Chapter 8: The Bug Strategist

"The rules are simple: All three of you will face me. I have 9 different Bug type Pokémon, three for each of you. I know I said that this would be a full 6 on 6 battle, but due to the actions of Team Cataclysm and the date of my brother's funeral, that needed to be changed. You may think that simply using a fire type or a flying type will win you this match. Let me tell you, you're wrong. You will need strategy and perfect synchronization with your team in order to win. I will face all three of you today. Kairi, you are first. Let us begin. Go Beautifly!"

"Alright then, go Pachirisu!"

Kai's blue and white electric squirrel appeared on her side. On Luzige's side appeared a small black butterfly, with a gray face, belly, and four stubby limbs. It had a long, curled, black proboscis, large blue eyes, two long, black antennae, and two black wings with a mostly yellow pattern on it with some blue and red thrown in. It was a very radiant Pokémon.

"Now, Beautifly, use Bug Buzz!"

"Pachirisu, use Quick Attack!"

Beautifly let out a sound wave that was visibly red in color. It spread out in a large area and it had the intent of damaging the electric squirrel. Pachirisu rushed back in forth at near blinding speed. He lunged at Beautifly with great speed to increase its power. The sound wave, however, finally made contact with the now mobile squirrel. It wasn't looking too good.

"Pachi, use charge, and then let out a discharge!"

"Beautifly, use silver wind!"

Pachirisu stored energy in his little body as he prepared a powerful electric attack. Beautifly let loose a powerful gust from its wings. The odd thing about it was that the wind turned silver in color, reflecting its name. It was a truly magnificent attack that was executed with great beauty. Pachirisu was just about to let out all of his stored electricity when the attack got to him. It took him in and began to slice him from all sides. A few sparks of electricity left Pachirisu and landed on Beautifly, critically injuring it, but not like what it had done to him. Pachirisu could barely move now. One more attack would surely do him in.

"Beautifly, finish this quickly with Giga Drain"

Kai didn't even have enough time to execute an order. Beautifly's proboscis began to glow green as it fluttered down and connected it to Pachirisu. Beautifly began to drain whatever energy remained in Pachirisu, healing itself of the battle that had just ensued. Beautifly was perfectly healthy once again. Pachirisu was down. Kai recalled him into his Quick ball.

"All right then, go Pidgeot!"

The brown bird appeared, with a fierce look, ready to fight. Pidgeot spread his wings and let out a loud cry.

"Pidgeot, use Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot shot forward, wings extended. One wing connected with Beautifly and sent it flying. Luzige recalled his Beautifly.

"Remember what I said: A type advantage won't help you much in this battle. Go Dustox!"

A moth pokemon appeared. It had a rounded purple body with large green wings that had red dots. Large yellow antennae and large yellow eyes were on its face and six red, stubby legs on its chest.

"Dustox, use Toxic."

"Pidgeot, use Air Slash!"

Pidgeot flapped up powerful gusts of wind that went at Dustox like razor blades as Dustox shot a stream of purple goo from its mouth. The wind blades and the purple goo hit both their targets head on. Dustox's wings took severe damage from the attack. Pidgeot appeared to be fine.

"Venoshock, Dustox!"

"Pidgeot, finish with a Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot hit Dustox with its extended wing as Dustox fired a green goo from its mouth this time. Dustox went down, but not before the goo hit Pidgeot. The goo stuck and Pideot was in serious pain. After a while, Pideot glowed a faint purple and was in even more pain, a result of the toxic. But, he wasn't out yet.

"Return, Dustox. Now, come on out Kricketune!"

"Pidgeot use Roost to heal yourself!"

Pidgeot perched on the ground as it rested to restore the major damage it took from Dustox. On Luzige's side, a red cricket with long red arms, a black mustache –like protrusion from its mouth, and black wings resembling a cape appeared. It looked like the conductor of a bug choir.

"Pidgeot, use Air Slash!"

"Kricketune, attack with sing!"

The Air Blades Pidgeot whipped up went straight at Kricketune as it sang a sweet melody. Pidgeot fell from the air, fast asleep as the poison began to hurt it more. Kricketune skillfully dodged the air blades.

"Pidgeot!? Wake up! Pidgeot…?"

Pidgeot was affected by the poison once more as it remained asleep. It wasn't moving much and its breathing was heavy. He was unable to continue the fight. Kai recalled her.

