable to battle! Pidgey is the winner!”
“Yeah! Way to go, Pidgey!” James' triumphant smile faded as he saw Pidgey's expression of pain. “Hey, are you okay?” Pidgey looked at him and tried to smile herself, but it was clear she was almost finished. “Can you keep going a little longer?” She nodded, and turned to face Bugsy as he readied his final Pokémon.
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“James has knocked out two of Bugsy's Pokémon now, but he's still got to beat that Scyther.” Hunter shook his head. “And Pidgey's going to collapse any second. This match may be tilted in James' favor right now, but it's balanced on a knife edge.”
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“Well, I guess we're going to see if all that training is going to pay off.” Jen was confident James could pull it off, but concern remained on her face. How he battled now would be decisive.
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“James, you've really impressed me. Your Pokémon are much stronger since our last match, and are more resilient too. But this isn't over yet.”
“I know that, and I'm ready to keep going! I'll get that badge, you can count on it.”
“Well, at least you're still confident. Good. Let's continue, then.” He threw out his last Pokéball and released Scyther. The Mantis Pokémon crossed its blades and glared at Pidgey, who maintained her usual scowl despite her poisoning.
“Okay, Pidgey, let's keep going! Wing Attack, quickly!” Pidgey, however, was moving a lot slower, and Scyther readied itself for a strike.
“Scyther, X-Scissor!” Scyther's blades glowed blue-white, and it slashed hard, knocking Pidgey down as she flew in. Pidgey trilled weakly as she succumbed to the poison and was knocked out.
“Pidgey is unable to battle! Scyther wins!” James recalled Pidgey and thanked his valiant Flying-type.
“You stuck it out, Pidgey. Thanks a lot.” He took out Geodude's Pokéball and let the Rock Pokémon out to battle once again. “Geodude, watch out for Scyther's speed!” Geodude grinned and crossed its arms, waiting for Scyther to attack.
“Scyther, now, Swords Dance!” Scyther's frenzied spin upped its attack power, and James knew he had to counter it.
“Defense Curl!” Geodude rolled up, steeling itself for a hit.
“Now, Scyther, X-Scissor again!” The Bug-type attack struck, but didn't do as much damage as it would normally. “Don't let up! Slash attack!”
“Geodude, Rollout!” The two attacks met, and Scyther looked like it had been dealt a strong hit. Geodude simply sat on the ground, not showing any outward effects. “Keep up the Rollout!”
“X-Scissor!” The attacks met again, and Scyther dropped to the floor. Geodude's attack had really done some damage now, with Scyther visibly slow to get up after the super-effective move. James smiled and prepared to hit it again.
“Rollout, keep it going!” Geodude bounced up and sped at Scyther again. James grinned; Rollout's power would increase, and Scyther would take more damage every time. All he had to do was...
“Slash!” The attack cut at Geodude in mid-flight, and knocked it down onto the field. James looked and saw that Geodude had the dazed look of defeat on its face.
“Geodude is unable to battle! Scyther wins!”
“No, Geodude!” He couldn't believe it; Geodude was down for the count! “But how? Slash shouldn't do that kind of damage!”
“Slash is a Normal-type attack, yes. But even when not powered up by Swords Dance, it has a high chance of hitting a weak spot. So it is a potent weapon against Pokémon with a disadvantage.” James growled as he realized what that meant. That was why Cyndaquil had suffered so badly against Kabutops, and then his whole team against Scyther. Such a combination of speed and power would be tough to beat, even with all the training they'd done. Now, with just Cyndaquil left, he needed to put that training to use.
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“I can't believe it. Geodude got taken out in short order, and Pidgey didn't stand a chance.” Jen was really worried now. She watched intently as James recalled Geodude, and closed her eyes, hoping he could rebound.
“He had no choice to leave Pidgey out there, as harsh as that sounds.” Hunter told her. “With the poison damage, it would've been harder if he'd recalled her and then sent her back out. And Geodude's defeat was really down to a lucky shot. If Scyther hadn't landed that critical hit, Geodude would've been in there a lot longer. Let's hope Cyndaquil can pull this one out of the fire.”
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“Cyndaquil, it's time. Let's finish this up!” Cyndaquil squeaked at James, then ran out onto the battlefield.
“Alright, James, it's our final matchup! Are you ready?”
“Of course! Cyndaquil, Quick Attack!” Cyndaquil charged at Scyther, landing a direct hit and darting out of range before it could react.
“Scyther, use X-Scissor!”
“Dodge, Cyndaquil!” Cyndaquil watched Scyther's movements, then jumped out of the way. “Now, Ember!” Some of the fire bolts hit, but Scyther's speed and momentum meant that they were glancing shots.
“Keep it up! Turn around and use Slash!”
“Flame Wheel!” The two moves crashed into one another, and both Pokémon took damage. Cyndaquil was fresher, though, and ran as far from Scyther as he could, denying it a close-in shot. “Awesome, now use another Flame Wheel!”
“X-Scissor!” Another clash of moves, this time creating a cloud of smoke that obscured the combatants. James knew Scyther might take advantage and come from nowhere, so he knew he had to deal with it quickly.
“Quick Attack! Get out of that smoke!” Cyndaquil raced towards him, and he turned around with his fire vents fully ablaze. Scyther, though, rocketed upwards and dived towards Cyndaquil, readying another X-Scissor. “Move it, Cyndaquil! Use Quick Attack again and get out of the way!” Cyndaquil managed to escape, but Scyther was right back on top of him in an instant.
