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Regal and his Rockruff were battling like something out of a textbook. Using Dig to avoid his Magnet Bomb was a great answer to the challenge Harvey had sent them, and they were quick to switch back to offense and keep him and his Magnemite pinned under their attacks. With their previous Stealth Rock attack obstructing it, the steel type had a tough time maneuvering through the hail of stones assaulting it and couldn't avoid getting knocked around a bit. Seeing the second wave coming close, the gym leader began calling out commands again to cut the attacks off at the source.

"Magnemite." He called. "Blast through it with Flash Cannon."

A blinding beam of light energy was immediately shot forward from his Pokémon and reduced the incoming attack to rubble. A layer of smoke enveloped the area where their attack had made contact, so Harvey wasn't sure whether or not they had managed to hit their opponent as well. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Thunder Shock."

Focusing its power on the units on either side of it, Harveys Magnemite launched a surge of electricity forward into the smoke where they had last seen their target. The odds of it connecting with something were questionable at best. But they weren't zero, either. Only time would tell.

Harveys opinion of Regal shot up a few notches when the trainer threw a curve ball at him and recycled the leftover rocks on the battlefield into a new attack. Manipulating the terrain in such a fashion was both creative and cunning, and not the kind of play that you saw very often. When he took advantage of the situation further by launching a new attack through the sand, the gym leader actually grinned as his Magnemite was buried in rocks yet again. It was a great use of his Rockruffs natural abilities, and well deserving of praise. Too bad he wasn't the type to give it.

"Gyro Ball again, Magnemite." He called out. "And then use Mirror Shot."

The familiar humming started up once again as his Pokémon rotated at high speed to blast itself out of the pile of rocks enveloping it. The rotation looked more sluggish this time, though. More forced. Sure enough, it seemed like the enemies attacks were finally starting to leave a mark. Magnemite wasn't through just yet though, and directed its side units forward again as it shot another blast of light energy at its opponent before hovering upwards again. It couldn't keep itself as high up anymore, but it was important to keep as much distance as possible. Both it and its leader knew that it didn't have the energy to fight in close combat. If Regal wanted to take the first round, that would be his best bet.

Clever Brat. Harveys Magnemite was too slow from the previous attacks to avoid the rock pillar from erupting underneath it. The unfortunate Pokémon crashed directly into the stone trap above it, and was too stunned from the impact to stop its opponent from nailing it with the super effective attack. Regal appeared to have saved this trump card for the finale, and it had paid off spectacularly. As the pillar retracted back into the earth, the gym leader noted with a frown that his Magnemite was officially down for the count. The scoreboard next to the battlefield dimmed his Pokémons picture from the display as it was returned into its ball, and the gym leader reached for another capsule to continue the match.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders." He grumbled. "I'll give you that much. But let's see how you deal with my next Pokémon."

Harvey tossed the ball forward, and his Skarmory spread its wings wide as it prepared for battle. The bird Pokémon was immediately assaulted by Regals Stealth Rock trap, and was understandably ticked off by the sudden attack. Glaring daggers at the two, the metallic bird cawed angrily and raked its talons menacingly on the battlefield, causing a few stray sparks to fly from the contact of metal on metal. Deciding that it was time for him to take the initiative, Harvey called for his Skarmory to attack.

"Use Twister." He called. "Let's give them a taste of their own medicine."

With another angry screech, the gym leaders Skarmory began flapping its powerful wings and whipped a powerful blast of wind at Regals Rockruff, complete with a healthy number of jagged rocks courtesy of its opponent. Not finished yet, Harvey called for a Steel Wing attack as well. His Pokémon was happy to oblige, and sailed towards its target through the storm to slam into it with its glowing white wings.

Regal was about to find out that his Skamory was an entirely different beast than his Magnemite. It was much faster and way more aggressive in its fighting style. He would have to change tactics fast if he wanted to keep the lead he had earned.

"That's not going to work." Harvey commented at Regal's order to use double team. Skarmory's were known for having impeccable vision; no detail escapes their gaze. Skarmory picked up on where the Rockruff actually was immediately and it snapped it's head towards its' opponent in a very avian fashion. "Metal Sound." The chrome avian spread out its' wings as its' metal body glowed blue. a very sharp, shrieking sound began piercing the air as the bird scraped its' wings along each other in a harsh fashion. Shockwaves blasted towards the puppy in an attempt to knock it off balance and halt its' attack. "Keep up the pressure with Fury Attack." The Skarmory lunged forward thrusting its' beak like a spear repeatedly into the face of its' opponent; never letting up for a second.
Battles are all about efficiency and conservation of resources. Pokemon have a finite amount of energy and stamina, and Skarmory is already behind this trainer's next Pokemon. I need to finish off this Rockruff as quickly as possible. Knowing this trainer, he has some trick up his sleeve or his next Pokemon will have some sort of advantage. How are you going to deal with this? Harvey was actually curious. Most trainers that took on his gym were very one dimensional in their strategies, but Regal showed true potential as a Pokemon handler. He was starting to get excited about what might happen next.

