Laram shifted Firnen to his other arm and the lizard started to squirm. So Laram set him down, and got back to business. So he made the Aron faster, and buffed up his defense. Then put him on alert to attack as soon as he sees Jack. Staying back and attacking from a distance won't work. He's too quick now. Jack needs to attack him physically. But that's risky. I need to throw him off his feet first...That's it! "Jack, surface. Then use Surf and Double Kick."The idea was to knock Aron off its' feet and hammer him hard while on his back. Laram was relying on pure instinct now. He noticed that Harvey was holding back, which bothered him. But he was a gym leader, he was expected to be very strong. Laram on the other hand, was a brand new trainer. He had only been one for a little over a month. In that month, he gained a good amount of experience, learning from the veteran trainer Bobbie. But apparently it wasn't enough for Harvey to go all out. Or maybe there was some other reason. Either way, it didn't matter. Jack resurfaced, and punched the ground with his ear. As he did, a large wave of blue water appeared underneath him and he rode it towards his opponent. Once he was at the proper distance, he leaped from the crashing wave and somersaulted in the air, aiming to kick his opponent.
____________________________________
Pickup Ability Counter: 1/10
Pokémon
Name: Zeus Species: Rufflet Gender: Male Nature: Brave Egg Move: None TM Moves: HM Moves: Rock Smash
Surf? I've never seen that on a Bunnelby before. This trainer is certainly full of surprises. That's engulfing the entire battlefield, there's only one thing to do. I was hoping not to use Protect on such a new trainer, but it's my only viable option here. Well done for pushing Aron and I into a corner. "Aron, use Protect." Aron's eyes flashed and a green orb of protective energy surrounded him. The waves crashed against the shield, but could not penetrate it. The Bunnelby struck the shield with his legs, but once again could not penetrate the shield. As the waves dissipated, Harvey called out his next attack. "Aron, use Iron Head. Given how close quarters the fight had become, Harvey figured it was time to go on the offensive. Aron may be small, but they're heavy, and they have a lot of power behind them. Laram made a mistake trying to turn this battle into a brawl. His Bunnelby may be more agile, but he wasn't as strong as Harvey's Aron when it came to brute strength. Aron's head glowed with a white light, and as the force field he created began to disappear, he launched himself at his enemy with every intention of headbutting him.
Laram watched in horror as the Aron struck Jack right in his stomach. The force of the blow knocked the jackrabbit back onto the ground ten feet away."Jack! Come on buddy, get up! You can do this."The Bunnelby lay on the ground, motionless. But after a brief pause, the bunny slowly picked himself up off the ground. Dusting himself off, Jack turned to his trainer and nodded. He was hurt, but he was okay. Laram nodded in return, and with a new fire in his eyes, spoke to his Pokemon."Alright Jack, let's show them what we're made of. Earthquake, then Bounce. Close the distance.""Bun!"Laram was surprised. That was the first time he had every heard Jack speak. He always had such a laid back attitude, but right now, both trainer and Pokemon were fired up. Neither of them wanted to lose. The vial of sand around Jack's neck glowed as he punched the ground. As fist hit earth, shockwaves were sent out in all directions causing an earthquake on the battlefield. After he did this, he crouched on his haunches and leaped upward, and forward with all his might. He was an impressive jumper, managing to hop ten feet into the air. With this, the jackrabbit closed the distance between him and his opponent in only a couple seconds. But Laram wasn't done yet."Jack, Mud Shot."The idea was to throw Aron off balance and hit him fast, before he could marshal his defenses. Laram hoped it would work. The Bunnelby formed a golden sphere between his ears and it split into several balls of mud, which shot out fast at the opponent.
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Pickup Ability Counter: 2/10
Pokémon
Name: Zeus Species: Rufflet Gender: Male Nature: Brave Egg Move: None TM Moves: HM Moves: Rock Smash
It's good to see they're not giving up. They have spirit at least. They might be able to pull this off. "Aron, Rock Tomb" But it was too late. The tremors threw Aron off balance, and he took every single attack head on. Harvey knew all too well how bad it was for Aron to get hit with ground type moves. They always caused lots of damage. But Aron was sturdy, he wouldn't go down from just one attack. It was his turn to retaliate. "Aron, Metal Burst." It was Aron's ace in the hole. There were always trainers coming in, using their Pokemon's typing to their advantage. Metal Burst was Harvey's answer to it. His Pokemon were sturdy enough to handle massive amounts of damage, and with Metal Burst, he could dish it out back in greater measure. His Pokemon had a lot of quadruple weaknesses. It was his best strategy. Aron glowed, and a white ball of energy formed in front of his face. He launched it at his opponent, who was very close. They would have to come up with something very clever if they wanted to dodge it. There was no way that the Bunnelby could block the attack. If Laram wasn't careful, his gym challenge could end right here.
