Chapter 66. Gym Leader Koichi

When Alex registered for the challenge, he was required to submit his team of six Pokémon for examination. This was to ensure that only Pokémon of the appropriate ranks were used against the challenger. The team he assembled consisted of Raticate, Arcanine, Clawitzer, Alcremie, Kommo-o, and Togekiss. He couldn’t use Hydreigon because she was an Elite ranked Pokémon. Using her would have allowed the gym to deploy their own Elite ranked Pokémon as well. This was one of the difficulties with gyms and official battles. Pokémon of equal strength were required to face challengers, preventing veteran trainers from overwhelming gyms and forcing them to hand over badges. Essentially, overleveling was forbidden. Stepping onto the battlefield, Alex released his first pair, Kommo-o and Togekiss. On the opposite side, Gym Leader Koichi released his own Pokémon: Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. Koichi stood at 6' (1.8 m) tall, with broad shoulders, and heavy looking arms. He was a disciplined, battle-hardened martial artist with a commanding presence. Dressed in a white gi and fingerless gloves, he embodied strength, technique, and adaptability, hallmarks of a master of Fighting type battles. “Hello, Alex. It’s nice to finally meet the young prodigy who trained my trainers,” Koichi said. “Hello, Gym Leader Koichi. It’s nice to finally meet you as well. I have been in your care,” Alex replied with a light bow. “Haha. Young people should be more energetic. Alright, show me your progress, Alex. I have high hopes for you.” “Doubles match, 6v6: Gym Leader Koichi versus Challenger Alex. Begin!” the referee announced. “Set up,” Alex commanded immediately, while Koichi simply watched, a sharp glint in his eyes. The moment Kommo-o raised his hands to beat his belly, Koichi barked, “Earthquake!” Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan lifted their feet and slammed them down, sending surges of Ground type energy through the battlefield. At the same time, Kommo-o’s body shimmered with a silver sheen, and Togekiss faintly glowed gray. The Earthquake had no effect on the airborne Togekiss, who completed its Wish, while Kommo-o, having used Iron Defense, was left with three-quarters of his health intact. “Hahaha! You got me. Keep this up, and you’ll have my badge in no time,” Koichi said with a hearty laugh. Judging by Kommo-o’s opening move, Koichi had assumed the plan was to use Belly Drum while Togekiss used Follow Me to ensure its success, taking the brunt of any attack in the process. To counter this, Koichi had ordered double Earthquakes, which would have been enough to knock Kommo-o out immediately, even with Follow Me in play. But now, seeing the outcome, he was pleasantly surprised. He was now fighting an uphill battle against a pseudo-legendary with two stacks of Defense and presumably, an incoming Wish, rendering any damage he dealt in the next clash practically useless. “Body Press and Yawn.” “Bulk Up and Taunt.” “Air Slash instead.” Kommo-o rushed at Hitmonlee, his body radiating Fighting type energy. However, Hitmonlee’s Bulk Up, boosted by its Advanced rank, had Priority +1, allowing it to activate before Kommo-o’s attack landed. Even so, the Body Press still inflicted significant damage. Thanks to Bulk Up and specialized food training in Speed and Defense, Hitmonlee barely held on, left with only a sliver of its health. Meanwhile, Togekiss was immediately Taunted by Hitmonchan, whose own Advanced rank gave its move Priority +1. Forced to abandon Yawn, Togekiss instead attacked with Air Slash, leaving Hitmonchan at a sliver of its health as well. “Taunt and Ice Punch.” “Again.” Hitmonlee quickly landed its Taunt on Kommo-o, preventing it from using Belly Drum. In response, Kommo-o pressed down with another Body Press, knocking Hitmonlee out. At the same time, Kommo-o’s minor injuries from the earlier Earthquakes were healed by Wish. Hitmonchan, moving with a sudden burst of speed, managed to land an Ice Punch on Togekiss before being struck by another Air Slash and knocked out. Its Ice Punch had also been Priority +1, mimicking the effects of Quick Attack. As the dust settled, Kommo-o stood with almost full health, two stacks of Defense, and a Taunt still in effect. Togekiss, also Taunted, had lost a third of its health. It was a strong opening for Alex. “Haha, well done! But these next two won’t be so easy, prepare yourself,” Koichi said as he retrieved Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan before releasing Throh and Sawk onto the battleground. “Again, on the red one,” Alex instructed. He didn’t have much of a choice, Taunt was still in effect, though it would wear off in a few seconds. “Rock Slide!” Both Throh and Sawk unleashed Advanced ranked Rock Slides, enhancing only their range by 50%. The result was a rain of rocks covering the entire battlefield, leaving no room for escape. The damage remained the same, but rather than a localized barrage, this was an unrelenting downpour of stones. However, since Throh and Sawk stood side by side, their position remained untouched by the attack, sparing them from harm. Sensing its imminent downfall, Togekiss poured everything into its next Air Slash, sending the attack slicing through the air just before the rocks began to fall. The strike landed cleanly, dealing significant damage to Throh. Kommo-o had no choice but to push forward, enduring the barrage of falling rocks to reach Throh. With sheer determination, it delivered a crushing Body