Disclaimer is on chapter 1
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Watching on from the stands, Dragon was having a strong sense of deja vu although this time it was Alastor and his pokemon that were the ones being surprised and caught off guard.
"I don't get this." He muttered out loud as he and every other spectator watching waited for the smoke from the attack to clear and see what had happened to Sneasel. "Alakazam's a psychic-type. It shouldn't be able to use fighting-type attacks...shouldn't it?"
"Just because a pokemon is a certain type doesn't mean it can only learn same-type moves. If that were to be the case, Sneasel shouldn't have been able to use Quick Attack and Aron Double Team." Cas berated Dragon like a teacher would admonish a student without turning to the aforementioned trainer.
Ducking his head as his confidence and self esteem took a critical hit, Dragon kept quiet and turned his gaze towards his feet. Despite recently turning fifteen, it had taken him nearly four years to accumulate enough badges to enter the Kanto Pokemon League and even then he was unable to make it passed the prelims. He had hoped that things would have started taking a turn for the better in another region and had looked that way when he received the invite and met Aden but this new guy had brought things back to the way it had been for him since as long as he could remember.
"Don't let him get to you, kid. He just doesn't know how to explain things without sounding heartless." Will comforted Dragon patting the boy on his head. "He's right though- pokemon aren't restricted to same-type moves."
"That's right. Pokemon can learn moves depending on their compatibility, their current habitat and whether or not their trainer wishes them to learn a new move. There's actually a class of pokemon trainers called move tutors similar to breeders and type specialists whose goal is to find the best way of teaching pokemon specific moves." Zai chipped in before he could stop himself.
"Wow, you're a real fountain of pokemon knowledge." Will commented giving Zai the once over. "A big one."
In acknowledgement of her teasing praise, Zai merely scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment. Like his sketching, he had a habit of blurting out any relative data to the topic at hand sometimes before he even realised it himself. While the Pokemon Professor he worked under accepted and complimented him for such insight and wisdom, Zai himself could not help but feel he was showing himself up as a know-it-all and making others keep their distance from him as if they did not wish to be associated with him.
As the discussion continued, down on the field the smoke was finally starting to dissipate allowing Sid to see the collapsed and clearly knocked out form of Sneasel sprawled across the ground.
"Sneasel is unable to battle! Alakazam wins the round!" He declared loudly.
"That was obvious." Cas stated as if being told something he already knew. "A fighting-type move against a dark/ice-type could only result in defeat."
Having travelled with the trainer a while now, Will merely rolled her eyes at the comment. Sure, the move itself had been effective but that was only because the user was a psychic-type catching Yulie's opponents' off guard. It was Yulie's specialty: using attacks in unique ways or from ill suited pokemon to catch her opponents off balance then capitalise on it before they could regroup and even after they had recovered she still managed to catch them on the wrong foot once again later on.
But now she was up against a trainer who had won against the Orange Crew whose battle styles and challenges were a different cut from the usual cloth most gym leaders supplied for trainers seeking a badge.
'Watch yourself, Yulie.' She thought to herself as she watched the purplette congratulate her pokemon. 'Now the real battle starts.'
"Nicely done, Alakazam!" Yulie cheered for her psi pokemon. "Let's keep up the pressure!"
(You got it, Sheila!) The pokemon replied as he twirled his spoons in one hand while waiting for the next round to begin.
"Sneasel, return!" Alastor called out as he calmly recalled his fainted pokemon back to its pokeball. While having not expected such an attack from a psychic-type, the loss had allowed him to finally understand Yulie's general battle strategy and could now enact his own against her. "Bastiodon, show 'em what you got!"
"How pathetic." Cas muttered as the grey and yellow pokemon with a castle like face appeared before its trainer. "He uses a Sneasel as fodder to find out his opponent's strategy and this is what he uses next?"
"A Bastiodon may be a rock/steel-type but their plating, coupled with their ability, sturdy, makes it one of the most toughest defensive pokemon to date. They protect their young by lining up beside one another and facing their enemy." Zai pointed out.
Cas ignored the researcher. Like Zai had said, Alastor's Bastiodon was a rock/steel-type making it just as weak as a dark/ice-type against a powerful fighting-type move such as Focus Blast hence his earlier statement and it looked as though several others watching the battle were wondering the same thing also.