Oh no. "Jack, Agility!"The Bunnelby was too close to his opponent. Jack divided into two, as he created an afterimage from his speed. But he wasn't fast enough. The attack clipped the jackrabbit in the side and exploded, blowing him back all the way back to his trainer. Laram ran out onto the battlefield and knelt down beside his friend."Jack! Jack, come on buddy! Are you okay?"Laram set Firnen down and picked up his Bunnelby. The Pokemon was conscious, but badly injured. Laram held Jack in his arms, but Jack had other plans. The Bunnelby pushed away his trainer's arms and weakly stood up on his legs. He stared at his opponent, spat on the ground, and rubbed his mouth with his paw."Bun."Laram understood. Jack wasn't done yet. If he wanted to keep battling, so did Laram. But what came next was a surprise. Jack became engulfed in a shining white light, and his form started to shift. He grew a couple of feet, and widened, a lot. His ears, which were already large, grew into massive fists. Then the light disappeared, revealing a brand new Pokemon. Laram scanned his partner, purely out of shock. He was called a Diggersby. He changed his typing a little, and he looked stronger. Laram smiled and nodded to his Pokemon, who returned the favor before facing his opponent again."Alright, we're back in this thing. Jack, use Bulldoze. Then Hammer Arm.""Dig!"Jack's voice was deeper now. With his newly formed ears, Laram's Diggersby punched the ground and created a large shockwave from the impact. After he did, his ears glowed white and he charged forward towards Aron. Laram was surprised at the ferocity of his movements. He was much more powerful than he was.
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Pickup Ability Counter: 3/10
Pokémon
Name: Zeus Species: Rufflet Gender: Male Nature: Brave Egg Move: None TM Moves: HM Moves: Rock Smash
His Bunnelby evolved out of pure determination. That's an impressive Pokemon. I've seen enough, this trainer has earned my badge. But I would be remiss if I didn't offer a decent battle. Harvey's work could wait, Aron was on his last legs, but he hadn't given up. Harvey would be a bad trainer if he didn't at least allow his Pokemon to finish what they started. But things were bad. Laram and his team had managed to turn the situation around with evolution. Then proceeded to attack once again. He fights like someone with little experience. He holds nothing back. It's a bit foolish, but given enough time, he'll learn. "Aron, Rock Tomb." There was one thing that the trainer hadn't thought of. Bunnelby was quicker than its' evolved form. Diggersby were heavier and bulkier. They traded speed and agility for brute strength. It happened a lot in Pokemon evolution. Aron could better keep up. A purple ring surrounded the steel Pokemon and rocks formed all around him. The rocks launched forward, aiming to trap the Diggersby's movement. If Laram wasn't careful, he'd be stuck.
Giant rocks hurtled towards Jack at a frightening speed. Too fast, in fact. All of the stones landed around his Diggersby, blocking it from moving, as well as from view. Laram cursed himself for freezing up at such a crucial moment. He had to think of something quick to help his ally.Well, it worked when he was a Bunnelby. Let's see how it does now that he's evolved. "Jack, use earthquake." There was silence coming from the direction of the stones. Laram hoped that Jack had heard him. But as the trainer contemplated calling out his attack a second time, he noticed that the stones all shifted slightly. Curious, his eyes fixated on where his partner should be, but as he focused, the stones just sort of toppled over in all directions. But the Diggersby was nowhere to be seen.What the...Laram was obviously confused. That is, until he noticed the gaping hole in the center of the ring of stone. Jack had dug his way underground.So that's what happened. Either way, this works."Jack, get some distance and use mud shot. Let's finish this!"
"Dig!"It felt like the room shook from the Jackrabbit's war cry. Laram felt it in his chest, and it startled him. Just how strong had Jack become? But the trainer didn't have time to contemplate that at the moment. Jack burst forth from the ground, but not at a distance like his trainer said, but just behind his foe. Also, the telltale sign of his use of mud shot wasn't showing either. Instead, his large, arm-like ears glowed white, as he swung them as hard as he could down towards the Aron. It looked brutal, and completely unwarranted. His opponent was almost done for. There was no need for the Diggersby to go to such extremes to win. Laram couldn't believe what he was seeing. Jack had never acted in such a manner before. He was always pretty happy, go-lucky all the time. It was as if the Pokemon flew into a rage like some sort of old age barbarian. While the display might have excited another trainer, it scared Laram.Jack, what's gotten into you? "Jack! Calm down! What are you doing?"