“Slash, Scyther! Take it down!” The dangerous attack hit its mark, and Cyndaquil lay on the ground for a few seconds before getting up. “Again, Scyther! Slash it!” More cuts, more damage.
“Cyndaquil, counter it! Flame Wheel!” Cyndaquil slammed into Scyther, trying to create some space, but Scyther continued its assault. “Quick, try to get away!”
“Not a chance!” Bugsy shouted. He knew Scyther had taken some powerful hits, but he didn't intend to lose this battle. This challenge may have been better than the last, but it was still a Gym challenge, and he wasn't going to roll over and lose. “Now, X-Scissor! Put this match away!” Scyther's attack sliced at Cyndaquil once again, and knocked the Fire Mouse onto the ground, where he lay motionless.
“Cyndaquil!” James couldn't stand to see Cyndaquil go down again, not after all the training they'd done together. He watched his friend's slowed movements as the Fire-type pushed himself onto his feet, and squeaked defiantly at Scyther. No sooner did this one squeak resonate through the gym that Cyndaquil's body began to glow. “Wait, can that be...?”
“No way!” Hunter shouted.
“It is! Cyndaquil's starting to evolve!” Jen watched with intense interest as Cyndaquil's body began to elongate. As the process went on, Scyther simply watched, and Bugsy nodded.
“This intense fighting provoked a surge of energy that allowed Cyndaquil sufficient power to evolve. Of course, this is probably bad news for me and Scyther, but hey, I wouldn't be a Gym Leader if I wasn't ready for something like this.”
The glow faded, and there was now a strong, blue-furred Pokémon with a long body and fire burning on its head and tail, standing where Cyndaquil had been. He roared triumphantly as his fire burned, and James' wide-eyed expression turned to exhiliration.
“Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava!” Before doing anything else, he pulled out his Pokédex to scan his newly-evolved starter Pokémon.
“Quilava, the Volcano Pokémon,” the Pokédex announced. “Its fur is completely fireproof, so it can use the intense flames on its body without worrying about injuring itself.”
“So that's Quilava!” Quilava turned to James and nodded with a grin on his face. “Alright, then, let's test out your power! Use Ember!” Quilava started to launch the fire bolts, but the attack converged to form a powerful stream of fire that hit Scyther full-on. “Wow, not only did you evolve, but you've learned Flamethrower! That 's awesome!”
“Well, I see you're excited, James. But I'm still not done! Scyther, X-Scissor!”
“Duck out of the way, then use Flamethrower again!” Quilava jumped to one side, let Scyther fly past, then hit it with the super-effective attack. Scyther sank to one knee as it faced its opponent, knowing it might be too much now.
“Don't let up! Use X-Scissor once more!” Scyther crossed its blue-white glowing blades again and raced at Quilava.
“Finish this! Flame Wheel!” Quilava's body was surrounded by fire, and he jumped into Scyther's path and they collided hard. The resultant smoke cloud covered the entire battlefield, and both trainer and Gym Leader strained to see who had come out on top.
As the smoke began to clear, Quilava could be seen standing determinedly in the centre of the field, while Scyther lay on the ground, unmoving. The referee looked at Scyther, and then raised his arm.
“Scyther is unable to battle! Quilava is the winner, and therefore the winner is James from Violet City!”
“All right!” James ran onto the field and slid on his knees towards his first Pokémon. Quilava growled happily as his trainer hugged him, while James was glad the match was finally over. He'd won the Hive Badge, and now his and Jen's journey could continue. “Way to go, buddy, you really battled well!”
“You certainly did.” Bugsy had walked up to them; James hadn't even seen him recall Scyther. “Cyndaquil's evolution into Quilava was enough to turn the match in your favor. Well played, James, well played.” James stood up and was immediately wrapped in a bear hug by a thrilled Jen, and Hunter stood by and nodded, smiling.
“James, way to go! I guess all that training really helped!”
“It sure did.” James knew that he couldn't have won without Jen's help, nor with Hunter's. “Thanks a lot, guys.”
“Don't sweat it,” Hunter said with a chuckle. “I couldn't just let my rival get beat again, right?”
“Well, he didn't.” Bugsy handed James the red-and-black badge. “As proof of your victory at the Azalea Gym, I present to you the Hive Badge.”
“Thanks a lot, Bugsy!” James said, closing his hand over the badge. Everyone bade Bugsy goodbye, and they headed outside the gym.
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“So, Hunter, do you want to come with us into the forest?” Jen asked a few minutes later.
“No, thanks. I'd rather travel alone, so I can really get to know my Pokémon.”
“I hear ya,” James said, remembering his own attitude before his journey started. “Hey, next time we see you, we should have a battle. You know, so we can gauge how much we've improved.”
“I'll take you up on that when we next meet.” Hunter waved goodbye, and he moved towards the Ilex Forest. James watched him disappear, then turned to Quilava.
“So, Quilava, are you still gonna stay out of your Pokéball? You certainly won't fit on my shoulder anymore.” Quilava nodded, and James smiled. “Thought so. Alright, we'll keep this going.”
“You guys really did well today.” Jen told them. “Say, why don't we head to the Pokémon Centre and rest, then go into the Forest tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a plan.” James said, and they moved swiftly to make it happen.