The battle started. It was a 4-on-4 battle with standard rules, Flannery vs. Ash.
Again, since Flannery didn't have any Gym trainers hired yet, there was no referee, but in this case they didn't really need one.
Flannery threw out her Pokémon first, letting her Torkoal out. As soon as Torkoal hit the field, its ability Drought activated, and immediately the sun started to shine down harsher. What's more, Torkoal was holding a Heat Rock.
Ash wasn't surprised. He knew full well Flannery prepared a Sun team for him. This was one of those cases where her Ace came out first since, let's be honest, it would be stupid if she didn't. Torkoal is a good lead because of its ability, but that's neither here nor there, Ash had a plan for her.
"Alright then, let's play," Ash smirked. He twirled a Poké Ball and threw it out, immediately releasing his Trapinch, who was holding a certain rock.
Flannery crossed her arms with a confident smirk, "So you're starting with that little guy? Alright, your funeral."
Ash tipped his cap slightly, "Oh, you're right. I guess I am at a disadvantage. Let's fix that, [Sandstorm]."
Trapinch slammed its jaws into the ground with a crack. The arena floor rumbled, and within seconds grains of sand began swirling upward into the air, covering the arena in a sandstorm. And that rock Trapinch was holding was a Smooth Rock.
Flannery blinked, "Wait, you're doing that?!"
"Why not? You're doing it," Ash said with a smirk on his face.
The sandstorm immediately blotted out the sun, effectively canceling out Flannery's entire setup.
Flannery snapped her fingers, "Fine. Torkoal! [Lava Plume]!"
Torkoal inhaled deeply, then blasted a massive column of flame from its shell toward Trapinch.
"Dodge with [Dig]," Ash commanded.
Trapinch suddenly jumped up and nose-dived into the ground, burrowing underground and disappearing as the fire landed in the spot he had been standing, scorching the ground.
"Fine, if you're gonna run," Flannery waved her arm, "Torkoal, [Sunny Day]!"
Torkoal let out smoke from its back shell that dispersed the sandstorm, and the bright sun appeared in the sky again, putting them back at the beginning.
But Ash grinned, "Just what I was waiting for."
He shot his hand out and snapped, "[Bulldoze]."
Before Flannery or Torkoal could react to what he was doing, the ground started to shake as Trapinch used Bulldoze from underground so they couldn't see where he was, not to mention the Sheer Force boost.
And a lot of people don't know this, but a Trapinch can actually hit harder than a Flygon. They both have the same base Attack of 100, and Trapinch gets Sheer Force while Flygon doesn't, so Trapinch can still hit like a truck.
Torkoal got slammed with a shockwave that appeared directly under it, sending the turtle toppling over. And before it could recover, Trapinch jumped out from the ground right where Torkoal was going to land and chomped down on Torkoal's foot.
The turtle Pokémon grunted as Trapinch hung on like a steel trap.
Flannery quickly countered, "Shake it off and use [Body Slam]!"
Torkoal suddenly threw its weight sideways, slamming its massive body down onto the ground and pulling Trapinch out of his hole. Then Torkoal spun around, ready to try and stomp on the desert bug.
"Trapinch, release and [Sandstorm] again!" Ash called.
Trapinch let go just before the impact and rolled away across the sand as Torkoal crashed down where it had been. Trapinch used that momentum to dig its feet into the ground and start kicking up another sandstorm.
"Quick, stop him, [Eruption]!" Flannery called out.
Torkoal slammed its feet into the ground and steam started shooting out of its shell. An eruption of hot fire exploded all around. Even if it wasn't at max power anymore, if she could get it off before the sun went away it would still hurt a lot.
But Torkoal was just barely too slow. The sandstorm finished forming, and as the ball of fire came crashing down toward Trapinch, it hit the ground with an explosion, but Trapinch was nowhere to be seen.
Flannery shielded her eyes from the blowing sand and clicked her tongue, "…Great," she muttered.
Even though it hadn't been mentioned before, Torkoal was still taking chip damage from the sandstorm. It wasn't ideal by any means, the weather control mattered a lot for her team specifically.
Flannery sighed and rolled her shoulders, "Fine. If he wants to hide, we'll just reset again." She pointed forward sharply, "Torkoal, [Sunny Day]!"
Torkoal lifted its head and began venting smoke from the ports on its shell again. The smoke spiraled upward, glowing faintly orange as it began burning away the swirling sandstorm.
But Ash's grin widened, "Thanks for the callout," he said casually.
Flannery blinked, "…What?"
