Chapter 7: A Fighting Chance

Robert's face had gone red and sweaty from his match with Darius, but he still had a look of steely determination as Alex squared off to him on the other side of the bloodied, scratched-up battlefield, fresh from the previous bout. This time, Alex only had 2 Pokémon, so Robert let out his Nidorino to spectate while he readied his first Pokéball. A Nidorina wandered into the room and cuddled up to the Nidorino, followed by a very familiar young lady. She didn't seem to notice Alex as she locked lips with the Gym Leader, which quickly devolved into a full-on standing makeout session as Robert began to grope her butt like a starved animal. Clearly, Robert wasn't lying about his girlfriend, but Alex quickly grew impatient as the spectacle continued.

"We get it, get a room already, if you're not gonna battle!" Alex protested. The girl's derisive sneer turned into a death glare as she realized who was speaking, so she gave a two-fingered salute as she sat down on the bench in a huff.

"Kick his ass, baby!" She yelled angrily, encouraging her boyfriend as he sent out his Zigzagoon to battle. Alex sent out his Pikachu to begin the match, eager to prove that it was just as capable as Darius' Elekid.

"Thundershock, start out strong!" Alex commanded his new Pikachu in its first battle. Regardless, it obeyed, but Zigzagoon's erratic running allowed it to dodge the attack and score a Headbutt of its own. "Quick Attack!" Pikachu quickly rammed Zigzagoon, but the attack barely phased it as it got back up without much obvious effort.

"Your turn, Zigzagoon. Pin Missile!" Zigzagoon shot a flurry of needles at the unsuspecting Pikachu, sending it flying back as its body became streaked with blood. When Pikachu got up, Zigzagoon was nowhere to be found. "Now."

The ground burst from below Pikachu as it got knocked out by the super-effective ground-type attack before it even hit the ground, leaving Alex at a serious disadvantage with only his trusty Pignite to fend off both of Robert's Pokémon. Zigzagoon had taken almost no damage, as it shook itself off to remove the dirt from its coat. Clearly, Robert was very ready for Alex's tactics, having battled him once before.

"Is that all? I remember your Tepig putting up a better fight than just that." Robert chastised Alex.

"Pignite, start out strong with Tackle!" Pignite came out of its Pokéball and immediately took off running at the Zigzagoon.

"Headbutt." Zigzagoon stopped Pignite in its tracks with its blindingly fast zigzagging movements before catching Pignite from behind, sending it sprawling to the ground. However, one of the benefits of evolution was superior resilience to attacks, shown by Pignite's ease of recovery from the attack.

"Ember, now."

"Counter with Pin Missile!" Unlike Alex's earlier battle with Robert's Zigzagoon, Pin Missile did nothing to deflect the Ember attack and Zigzagoon took significant damage, before Pignite slammed its glowing fists into Zigzagoon, knocking it out. Clearly, its evolution had granted it significant power, but Alex's overconfidence in his Pignite's abilities was about to be put to the test. Robert sent out a Herdier, his most infamous Pokémon, known for its exceptional physical strength and relative resilience to physical punishment. Alex knew that this was going to be much more than a common Lillipup, but his confidence in Pignite never wavered.

"Ember, Pignite!" The searing flames shot out of Pignite's snout with incredible speed, but Herdier sidestepped the attack easily as it prepared for a counterattack. Pignite was hurled back by the force of the brutal Take Down attack, before it struggled to its feet. Clearly, this battle was going to be determined quickly. "Arm Thrust!" Pignite took Herdier by surprise with a series of punches, but Herdier managed to grab onto Pignite's arm with its jaws to stop the attack.

"Crunch, Herdier!"

"Ember, Pignite!" The flames caused Herdier to reel back, its fur singed by the close-range attack, releasing Pignite in the process before it could bite down harder.

"Herdier, finish this. Take Down, let's go!"

"Pignite, Flame Charge!"

The two attacks collided perfectly, creating a small explosion as the two Pokémon were thrown to the ground by the force of the attacks. The two Pokémon struggled to stand as the referee anxiously awaited the knockout to decide the match. Pignite's body began to glow as Herdier struggled to stand back on its paws. The match would be decided by the next attack.

"Herdier, Hidden Power!"

"Pignite, Ember!" The two attacks collided once more, but only Pignite took advantage of the resulting smoke cloud. "Arm Thrust, finish it, now!"

"Counter it, Take Down!" Pignite rushed in with incredible speed, landing five solid punches that slowed Herdier's tackle, before the Pokémon both crumpled to the ground. The recoil from Take Down had taken its toll on Herdier, as the bleeding Pignite slowly rose to its feet triumphantly, its opponent unable to get back up.

"The victory goes to Alex and his Pignite!" The referee called despite his own shock. Robert had been defeated twice in one day after months of not having a decent match, and his Herdier was completely and utterly defeated. It was then that Robert truly saw the power of these trainers. They weren't just the Professor's newest batch, they were the most prodigious trainers he had ever faced in battle. If only he knew what great heights they were to reach...