"All right then, go Medicham!"

Kai sent out her yoga fighting Pokémon. It readied itself for a long fight.

"Medicham, use Calm Mind and then use Psychic!"

"Kricketune use Fury Cutter"

The red cricket attacked the yoga Pokémon with an extended forearm and took a swing. Medicham cloaked the conductor in the light-blue aura. Kricketune was launched several feet into the air and pushed backward. It got up and shook the whole thing off.

"Kricketune, use Perish Song."

As Kricketune got up and began to sing. The song was strangely beautiful, in a very harsh sounding way, if that's even possible.

"Now, since we're both on our last Pokémon," Luzige said "Kricketune's song will cause us both to lose in about one minute if one of us doesn't knock the other out before then. I hope you worked on your strategy."

"I think you should be the one worried here." Kai calmly said. "Medicham, use Mind Reader."

Medicham began to concentrate as it focused in on the Kricketune. She was beginning to analyze the bug conductor to make sure the next attack would hit.

"Kricketune use Hyper Voice, keep going until the minute is up."

Kricketune began to screech loudly. The sound was so loud and so powerful, that Medicham was cringing and unable to move from the sound. Kai tried calling out an order, but it seemed as if they weren't getting to her Medicham.

"Medicham, use Hi Jump Kick, hurry!" Kai tried to say despite the noise. Medicham must have heard her because she jumped up high in the air, and landed a hard kick on the conductor bug. Kai smirked, knowing that her Medicham was able to attack successfully due to the concentration it had from using Mind Reader. Her strategy was successful.

"Well, good, good. You can strategize very well, Kairi. You have won this battle. Lyssia, you're next. Go Ninjask."

"Well…" Lyss said, ready for battle "Go Ninetales!"

Luzige sent out a small, black bodied bug with white wings that had red markings, a golden "mask," red eyes, and two gray insectoid arms. Lyss sent out a white fox with slender paws and nine white tails, as the name implies, with orange tips.

"Ninjask, use Double Team, then, X-Scissor"

Ninjask made numerous copies of itself as it began to move faster and faster. Each copy simultaneously crossed its arms in an X shape and then lunged at Ninetales. It appeared as if numerous Ninjask were striking Ninetales. The real one could not be told from the copies.

"Ninetales, use Flamethrower, get rid of as many copies as you can!"

Ninetales shot a powerful stream of flames from her mouth as she hit each Ninjask. Copy after cope began to disappear until, finally, she hit the real one. The Pokémon suffered a severe burn.

"Well now, good thinking. Ninjask, use Swords Dance, then, Slash."

Ninjask's forearms began to glow a deep purple color. It then moved a blinding speed and landed a powerful slash on Ninetales. It seemed to be moving faster than before.

"Wait… Ninjask… Is it moving faster?" Lyss asked, confused

"Good observation." Luzige commended. "Ninjask has the ability Speed Boost. As such, my Ninjask will get faster every time he attacks. Now, Swords Dance and then use Slash again Ninjask."

"Ninetales, attack with Extrasensory!"

Ninjasks arms glowed an even darker purple as its arms elongated. Ninetales attempted to hit the Ninjask with a strong psychic attack, but it was too fast. It hit with its slash attack and Ninetales went down. However, Ninjask was hurt by its burn. It could still fight, but was severely weakened.

"Return Ninetales…" Lyss said. "Now it's time to really get things goin'! Go Haxorus!"

Lyss sent out the large green –yellow dragon Pokémon with axes on its jaws. It was ready to fight. Ninjask's burn hurt it once again.

"Well, I think Ninjask is in no condition to fight. I'm calling it quits for him. He is out of this match right after this: Ninjask, use Baton Pass."

Ninjask was suddenly enveloped in the beam that a poké ball has when it surrounds a Pokémon. Ninjask was pulled back to its ball. In its place, there was a yellow-brown bug pokemon. It appeared to be just a shell though, as it didn't move and didn't appear to have eyes. It had a hole in the back that was burst open to give it the appearance of wings. However, it didn't use these pseudo-wings, as it just floated there. It had a white underbelly and a strange, floating halo-thing above its head. Its arms began to glow purple, a result of the Swords Dance being passed on through the Baton Pass.

"Haxorus, attack with Dragon Rush!"