Ash snapped his fingers, "Now, Trapinch, [Rock Slide]!"
Before Flannery could react, the ground directly under Torkoal burst open.
Trapinch shot out of the sand like a landmine going off, its jaws snapping as it launched upward. At the same time, chunks of rock ripped free from the cracked battlefield and collapsed down around Torkoal.
The turtle Pokémon was hammered from above as the rocks crashed down, knocking it sideways and interrupting Sunny Day before it could finish forming.
Flannery's eyes widened, "He waited for the setup—?!"
Ash stuck his tongue out playfully, "Not my fault you're predictable."
Flannery huffed, "I'll show you predictable."
Yeah, this was one of the reasons weather teams were so hard to pull off for Gym Leaders specifically. Flannery had Torkoal, the best Pokémon for a Sun team, because of its ability. It didn't have to expend time using the move.
But that would only matter if this were a normal battle.
If it were a normal battle, the smart thing would've been to recall Torkoal and send out another Pokémon, then wait before bringing Torkoal back in. Doing it like that meant she wouldn't have to expend any resources and wouldn't have to risk it getting interrupted like that.
But this was an official Gym battle, she couldn't switch out.
A lot of people seemed to forget that not being able to switch Pokémon in battle was really bad for you, not just for type matchups. Heck, if Ash had a Pokémon with Sand Stream, that alone could cripple her entire team just because of the switching restriction.
But enough about strategy.
Flannery shot her hand forward, "Torkoal, [Lava Plume]!"
Torkoal roared and blasted a wide torrent of flames forward, the fire spreading outward in a rolling wave meant to cover the entire battlefield.
Ash didn't even blink, "[Dig] again."
Trapinch instantly nose-dived back into the sand, vanishing underground just before the flames swept across the field.
But this time Flannery smirked.
"Just like I wanted," Flannery grinned, "Torkoal, [Overheat] into the hole!"
Without hesitation, Torkoal ran up to the hole Trapinch had disappeared into and blasted a stream of fire directly inside. As it did, the flames immediately spread, and fire spat out from every hole Trapinch had made across the battlefield.
"Oh yeah!" Flannery pumped her fist. Since fire was coming out of every hole, that meant all the tunnels were connected, and that also meant there was no way Trapinch could have dodged that.
"Now Torkoal, set up the sun again," Flannery called out, puffing her chest out and looking smug.
But Ash just smiled at her, "Sorry, but you fell for it. Care to see where you're standing?"
"Wait, what?" Flannery blinked as she looked around the field. At first she didn't notice anything. I mean, Torkoal was just standing in the center of the field, but what did that have to do with, Wait…
Ash winked and held out his hand, "Sorry, but you activated my trap." Ash snapped his fingers.
From beneath Torkoal, the ground started to shake. Torkoal was too slow to move, and the earth beneath it suddenly cracked open as a green figure burst into the sky.
Trapinch, but now it had evolved into Vibrava. But that wasn't the important part.
The ground under Torkoal began to rumble violently. Did you really think all those tunnels Trapinch had been digging were for nothing? Trapinch had been creating an entire underground tunnel system, and that blast of fire had weakened the final supports just enough for the plan to work.
Now Vibrava was safely in the air.
Torkoal, however, was not.
The ground collapsed beneath the turtle Pokémon, and it dropped straight down as the earth caved in around it, burying it underground with a heavy thud.
As the dust settled, a crater was left where the battlefield had collapsed. Torkoal lay at the bottom with only its head sticking out of the dirt, spirals in its eyes, completely knocked out.
"Ah...Torkoal, return," Flannery said with a sigh.
She had really been banking on that move working, but when Ash set up a sandstorm to counter her sun, it had thrown a wrench into her plans.
Now that Ash had the advantage, Flannery had to think quickly. Vibrava was clearly weak, the hits from Torkoal had left it barely standing. But that was just it. It was still standing.
Flannery did have another Pokémon that could set up the sun, but if Vibrava was just going to cancel it again with sandstorm, then there would be no point.
So her first priority was simple: get rid of Vibrava.
Flannery grabbed another PokéBall, "Alright then, Camerupt, you're up!"
From the ball, a large Camerupt stomped onto the battlefield. Since it was also a Ground-type, it benefited from the sandstorm, but the downside was that none of its Ground-type moves would work on Vibrava. And unfortunately, the item it was holding, a Passho Berry, was useless in this situation.
Flannery pointed forward immediately.
"Camerupt, [Rock Slide]!"
Camerupt slammed one of its massive feet down. The battlefield cracked, and chunks of rock tore free from the ground before launching upward toward Vibrava.
