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Pokemon Forums Story 8th Gym Challenge

Tacolaser
Tacolaser Member Posts: 719 ✭✭✭
500 Comments 100 Agrees 25 LOLs 25 Likes
in Pokémon Video Games #1

"Duraludon, use Max Steelspike!" cried Arlo. He was in a Max Raid Den with his Duraludon, learning to use his Dynamax Band. As usual, Duraludon ignored Arlo completely. Energy began to gather, and Arlo was blown out of the den.

This had been going on for the past week. Arlo tried to train his Duraludon, but half the time, Duraludon would ignore Arlo's commands. Finally, Arlo decided that he was running out of time to challenge the next gym leader. He would have to defeat the next gym without his Duraludon.

As Arlo continued on his path, he saw a familiar face. It was Harley, a trainer Arlo had met at the Fire Gym.

"Hi, Harley. How are you doing?" Arlo asked.

"Good. I've been doing well ever since you helped me out. I'm on my way to the sixth gym. How are you?"

"Pretty good. I'm just about to go out and challenge the last gym leader."

"Really? That's awesome!" Harley said.

"I know. I'm really excited, but I'm also kind of worried."

"How come?"

"My Duraludon won't listen to me. It just does whatever it wants. It's too bad because I had been hoping to Dynamax it during the gym battle."

"Hmm…" Harley considered, "I don't know how to help with your Duraludon, but I might know a thing or two about Dynamaxing. I've been collecting the ingredients for Max Soup. It's a family recipe. I can make some for you. One bowl and your Duraludon will be able to Gigantamax."

"I'd be willing to try that," Arlo told him although he was secretly skeptical that it would have any effect.

"Okay. I'll get started then." Harley immediately started to set down his cooking supplies.

Arlo spent the next couple hours exploring the surrounding area. Soon enough, Harley called, "It's ready!" Harley held out a bowl of glowing red liquid. "Drink up!"

Arlo released Duraludon from its Pokeball. Duraludon took the soup and greedily slurped it up.

"I made some for us too, if you want it," Harley told his friend.

"Sure," Arlo replied. The soup tasted good. Arlo could almost feel the power welling up inside of him. After they finished eating, Arlo and Harley pitched their tents. The next day, they each went their separate ways.

Arlo considered testing to see if Harley's Max Soup really worked. However, Arlo ultimately decided that he didn't want to waste any more time getting to the next gym.

Soon enough, Arlo made it to the last town where he could find a gym. It was vibrant and full of people. Standing proudly in the town square was a giant arena with a Pokeball logo at the top. It was the gym. Arlo went inside to see battlefield. It was sleek with a futuristic design. In this building Arlo would find the most powerful trainer he had faced so far. This gym leader was known for his unbearable strength. Across the battlefield, Arlo saw a man sitting criss cross on the ground while playing a game on his Nintendo.

"I'm here to challenge you," Arlo said.

"One second," the man replied, "I've almost beat this level."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Arlo was beginning to wonder if gym leader was ever going to finish. "I'm sorry, but I really want to-"

"Yes! New high score!" the man cried, "I'm sorry. What did you want?"

"I'm here to challenge your gym. You're the gym leader, right?" Arlo asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

"You don't know if you're the gym leader."

"I don't pay much attention to how this whole 'Pokemon League' thing works. I just battle whichever trainers come in here and give them a badge."

"It sounds like you're the gym leader."

The man considers this for a moment. "Now that I think about, I'm fairly certain that I am the gym leader. My name's Randall, what's your's?"

"Arlo,"

"Nice to meet you, Argo. Let's battle!"

Arlo took his place on the battlefield. "Litleo, I choose you!"

"Quagsire, use Hydro Pump!" shouted Randall. Nothing happened.

"You have to throw your Pokeball first," Arlo explained.

"Oh, right. Go, Quagsire! Use Hydro Pump!" This time Quagsire came onto the battlefield. It shot forth an enormous blast of water. Litleo barley managed to dodge in time.

"Litleo, use Noble Roar!" Arlo loved this move because it greatly weakened the opposing Pokemon. Remarkably, Quagsire seemed unaffected.

"Quagsire's ability, Unaware," said Randall, "It won't even notice a move like that. Quagsire, use Liquidation!"