Haxorus began to glow as he charged full on at the shell. The shell just remained there. As Haxorus's attack connected, it just passed right through the shell.

"Wha-what!?" Lyss said, shocked.

"You see…" Luzige began "A Shedinja is very unique in that only a certain few moves can hit it. Dragon moves are not these moves. Not in the slightest. Now, Shedinja, use Fury Swipes."

Shedinja rushed at Haxorus and its arms came down hard. The assult continued for a while before eventually ceasing.

"Haxorus, try using Giga Impact!"

Haxorus went for a full on charge once again, this time with as much power as he could muster. When he got to the Shedinja, he went right through again. He kept going and going until he crashed and felled a tree. When he recovered from hitting the tree, he looked behind to see the Shedinja there, waiting to attack.

"Shadow Ball."

With that command, Shedinja created a dark sphere and launched it at Haxorus. He was helpless against the attack and ended up being defeated the moment the attack connected.

"Return Haxorus…" Lyss said. "I'm down two, and he's only down one… I think it's time, go Togekiss! Use Air Slash!"

Lyss sent out her Large, white, egg-shaped Pokémon. When it entered the arena, it created a powerful gust of wind that was very, very sharp. It connected with Shedinja and it was felled immediately, despite taking no prior damage whatsoever."

"Good, I see you finally understood how to hurt Shedinja. You see, only moves that are super-effective against it, such as flying-type, can defeat it. It is completely immune to all other types, though. Its major drawback, however, is that it goes down in one hit when it is hit. Such an amazing battling style has its limitations after all."
"Really!?" exclaimed Lyss. "I was just winging it, glad to see it actually worked for me this time!"

"Oh…" said Luzige, disappointed. "Well then, let's finish this. Go Galvantula."

Luzige sent out a large spider. It had hairy yellow legs and head and a blue, hairy backside. Its torso had a large purple stripe running down the center. All non-hairy parts of it were blue or gray. It had two large, blue eyes with four smaller eyes in-between them.

"Togekiss, Air Slash again!"

"Galvantula, use Electroweb"

Togekiss created the wind blades again. Galvantula fired a set of electric sparks from its mouth. They began to form and eventually became a large spider web made of electricity. The web took in Togekiss and begain electrocuting her. She wouldn't have escaped the horrible trap if it weren't for the air blades she created earlier. She got up, slightly weakened.

"Galvantula, use Electro Ball now."

Galvantula fired a large ball of electricity at Togekiss that hit it head on. Togekiss was very weak now. She was about to give up and lose, but then, Lyss had a crazy idea.

"Togekiss, use Metronome! I know it's crazy, but we need to win this!"

"Galvantula, use Bug Buzz."

Galvantula created a powerful sound wave that hurt everyone's ears. Togekiss kept on with its attack. The tips of its wing glowed blue as it wiggled them (if even possible for a Pokémon with wings to do so. It eventually stopped after a short while. The next thing that happened was so sudden. Togekiss slammed itself onto the ground, creating a white energy beam that ran through the ground. As the beam ran through the ground, leaving a large crack in the ground as it went on. Galvantula was hit by it, and went down instantly. The Metronome caused Fissure to be used.

"I see you had luck on your side. Sometimes, using luck can be the best strategy. Andrew, it is your turn now. Let us begin. Go Shuckle."

"All righty then, let's go Garchomp!"

My land shark appeared. On Luzige's side, there was a strange looking pokemon. It had a red shell with many holes in it. It had a long, slim yellow head with two simple, black eyes. It had four appendages coming out of four of the holes that looked exactly like the head, only they were featureless. It seemed harmless, but considering how tough Luzige had been able to make his Pokémon, I knew not to take it lightly.

"Garchomp, let's go with Dragon Rush!"

Garchomp glowed and ran full speed at the weird shell-thing. The Shuckle went into its shell as Garchomp began to assault it. The shell went flying and had a powerful crash. The dust cleared and the shell was unscathed. The Shuckle came out completely unharmed.

"Okay then… Garchomp, use Earthquake!"

Garchomp slammed its fins on the ground and created a large shockwave. Shuckle went back into its shell. When the tremors ended, Shuckle reappeared, completely unharmed.

"Well… Dammit, what the hell is going on here?"

"Simply put" Luzige began "Shuckle has been deemed the most defensive Pokémon in existence. Its shell is nearly impenetrable. You will have an incredibly difficult time defeating it. Shuckle, use Power Trick, and then, Bug Bite."

