Chapter 65. First Gym Challenge

Alex had registered for this challenge a month ago, and according to Laura, with the recent influx of graduates flooding the gyms, their backlog of challenges would last for a year—just in time for next year's graduates to fill it up again. Even with three gyms in Saffron City, they had just enough capacity to handle the wave of new trainers—eager, starry-eyed individuals dreaming of becoming the next Champion. Alex made his way to the third floor of the gym for his appointment. For this challenge, he had to face three double battles before taking on the Gym Leader, Koichi. As he considered his strategy, he ultimately decided on Arcanine and Raticate. He wanted to showcase their progress to the Dojo members, who were quite familiar with these two and would likely appreciate the sentiment. Upon reaching the third floor, Alex was greeted by Kael and Charles for his first battle. They would be using Pangoro and Hitmonlee against Alex's Raticate and Arcanine. "Hey, Alex. Long time no see. How's Raticate doing?" Kael asked, releasing his Pangoro, who gave Raticate a smug look. "Good. I hope you haven't slacked off since our sparring matches." "Haha. Pangoro will easily take out your Raticate this time." "Don't forget about me. This is a doubles match, after all," Charles chimed in as he released his Hitmonlee, who locked eyes with Arcanine. "Let's see where we stand after a year of training." A referee stepped forward and initiated the battle. "Doubles match: Pangoro and Hitmonlee versus Raticate and Arcanine. Begin!" Raticate vanished with a Quick Attack to the edge of the battlefield behind Arcanine and immediately used Swords Dance, boosting his attack power significantly. Arcanine, meanwhile, launched an Extreme Speed, knocking Hitmonlee away. No commands were given—these trainers and their Pokémon were too familiar with each other for that. Pangoro, a bit late on the uptake, used Earthquake which knocked out Hitmonlee and dealt significant damage to Arcanine. Hitmonlee, unable to withstand the sheer force of Earthquake due to his low Defense and already lowered health, fainted instantly.  Their original plan was to use High Jump Kick with Earthquake to deal significant opening damage but their plan backfired with a simple Extreme Speed from Arcanine that prevented Hitmonlee from taking off. Arcanine used Morning Sun to completely heal the damage dealt by Earthquake just as Pangoro released another Earthquake. The cycle repeated another time before Arcanine finally charged at Pangoro with an Extreme Speed dealing some damage. As Pangoro was about to release a final Earthquake on Arcanine to knock him out, a Quick Attack—enhanced by two Swords Dances—struck from behind, sending Pangoro flying and knocking her out. The damage from Arcanine's Extreme Speed had lowered her health just enough for Raticate to finish her off. "Winner: Arcanine and Raticate. Alex may proceed to the next challenge," the referee announced before moving to the second battleground. "Damn, I didn't get to do anything," Charles muttered, recalling his Hitmonlee. "I forgot your Raticate could use Swords Dance now that this isn't just sparring. Good luck with the rest of the challenge, Alex. The others won't be pushovers," Kael added. "Thanks, guys. See you around," Alex replied, healing Arcanine and letting him rest. His next battle was against Hitmonchan and Primeape, so he swapped out Arcanine for Clawitzer. "Doubles match: Primeape and Hitmonchan versus Raticate and Clawitzer. Begin!" "Thunder Punch!" (x2) "Protect!" Since these trainers were unfamiliar to Alex, he opted to command this battle. Clawitzer used Protect while Raticate used Swords Dance to begin their setup. Primeape and Hitmonchan rushed in, their fists glowing yellow as they struck Clawitzer's shield, failing to land a hit. Their strategy was clear—they wanted to eliminate Clawitzer first to avoid getting distracted by Raticate's speed. "Aqua Jet out of there," Alex commanded Clawitzer. "Again!" (x2) Clawitzer shot an Aqua Jet, propelling herself to the edge of the battleground while Primeape and Hitmonchan pursued, fists still crackling with electricity. This gave Raticate the perfect opportunity—he launched a solid Quick Attack at Primeape, bringing it to less than half health left. One more hit would take it down. Primeape and Hitmonchan finally landed their Thunder Punches on Clawitzer, knocking her out instantly. Their high Attack stats, combined with Clawitzer's Electric-type weakness, made it a swift elimination. As they turned to target Raticate, another Quick Attack struck Primeape from the back, sending it flying out of the battlegrounds and knocking it out. Now, it was a one-on-one between Raticate and Hitmonchan from close distance. "Close Combat!" Hitmonchan's trainer commanded. "Protect." Hitmonchan's flurry of glowing punches slammed into Raticate's protective barrier. As the shield faded and Hitmonchan paused slightly off guard, the next commands came quickly. "Again! You can finish it in one!" "Endeavor!" "Bullet Punch to finish it off after!" Hitmonchan unleashed another Close Combat, but Raticate endured the blows with the help of his Focus Sash. Glowing gray, Raticate transferred the pain he had suffered onto Hitmonchan with Endeavor, followed by a Quick Attack that struck before Hitmonchan could retaliate with Bullet Punch. Hitmonchan's trainer had underestimated Raticate's speed. "Winner: Raticate and Clawitzer. Alex may proceed to the next challenge," the referee announced, moving to the third battleground. "How? My Hitmonchan is trained for Speed. He should have been faster than Raticate," the trainer asked in disbelief. "What diet did you use?" Alex asked. "Defense and Attack as well as Speed, but it should have favored Speed." "That's your problem. Food training only works for two stats at maximum. If you add a third, they won't reach their full potential. Your distribution was close, but not enough to surpass Raticate. You should read the study to get all your facts straight." Over the years, Alex's research had flourished, and trainers had started calling it "food training" due to its reliance on specialized diets for stat optimization.  