Quagsire slammed into Litleo. Arlo's Pokemon was weak against water types, he had to do something. "Litleo, use Yawn!"

Quagsire stumbled, struggling for consciousness. It let out one more Hydro Pump before falling asleep. The attack landed true, and it hit Litleo with full force. It could no longer battle.

"Pawmi, I choose you!" Arlo let out his electric companion, "Use Super Fang!"

Quagsire took the attack, unable to get out of the way. Randall smirked, "Quagsire, use Hydro Pump!" Randall then remembered that Quagsire was asleep. "Quagsire, use Sleep Talk!" Quagsire stood up without waking up. It smashed its entire body straight into Pawmi.

Pawmi was badly damaged. Quagsire had used High Horsepower. "Pawmi, use Crunch!" The Mouse Pokemon summoned the power of darkness to bite into its foe. Both Quagsire and Pawmi were now hurt. It was clear that neither of them could take another attack. Quagsire began to use Sleep Talk. At the same time, Pawmi used Quick Attack. Pawmi's move made contact first, and Quagsire fainted.

"You did it, Pawmi!" Arlo shouted. Blue light began to wreath Pawmi. It was evolving! Pawmi was no longer a Pawmi. It was now Pawmo!

"Good job, Argo," Randall said, "It's been a while since I saw a Pokemon evolve mid-battle. Go, Carracosta!"

A giant turtle-like Pokemon towered above Pawmo. Arlo knew he had to act fast. "Pawmo, use Wild Charge!" Pawmo hurtled towards Carracosta, dealing a decent amount of damage. However, in his haste, Arlo forgot that Wild Charge deals recoil damage. Pawmo was rendered unable to battle. Arlo was frustrated at his mistake, but he wouldn't let it stop him. "Go, Serperior!"

"Carracosta, use Meteor Beam!" said the gym leader. Meteors began to fall from the sky, landing squarely on Serperior.

"Use Vine Whip to stop the meteors!" Serperior reached up and grabbed the rocks, stopping them from hurting it. Serperior picked up one of the asteroids and threw it directly at Carracosta.

Carracosta confidently sliced the meteor in half using Aqua Tail. It then launched a ray of dazzling energy at Serperior with Hyper Beam. Serperior was knocked back, badly hurt.

"Serperior, use Mega Drain!" Arlo told his Pokemon. Serperior absorbed Carracosta's energy. In exchange, Serperior healed itself some. Arlo then noticed that Hyper Beam had stunned Carracosta. "Now's our chance! Use Leaf Blade!" The move was super effective, and Carracosta fainted.

Arlo waited a long time for Randall to choose his next Pokemon. That's when Arlo realized that Randall had somehow fallen asleep while standing up. "Huh?!" Randall woke with a start. "You're still here? Okay, then," Randall sent out his third Pokemon, Toxapex. "This has been fun, but no one gets past Toxapex. Use Poison Jab."

Toxepex stabbed Serperior with exceptional force. The Regal Pokemon collapsed. "Serperior, return. Manectric, I choose you!" Arlo held up his Key Stone and Mega Evolved. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Streams of electricity arced down onto Toxapex, but at the last second, it used Baneful Bunker to deflect the attack. "Use Toxic!" Toxapex shot a glob of purple substance at Manectric, poisoning Arlo's Pokemon.

"Use Thunderbolt again," said Arlo, desperate to win the battle before Manectric succumbed to the poison, but Toxapex simply used Baneful Bunker once more. Arlo took a deep breath, careful not to make a hasty decision. "Use Charge," he told Manectric. Manectric began grow more powerful. In addition, Manectric managed to overcome the poison, so Arlo wouldn't worry. "Now use Discharge!" Manectric released cascades of lightning all around itself. Toxapex couldn't protect itself quickly enough.

"Use Poison Jab!" Toxapex tried to hit Manectric, but it just barely missed.

"Thunderbolt!" Arlo commanded. Manectric attacked once more, devastating Randall's Toxapex.

Randall looked impressed. "Nice job, Argo. Most challengers never get this far. I believe that it's time for me to bring out my trump card. Go, Magikarp!"

The Fish Pokemon flopped around pathetically, not having any water to swim in. However, Arlo had learned not to underestimate his opponents. This was most likely some kind of trick. "Brace yourself, Manectric."

