Yesterday, Jason had beaten Bugsy and won his second badge. Today, it was my turn.
I looked at the Azalea Gym and said, "I know that my battle will be harder than Jason's battle was, since I only have Pidgeot, my only Pokemon with a type advantage. Jason had Quilava to help, too."
"Why don't you call Liza and ask her to send Charizard to you?" Jason asked.
"No, I can't do that. Charizard has only recently started training at the Charicific Valley." I replied. "If I'm going to let Charizard train, I have to learn how to overcome challenges without using type advantages to win all of my battles. This is one of those times. I'll never become a stronger trainer if I don't learn how to better adapt."
"So who are you using, since you don't have Charizard?" Michelle asked.
"I'm using Pikachu, Pidgeot, and Feraligatr. This will be Feraligatr's first gym battle." I replied.
We walked into the gym and I stopped at the field while Jason and Michelle headed to the stands.
"Good luck, Adam." Michelle said before following Jason.
"I'm here to challenge you, Bugsy." I said.
"I accept your challenge." Bugsy said, climbing down from a tree.
"The battle between the gym leader, Bugsy, and the challenger, Adam, will now begin. Each trainer will use three Pokemon each. The battle will be over when all Pokemon on one side are unable to battle. Battle begin!"
"Ariados, go!" Bugsy cried, tossing his Pokeball.
"Pikachu, let's show 'em!" I cried as Pikachu jumped off of my shoulder and ran onto the field.
"Ariados, use Pin Missile!" Bugsy cried.
"Thunderbolt!"
Thunderbolt blasted the pins but the two moves canceled each other out.
"Use Quick Attack, Pikachu!" Pikachu's attack hit Ariados but right after the attack hit, Bugsy called out an attack.
"Poison Jab!"
"No!"
Pikachu was in close range and become poisoned. I had to end this battle quickly, before Pikachu fainted.
"Use Quick Attack!" I cried once Pikachu had gotten up.
"Ariados, use Poison Sting."
"Jump and use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu jumped with a burst of speed from Quick Attack and avoided the Poison Sting and then flipped in midair, hitting Ariados with Iron Tail.
"Ariados, trap Pikachu with String Shot!" said Bugsy. Ariados shot out the string from its mouth so fast that I couldn't tell Pikachu to dodge! Pikachu was wrapped up by the string and a strand was connected from Pikachu to Ariados's mouth.
"Now slam it into the ground!" Ariados swung Pikachu around like a ball on a chain and slammed him down into the ground. Pikachu was completely helpless and at the mercy of Ariados! I had to think of something or else Pikachu was done for!
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" I cried. The electricity traveled down the strand of string and zapped Ariados, damaging it. The attack also ripped apart the string and Pikachu was free again!
"Let's finish this, Pikachu. Use Thunderbolt once more!" I cried.
"Dodge it, Ariados!"
To my surprise, Ariados managed to dodge the attack.
"Now use Pin Missile!"
"Dodge it!" I cried.
Pikachu tried to dodge, but the poison took affect and caused him to stumble and get hit by Pin Missile.
"Use Thunderbolt and spin!" I cried.
"Dodge!"
Ariados was unable to dodge the attack, since the Thunderbolt was going in multiple directions all over the battlefield. When it ended, Ariados had fainted.
"Ariados is unable to battle. Pikachu-" the ref started.
Pikachu cried out as the poison drained the last bit of energy that he had. He fell to the ground and fainted.
"Pikachu is unable to battle. It's a draw!" the ref cried.
I walked onto the field and picked up Pikachu.
"Great job, Pikachu. Take a rest." I said as I walked over to the stands and handed Pikachu to Michelle, telling her to look after him until the battle was over. I then went back to my side of the field.
"Butterfree, go!" Bugsy cried, tossing his Pokeball.
"Pidgeot, let's show 'em!" I cried, tossing my Pokeball.
After watching Jason's battle, I had come up with a plan on how to beat Butterfree.
"Use Agility, then Wing Attack!" I cried. Pidgeot increased his speed and then flew at Butterfree.
"Psybeam!" Bugsy cried. The two moves collided with one another and canceled each other out.
"Get above Pidgeot and use Poison Powder!" Bugsy commanded.
It was time to see if my plan would work. "Blow the Poison Powder back with Gust!"
Pidgeot flapped his wings and sent the powder back towards Butterfree.
"Alright!" I cried. Seeing contest techniques sure does come in handy.
Butterfree was poisoned by its own attack. It was only a matter of time until I would win.
"Use Aerial Ace!" I cried. Pidgeot's attack hit its mark.
"Use Psybeam, Butterfree!"
"Dodge!"
But Pidgeot wasn't able to dodge in time.
Butterfree's altitude dropped as the poison drained its energy.
"Quick Attack!" I cried.
"Dodge, Butterfree! Then use Stun Spore!"