Yulie, however, was not one of them. She knew her opponent had chosen Bastiodon as his next pokemon for a reason although she currently had no idea what that reason was. All she knew was that this pokemon was not going to be as easy to beat like Sneasel before it. Then again, that was usually the case for her when her opponents' wisened up to her strategy although it sometimes did not prevent her from coming out on top.
'Time to test the waters!' "Attack with Focus Blast!" She ordered her pokemon.
Creating a ball of light blue energy in its hands, the psi pokemon launched the attack straight at the pokemon who just stood there patiently looking relaxed despite the incoming danger.
"Send it straight back with Metal Burst!" Alastor countered having expected the attack.
Opening its maw as the glowing sphere hurtled towards him, Bastiodon created its own orb of light albeit a fraction the size but too late it seemed as the Focus Blast connected dead centre with a satisfying explosion in Yulie's opinion. She was shocked when the smoke cleared to see Bastiodon unharmed and the glowing sphere in it's mouth much larger than it had been a moment ago.
"Brace for impact!" Yulie yelled as she realised what was about to happen.
Having been shocked when he saw his attack be of little effect, Alakazam brought his arms up in a cross guard right before Bastiodon fired its attack at him. The force of the attack, while not powerful enough to cause serious damage to Alakazam, still sent the psi pokemon skidding backwards across the field until his feet could properly grip the ground again.
Finally stopping in place, Alakazam lowered his arms and grinned respectively at Bastiodon who calmly, or perhaps cluelessly, blinked a couple times in return.
'Guess that's why Blue chose Bastiodon then.' Yulie thought smiling despite the situation looking to be a stalemate. 'Bet he won't see this coming though!' "Get in close and use Fire Punch!"
She was hedging her bets on Alastor not expecting Alakazam to have another non-psychic-type attack. By the time the bluette came to realise her Alakazam did not know a single psychic-type move, Yulie would have won another round leaving him with quite the uphill battle ahead of him.
(Let's put another shrimp on the barbie, shall we, mate?!) Alakazam suggested as he leapt at Bastiodon with one fist now engulfed in flame.
"Iron Defense, Bastiodon!" Was the calm reply from the bluette catching Yulie completely by surprise.
'No way! He was expecting it!?' Yulie thought in disbelief as Bastiodon's body gained a metallic sheen.
Watching as the attack came into contact, Yulie was further shocked when the shield pokemon barely even budged when the type-effective attack landed. In fact, Alakazam appeared to be the one injured as he staggered back a couple steps clutching the hand he had used Fire Punch with.
"Now, use Giga Impact!" Alastor ordered.
Still clutching his injured hand, Alakazam was unable to evade Bastiodon as it closed in on him and slammed him with such force he was knocked clean across the field back to his trainer's feet.
(Crikey!) The psi pokemon groaned as he shakily got to his feet. (Talk about bringing some muscle to the tussle. Fair dinkum, Mate.)
Like before, the shield pokemon said nothing in reply. Perhaps it was just quiet or docile by nature merely responding to its trainer's commands before going back to whatever it was doing previously be it daydreaming or something else- catching its breath after using such a powerful attack like Giga Impact, for example.
"Alakazam, return!" Yulie called out recalling her pokemon.
"A wise move. Even if Alakazam could attack, I doubt it could have landed an attack before Bastiodon could move again." Kara commented from the stands.
Zai nodded in agreement, taking mental notes about Alastor's Bastiodon and the strategy he was piecing together about it. Using Metal Burst to defend against long range attacks, Alastor forced his opponent to use close range attacks upon which he would have Bastiodon use Iron Defense to boost its already high defense and withstand whatever attack launched against it then countering with Giga Impact while the opposing pokemon was still reeling from hitting such a sturdy object stunning and knocking it far enough away that Bastiodon could recharge from using the attack.
"And you were saying something about him being pathetic, Cas?" Will ribbed the sky bluette.
Cas responded by huffing slightly not wanting to admit that he had been wrong. He knew if he did, Will would be ribbing him even more about it and there was no way he was going to give the water-type specialist the satisfaction of doing so.