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Pickup Ability Counter: 4/10
Pokémon
Name: Zeus Species: Rufflet Gender: Male Nature: Brave Egg Move: None TM Moves: HM Moves: Rock Smash
Harvey's eyes widened as the Diggersby broke ground behind Aron. He knew it was over even before the Pokemon's ears glowed. But where the new trainer seemed shocked, Harvey knew all too well what was happening. Most Pokemon had trouble controlling themselves post-evolution. The newfound power and energy flowing through their new form was intense, and often caused them to go berserk for a time. Just before Jack's attack hit, Harvey grabbed a pokeball and withdrew Aron from the battlefield. It was obviously over, and there was no reason for his Pokemon to be injured any further. With a fluid motion, he placed Aron on his belt and released another Pokemon onto the field. This was one of his oldest friends, Metagross. The battle was over, but if Jack couldn't be contained, then he needed to be subdued."Call back your Diggersby. Your gym trial is over, and I don't want my workshop damaged." Harvey retrieved a cigarette from his pack and lit it. Taking a long drag, Harvey placed three items on the ground before exiting the room. He left behind TM67 Smart Strike, the steelium Z, and the gear badge for the trainer. He trusted that Metagross could handle things from there and returned to his workshop to get back to work. He wasn't the kind of gym leader to stick around after a challenge and mollycoddle the participant. Time was money, after all.
Laram gasped as the large, metal Pokemon loomed over his newly evolved Diggersby. The rabbit's ears pounded the ground just as Aron disappeared in a flash of red light. The trainer was relieved. But only for a short time. His Diggersby growled and swung at the new arrival. The Pokemon's eyes glowed and the giant X on its' face glowed blue as Laram's Diggersby began to float in the air by an unseen force. Jack struggled for a time before he was launched against the wall behind his trainer. The force of the telekinetic attack rendered him unconscious, and Laram returned him to his pokeball."You did amazing Jack...No, I don't think that name suits you anymore. I think Baldur fits now. Thank you for all your hard work, and don't worry about going nuts. We'll work on that." Laram pulled out his pokedex and scanned Harvey's Pokemon. It was called Metagross. After dispatching Baldur, the Pokemon hadn't moved, so Laram assumed it was okay to grab what the gym leader left behind. He gingerly tiptoed his way around Metagross and pocketed the items in his pack. Awkwardly nodding, he made his way out the door. "Uhh...thanks I guess."Laram didn't know what to do next, so he just headed back towards the guild hall; with his new badge in tow.
*Exit*
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Pickup Ability Counter: 5/10
Pokémon
Name: Zeus Species: Rufflet Gender: Male Nature: Brave Egg Move: None TM Moves: HM Moves: Rock Smash
Regal took a deep breath to center himself before pushing open the doors to the gym. Most of the nerves that had plagued the trainer previously were gone, replaced by a calm determination to do everything in his power to lead his team to victory against the gym leader. They had trained hard for this, and Regal knew that they could win if they just stuck to what they had practiced. Looking around though, the trainer didn't actually see anyone in the old factory other than himself. Confused, he whipped his Pokégear out of his pocket and double checked the appointment that he had booked last night at the Pokémon Center. Both the time and location seemed to be correct, and yet there was no gym leader in sight. With no other ideas, he began walking farther in, hoping that he hadn't made some kind of error in his booking. It was still morning, so maybe the guy had slept in by mistake?
"Hello?" He called out, feeling all kinds of silly. "Is there anyone here? I have a gym battle scheduled for this morning!"
Harvey had been convinced that the early booking for today had been some kind of prank being played on him, but the beeping proximity alarm said otherwise. Slurping his morning coffee with menace, the grumpy gym leader glanced over at the view screen to see what he was in for. He had the air of a challenger alright, but the guy on the screen looked to already be an adult. It was odd, but hardly unheard of. His last challenger had been older as well, so Harvey just shrugged it off and clicked the button for the speaker system.
