Chapter 35: Double trouble!
Kai had caught his seventh Pokémon, a wild Sentret, inside of the Bellsprout tower.
He had also found out that he could indeed carry around more than six Pokémon at any given time, but he just couldn't use them in battle.
"Good job, Snubbull," Kai said, patting his Pokémon a job well done on its head before he returned it to his Poké Ball.
Not a moment later, both of the monks who had been watching his battle approached.
Kai could see that both of them were older than the monk he had battled against on the floor below, having already forgotten his name. Still, Kai knew that both of these monks would want to battle, and he wondered what Pokemon that might use.
Sandshrew, who was on Kai's shoulder, watched them approach without reaction.
"Greetings, young trainer," the tall one said, inclining his head. The broader one did the same a half-beat later, like the shorter monk was used to letting his friend speak first.
"Morning," Kai said.
"You've come quite a way up our tower today."
Kai nodded.
"I'm here to battle the elder and test my Pokémon."
The monks nodded with an approving smile.
"That little Sentret you've just caught—" the tall one paused, half-looked sideways at his colleague, who grinned without showing teeth — "had been giving the wild Pokémon on this floor a great deal of grief, you know. We did wonder how long it would be before someone with the patience for it came along."
"Somewhat of a problem Pokémon, you might say." The broader one's voice was much lower than Kai had expected. Gravelly. "Always picking fights. Never backing down against any of the other wild Pokémon or trainers here in the tower. You'll have your hands full, son."
Kai's mouth pulled into a small smile he didn't quite mean to let show. He liked that. He liked that a lot.
"That so," he said.
"Mm." The broader monk nodded once. "But you handled it with the right sort of patience. That's what both of us were watching for."
The tall one folded his hands inside his sleeves. He realised then that the silence between sentences with these two was not going to be empty, and made himself slow down to it.
"We were going to ask," the tall one said eventually, "whether you have any experience with double battles."
"A double battle... A bit." Kai said.
"A bit will do." The broader monk had a Ball already in hand. Kai hadn't seen him take it from his belt, which was unfortunate because he couldn't have said when it had appeared. "Shall we?"
"Both of you?" Kai said, just to be sure. "At the same time?"
"Both of us." The tall one's smile was very small and very dry. "It would not be a double battle otherwise."
Kai breathed in. Then he breathed out. There were very few situations on the road where you got to think about your team for as long as you wanted before a fight, and this wasn't one of them.
"Alright," he said.
"Bellsprout," the tall one said simply, and underhanded the Ball.
"Tyrogue, with me," the broader one added, and threw his low and flat.
The Bellsprout came out the same kind Brother Anh had used — taller than the wild ones, leaves a deeper green, knee already bent. It landed, took its breath, and waited for the battle to start.
As for the other Pokémon, Kai didn't hadn't seen it before, but knew it was a fighting type.
It came out at about half Snubbull's height, all wiry shoulders and unbalanced hips, and immediately rocked up onto the balls of its feet. Skin a reddish-brown, head crowned with two little tufts of dark hair, fists already up in a tight, businesslike guard. It bounced once on its toes, exhaled through its nose, and looked at Kai with the fixed, fight-ready expression of something that had spent much of its short life learning to take a punch.
"Tyro—" it said softly, settling.
Kai's Pokédex was already out, a force of habit now.
[Tyrogue. The scuffle Pokémon. Despite its small build, it never backs down from a fight and will challenge anything it deems strong enough to be worth its time. The pre-evolution of Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan and Hitmontop, depending on how it is raised.]
A short list of moves on the side. Tackle. Helping Hand. Fake Out. Foresight...
Kai clocked the lot and put the Pokédex back. Fighting type. Fast. Helping Hand on the field meant the Bellsprout's grass moves were coming in twice as hard, which was a problem he didn't have a solution for off the top of his head. Fake Out was a worse problem if either of these monks knew what they were doing — and Kai had already decided they did.
He took two Balls off his belt in one motion.
Snubbull's Intimidate buys a half-second on the Tyrogue's Attack the moment it comes out. That's the half-second I need. Zubat in the air keeps it clear of the Bellsprout's leaves and out of Tyrogue's reach altogether, and I've got Supersonic to play with.