Back down on the field, Yulie was biting down on the inside of her lip while trying to calm down after getting rattled by Alastor's current pokemon. She knew Alakazam would not be able to survive another attack like before so she smartly recalled the psi pokemon but was now trying to figure out which pokemon to call out next. Her partner, seemed to think he should be the one to go out next.
(Lemme at him, Yulie!) Jin barked looking raring to go. (I'll burn that walking wall down in no time!)
"Jin, stay!" Yulie ordered her pokemon before he ran out onto the field before she could choose her next pokemon.
While she knew her puppy pokemon had type advantage over Bastiodon, the strategy Alastor utilised rendered most attacks useless although she knew the shield pokemon must have surely taken some damage from the two attacks it previously took even if it did not show it.
'I'll force Blue to swap out his Bastiodon then just whittle it down when it's his last pokemon out!' Yulie thought nodding to herself as she thought over her plan of attack before grabbing her next pokemon. "Let's go, Manectric!"
'What's she planning this time?' Alastor thought as he watched the blue and yellow pokemon materialise on Yulie's side of the field before suddenly realising what was about to happen. 'Dammit!'
(Awaiting orders, Ma'am!) The discharge pokemon barked as it stood at attention.
"Send that pokemon back to its pokeball with Roar!" Yulie commanded grinning when she noticed that Alastor had picked up on her strategy.
Following his trainer's order to the letter, the discharge pokemon let out an intimidating howl. While doing nothing in terms of damage to Bastiodon, it did send the shield pokemon back into its pokeball while another of the bluette's pokeballs burst open letting out another pokemon to take Bastiodon's place.
'Jackpot!' Yulie thought as the light morphed and faded to reveal a greyish-brown feathered avian pokemon that was now blinking in surprise from where it roosted on the ground. She had been hoping for the trainer's timid Kirlia to come out but this turnout was just as good.
"A Staraptor. They're known as the predator pokemon due to their aggressiveness and hunting instinct making them one of the more deadly non-legendary flying-type pokemon known to date." Zai stated on reflex. He wanted to go on to say that Alastor's Staraptor appeared to be in peak physical condition but could not properly ascertain the pokemon as it had not been expecting to come out to battle just yet.
"Wait, how did that happen?" Dragon asked in confusion. He remembered seeing Manectric use the move during her last battle and it merely kept a Hitmontop in place.
"Roar is a move that switches out a trainer's pokemon. The only reason it didn't happen during Yulie's last match was because both trainer's were down to their last pokemon in a sense. In a gym battle, the pokemon to come out is one the trainer had previously chosen but, because this is just a general battle, Yulie was probably banking on the move taking out one of Alastor's other pokemon instead. " Zai explained for the trainer. "And it looks like she got a favorable result in terms of type advantage."
Dragon nodded in understanding. He knew from watching the battle play out that just because a pokemon has type advantage mean that it would have an actual advantage in battle when the trainers were highly competent. But that was not going to stop Yulie from seeing just how effective a type advantage move was against the predator pokemon as it sat there on the ground wondering why it had suddenly been called out without warning.
"Attack quickly with Wild Charge! Don't let it take off!" Yulie ordered seeing a sitting Psyduck when she saw one.
(Roger-Wilco! Engaging target at once!) Manectric barked immediately charging towards the previously roosting Staraptor engulfed in electricity.
Finally aware of its surroundings, Staraptor only had time to stand up before taking Manectric's attack head on.
As the attack connected, Yulie's first impression was that she had dealt a damaging blow to Staraptor as she watched the bird pokemon get knocked across the field. That quickly changed to shock as she watched the predator pokemon slide a few feet across the ground before digging its talons in and stopping in place staring at Manectric with a piercing gaze that rattled the discharge pokemon as electricity from Wild Charge's recoil damage over him.
(Hey, Sparky. You wanna try that again without holding back this time?) Staraptor challenged boldly standing tall and proud as if the attack had had no effect on him.
(Target...Target unaffected by attack! Awaiting orders ASAP!) Manectric barked to Yulie.