Press, ultimately knocking Throh out. Now, Alex was halfway to victory, and with a nearly unkillable Kommo-o against Fighting types, the odds were in his favor. Koichi recalled Throh and sent out his next Pokémon, Lucario. Alex retrieved the fainted Togekiss and was deliberating on his next Pokémon when he recognized Lucario’s silhouette. If given time to use Nasty Plot, it would undoubtedly dominate the rest of his team. Panicking, Alex sent out Raticate and immediately shouted, “Taunt!” Both Lucario and Raticate had Priority +1 moves, Nasty Plot for Lucario and Taunt for Raticate. Neither had invested in Speed due to ‘food training,’ and ultimately, Taunt landed first, preventing Lucario from using Nasty Plot. Alex sighed in relief but quickly refocused on the battle. Koichi still had one more Pokémon, likely Machamp, and he needed to take down Lucario to avoid any further upsets. “Well played, but the fight isn’t over. Psychic and Close Combat, defend Lucario from Kommo-o,” Koichi commanded. Seeing no better option, Alex decided to give up on Kommo-o and make the best use of his remaining time. “Thunder Wave on Lucario. Body Press on Sawk,” he ordered. Lucario concentrated and unleashed a powerful Psychic force on Kommo-o, dropping him to less than half health. Sawk intercepted Kommo-o’s path to Lucario, unleashing a flurry of strikes. However, Kommo-o, arms spread wide, drove its body into Sawk with overwhelming force. As Sawk continued using Close Combat while being gradually overpowered, the relentless pressure ultimately caused it to faint, though Kommo-o was left with less than a quarter of its health. Raticate, finally recovering from using Taunt earlier, fired an electrical pulse at Lucario, successfully paralyzing and slowing it down. “Finish it,” Koichi said as he recalled Sawk and sent out Urshifu. Panicked once more, Alex called out, “Taunt it, then Thunder Wave!” to Raticate, then turned to Kommo-o. “Aerial Ace!” Raticate acted first, Taunting Urshifu, only for Alex to realize, to his shock, that Urshifu had already completed a Swords Dance before the move could take effect. It had to be an Advanced ranked Swords Dance with Priority +1. Given that Urshifu could outspeed Raticate, it was likely invested in Speed EVs as well. Lucario attempted to finish Kommo-o with Vacuum Wave, another Priority +1 move, but Kommo-o struck first with Aerial Ace. Since Kommo-o had maxed Speed EVs, it landed the attack before Lucario could react, dealing a quarter of Lucario’s health in damage before finally fainting. Alex retrieved Kommo-o and immediately sent out Arcanine. “Heat Wave!” he commanded. “Surging Strikes, Aura Sphere!” Koichi countered. Thunder Wave landed on Urshifu first, slowing it down just enough for Arcanine to unleash Heat Wave on both Lucario and Urshifu. Unfortunately, Lucario’s Aura Sphere was Advanced ranked with Priority +1 rather than increased damage, allowing it to launch the attack just before being engulfed by the Advanced ranked Heat Wave, which had enhanced power. As a Fighting/Steel type, Lucario was especially vulnerable to Fire type energy, causing it to faint upon being bathed in fire. The Aura Sphere shot toward Raticate, who had just finished using Thunder Wave and had no time to use Protect on itself. The attack landed cleanly, knocking Raticate out in a single hit. Meanwhile, Urshifu endured Heat Wave, and despite its low Special Defense, its Special Defense EVs allowed it to survive with over half its health remaining. Even after the slowing effects of Thunder Wave and the residual damage from Heat Wave, Urshifu closed the distance to Arcanine and launched three precise, water-infused strikes. The first, a backhand to Arcanine’s face. The second, a brutal stomp on its paws. The third, an overwhelming double palm strike to the chest while pinning Arcanine down. The sheer force of the Surging Strikes combo was devastating. Arcanine fainted by the second blow. Alex retrieved both Raticate and Arcanine, but he had managed to slow Urshifu down and eliminate Lucario. Koichi was now down to his final Pokémon, a slow one, while Alex still had three remaining. Wasting no time, Alex threw out Clawitzer and Alcremie to finish the fight. As long as they used area of effect attacks, victory was assured. “Surf, Dazzling Gleam,” Alex commanded. Both Clawitzer and Alcremie glowed blue and pink, ready to unleash their moves. In a final desperate move, Urshifu used an Advanced Ice Punch with Priority +1, managing to close in and strike Clawitzer before she could unleash her attack, almost knocking her out. Alex was momentarily stunned by the unexpected strike, but he knew it was Urshifu’s last stand. The Surf from Clawitzer at point blank range and Dazzling Gleam from Alcremie still landed, washing over Urshifu and causing it to sway before finally being blown away unconscious. “Winner: Challenger Alex,” the referee announced. “Hahaha! That was a great match, Alex. You’ve certainly improved over the past year you were away from the Dojo. You fought well, congratulations,” Koichi said as he approached, storing Urshifu and handing off his Pokémon to the referee for healing. Alex stored his own Pokémon before bowing lightly. “It’s all thanks to the Dojo for allowing me to train my Pokémon. Thank you, Gym Leader Koichi.” “Good, good. Now, I’d love to give you the Martial Arts Badge, but there’s still one final battle before you earn it,” Koichi said, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. “Will you face me in a one on one match, Alex?”