Right. Two-on-two.
"Snubbull. Zubat. Let's do this! Kai yelled as he threw both Balls side by side, and the air on the third floor of Sprout Tower split open with red light.
Both Pokémon burst free of their Poké Balls at the same time, Zubat and Snubbull emerging and ready to battle.
Snubbull dropped to all fours, baring its teeth in a fierce snarl at both Bellsprout and Tyrogue. As its Intimidate ability took effect, the opposing Pokémon instinctively stepped back, momentarily unsettled before attempting to shake off the imposing presence.
Zubat circled the area before settling into a spot to hover, its wings beating steadily to maintain altitude as it emitted sound waves to meticulously map its surroundings.
"Very well, let the battle begin." One of the monks said as he looked at both of Kai's Pokémon, giving the signal.
"Alright, Snubbull, use Fire Fang against Bellsprout, and Zubat use Wing Attack on the Tyrogue!"
Kai pressed the type advantage right away, wanting to waste no time in getting this battle started.
"A wise decision." The Bellspout's trainer said. "Bellsprout, use Vine Whip against the Snubbull, don't allow it to get close!"
"Tyrogue, use Fakeout on the Zubat!"
Fire flared around Snubbull's mouth as it lunged toward Bellsprout, quickly closing the gap. But Bellsprout lashed out with its vines on cue from its trainer, wrapping them tightly around Snubbull before it could dodge, trapping it in place.
"Now, Bellsprout use Wrap!"
Kai watched as his Snubbull yelped in pain, getting slowly crushed by the Bellsprout as it was immobilised, impressed that he had used the Vine Whipe attack to create a Bind from.
At the same time, Tyrogue struck Zubat with a Fake Out attack, leaping into the air at blinding speed and delivering a sharp slap to its face, stunning it instantly.
"How do you like that!" The monk said, watching as the Fakeout connected.
However, the monk was unaware that Zubat's ability, Inner Focus, rendered it immune to flinching. This allowed Zubat's Wing Attack to strike with full force, crashing into Tyrogue's body, catching it completely off guard and sending it tumbling to the ground, crashing into the wooden planks below.
"No - No way!"
"Zubat, quick, use Supersonic on the Bellsprout!" Kai yelled, knowing that while Tyrogue was down, he could get the Bellsprout off of Snubbull.
Zubat swooped in toward the Bellsprout, which was locked in place with its Wrap attack, and let out a piercing Supersonic screech. The sound was so loud that Bellsprout released Snubbull and staggered in confusion.
"Oh no, Bellsprout, watch out!" The other monk shouted, concerned for his Pokémon.
"Now Snubbull, hit it with a Fire Fang!"
Snubbull was furious after being caught in the Grass Pokémon's vines. With a look of pure revenge, it charged forward, flames flaring around its face as its large fangs formed. It clamped down on Bellsprout, sending it flying through the air, smoke rising from its body as it landed unconscious from the single, super-effective hit.
"No way! Bellsprout!" The monk yelled, shocked that it was over already.
Tyrogue was back up now, barely, clearly hurt from the super-effective Flying attack, making it a two-on-one match.
He knew that his Tyrogue was no match for both of Kai's Pokémon at the same time, and would only be allowing it to get hurt if he continued with the match.
"Ahh... We forefit." The monk said after a moment.
Kai nodded before he returned both of his Pokémon to their Poké Balls at the same time, the flashing red light sucking them back in.
"Great job, guys," Kai said before he strapped them back to his belt and walked over to the monks, who had done the same to their own Pokémon.
"That was a fine match." The first monk said, walking closer to Kai.
"The way you used Zubat to turn the tide was impressive, young man," the other remarked, offering his congratulations on the victory.
"Please, head on up the stairs to the top of the tower. There, you will find the elder." The monks then said, bowing his head slighty to Kai.
Kai nodded and bowed to both of them, thanking them for the match.
"Come on, Sandshrew." He then said, heading toward the next set of steps, feeling pumped after that last battle.
"Shrew!" Sandshrew said merrily on his shoulder, feeding off of Kai's energy, getting pumped also.
"Elder, here we come!"