Hearing her pokemon call out to her, Yulie snapped out of her shock at seeing the Staraptor come out practically unscathed. She had no idea how it happened but that was not going to stop her from beating Alastor.
"Attack with Wild Charge again! Pull out all the stops and hit Staraptor with everything you've got!" She shouted out.
(Affirmative!) Manectric unleashing every volt of energy he had stored up and bathing in it. (Resuming attack!)
Dashing passed Staraptor, Manectric made a lap of the field's diametre to build up momentum. For his part, Staraptor just stood his ground and even Alastor remained quiet knowing that his pokemon would take this attack head on no matter what he said to the predator pokemon.
Completing his lap, Manectric charged full speed at Staraptor colliding with such force, the predator pokemon was knocked clean off his talons to land painfully at the edge of the arena with sparks jumping across his body signalling he was now under the effects of paralysis.
(Target...down…) Manectric panted the recoil damage of his attack taking a heavier toll than the previous one. (Mission...completed…)
(Don't count your Starlys before they've hatched, Sparky!) Staraptor muttered as he stood up and, after a few seconds to catch his breath, spread his wings wide open shaking off the sparks like it was nothing.
"Guess it's our turn now." Alastor commented although he got no reply as both trainer and pokemon were shocked that Staraptor was still fighting fit. "Staraptor, attack with Brave Bird!"
(Pay attention, Sparky.) Staraptor remarked as he finally took flight becoming covered in a light-blue aura. (This is how you hit hard!)
Gaining enough altitude, Staraptor tucked in his wings and took a nosedive before spreading his wings again and levelling off when he neared the ground aiming straight towards Manectric.
"Manectric, look out! Dodge with Quick Attack!" Yulie called out desperately but it was no use.
Weak from exerting himself, using Wild Charge twice and too shocked at seeing a pokemon shake off his most powerful attack like it was nothing, Manectric could only watch as Staraptor flew straight towards him then everything going black as the attack connected out cold before landing at a shaken Yulie's feet.
"Manectric is unable to battle! Staraptor wins the round!" Sid declared while Staraptor landed on Alastor's side of the field and started preening his slightly messed up crest either ignoring or toughing out the recoil damage.
"That...is one strong pokemon." Dragon awed having not seen a pokemon shake off super effective attacks before now.
"That should not be possible." Zai argued despite agreeing with the lesser experienced trainer. "No pokemon should be able to resist super effective attacks like that. Endure them to a certain extent, maybe but, to resist them this much...I just can't understand the concept."
It was just the researcher inside of him speaking. He was honestly amazed that a Staraptor could weather such a high voltage attack twice but his rational side was screaming that this should not be possible even if there were similar phenomena such as a crystal Onix that was unaffected by water attacks.
"Then you're a fool. Several gym leaders train their pokemon to endure types they're weak against. That Staraptor is no different" Cas scoffed.
"Strategies against super effective types is one thing. This is completely different." Zai threw back only to have his words fall on deaf ears as the trainer had put his attention back onto the battle.
"Manectric, return!" Yulie called out as she recalled her pokemon staring sadly at the pokeball for a moment before shrinking it and returning it to her belt while looking back over the last round.
From what she could tell, Staraptor was not necessarily immune to electric-type attacks but seemed to have a strong resistance to the type. She had a suspicion to what caused this strange phenomenon but wanted to test something out before voicing her theory to the predator pokemon's trainer.
"Alakazam, come on out!" She called out bringing back out the psi pokemon.
(Time to put another shrimp on the barbie, ey?) He asked twirling his spoons like a gunslinger.
"Attack Staraptor with Thunder Punch!" Yulie ordered.
(You got it, Sheila!) Alakazam obeyed charging towards Staraptor with one fist brimming with electricity.
"Have you forgotten what just happened to your last pokemon?" Alastor called out to Yulie while Staraptor took flight then caught the psi pokemon's punch in one claw wincing slightly as the electricity surged through him.
"Nope! I just wanted Staraptor to do that rather than fly away!" Yulie grinned. "Now use Ice Punch!"
Smirking, Alakazam pulled back his free fist, charged it with below zero energy then swung at Staraptor. Having one free claw himself, Staraptor caught the fist but this time, was unable to hide the pain from the attack.