Butterfree was no match for Quick Attack's speed, thanks to Agility. Butterfree took the attack and fell to the ground.
"Butterfree is unable to battle. Pidgeot wins!" The ref cried.
"You've done well, Adam. It's time to see how you do against my strongest Pokemon. Scyther, go!" Bugsy cried, tossing his Pokeball.
"Use Agility, Pidgeot." I was going to need even more speed to stand a chance against Scyther.
"Scyther, use Double Team." A dozen Scythers appeared.
"Use Gust to blow them away!" As the attack hit, the copies started to disappear.
"Jump and use Slash!"
It was the real Scyther...I couldn't find the real one in time.
Pidgeot cried out as Slash hit him from behind.
"Don't give up! Aerial Ace!" I screamed.
"Swords Dance!" screamed Bugsy.
Pidgeot sped towards Scyther as it spun and increased its attack power. Scyther was hit just as it finished Swords Dance, but it was clear that Scyther still had some fight left in it!
"Quick Attack!"
"Dodge and use Slash again!"
Incredibly, even with Pidgeot's increased speed from Agility, Scyther was able to dodge and attack Pidgeot. Slash was even stronger than before, with Scyther having used Swords Dance to increase its attack power.
Pidgeot cried out and fell to the ground as he fainted.
"Pidgeot is unable to battle. Scyther wins!" the ref cried.
"Take a rest, Pidgeot." I said, returning my Pokemon and removing my final Pokeball.
"Feraligatr, let's show 'em!" I cried, tossing my Pokeball. I knew that Feraligatr wasn't as fast as Scyther, but he could endure more damage. After all, when I caught Feraligatr, he was able to shrug off Pikachu's super-effective Thunderbolts, so Scyther's attacks wouldn't be any different.
I had also done some special training with Feraligatr in preparation for his first gym battle, helping him learn some new attacks.
"Use Hydro Pump!" I cried.
"Dodge it and use Fury Cutter!"
Scyther easily sped out of the way and hit Feraligatr with Fury Cutter. It didn't do much damage, but I knew that Fury Cutter would get more powerful the more times that it hit my Pokemon.
"Use Slash, Feraligatr!"
"You use Slash too, Scyther!"
Scyther's claws met Feraligatr's claws as the two Pokemon traded blow for blow and continued striking each other. When they finally separated, they were both covered in cuts and scrapes.
It was clear that both Pokemon couldn't take very much more. It was time to use my secret weapon!
"Feraligatr, Ice Punch!" I cried. Scyther was weak to Ice attacks, so I knew that this would be enough to finish it off.
"Dodge and use Fury Cutter!" cried Bugsy. Scyther dodged out of the way at the last minute, got behind Feraligatr, and slashed him across the back. Fury Cutter did more damage than it had before. Luckily, Feraligatr managed to stay on his feet.
"Let's end this, Scyther. Use Slash." Scyther dashed towards my Pokemon as Feraligatr stood and waited.
"Wait for it..." I said patiently. When Scyther was in reach, I called out, "Grab its arms!" Feraligatr grabbed Scyther's arms and now Scyther couldn't move or attack.
"Hydro Pump." I said plainly, knowing that this would do it. Scyther was blasted with a powerful water blast from Feraligatr's mouth at point blank range. It sent it flying across the battlefield and into the wall with a crash. Scyther fell to the ground and fainted.
"Scyther is unable to battle. Feraligatr wins! The winner is Adam!" the ref cried.
"Great job in your first gym battle, Feraligatr. You won me that badge. Take a rest." I said, returning my Pokemon.
"Great battle, Adam!" Michelle cried as she and Jason walked over.
"You won, even without Charizard. I have to say that I'm impressed." said Jason.
I looked over and saw Bugsy walking over.
"Adam, you have one powerful Feraligatr. Even after Scyther used Swords Dance twice and hit it with all of those Fury Cutters and Slash attacks, it was still able to persevere and win. I must admit, I'm impressed." Bugsy said in disbelief.
"Thanks, Bugsy." I said proudly.
"A well fought battle, Adam. I present you with the Hive Badge."
"Thank you, that was a tough battle." I said, taking the badge.
Two badges down, six to go. I thought to myself.
As we walked out of the gym, I looked at Michelle.
"It's your turn now, Michelle. Jason and I have our badges, now it's your turn to compete and win your contest and get another ribbon!"
"Yep, and I'm up for the challenge!" Michelle cried, smiling. "I'm going to go and practice right now, so that I'm ready."
"I can practice with you right after my Pokemon are healed." I offered.
"Thanks! I could use an opponent to battle against."
We continued on our way to the Pokemon Center with Michelle thinking about what Pokemon she should practice with.
Author's Note: Even without his Charizard, Adam is able to rise to the challenge and overcome it, winning his second badge, thanks to his Feraligatr.
Now it's Michelle's turn. Her next contest is coming soon and she hopes to win her second ribbon.
Find out what happens in her contest in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!