Randall put on a smug grin. "Magikarp, use Spash!" Magikarp flailed helplessly to no effect.

Arlo didn't fully understand what was going, but he wouldn't let his guard down.

"Magikarp, use Spash again!" Randall told it. Magikarp splashed slightly harder this time.

Arlo was thoroughly confused. What was happening?

"Magikarp, more splashing!"

Arlo finally decided that clearly nothing was going to happen. "Manectric, use Ice Fang!" Then, all of a sudden, Magikarp splashed powerfully against the floor again, and the ground began to shake. It knocked Manectric out before its attack even made contact.

Although it looked like Splash, Arlo could tell that Magikarp had actually just used Earthquake. It was super effective against his Manectric. "Magikarp isn't able to learn that move!" Arlo called to Randall.

"Normally, yes," explained Randall, "But I have spent years cultivating my relationship to Magikarp, understanding every aspect of its nature on a primal level. I no longer know where I end, and the Magikarp begins. In this way, I have achieved power beyond that of most living beings. FACE ME IF YOU DARE, MORTAL!"

Arlo was in a bad situation. He only had one Pokemon left, and it was at a disadvantage against Magikarp's Earthquake. Arlo lifted his Pokeball and allowed it to be filled with energy from his band. "Duraludon, I choose you!" He let out Duraludon and stared up in shock. It had Gigantamaxed! It must have been Harley's Max Soup. "Duraludon, use Max Steelspike!" Duraludon did as Arlo asked, but it obviously pulled its punch in an effort to annoy him.

"Not bad, Arlo," Randall told him, "But you're not the only one who can Dynamax," Randall pulled his Magikarp back into its Pokeball, and revealed a Dynamax Band on his wrist, "How about we have some real fun?" The Magikarp grew to massive proportions. This was the most powerful Pokemon Arlo had yet to face. "Magikarp, use Max Geyser!"

An enormous plume of water bubbled up beneath Duraludon. Duraludon got hit, but it didn't look too injured. However, it soon began to rain, increasing the power of Water type attacks. Randall had effectively negated Duraludon's resistance to water. "Duraludon, use G-Max Depletion!" Arlo told his Pokemon. Instead, Duraludon pointedly ignored him. Magikarp took the opportunity to shoot at Duraludon with Max Strike. "Block it with Max Guard!" Arlo cried pointlessly. Duraludon intentionally turned its back, letting itself take damage. It was being more ornery than usual.

"Max Quake!" shouted Randall. The earth crumbled beneath Duraludon. If Arlo couldn't get his Pokemon to fight, he would lose the battle.

"Duraludon," Arlo pleaded, "Please help me." The Alloy Pokemon looked its trainer in the eye and saw that this was important to Arlo. An unspoken understanding passed between them. More confident now, Arlo said, "Duraludon, use G-Max Depletion!" A tempest of force shot through the battlefield straight at Magikarp. It literally sucked the strength out of the opposing Pokemon and rendered Magikarp unable to use Max Quake.

Without missing a beat Randall commanded, "Magikarp, use Max Geyser!" The water burst forth once more, but this time Duraludon blocked it without even being asked.

"Duraludon, use Max Steelspike!' Duraludon put all of its strength into its attack. Magikarp tried to stop it with Max Guard but acted a second too late.

"Use Max Strike!" shouted Randall.

"Use G-Max Depletion!" Arlo said at the same time.

The two attacks met in the center of the battlefield. Each Pokemon tried to overpower the other. It was so bright that Arlo had to look away. When the dust settled, both Pokemon laid on the ground in their ordinary forms. Duraludon was standing while Magikarp was unconscious. Arlo had won!

"Thank you, Duraludon!" Arlo cried, "I couldn't have done it without you!" It would take time for Arlo and Duraludon to completely finish building trust, but right now, Arlo knew that he could count his partner in a battle. "You deserve a rest. Duraludon, return." Arlo brought Duraludon back to its Pokeball.

"Wow," Randall said, "I can't believe you beat my Magikarp. It is my honor to grant you the Oceanic Badge."

Arlo held up his badge proudly. He had defeated every gym leader. He was now on his way to challenge the Elite Four. "Thank you for everything," said Arlo.

"Hmm," replied Randall, who had already gone back to playing video games.

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