"Fly up!" Ash called.
Vibrava beat its wings rapidly, rising above the first wave of stones. The rocks crashed past it and slammed into the far wall of the arena.
Flannery didn't even blink, "Again!"
Camerupt stomped even harder this time, launching another barrage of rocks toward the flying Pokémon as it tried to knock Vibrava out of the sky.
Ash smirked and waved his arm, "Alright, your turn, [Supersonic]."
Vibrava's wings began vibrating rapidly, producing a sharp, piercing frequency that cut through the storming sand.
The sound waves slammed into Camerupt.
The camel Pokémon staggered slightly, its eyes briefly spinning as confusion began to set in.
Flannery clicked her tongue, "Camerupt, quick, try to shake it off!"
Camerupt tried to focus, but Vibrava was already flying up.
"[Dragon Breath]!" Ash called.
Vibrava opened its mouth and spat out purple fire at Camerupt, but Camerupt barely flinched.
Flannery smirked, "That's the best you've got?"
Camerupt suddenly shook its head hard, clearing the confusion.
Flannery's grin widened, "There we go."
She thrust her arm forward, "Camerupt! [Rock Tomb]!"
Camerupt roared and stomped both feet into the ground.
Instead of flying upward, this time huge slabs of rock shot into the air around Vibrava, forming a cage-like wall that began collapsing inward.
Ash pointed quickly, "Quick, break out with [Bug Buzz]!"
Vibrava's wings vibrated violently, releasing a wave of buzzing energy that shattered several of the rocks.
But Flannery wasn't going to let it happen, "Oh no you don't, [Ancient Power]!"
From beneath the rubble, glowing stones erupted upward and slammed into Vibrava from below.
The dragonfly Pokémon was blasted out of the air and tumbled across the battlefield, crashing hard into the sand.
Vibrava struggled, its wings twitching weakly, but it couldn't keep going. It collapsed back to the ground with spirals in its eyes, knocked out.
Ash returned it calmly, "Alright, come back."
Ash called Vibrava back to his Poké Ball, then held out another. It was about time he got to use this, "Alright, let's see what you can do!"
He threw the Poké Ball, and as it opened, Donphan came out and stomped onto the battlefield.
But this time Donphan was a little different.
You see, after Donphan evolved, Ash didn't notice any obvious changes, which confused him since it should have had something different because of the ancient DNA.
But since then, Ash had started noticing a few differences. Donphan was beginning to change. It wasn't like another evolution, but Donphan's tusks were growing bigger, and when Ash checked Donphan's teeth they were getting sharper. Along with that, his leg muscles were becoming stronger.
So it looked like Donphan wasn't done yet, it still had more to give.
Though one thing Ash regretted was that he didn't have any Booster Energy, but he might try to develop some later since he had the technology. That was for later, though.
Let's just say there was a reason he chose to use Donphan for this Gym battle specifically.
And, of course, Ash had given him Leftovers just in case.
Flannery, however, didn't waste a second, "Camerupt, [Earth Power]!"
Camerupt's humps glowed bright orange before it slammed its feet into the ground. A surge of molten energy shot forward through the battlefield and erupted beneath Donphan in a violent explosion.
The ground burst upward, and the explosion washed over Donphan in a blast of fire and earth.
But when the dust cleared, the armored elephant Pokémon was still standing, its feet dug deep into the sandstorm-covered field.
Flannery blinked, "…That did way less than it should have."
Ash shrugged playfully, "Hm, maybe it's just weaker than you thought."
Donphan snorted loudly, stomping once as sand whipped around its armored body.
Flannery sputtered, "Oh yeah? I'll show you weak! Camerupt, [Lava Plume]!"
Camerupt's back volcanoes flared as it blasted a wide wave of flames across the battlefield.
But Ash didn't even look worried, "Donphan, [Rollout]."
Donphan instantly curled into a massive armored ball and began spinning forward. The flames washed over it as it rolled straight through the attack, the fire barely slowing its momentum as it charged toward Camerupt.
Flannery pointed forward quickly, "Stop him! [Rock Slide]!"
Camerupt stomped and launched a rain of boulders toward the spinning Donphan.
"You make it too easy," Ash smirked, "Drift."
Donphan spun in place as it drifted to the side. Instead of dodging, it rolled directly into one of the rocks, slamming into it and bouncing off. It ricocheted into another boulder before launching straight at Camerupt like a cannonball.
"Camerupt, are you okay?!" Flannery called out as Camerupt was sent flying back and fell onto its back.
