Pokémon GS, The Johto League

Part 10: Azalea Town Match: Battle for the HiveBadge!

by: KentaMarina

        The steel doors made a creaking noise as it opened before Kenta, revealing a place that looked more like a jungle than an arena. There were tall, green trees that littered the surroundings of the arena, and tall grass at knee-high length. Cyndaquil suddenly pointed out that the referee was there, and his opponent was...

        "Bugsy?" asked Kenta.

        "That's right, I'm the Gym Leader of Azalea Town!" replied Bugsy rather proudly.

        "I should've expected that with that Scyther of yours," remarked Kenta.

        Bugsy's face then turned serious as he took out a PokéBall. Kenta did the same and pulled out a PokéBall also.

        "This is an official Pokémon League Gym Battle between Kenta of New Bark Town and Azalea Town's Gym Leader, Bugsy. Each Trainer can use up to two Pokémon, and there are no time limits. First Trainer to knock out all of the opponent's Pokémon wins," said the referee as she explained the rules. "Trainers, get ready!"

        "Kakuna, I choose you!" shouted Bugsy as he called out a yellow-colored Pokémon to the arena. It had an almost menacing pair of black eyes, and looked a lot like a cocoon.

        "Mareep, you're up!" shouted Kenta as he threw the PokéBall.

        "Begin!" shouted the referee.

        "Mareep, let's start off with a Tackle attack!"

        "Kakuna, stop it with String Shot!"

        Kenta's Mareep began to charge towards Bugsy's Kakuna, only to successfully hit Kakuna by tripping from the sticky string, rolling along forward like a ball, and ramming Kakuna, who fell on its back, struggling to get up.

        "Okay," said Kenta rather slowly after seeing what had just happened, "Mareep, come back and fire a Thundershock!"

        "Kakuna, Harden!" shouted Bugsy.

        Kenta's Mareep quickly went back in front of its Trainer and fired a yellow surge of electricity towards the struggling cocoon Pokémon, who unfortunately did not have time to protect its body, leaving it fried to a crisp and had X's on both eyes. Mareep suddenly smiled happily.

        "Kakuna is unable to battle, the round goes to Kenta and Mareep!" announced the referee after she turned her head sideways and saw Kakuna's eyes.

        "Great going, Mareep! You think you can take it all the way?" asked Kenta.

        "Ma!" it shouted happily. A yes.

        "Pretty good, Kenta," remarked the Leader. "But can your Mareep take this?" asked Bugsy as he threw the PokéBall towards the arena, where it opened and a white light came out in front of Mareep, revealing...

        "Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Scyther can slash through grass with its sharp scythes, and can move faster than the human eye can see," said Kenta's PokéDex as it somehow detected the Pokémon that was now staring down at Mareep.

        "I knew you were gonna use Scyther," said Kenta. "Mareep, go! Thundershock attack!"

        "Scyther, Double Team!" commanded Bugsy.

        Scyther was able to "dodge" the attack in time, by creating illusions of itself and surrounding a confused Mareep, who was turning its head left and right, trying to figure out which one was real. Kenta gave out a cry of surprise.

        "Decisions, decisions," said Bugsy from his side. "Take aim and attack!" he taunted.

        Kenta growled, then Mareep attacked one with Thundershock. The attack unfortunately hit one of Scyther's many illusions, and the real one appeared in the air behind Mareep.

        "Scyther, win this one with a Wing Attack!"

        Scyther began its descent on Mareep, then flapped its wings at high speed, releasing two thin waves of air speeding directly on Mareep.

        "Mareep, look out!" shouted Kenta.

        Too late, the attack had already hit Mareep, sending it flying from the impact and falling down with a dizzy swirl in each eye.

        "Mareep is unable to battle, the round goes to Bugsy and Scyther!" announced the referee.

        "Mareep, return!" said Kenta as his Mareep turned into a red light as it was recalled to its PokéBall. "Thanks a lot for the early lead, take a good rest."

        "We're each down to our last Pokémon," said Bugsy. "Are you still up to battle Scyther?"

        "When it comes to winning a Badge, I won't stop until I get it," replied Kenta as his Cyndaquil jumped off of his shoulder and into the arena,

        "Quil!" it said as it flared its back up.

        "Scyther, Double Team!"

        "Cyndaquil, don't attack!"

        A confused Cyndaquil lowered the fire on its back and like Mareep, looked left and right to see which Scyther was the real one. Kenta also watched carefully, then saw a small detail that one Scyther had, but the others didn't. Kenta couldn't help but grin.