Harvey sighed. "Agility." He's sticking with type advantage at least. Although a full, frontal attack isn't really going to cut it at this stage. He's got potential, but maybe he's letting himself get rattled. Show me that you can keep your composure kid. Skarmory darted forward and barreled towards the lizard in a swift leap. As she came nose to nose with the flamethrower, she slid out of sight and reappeared ten feet behind her foe. "Skarmory are pretty quick on their feet. You're going to have to figure out a way to hinder her movement if you want your attacks to hit. Metal Claw." The steel bird's claws began to glow with a silver energy as it extended, to make her talons longer than they were before. Then, she leapt forward raking them towards Charmeleon in a very violent fashion. Harvey wanted to see how Regal would react to an opponent that was hard to pin down. Part of being a good trainer was adapting to a new situation, and figuring out how to pull a victory out of an apparent defeat. Skarmory was definitely faster than her opponent, but the battle was by no means over. There was still plenty of opportunity for Regal to succeed. He just had to think outside of the box.

Harvey watched as the two Pokemon exchanged blows. It wasn't going to end well for Regal if it dragged on. Skarmory's metal body was much better suited for a brawl than the squishy flesh of Regal's Charmeleon. But what happened next surprised the gym leader. The lizard's gaze managed to startle Skarmory long enough for his attack to hit true. Steel types were not known for their great defense against fire, and the avian Pokemon reeled back from the sudden attack. Impressive. He knows his Pokemon well. If this drags on, I will definitely be at the disadvantage. Skarmory doesn't have much in the way of ranged attacks. So I guess we'll have to switch up our tactics. With Skarmory on her heels, Harvey knew that an all out brawl would be a swift way to lose the battle. But he too, knew what Regal's Pokemon was capable of. He had faced many in his time as a gym leader. So he knew all too well that Regal's Charmeleon had the upper hand when it came to ranged combat. So Skarmory's only chance was to always be moving, "Skarmory, Autotomize."

At the gym leader's command, the metal bird began to shake her wings vigorously. As she did, many of her feathers fell to the ground around her, and she shuddered with a new energy. By shedding some weight, she had once again, increased her speed radically. "Now Fly, and use Metal Wing." The Skarmory flapped her, now lighter, wings and took off into the sky around her opponent. The plan was to never stop, using hit and run tactics to whittle down her opponent until they couldn't fight back. She couldn't take the flames, but if they never hit, then she wouldn't get damaged. Her wings glowed white as she descended against her opponent in an attempt clip him. But Harvey wasn't done yet. "Double Team." As Skarmory's image doubled multiple times, Harvey thought to himself, You're not the only one that can pull that move kid.

Harvey raised his eyebrows as Regal's Charmeleon dug under the floor on the battlefield. He had seen similar tactics before, but it was rare on a fire type. As flames started sprouting around the battlefield, the gym leader let out an exasperated sigh. Skarmory had no way to effectively attack her opponent without leaving herself open for massive repercussions. Rubbing his face with his hand, Harvey took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He was finished with this battle, and just wanted to get back to work. Regal's new tactic, while a bit over the top, was enough for the gym leader to concede. All that fire had to be exhausting Regal's Pokemon, and Harvey didn't feel like getting in to a war of attrition with the trainer. As he took a drag, he recalled his Pokemon and spoke to Regal. "Enough. Call back your Pokemon before you burn out my air conditioning. Look, you got the badge; just be careful about using all-out tactics in the future. It worked out fine here, but in the future you might not be so lucky. Your Pokemon don't have unlimited stamina, and forcing your Charmeleon to use all this fire is sure to tire it out quickly. You forced the battle into a stamina standoff, and it might not turn out in your favor. Keep that in mind."

Harvey spoke into the watch on his wrist, and after five minutes, the door opened, revealing a massive metal mass with four limbs. It floated over to Harvey and he retrieved three items from the creature. The gym leader thanked his partner and set the three items on a side table against the wall. "Those are for you. They're my badge, the Steelium Z, and the TM Smart Strike. Use them how you want. Metagross will show you out. Congratulations." With that, Harvey disappeared back into his workshop. He had multitudes of projects that needed his attention, and he didn't want to use up any more time on his gym leader duties. He was sure a capable trainer like Regal could figure out what to do without hand holding.