This trainer's Hitmonchan would have been faster than Raticate if he had focused solely on Speed and Attack, but including Defense reduced his Speed just enough to lose the crucial race. It had been close, Alex admitted. If he had chosen to attack with Aqua Jet instead of retreating, Raticate wouldn't have had the extra time to land that second Quick Attack and would have likely fallen in a 2v1. The battle had been decided by split-second decisions. Alex revived Clawitzer and healed both Clawitzer and Raticate. Alex decided to let Clawitzer rest while he brought out Alcremie. He figured he had to start taking things seriously, considering who he was up against in the third match. Making his way to the third battleground, he immediately recognized Joe and his Machamp, along with an unfamiliar trainer accompanied by a Hitmontop. "Alex, about time you challenged the gym officially," Joe said with a grin. "Yeah, it was time. I just became an adult this year, so I figured I'd start collecting badges to fill my badge case." "Hahaha, well, I'm not going easy on you this time." "And my Raticate isn't restricted from using Swords Dance anymore, so watch out." "Doubles match: Machamp and Hitmontop versus Raticate and Alcremie. Begin!" the referee announced. "Dazzling Gleam," Alex commanded, opting for an immediate offensive approach. "Heavy Slam on Alcremie," Joe countered. "Quick Guard!" the other trainer ordered. Being briefed by Joe, the trainer knew that trying to catch Raticate was a futile effort once it got moving, so he opted to interfere instead. Alcremie radiated a pink glow, unleashing a Dazzling Gleam on both Machamp and Hitmontop. Raticate attempted a Quick Attack but bounced off the Quick Guard protecting Machamp.  Seeing the failed attempt, Raticate quickly retreated to Alcremie rather than wasting any extra energy. Once beside her, he scooped Alcremie onto his back and dashed away from the charging Machamp. "Shit! That shouldn't be allowed!" Joe shouted in frustration, while his teammate just facepalmed. Alex, on the other hand, wore a massive grin. His Raticate was a genius. Alcremie was small, slow, and fragile, but being carried around nullified her lack of mobility. "Bullet Punch!" the other trainer commanded. "Wide Guard," Joe followed up. Realizing slow moves wouldn't catch Raticate, they adjusted their strategy. Bullet Punch targeted Alcremie while they alternated with Wide Guard to block further Dazzling Gleams. Meanwhile, Raticate simply ran along the battlefield's perimeter while Alcremie continued using Dazzling Gleam. Seeing the move having no effect while Alcremie took chip damage from Bullet Punch, Alex adjusted his tactics. "Draining Kiss. Keep running." "Bullet Punch!" (x2) With Wide Guard no longer relevant, the trainers switched to all-out offense. Both Machamp and Hitmontop lunged forward with Bullet Punch, but Raticate used Quick Attack to dodge just in time. A Draining Kiss followed immediately, landing squarely on Machamp. "This isn't working. We need to deal damage," the unfamiliar trainer noted. Joe nodded. "Earthquake!" "Wide Guard," his partner followed up. Bullet Punch had failed. Now, they opted to alternate Advanced-rank Earthquake—boosted in power and consequently range—with Wide Guard. Wide Guard would shield the user from Earthquake and Dazzling Gleam, while Earthquake would strike the entire battlefield, leaving no room for escape. Sensing the vibrations, Raticate Quick Attacked upward instead of running on the ground.  Recognizing the limited time Raticate had left, Alex finally decided to finish this battle. "Acid Armor and Endeavor!" As Raticate landed, Earthquake slammed into him. He immediately used Endeavor on Machamp, bringing its HP down to match his own. Meanwhile, Alcremie leaped off Raticate, activating Acid Armor. As Raticate neared the brink of fainting, he unleashed one final Quick Attack aimed at Machamp. "Quick Guard!" The other trainer swiftly responded, negating Raticate's last attack. With no strength left, Raticate collapsed. "Alternate with Draining Kiss," Alex ordered. Alcremie, undeterred, followed up with Draining Kiss, finishing off Machamp and shifting the battle into a one-on-one. Hitmontop proved resilient, using Protect whenever Draining Kiss came its way. However, after three uses of Acid Armor, Alcremie simply began spamming Draining Kiss, gradually overwhelming Hitmontop and securing victory. "Winner: Raticate and Alcremie! Alex may proceed to the final challenge," the referee declared before moving on to the fourth and final battleground. Joe laughed, walking over. "Hahaha, that was a damn good match, Alex. Well done." "Thanks, Joe. And thanks for introducing me to this dojo years ago. My Pokemon's training wouldn't have been as effective otherwise." "Haha, no problem. I'll see you around, Alex." "See you." Alex revived and healed Raticate, then turned toward the fourth battleground. This was the match he would take absolutely seriously, considering what was at stake. ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath