"Battle, begin!" With the referee's signal, Mark and Kage both sent out their Pokémon at the same time.
"Go, Beldum!"
"Finish it off, Victreebel!"
On the water battlefield, the two Pokémon stood face to face on floating platforms. Mark was slightly surprised—Victreebel was a fully evolved, three-stage Pokémon. Kage already had one! It seemed he had specifically prepared this for the water gym battle.
"What is Beldum?" Kage asked, puzzled. He'd never seen Beldum before. After all, it was a Hoenn-region Pokémon, and not everyone knew it. When he checked his Pokédex, there was no data. His version only had entries from the Kanto region.
Mark chuckled. "Who needs a Pokédex when you've got my system?" he thought to himself.
Victreebel, male, Grass/Poison type, Flytrap Pokémon, final evolution of Bellsprout, ability Chlorophyll, nature Bold (↑ Special Defense, ↓ Speed), rare aptitude, potential Gym-Level, current power Elite-Low.
Note: This Victreebel originally had Quasi–Elite Four potential, but it was poorly trained during its Bud phase and evolved too early using a low-grade Leaf Stone, causing its potential to weaken.
No wonder it had a fully evolved Pokémon so early. Clearly, it hadn't been trained at all—just pushed for rapid evolution. Mark sneered to himself. No wonder it wouldn't catch up to Ash and Brock later. This strategy might work for weaker early gyms, but gyms like Magma in Cinnabar would crush it without mercy.
"Here we go! We attack first! Victreebel, use Razor Leaf!"
Victreebel sent a volley of sharp green leaves slicing toward Beldum.
"Beldum, use Iron Defense!" Mark ordered.
Beldum stood firm, silver light flashing across its body as it hardened instantly. Grass-type moves like Razor Leaf wouldn't do much damage to it even normally. With Iron Defense boosting its toughness, the leaves barely scratched it—only a few dull clanging sounds echoed.
"What?! Such high defense? Then Victreebel, use Acid!"
Kage hadn't realized Beldum's type yet and made a careless move.
"Iron Defense? Doesn't matter! Beldum, use Iron Head!" Mark commanded.
Beldum charged through the Acid, slamming into Victreebel's body with impressive force.
"So it's a Steel-type Pokémon! Still unaffected by Acid—looks like this Beldum is truly Steel-type! But judging by its speed, it's not fast… Victreebel, use Vine Whip to tie it up!"
Victreebel lashed out with a vine, wrapping Beldum and smashing it against the walls repeatedly. For a moment, it looked like Mark's position was at a disadvantage.
"Hmph! Steel-type Pokémon isn't anything special! You think my Victreebel has no counters against Steel types? I've been prepared! Victreebel, pull it closer and use Hidden Power!"
Hidden Power—though every Pokémon of the same species had different Hidden Power attributes based on their own aptitude.
"I'll tell you—my Victreebel's Hidden Power is Ground! You're finished!" Kage boasted, lifting his chin.
"Oh no! He's going to lose! Big sis, you bet on the wrong one!" Lily shouted from the sidelines.
"Calm down, Lily. Look at Mark's face," Violet suddenly spoke.
Lily glanced at Mark and was shocked to see him smiling.
"What are you smiling at? Do you know you're going to lose?" Kage barked.
"Stop right there, Beldum! Enough pulling, freeze where you are!"
Victreebel suddenly realized it couldn't pull Beldum any closer, no matter how hard it tried. Even using all its strength, it was useless.
"Kage, do you know you've made two mistakes? First, Beldum weighs 95.2 kg on average. Mine's heavier—102 kg! And being Steel-type, it's got incredible strength!" Mark grinned.
"What?! 102 kg?! With Steel-type power, how was it even moving earlier? Could it be… it was intentional?" Kage's face turned pale.