"Looks like Staraptor felt that!" Yulie commented.
"Yeah, and Alakazam's now wide open." Alastor retorted. "Strike with Close Combat!"
Grinning despite the pain he was in, Staraptor brought his wings far back before slamming them against Alakazam's head several times along with a few peck attacks before finally releasing the slightly stunned psi pokemon's fists and climbing into the sky.
"Now finish with Brave Bird!"
Just like with Manectric, Staraptor dove at Alakazam at high speed knocking the psi pokemon out as he was still recovering from the Close Combat assault to properly avoid the attack.
"Alakazam is unable to battle! Staraptor wins the round!" Sid called out bringing the score 2-1 to Alastor.
"Alakazam, return!" Yulie called out recalling her pokemon before looking over at Alastor. "Okay, I'll admit I wasn't expecting that last round to end so quickly but I got what I needed out of it. You caught your Staraptor in an area abundant in wacan berries."
Just seeing the bluette's eyebrows jumping into his hairline was enough for Yulie to know she had hit the nail right on the head. Having made all her pokemon's food herself for a while now, Yulie knew quite a bit about berries, their properties and the effects some of them had.
For Zai, he could finally comprehend how Staraptor could have such an impossible resistance to electric-type attacks. Having likely been dining on the berry known helping pokemon from recovering from electric-type damage before being caught by Alastor, Staraptor apparently built up an immunity of sorts to electric-type attacks and the researcher would not put it passed Alastor to have treat the predator pokemon to the berry at least once a week so as to give him an edge in battles.
He actually could not believe he had not realised this sooner.
With her suspicions confirmed, Yulie called out Aron again wondering if she pull a come-from-behind victory with her remaining pokemon. She could tell Alastor's Staraptor was starting to look worn out but knew the predator pokemon would still willingly battle until finally getting beaten but that still left the bluette's Bastiodon which looked to be an attrition battle than anything else.
But that could wait until after she won this round.
"Let's go, Aron! Strike with Iron Head!"
"Meet it head on with Take Down!"
Obeying their respective trainers, both pokemon charged towards each other at high speeds resulting in a painful head on collision that had some of the spectators wincing in pain from just the sound of it while the two pokemon crashed to the ground one stuck on its back and unable to right itself while the other just barely managing to stay on its feet after receiving both the attack and the recoil damage from its own attack.
"Finish this with Close Combat!" Alastor ordered of Staraptor instead of switching out his pokemon which would have been wise as it looked like it could barely handle one more attack to many of the spectators.
Despite this, Staraptor dutifully obey his trainer and attacked Aron with talons and wings while it lay helpless on its back before finally knocking the knocked out pokemon back to Yulie's feet with one swipe of his wing.
"Aron is unable to battle! Staraptor wins!" Sid shouted out having to raise his voice a bit as most of the spectators were now booing Alastor for making his Staraptor attack Aron with an overkill move while in such an injured state. "Alastor wins the battle!"
By now, most of the audience was booing Alastor who merely ignored them as he recalled Staraptor without even bothering to treat the predator pokemon's injuries or congratulate him before walking off back caring little for what other people thought of him or his methods and strategies.
"Is he always like this?" Dragon asked the group in general.
"Probably." Will answered for the trainer recalling Alastor's battle with Drake. "When he battled Drake, he only substituted pokemon once he knew they wouldn't last much longer against Drake's next pokemon but he was on a different level than Yulie. No offense to the girl."
"Yeah, but…" Dragon began unsure how to continue. "Why didn't he recall Staraptor after beating Alakazam? It was clearly hurting before battling Aron."
When he had first seen Alastor, Dragon had thought of the bluette as a serious but caring trainer but now, after seeing him push his injured pokemon into battling more, he was beginning to have second thoughts about him.
"True. But Staraptor's tend to battle no matter how badly injured they are. Perhaps Alastor didn't switch so as to not insult him." Zai pointed out.
"Why don't you just go ask him yourself?" Cas commented to Dragon and the others as he walked off ignoring Will calling out to him.
Dragon merely stayed quiet not wanting to admit that he was too intimidated by the bluenette trainer to properly talk to him.