"First door on the right." He instructed the man. It was a pain in the neck, but taking on challenges was what allowed his factory to remain open. There was no avoiding it. Gulping down the last of his coffee, Harvey placed his now empty cup on his work bench and left to meet his challenger on the battlefield, releasing his Magnemite as he walked. He just hoped that this wouldn't end up being a waste of time.
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 2:03 pm
RegalBastionxxxxxxx
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"Thehumanmindislikeaparachute...
Regal was grateful that he didn't jump when the speakers suddenly came to life behind him, but the voice behind them didn't sound very pleased. Maybe he should have booked a later appointment after all. Walking through the doors, the trainer found himself looking across the battlefield at his opponent and the Magnemite orbiting the area around him. The heads up he had gotten from the Thunder Barbecue had been right on the money.
"Good morning." He started politely. "My name's Regal. Thanks for agreeing to challenge me today."
With his piece said, the trainer snapped a Pokéball off his belt and tossed it forward. His Rockruff appeared in a puff of smoke and nimbly leapt forward onto the battlefield, locking eyes with Harveys Magnemite but otherwise making no actions of its own as it waited for the battle to start. Now that they both had their first Pokémon at the ready, Regal also waited patiently for the leader to explain the rules so they could rumble. He couldn't wait to get started.
"Just doing my job." Harvey replied to the challenger.
Regal seemed to have manners at least, but Harvey still wasn't enthusiastic about taking on a challenger so early in the morning. He didn't think much of the challengers choice of Pokémon, either. Type match ups weren't everything of course, but his Magnemite had a very clear advantage over its opponent. Hopefully this guy had some kind of game plan, or the first battle would be over before he knew it. Not that it mattered to him. It was their funeral.
"This'll be a two on two battle." He explained as the scoreboard came to life beside them. "Challengers are allowed to make substitutions during the match, but not the gym leader. First attack is yours."
With that, his Magnemite hovered over to join Regals Ruckruff on the battlefield. Wishing he had brought a second cup of coffee with him, Harvey lit himself a cigarette and turned his gaze to Regal. It was time to see what he was made of.
Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2020 11:40 am
RegalBastionxxxxxxx
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"Thehumanmindislikeaparachute...
Show time. The rules were laid down, and Regal was finally given the green light to go nuts. Judging by the look Harvey had given them when he released Terra out to battle, the trainer guessed that he was questioning his choice in Pokémon. Little did he know that there was a method to his madness.
"Let's open with Stealth Rock, Terra!"
The Rockruffs body began to glow as several gleaming rocks began to materialize around it before launching themselves throughout the battlefield. They would automatically strike at Harveys second Pokémon when it was eventually released, but even in their passive state, the shimmering obstacles would obstruct the gym leaders Magnemite and limit its movements. The toughest part about battling Matthias and his Magneton yesterday had been the steel types mobility, so Regal had gone over his teams abilities and concluded that Terra had the best toolkit for taking it on. And they were just getting started.
"Now use Rock Tomb!" He commanded. Terras body began to glow once more as more stones materialized around it and flew across the stadium to bury their target beneath them. Ranged combat wasn't its specialty, but Regal knew that their strategy was solid. They would cripple its mobility and then force their way into close combat where Terra would have the advantage. Of course, he doubted that it would be that easy. The gym leader was bound to throw a wrench into his plans somehow. They would just have to be prepared for when it happened.
Harvey let out a low whistle as he watched his Pokémon get buried in the rocks. Apparently the challenger knew his stuff after all. The type advantage would still hinder them, but trying to limit his Magnemites mobility was a solid strategy on Regals part. Not to mention that there was no avoiding his second Pokémon getting hit by the stones if they managed to take down the first. Maybe this would be an interesting battle after all.
"Use Gyro Ball, Magnemite." He commanded. A humming sound could briefly be heard before the rock pile was blown away, revealing the rapidly spinning steel type. It looked a bit dusty, but seemed to be relatively unharmed by the opponents assault. It had its natural steel body and Sturdy ability to thank for that, no doubt. "Give them a Magnet Bomb next."
The magnet Pokémon pulled its side units forward as it launched a crackling sphere of blue-white energy at Regals Rockruff. The attack would home in on its target no matter how far they ran, so Harvey was interested to see how they responded. It would definitely be nasty if it managed to hit.
You better think fast. He thought as he puffed away on his cigarette. That Rockruff might be faster than my Magnemite, but it still can't handle too many super effective attacks. If I force you onto the defensive, you lose.
