Axel was ready for the battle for today. He went to the gym at 1 p.m. He was told to arrive a said time. He went to the reception desk and said, "Ah..umm.. Excu..
"Oh hello, Mr. Axel Blaze. Are you here for the gym battle? The gym leader is waiting for you in the battle stadium."
"Yes, I am here for the gym battle."
"Then let me guide you to the battle stadium."
"Don't you people have to check my identity?", asked Axel. This came from this experience as his Pokecard was checked before the gym battle.
"Oh, we don't have to. You are quite famous and we know about you. Besides, who would be stupid enough to impersonate the successor of Prof. Oak only to fight with our gym leader."
"That makes sense.", said Axel.
"So, do you want to take a long breath before entering?", asked the lady.
"No, I am fine."
"Quite confident huh! Be aware, our gym leader is strong."
"I would keep that in mind"
"Ok, let me guide you to the stadium. Follow me.", said the lady.
Axel just followed her to a big door. When she opened the door, Axel knew that her stop had come up.
"Good luck with the gym battle.", said the lady and moved away.
###
Axel took his steps forward. He could see the battle arena. It was rocky with a Pokeball sign. On the other side was Giovanni standing in his black colored suit. He looked way young than that in anime and games. He looked to be in his early 30s. The battle arena was also covered by spectator seats but there was no spectator except for 2 people.
He recognized one to be Mr. Koga, the poison-type gym leader but could not recognize the other.
"Leave them be. They just came to watch you fight. I am Giovanni and I would be your opponent today. Are you ready for the gym battle?"
Giovanni looked excited to start the battle which made Axel feel odd.
Axel nodded his head and then the referee spoke.
"My name is Lily. I would be the referee of this gym battle. The rules of the battle are:
1. This would be the 3 Pokemon battle
2. Only the trainer could switch out his Pokemon
3. If the battle ends in a draw, the trainer would be the winner.
4. Gym leader Giovanni would take out her Pokemon first.
5. And since this is the trainer's 3rd gym battle, the gym leader could not use higher rank Pokemon than elemental rank Pokemon."
"Are you both ready for the battle?", asked Lily.
"Yes" (X2)
"Gym leader Giovanni, please take out your Pokemon."
"Go! Sandslash"
"Challenger Axel, please take out your Pokemon."
"Go! Beedrill."
"Damn! That is a big Beedrill.", said the unknown guy from the crowd.
"Yes, Axel had trained it well.", replied Koga.
"Let the battle begin!!!"
"Sandslash, use 'Dig'."
"Beedrill, use 'Calm mind', 'Agility' and 'Swords dance'"
While Slandslash jumped and dug a hole, Beedrill closed its eyes and started to perform those 3 moves. 'Calm mind' increases Sp. Attk and Sp. Def. 'Agility' increases the speed and 'Swords dance' increases the attack.
"Sandslash, now!!", shouted Giovanni. He didn't want Beedrill to complete those 3 moves. If Beedrill completed those moves, it would be harder for Giovanni to win.
Sandslash came out of the hole and it hit Beedrill on the spot. The impact of the move was huge that Sandslash was flown off from the impact.
Yes, it was Sandslash, not Beedrill. Beedrill moved back a few steps but Sandslash was flown away by the impact of its own attack.
"Now, this is interesting..", said Giovanni with a smile.
'Resolve (Stage II)' was not a simple passive move. When it was evolving from Kakuna form to Beedrill, almost all of its time was spent on gathering energy and sleeping. So, it was not trained hard like other Pokemons of Axel. Its body was weak and it didn't have good moves.
'Resolve (Stage I)', elevated the defense of Beedrill to the level of Nidorino. It basically focused on defense rather than offense. However, 'Resolve (Stage II)' was a power-up on a different level. Not only it increased the defense and offense to a massive degree but it also helped Beedrill in manipulating the bug-type energy. This also helped it in increasing the levels of moves of Beedrill.
Sandslash seemed to have recently ranked up to
"Your Beedrill is very strong. Is it really an elemental rank Pokemon?", asked Giovanni.
"Yes, it is. My Beedrill is a bit special."
While they were talking, Beedrill was doing those 3 moves multiple times. As of right now, Beedrill could use
1. Calm mind - 4 times
2. Agility- 4 times
3. Swords dance-3 times
Axel was not stupid. He knew that Giovanni was letting him use all those moves.
"Why don't we really start the battle? Sandslash, use 'Work up'", said Giovanni.
'Work up' increased the user's attack and sp. Attk.
Meanwhile, Beedrill had already completed 'Calm mind' - 4 times, 'Agility' - 4 times, and 'Swords dance' - 2 times.
"Sandslash, now use 'Sand Storm'"
'Sand storm' was a strategic move. With Sandslash's ability and hidden ability, Sandslash now had increased evasion and speed in the battle.
The surrounding environment had changed. The sand was all over the place. Sandslash seemed to have a good mastery on the move. It was difficult to see Axel in this environment. Luckily he had brought glasses and Beedrill had a scope lens.
"Now, use 'Roll out' and then 'Crush claw'"
Sandslash started to roll out and moved toward Beedrill at incredible speed. However, Beedrill dodged the attack with no difficulty. 4 times 'Agility' with Beedrill boosted stats from 'Resolve (Stage II)' was not a joke.
Sandslash turned around and then continue rolling toward Beedrill again. But just as it was about to crash into Beedrill and just as Beedrill was about to dodge it again, Sandslash canceled the 'Roll out' and then used 'Crushed claw'.
It was immediate and not something Beedrill expected so it was hit with the move. With the speed of 'Roll out', the power of the move had increased and Sandslash was known for its claw.
Beedrill had been hit and it shook a little. There were some scratches and some blood marks on its body.
Giovanni was not a simple gym leader.