Pursing her lips as she watched Cas walk off, Will sighed heavily before jogging down to where Yulie was still standing on the field after recalling her fainted Aron. This worried Will as Yulie was normally quick to bounce back up after a defeat so for her to remain quiet without so much as her usual 'there's always next time' smile told volumes of how much she had been hoping to beat Alastor.
"You okay, Yule's?" She asked the purplette when she got close enough.
"Hm?" Was all Will got from Yulie as she finally came out of her stupor to notice both her friend talk to her and Jin pawing at her leg for attention.
"I'm asking if you're okay. This is the first time I've seen you this quiet after a defeat." Will said as she studied the girl in front of her.
"Yeah...kinda." Yulie admitted as her face fell slightly.
Seeing her friend was clearly still reeling from her defeat, Will patted the purplette on the shoulder as she gave her an encouraging smile.
"Don't let it get to you. You know now what to expect from the guy the next time you battle him." Will told her optimistically.
Yulie nodded smiling slightly telling Will that the girl was going to be okay but would probably need some time to herself to get over her loss as she watched the purplette walk off followed closely by Jin her ever loyal partner. All she could do was hope that she regained her usual pep before the tournament kicked off.
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Letting her feet take her on a tour of the ship, Yulie let her mind drift back to her battle with Alastor.
She had known all along that he was going to be her most challenging opponent yet but had not expected him to cotton on to her style then counter it so that was now running the flow of the battle. And then there was the mistakes she had made once Staraptor had entered the field. Had she not bothered sating her curiosity about the predator pokemon's electric-type resistance, or better yet recalled Manectric for Alakazam or Aron the moment she noticed Staraptor seemed immune to electric-type attacks, she might still have had a chance in beating him.
Still, like Will had said, at least now Yulie had a better grasp of how Alastor used his pokemon: to their own respective strengths while caring little about their welfare it seemed as he showed little in terms of concern for either Sneasel or Staraptor, the latter using several double-edged moves that either weakened or injured the predator pokemon also.
"One of these days, that bold nature of yours is going to be your undoing."
Hearing the familiar voice, Yulie stopped in her tracks as she tried to pinpoint the source. Hearing a Staraptor squawk from around the next corner, the purplette cautiously peeked round to see Alastor scolding his Staraptor while tending to the predator pokemon's head injury while trying to avoid messing up the bird's crest. She was actually surprised as he was being gentle and caring even if the tone of his voice was still the same as before.
"Don't give me that beak. If your ability had been reckless instead of intimidate, you would've been out cold before the pipsqueak's pokemon was beaten." Alastor replied to whatever his pokemon had just said.
"Who are you calling a pipsqueak?! You're not that much taller than me!" Yulie snapped before she could stop herself. At least she got the satisfaction of seeing Alastor jump slightly upon realising he was not alone as he had thought.
"You better not be here after a rematch." Alastor grumbled as he turned to face the girl.
"Of course not. Like any of our pokemon are healthy enough for a proper battle now." Yulie pointed out realising there was still something she had to do as the loser of their battle. "I guess you'll be wanting that apology, huh?"
"Don't bother. All you wanted was a chance to battle me." Alastor told her as he recalled his Staraptor. "Now that you got your battle, don't bother me again."
As much as she wanted to yell at Alastor for just brushing her off, no doubt thinking she was weak considering he beat all her pokemon with just one, Yulie wisely held her tongue as Alastor once again walked off in search of some place where he could brood in peace in her eyes.
That still did not stop her from calling out to his retreating back.
"Things will be different in the tournament, Blue! So don't go getting beat before battling me again!" She shouted to him.
"That's assuming you last long enough yourself." Alastor retorted without turning to face her.
"Oh, I will. Count on it!" Yulie promised the fire in her eyes blazing once again.
While not responding to her promise, Yulie hoped that Alastor at least acknowledged her words as he vanished around the corner. His Snivy, from her seat in the trainer's hood, did give Yulie and Jin a cheeky raspberry but that really did not mean much to her although Jin responded with some angry, fire spewing barks clearly wanting to settle their own score. If she was lucky, they would both be able to get their wishes once the tournament got underway.
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Review if possible & until next time
Watch this space & peace out!