        "Cyndaquil, attack the Scyther to the left of the one in front of you! Ember!"

        A complete success...

        "Ah! Scyther!" shouted Bugsy as he saw his best Pokémon get hit.

        "Nice going, Cyndaquil!"

        "Alright Scyther, it's time to use this field to our advantage. Cloak yourself!"

        "Scyther," said the humanoid bug Pokémon, nodding for a second before vanishing into thin air. This made Kenta and Cyndaquil panic.

        "Quil? Quil?!"

        "Calm down, Cyndaquil, we'll find him," said Kenta, trying not to show his fear and nervousness. "Okay, stealth isn't one of my best traits, but attacking is! Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!"

        This confused Cyndaquil a bit. What was there to attack? But Cyndaquil chose to attack anyway, flaring its back up a bit higher than it usually does and firing an incinerating jet of flame. The grass around the area where it attacked was burned into nothingness, and a burned Scyther appeared.

        "Scyther, don't give in, Fury Cutter!"

        Scyther opened its eyes and jumped, then as it fell, it weakly slashed Cyndaquil with its left blade in a diagonal motion.

        "Fury Cutter once more!"

        "Scyther!" said the Pokémon as it slashed Cyndaquil with its right blade in a diagonal motion also, but this time, it did more damage than the previous slash, knocking Cyndaquil away.

        "Cyndaquil!" called out Kenta.

        "Fury Cutter again!" commanded Bugsy

        Bugsy's Scyther slashed Cyndaquil in a sharp move with its left blade, knocking Cyndaquil farther away. The two Pokémon were bruised and damaged, but none of the two seem ready to give in.

        "Cyndaquil, can you still go for it?" asked Kenta as he watched his friend struggle to get up.

        "Cyndaquil!" it said through gritted teeth.

        "Alright, but don't think that you have to do this," said Kenta. "Flamethrower!"

        "Scyther, False Swipe!"

        Scyther appeared and disappeared left and right, while Cyndaquil took aim and fired. But unfortunately for Cyndaquil, its attacked missed while Scyther did an almost deadly swipe at Cyndaquil.

        "Cyndaquil!" called out Kenta.

        "Cynda..quil..." said the almost fainted Pokémon.

        "Scyther, let's end this with a Fury Cutter!"

        "Oh boy, not another one," said Kenta to himself. He then saw Cyndaquil flare its back up.

        "Cyndaquil, are you sure you can still attack?"

        Kenta's question was answered as Cyndaquil unleashed a powerful Flamethrower attack on Scyther, burning it and finally knocking it out.

        "I'll take that as a yes."

        "Scyther!" said Bugsy as Scyther fell forward with a dizzy swirl in each eye.

        The referee went into the arena and checked Scyther's state. "Scyther is unable to battle, the match goes to Kenta of New Bark Town!" she announced.

        "Scyther, you did well," said Bugsy as he recalled his fallen Pokémon back to its PokéBall.

        "You did it, Cyndaquil!" said a very happy Kenta as he ran to his best Pokémon and picked it up.

        "Cyndaquil!" it managed to shout.

        "Well, I've never had a battle that good before," said Bugsy as he approached Kenta. He opened his palm, where a Badge that looked a lot like a ladybug's back was. "You've definitely earned the Hive Badge."

        "Wow, the HiveBadge," said Kenta as he carefully took the Badge from Bugsy's hand. "Thanks a lot!"

        "No problem, you earned it!"

        "Quil, quil!" said Cyndaquil, who suddenly jumped up to Kenta's shoulder to do a victory dance.

        "Oh, I almost forgot," said Bugsy as he handed Kenta a green-colored CD.

        "A TM?" asked Kenta.

        Bugsy nodded his head. "It contains Fury Cutter. As you've just seen, its attack raises the more it's used, so some patience is needed to really beat down the opponent."

        "Thanks again, Bugsy," said Kenta.

        "Good luck on your journey, and the next Gym is in Goldenrod City, which is not that far from here."

        Kenta nodded and left the Gym, only to be passed by Matt running at top speed into the arena.

        "HiKentabyeKentawishmeluck!" said Matt as he passed his older brother on the way in.

        Kenta blinked. "Okay," he said very slowly, "good luck, I guess."

        With a new Badge in hand, Kenta continues on his journey...as soon as Matt finishes and gets his Badge.