Shuckle began to glow a rainbow color. It was strange in that when it faded, something seemed very different and much more dangerous about the weird shell-thing. It then opened its mouth and bit down on Garchomp. Such a small bite would seem insignificant, but Garchomp was down in one hit.

"Wha-what!? Garchomp! Return. Let's go Blaziken! Use Blaze Kick!"

"Shuckle, use Stone Edge."

Shuckle raised a large amount of stones into the air. It launched them at Blaziken one at a time, causing Blaziken to dodge each one expertly. Knowing well that he easily took down my Garchomp, I had to be careful. Blaziken jumped up into the air and engulfed its legs in flames. It landed straight on the Shuckle. Then, there was a loud crack. The shell was broken and Shuckle had no time to go back in it, not that it would have helped much. Its defenses had been weakened. Must've been that Power Trick he used. I guess that great power came at a price.

"I see you saw through Power Trick's drawback. Shuckle's defense was severely weakened for the sake of increasing its attack power so drastically. It's time to get very serious now. I believe I shall use my most powerful Pokémon. Go Volcarona."

The pokemon that Luzige now had was a large, moth-like pokemon with six wings that were red and orange. It had a long, blue abdomen with a black center and a black face. There was white fuzz on its torso and it had four small legs. The wings had black spots all over it.

"Volcarona, use Quiver Dance, and then Heat Wave."

Volcarona began to flap its wings and glow green as its stats were raised. It then let loose a powerful wave of fire that went on throughout the field. Blaziken took the damage, but being a fire type, it didn't affect him too much.

"Alright Blaziken, attack with Sky Uppercut."

"Volcarona, use Hurricane."

Volcarona flapped its wings and a large gale was unleashed. Blaziken was severely damaged by it, but he kept going. Blaziken took his claw and made a fist. He then leaped straight up with his fist underneath Volcarona, carrying the two of them into the air. Volcarona took a significant amount of damage.

"Now, Volcarona, Hurricane again."

"Blaziken, use Focus Energy!"

As Volcarona let loose another powerful gale, Blaziken was cloaked in a red aura. It survived the powerful gale and dodged it skillfully, this time with not as much damage done. Blaziken prepared for my next order of attack.

"Blaziken, finish this with Blaze Kick, GO!"
"Volcarona, use Fiery Dance."

Blaziken jumped in the air as his legs were cloaked in flames once again. Volcarona flapped its wings and then was surrounded in harsh looking flames. The two were going at each other with intense flames all around their bodies. They connected. Flames exploded everywhere.

For a while, the flames covered both of them. The fate of this battle was completely unknown. Eventually, the flames cleared. Both Pokémon were down. The heat of two fire type attacks was too much for both of them. Both Luzige and I recalled our Pokémon. It was down to this, both of us had our last Pokémon now.

"Yes, I was hoping this would happen" Luzige said. "I wanted to use this final Pokémon against you from the very beginning. It seems only fitting that I'll use him as my last Pokémon to use against your final Pokémon. Now, I shall use my brother's prized Pokémon against you. Go Scizor!"

Luzige sent out the red, ant-mantis Pokémon that once belonged to his brother. After only one day, he already seemed to have good control over him. I smirked as I saw Marcus's favorite pokemon, the one I battled, the one I delivered, now facing off against me once again. I knew exactly which Pokémon to use for this occasion.

"Go Bisharp!"

My chess Pokémon appeared before me and prepared himself for battle.

"Let's end this now, Scizor, use X-Scissor!"
"Bisharp, Night Slash, GO!"

I smiled at how familiar this situation was. Bisharp's sythes on his arms glowed a dark purple. Scizor's claws glowed white as he put them in an x-shape. The two rushed toward at each other, ready to fight once again.

A/N: Hey peeps, I'm sooooooooo sorry for taking so long to update. This chapter was originally intended to be much longer with a full six-vs-six battle for all three characters, but I had to shorten it due to my time constraints. Senior year, trying to graduate, ya know? Kinda focused on school :P Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. Also, I'm changing my OC submissions to only Area Leaders except for Electric, Water, and Dark (cuz I have them planned out) and Bug and Dragon (obviously, already done). I would love to see a cool Steel or Rock type or any type really. Once again, I apologize for the long update, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D