A Buggy Brawl

After a good sleep and a good breakfast, the heroes were finally standing in front of the Azalea gym. From the outside, it looked like a gym, but when everyone stepped inside, they figured it looked like a garden. Yugi and his friends had to remember what's on the inside matters more than what's on the outside because that's where true qualities lie. And based on the qualities of this gym, it looked like its theme was for bug or grass-type Pokémon. The answer was quickly revealed when they saw bug Pokémon in the trees.

"Welcome," said a voice. Yugi and his friends looked around and saw a young boy with lavender hair sitting in a tree. "Welcome to the Azalea gym. Who are you guys?"

Emily spoke up first. "My name is Emily Briar. I've come here to challenge the leader of this gym."

The boy recognized that name. "Did you say Emily Briar as in the rainbow duelist? The one who got to duel Yugi in the KC Grand Championship?"

"Yes, that's me," said Emily. "And Yugi's here standing on my right. And on my left are my other friends Joey and Kaiba; the other two champions of Duel Monsters."

The boy was awestruck but he got it back together and introduced himself. "I'm Bugsy, the Azalea gym leader. And I can't believe that the four champions of Duel Monsters are here and one of them is challenging me. This is awesome." He clears his throat and recollects himself. "It's an honor to meet you, but I can't forget my pride as a gym leader. You see, I specialize in bug-type Pokémon and I think they're the best."

Emily admitted that bug Pokémon are fascinating, but she was hoping that Bugsy wouldn't be like the annoying Weevil Underwood back home.

Bugsy climbed down from the tree and stood in front of Emily. "Well, Emily, I accept your challenge. It would be an honor for me to have a battle with you."

"I'd be just as honored, Bugsy." So they shook hands and took their places at the arena.

The referee spoke up and announced, "The match between Bugsy, the gym leader, and Emily, the challenger, will now begin. Each trainer will use three Pokémon, but only the challenger may be permitted to substitute Pokémon. At stake is the Hive badge."

Bugsy decided to start off quick with one of the strongest Pokémon in his team. He tossed his Pokéball and called on Spinarak. It was a tiny green arachnid with six black and yellow striped legs. Emily tossed her Pokéball and called on Luna. Spinarak made the first move with a String Shot attack. Luna dodged to avoid getting caught in Spinarak's web. A bad idea on her end. With so many trees surrounding the arena, Bugsy could turn the battlefield into one giant web. That was what Spinarak was doing; using String Shot all over the place to trap Luna.

Being caught in a sticky web made it difficult for Luna to move around, but she could still attack from afar by means of Swift. Spinarak countered with Poison Sting. Emily was at a disadvantage right now, so she called Luna back and called on Sylphid. That was a good choice on her part. Sylphid could dodge the String Shot with ease and avoid getting caught in Spinarak's web. Sylphid tried to attack with Thunder Shock, but Spinarak evaded it by swinging through the trees with his String Shot. Keeping his eyes on Spinarak, Sylphid takes aim and uses Thunder Shock to cut the web and send Spinarak flying. To finish him off, Sylphid attacks with Quick Attack. Spinarak tries to get up, but falls flat on his stomach.

Bugsy's next Pokémon was Metapod, a green cocoon. Emily decided to withdraw Sylphid and get Luna back in the game. Luna starts by charging in with a Tackle. To raise his defense and take little damage, Metapod uses Harden. Attacking Metapod was like crashing into a wall. Metapod would simply feel a push and Luna would feel like she was getting a headache. Luna tries to attack with Swift, but not even her attacks can faze Metapod. Luna tries a Quick Attack, but Metapod jumps and dodges the attack. As he comes down, he lands a Tackle on Luna, knocking her out.

Emily decides to call on Sylphid to take it from here. Metapod tries to tackle Sylphid, but he dodges the attack. Metapod was fast, but Sylphid was faster. As Metapod comes in, Sylphid jumps on his back and attacks with Thunder Fang. Metapod falls and is knocked out.

It's common that in games and in battles, the player saves the best for last. It's like having a secret weapon or a trump card. Bugsy's last Pokémon was his strongest. It was Scizor, a red mantis-like Pokémon with scissor-like claws instead of scythe-like arms. Emily decided to keep Sylphid on the field. She even noticed that Scizor was wearing a collar containing a Mega Stone. No denying Bugsy was going to have him Mega Evolve. Emily and Sylphid were just going to have to be ready. Sylphid charges in with a Quick Attack, but Scizor evades it by using Double Team to create duplicates. They all prepare to use Slash, but Sylphid launches his Thunder Shock all around the field to attack all of them. He manages to hit all but the real one. Scizor approaches Sylphid from behind and attacks with Fury Cutter. This was bad because as long as Fury Cutter was used consecutively, the damage dealt would increase. The increase in damage took its toll on Sylphid and knocked him out.

Emily was down to one last Pokémon and she hoped it would lead her to victory. She tossed her Pokéball and Salamando appeared on the field. Bugsy had a feeling it would come to this. He placed his fingertips over his Keystone and it began glowing. Scizor's Mega Stone reacted to the Keystone's light and he had now Mega Evolved. Scizor's arms were like halberds and scissors put together. Scizor tries to land a Fury Cutter, but Salamando dodges the attack. Scizor had now doubled in strength and speed, but Salamando wasn't going to let that interfere with his fighting. But he also promised not to make any rash decisions without cooperating with Emily. This Pokémon and his trainer were going to fight as one. Scizor uses Double Team and circles around Salamando. The fire-type Pokémon jumps in the air and spins around as he attacks with Fire Spin. To raise his attack status as well as protect himself, Scizor used Swords Dance. That was a very impressive maneuver.

Salamando tried to attack with Fire Spin, but Scizor made the same move by repelling the flames with Swords Dance. That was the move Emily was waiting for. She told Salamando to jump above Scizor, dive down, and unleash his Flamethrower. There was no way for Scizor to protect himself from this attack. The burns had also prevented him from moving as quick as he used to. Salamando charged in with a Quick Attack to knock him over. Normal-type attacks don't typically do much damage to steel-type Pokémon, but that simple attack was enough to defeat Scizor. When he fell and hit the ground, Scizor was now back to being a regular Pokémon.

Bugsy wasn't too disappointed that he lost. He was actually impressed. Not many trainers have defeated his Scizor as a Mega Evolved Pokémon. He approached Emily and congratulated her. "That was impressive, Emily. The way the match was going, I didn't think my Scizor would lose after having Mega Evolved. But you executed a really great strategy. Here, this Hive badge is yours."

Emily thanked Bugsy and took her badge. She also raised it in the air and cheered in triumph. Bugsy even told the rest of the heroes that he would like to battle them sometime too if they would ever come back to Azalea Town. Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba liked the sound of that. With that being settled, Emily and Bugsy shook hands.

Before leaving Azalea Town, the heroes returned to Kurt's house to receive their Pokéballs. Maisie was already at the front door waiting for them. When they arrived, Maisie gave them their Pokéballs on her grandfather's behalf. Yugi got a Lure Ball, Emily got a Love Ball, Joey got a Friend Ball, and Kaiba got a Level Ball. After receiving their new Pokéballs, the heroes decided it was time to head out for the next town.