"Exactly! It was on purpose—you're right! Since Beldum isn't fast, those moves were just to close the distance. Now, the second mistake—you forgot that my Beldum isn't just Steel-type—it's also Psychic-type! It counters your Victreebel's Poison type! Beldum, use Zen Headbutt!"
Beldum concentrated its psychic energy, launching a close-range psychic strike that hit Victreebel hard and knocked it into the water. The effect was devastating! When Victreebel surfaced, its eyes were spinning—clearly knocked out of the fight.
"Damn! I've been tricked! Fine, next Pokémon, Poliwag!" Kage recalled Victreebel and sent out a Poliwag suited to water battles.
"Referee, I forfeit this match! Beldum, come back!" Mark suddenly declared. Because he was substituting for the gym trainer, he had no right to switch Pokémon freely and could only recall it through forfeiting.
"Hey! What do you mean?! You looking down on me?" Kage snapped.
From the sidelines, Lily became even more agitated. "You jerk! Beldum's hardly hurt! It can still fight! Why are you recalling it?!"
"I'm not looking down on you. Beldum's barely a newborn—it's not fit for prolonged battles. Don't worry—I'll send my most trusted partner next to fight you," Mark calmly explained.
"What?! You're telling me Beldum was just born?! How could my fully evolved Pokémon lose to a baby that hasn't even evolved? Impossible!" Kage fumed.
"Now it's your turn! Grovyle, go!" Mark sent out his starter Pokémon, determined to finish this match once and for all.
"Hmph! A Grass-type? Sure, you've got a type advantage—but we've got field advantage too! Poliwag, dive into the water!" Kage ordered. Poliwag immediately sank out of sight, disappearing from view. Grovyle stood ready on the platform, tense and prepared. Though it couldn't attack now, the moment Poliwag resurfaced would be its only chance for counterattack—so there was no room for relaxation.
"Don't think I'll give you a chance! Poliwag, use Bubble Beam underwater!"
Poliwag launched its signature move, aiming to leave no opportunity for Grovyle to retaliate.
"How naive! Every attack has a vector—it's about the direction it's coming from! Grovyle, receive the attack and sense its origin!" Mark instructed.
Grovyle closed its eyes, focused deeply, and braced itself against the Bubble Beam. The move didn't cause much damage, so it had little effect. A moment later, Grovyle opened its eyes sharply.
"Got it! Good! Use Razor Leaf!"
Grovyle slashed the water with its Razor Leaf, sending a blade-like wave underwater toward the hiding Poliwag. It worked! The attack forced Poliwag out into the open!
"Damn it! My strategy's been broken again! Poliwag, use Hypnosis!" Kage commanded. He intended to put Grovyle to sleep and counterattack—but Mark wasn't about to give him the chance.
"Interrupt it! Quick Attack!" Mark barked. Grovyle dashed at Poliwag, crashing into it before it could use Hypnosis.
"This time you've walked right into my trap! Hypnosis was just a decoy—the real attack's Earth Power!" Kage sneered. Poliwag's Earth Power move slammed into Grovyle with crushing force.
"Fake weakness to lure opponents in for a finishing blow—that's one of my go-to tactics! How could I not see through it? Targeting a fast Pokémon with a low-accuracy Hypnosis—what else could it be but bait? I just turned the tables! Grovyle, use Mega Drain at full power!"
Grovyle swiftly locked onto Poliwag, radiating green energy. It unleashed Mega Drain at full force, draining all of Poliwag's stamina and restoring itself almost to peak condition!
"Damn it! Come back, Poliwag! Useless! I should've evolved you into Poliwrath earlier!" Kage growled in frustration.
"The problem isn't with Poliwag—it's with you! Don't blame your own mistakes on your Pokémon!" Mark retorted.
"Hmph! Stop talking nonsense! Come on! I won't lose! My last Pokémon—Charmeleon!"
The two Pokémon locked eyes, fury burning in their gazes. Kage's starter Pokémon faced off against Mark's starter Pokémon—the final battle was about to begin.
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