Camerupt managed to roll over, shake itself off, and stand up again, nodding back at Flannery.
Flannery smiled, then turned back to Ash, "Then [Earthquake], now!"
Camerupt slammed its massive body down, sending a violent shockwave through the arena floor.
The ground rippled outward like a wave, and the shockwave surged directly toward Donphan,
"Brace yourself," Ash called.
Donphan lowered its stance as the shockwave reached him and slammed into his body. But he stood his ground and tanked the hit. With the Leftovers slowly restoring his health, he was doing just fine.
But now it was Ash's turn.
Ash pointed forward, "Now, [Brick Break]!"
Donphan lunged forward with shocking speed for such a heavy Pokémon. Its massive tusk swung like a battering ram and slammed into Camerupt's shoulder with a sharp, cracking impact.
Camerupt staggered backward.
Flannery blinked, "…Wait, Donphan can't learn Brick Break."
"Mine just did, so cry about it~" Ash stuck his tongue out.
Flannery shook her head quickly and pointed again, "Camerupt, [Ancient Power]!"
Glowing stones lifted off the battlefield and rocketed toward Donphan.
But Ash smirked, "Donphan [Close Combat]!"
The rocks smashed into Donphan's armored hide as it charged straight through them, taking the hits head-on as it closed the distance instantly. Donphan slammed into Camerupt with a brutal shoulder strike, followed by a rapid series of crushing blows from its tusks and forelegs.
The impact forced Camerupt sliding across the sand several meters before it finally dug its feet into the ground.
Flannery's jaw dropped, "That is NOT a Donphan move!"
"I dunno, he used it just fine," Ash said with a smirk.
Flannery pointed frantically at Ash, "Ref! Do something, he's cheating!" she shouted at no one in particular.
"Womp womp. You don't have a ref, remember? You didn't hire one~"
"I mean, this is kinda on her," Brock said, not even questioning it as he casually ate a bag of chips.
Max, meanwhile, was staring at the battle intently. Like Flannery had said, Donphan shouldn't be able to learn those moves, but then again, Brock was used to this by now.
Flannery grabbed her hair and ruffled it in frustration, "Gahhh, fine!" she huffed and stomped her foot, "Camerupt, [Stomping Tantrum]!"
Camerupt started stomping its feet violently, cracking the ground beneath it. Since technically its last move had failed, the power doubled, and splinters of rock began shooting toward Donphan.
But Ash just snapped his fingers, "[Headlong Rush]."
Donphan roared as the ground exploded beneath its feet and it launched forward like a cannonball. Its tusks began glowing as it barreled through the attack, tanking each of the rocks and smashing through them.
Before Camerupt could react or try to move, Donphan was already there.
Donphan raised its trunk and slammed it down onto Camerupt's head, driving the camel Pokémon into the ground before crashing into it with crushing force.
Even with Camerupt's ability, Solid Rock, the attack still did massive damage, and with all the damage Camerupt had already taken, it was enough.
Camerupt was sent flying backward, flipping across the battlefield before skidding along the ground and finally stopping at Flannery's feet with spirals in its eyes.
Flannery looked down at her Pokémon and sighed, "Camerupt, return."
She dejectedly recalled the Fire/Ground type, but she wasn't truly upset. It had done its job and taken out Vibrava, so in her eyes it was still a net positive.
"Alright, now it's time to get serious!" Flannery said, slapping her cheeks before smirking as she grabbed her next Poké Ball and threw it out.
As the ball hit the ground, a Ninetales appeared, holding a Life Orb.
The moment it touched the battlefield, its ability activated, Drought.
The sun burst through the sandstorm, dispersing the swirling sand and resetting the harsh sunlight.
"Ha! How do you like that? Now you can't use your sandstorm!" Flannery said, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest proudly.
Now granted, this wasn't her ideal position. In this situation it would have been better if Ninetales had been holding a Heat Rock, but it didn't. Her Ninetales for the four-badge team didn't have one, and she couldn't just switch items in the middle of battle.
But hey, she'd work with what she had.
Ash, however, only smirked, "Really? Is that what you think?" he said casually, "Oh, but I never said I brought a sandstorm team~"
As Ash said that, something changed in Donphan. The sunlight shone down on it, and Donphan's eyes sharpened.
You see, Great Tusk has the ability Protosynthesis, and since Donphan had Great Tusk DNA in him, he had inherited that ability too.
Donphan stomped its foot into the ground, cracking the battlefield as it stared down Ninetales with a feral look in its eyes.
Flannery blinked owlishly, "Ah...oh...oh no…"