They dropped him off in Cerulean City as per his request. The first thing he did was to apply for a gym battle with Kent. He intentionally set the date 3 days later.
There were mainly 2 reasons for it. First, his Pokemons were tired from fighting, and he also needed rest. Second, he had to plan for the battle.
The pseudo-king rank Pokemon in his team were:
Shedinja,
Alakazam,
Nidorino,
Beedrill,
Mamoswine,
Gogoat,
Charizard,
Steelix.
He was definitely not going to use Steelix as he had not even started its proper training yet. Charizard was a no-go as it was a fire-type Pokemon, and Kent would use water-type Pokemons. The same could be said about Mamoswine, as it was also weak to water-type attacks.
He would use Beedrill in the gym battle. After being left alone when all of them went to the volcanic island, it wanted some action.
He had to choose Gogoat as it was a grass-type Pokemon and it had become quite powerful. After thinking for some time, he chose Alakazam. It was the most experienced Pokemon of his team and had many powerful attacks. It could also use electric-type attacks, which was a bonus.
He didn't use Shedinja for 2 reasons. Yes, Shedinja was a powerful Pokemon, but he used it in most of the important battles. He wanted to give a chance to others too. Kent's Pokemon, especially Gyarados, must have a fire-type attack like 'Flamethrower,' as water types were weak to grass types, and Shedinja may not be able to deal with it.
So, his team for the gym battle was: Shedinja, Alakazam, Gogoat.
He would start with Gogoat. Even though Kent would send out his Pokemon first, he decided to start with Gogoat. Among the three, Gogoat could take hits. It was a grass type, and it had healing abilities. So, it was perfect to start the battle.
Kent was said to be the most powerful gym leader in all over the Kanto region. Unlike before, he was not sure that he could win this gym battle at the first time.
Axel went on the internet and found out that the gym battle winning ratio for trainers when they competed with Kent was 30%. This was the lowest winning ratio he had ever seen.
However, these 30% accounted for all the trainers who had fought Kent on all levels: intermediate trainers, advanced trainers, and master trainers.
Axel was battling Kent as a master trainer as this was his last battle. Axel scrolled down to find out the winning ratio as a master trainer, and he started to doubt his confidence.
It was only 1%. It was pitifully low. The percentage was 1% because very few dared to challenge him as a master trainer. There were only 100 trainers who had challenged Kent as a master trainer in the last 20 years. That meant only 1 trainer had qualified in the last 20 years.
The name of the trainer was Red Ketchum.
This was insanity. He knew that the numbers were low, but he had not expected them to be so low. He started to doubt his decision making. It took some time for him to calm down.
So what if the numbers were low? He was not an average trainer. He had the qualification to be a master trainer in just 1 year. That was an impossible amount of progress. He just had to trust himself and his Pokemons.
He researched more and found out that there were 17 water-type Pokemons in the Kanto region: Blastoise, Golduck, Poliwrath, Tentacruel, Slowbro, Dewgong, Cloyster, Kingler, Kingdra, Seaking, Starmie, Gyarados, Lapras, Vaporean, Omaster, Kabutops. That was a lot of Pokemons, and Kent could use any of them. That was also one of the reasons why it was the most difficult gym of the Kanto region.
There were a lot of Pokemons, but he knew 2 Pokemons that Kent would definitely use. They were Blastoise and Gyarados. Those 2 were the most powerful Pokemon in his team, and he knew that Kent would be going for them as he had challenged Kent to fight him as a master trainer.
###
Axel went to discuss his battle plans with his Pokemons. This was something he did every time before the gym battle. He first selected his 3 Pokemons. Most of them were disappointed that they could not join the battle, especially Nidorino. Axel calmed it down, telling that it would get another chance. The meeting ended, and they went to bed.
###
After 5 days, he was now outside the gym, staring at the huge gate. It turned out that since this was the last gym battle for Axel, the minimum time between the request and the battle was 5 days. The gym had to announce the battle. A lot of spectators would come to join, and the seats would be filled up like crazy. So, after 5 days, he was ready to win the last badge.
Axel entered the gym and found out his and Kent's poster on the wall. The gym had gone an extra mile to promote the battle, and he could see a lot of people going inside to the stadium. It seemed like he had become a celebrity again.
Axel was quietly squatted inside the building by the guards, and he was told to wait inside the waiting room. The door opened, and Kent entered the room. He looked a bit more muscular than before.
"Hey, Axel, are you excited for the battle?"
"Yes, I am. I just saw a huge crowd. What is all that about?"
"Oh, I rarely get a trainer who challenges me as a master rank trainer. The last was like 2 years ago. So, the city is very excited about the battle."
"Yes, I saw the winning rate. It is abysmal."
"Are you having any second thoughts?" asked Kent.
"No, I am confident that I would win this gym battle."
"Good. I like your confidence. The battle would start in 30 minutes. Why don't we just talk for some time."
They started to talk about his recent adventures. Axel found out that Misty had been growing, and now she wanted to carry on the legacy of Kent. Kent was excited to tell that story.
Internally, Axel was getting very nervous. He was not nervous about the crowd, but what if he lost when such a huge crowd was watching him. It made his stomach turn for the worse.
The time passed quickly, and now they were ready for battle. Kent was to go before, and Axel would go after a few minutes.
The receptionist called him out, and finally, he stepped onto the stadium. The crowd started to go bananas after seeing him. They started to chant his name.
"AXEL… AXEL… AXEL…."
He didn't know that he was so famous.
"Surprised?" asked Kent.
Axel nodded his head.
"You have done well, Axel. For the last 5 days, we have been posting your gym battle videos online, and the crowd loves you now. They are also excited because you have challenged me as your last gym battle," clarified Kent.
He knew about the post, and Kent had asked his permission about it. However, he didn't know that the crowd loved him. The public viewed him as a great researcher, but now they knew that he was also a great trainer.
The referee finally spoke on the mike.
"My name is Karen. 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 challenger could switch out his Pokemon
3. If the battle ends in a draw, the challenger would be the winner.
4. Gym leader Kent would take out his Pokemon first.
5. And since this is the trainer's 8th gym battle, the gym leader could not use higher rank Pokemon than pseudo-king rank Pokemon."
Axel nodded his head. He knew the rules, Kent knew the rules, everyone in the stadium knew the rules. This was just a formality from the referee.
"Are you both ready for the battle?", asked Karen.
"Yes (X2)."
"Gym leader Kent, please send out your first Pokemon," said Karen.
Kent threw out his Pokeball, and out came one.
It was a large, bipedal turtle Pokemon. Its body was blue and was mostly hidden by its tough, brown shell. This shell had a cream-colored underside and a white ridge encircling its arms, separating the upper and lower halves.
Two powerful water cannons resided at the top of its shell over its shoulders. Its head had triangular ears that were black on the inside, small brown eyes, and a cream-colored lower jaw. Its arms were thick, and it had three claws on each hand. Its feet had three claws on the front and one on the back. Poking out of the bottom of its shell was a stubby tail.
It was Blastoise.
ROARRRRRR.
The Pokemon announced its presence.
"Challenger Axel, please take out your first Pokemon," said Karen.
"Let's do it, Gogoat," shouted Axel and threw the ball.
Gogoat stood there with a calm expression. It looked like it was not scared or excited about the battle. It looked like it was there to just finish the job.
Kent nodded his head in understanding. Being a gym leader for so many years, he could tell that Axel had done a good job raising this Pokemon.
"Are you both ready for the battle?"
Both of them nodded their heads.
"Let the battle begin!"
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