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Participant 1: Winona: 58.66
Pokémon: Noctowl LV 56, Tropius LV 58, Pelipper LV 58, Dragonite LV 59, Skarmory LV 60, Altaria LV 61
VS:
Participant 3: Alex: 57.33
Pokémon: Ditto LV 56, Umbreon LV 57, Blaziken LV 57, Gardevoir LV 58, Scizor LV 58, Crobat LV 58
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Alex waited in his private waiting room for more than half an hour before a staff member finally arrived to escort him to the arena.
During that time, he hadn't been sitting around idly. Instead, he had spent almost every minute mentally replaying possible scenarios, her Pokémon's moves, and the countless ways the final could develop depending on the opening matchup.
By the time the staff member arrived, Alex had already prepared a general strategy for each of his six Pokémon, giving each of them a battle plan that would work well in most situations while still leaving enough room to adapt if Winona surprised him with something unexpected.
He had learned long ago that no plan survived contact with the opponent unchanged. Especially considering he didn't have much information about her.
For that reason, his initial strategies were designed only to provide a solid foundation. Once the battle began, he would adjust them according to the flow of the match.
The staff member led him through a long corridor before stopping in front of the massive entrance leading into the stadium.
A few seconds later, a signal came through the referee's headset. "Alex, you're up."
Alex nodded once before stepping through the entrance.
The moment he emerged into the arena, energetic music burst from the stadium's speakers, and dozens of Flying-type Pokémon circling high above the battlefield simultaneously unleashed colorful attacks into the sky.
Brilliant bursts of flame, sparkling stars, shimmering beams of light, and harmless explosions filled the air, creating a spectacular display that resembled an enormous fireworks show.
The crowd immediately erupted.
Thousands of spectators rose from their seats, cheering loudly as Alex slowly walked toward the center of the battlefield.
The applause echoed throughout the stadium, becoming louder with every step he took.
Alex glanced around the packed arena and couldn't help but smile faintly.
A few moments later, Winona stepped through the opposite entrance.
As soon as she appeared, the atmosphere in the stadium shifted once again, and an even louder wave of applause swept through the crowd.
Alex listened to the cheers and quickly realized that Winona was actually receiving more support than he was.
He wasn't particularly surprised.
Winona had been a Gym Leader for years and had built a loyal fanbase through countless official battles, public appearances, and tournament performances. On top of that, her calm demeanor and graceful battling style had made her one of the most admired trainers in Hoenn.
Still, it was impressive.
Alex himself had become a relatively famous figure throughout Hoenn over the past few months, to the point where his popularity was already comparable to that of a arvege Gym Leader.
Yet even with all the attention he had recently received, Winona still managed to draw a louder response from the crowd.
The referee gave Alex and Winona the signal to summon their first Pokémon at the same time.
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Pokémon: Gardevoir
LV: 58
Type: Psychic / Fairy
Abilities: Telepathy (hidden ability)
Gender: Female
Potential: Diamond (7%)
Moves:
- Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport [E], Disarming Voice, Lucky Chant, Magical Leaf, Heal Pulse [E], Draining Kiss [E], Psychic [M], Imprison, Future Sight, Captivate, Hypnosis [M], Dazzling Gleam [M], Dream Eater
- (Perfect Talent) Disable [M], (Perfect Talent) Calm Mind [M],
- (TM) Protect [E], (TM) Shadow Ball, (TM) Will-O-Wisp, (TM) Thunderbolt [E], (TM) Thunder Wave, (TM) Helping Hand, (TM) Focus Blast [E] , (TM) Reflect [E], (TM) Light Screen, (TM) Safeguard, (TM) Charm, (TM) Icy Wind, (TM) Hyper Beam [E], (TM) Guard Swap, (TM) Mystical Fire, (TM) Psych Up, (TM) Substitute
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Pokémon: Skarmory
LV: 60
Type: Flying/Steel
Abilities: Keen Eye
Gender: Male
Potential: Shallow Diamond (1%)
Moves:
-Leer, Peck, Sand Attack [E], Metal Claw, Air Cutter, Fury Attack, Feint, Swift, Agility [M], Steel Wing [M], Slash, Metal Sound, Air Slash, Autotomize, Night Slash [E]
- (Perfect Talent) Spikes [M], (Perfect Talent) Fly [M]
- (TM) Toxic [M], (TM) Roost [M], (TM) Flash Cannon, (TM) Substitute [E], (TM) Facade [E], (TM) Swords Dance [M], (TM) X-Scissor (TM) Iron Defense [M]
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Alex wasn't surprised to see that Skarmory was Winona's starter Pokémon.
He didn't usually watch Pokémon battles online, but he had seen a few of Winona's Gym Leader matches; in every battle involving three or more Pokémon, she had led with Skarmory.
Even without that prior knowledge, it wasn't hard to guess that she would choose Skarmory as her opening Pokémon for a 6-on-6 battle.
In his old world, setting up Spikes was nothing new, and Alex had plenty of experience with it. even if only in games.
When he first arrived in this world, Alex had naturally looked into overpowered moves like Spikes and Stealth Rock to see if they were just as strong in reality.
He was quite disappointed to learn that these moves generally weren't as useful in this world and had major weaknesses.
The biggest drawback was that the move affected any Pokémon that touched it—even allies.
This weakness made the moves much less effective.
However, since Winona used only Flying-type Pokémon, she could ignore this weakness and fully exploit the move's power.
The referee raised his hand and shouted, "3, 2, 1, Go!"
Alex and Winona said nothing, but both Pokémon began preparing new moves without waiting for commands.
Neither Pokémon moved while charging their attacks.
Not that it would have made a difference, since Gardevoir and Skarmory were nearly equal in speed, and neither could pull ahead of the other.
Gardevoir finished first and immediately used Calm Mind to boost her stats.
Skarmory finished at the same time and used Spikes, scattering countless metallic-looking spikes across the arena until a third of the ground was covered in them.
To Alex, it looked as though the spikes had been created by the earth itself; it impressed him once again to see the diverse ways energy could be used in this world. Although the spikes looked real, Alex knew they were made of steel enegie and would damage any Pokémon that touched them much more then normal steel spikes.
Gardevoir then used Teleport to move to the edge of the arena.
Skarmory ignored her and flew to a part of the arena not covered by the spikes.
Seeing this, Alex was somewhat taken aback. 'Why isn't she doing anything while watching my Pokémon buff itself more and more? Even though she will deal good damage to most of my team with an arena full of spikes over the course of the match, she isn't afraid of Gardevoir becoming too strong. Or is she planning...'
Skarmory used Spikes again; now the entire arena—except for the pool of water—was covered in spikes.
Since Gardevoir could teleport and didn't need to move around, she didn't have to worry about touching these mini-landmines—at least for now.
Skarmory moved toward Gardevoir while preparing a new move.
Gardevoir used Calm Mind again and immediately began preparing a new move.
Skarmory, still a fair distance away, couldn't reach Gardevoir fast enough before Gardevoir had her new move ready prepared.
But his prepared move become completed and he used Agility to became much faster.
Gardevoir used Calm Mind for the third time, and Alex looked satisfied as the first part of his plan went so well.
He hadn't expected Winona to give him so much time—not that he was complaining.
Although the arena was now full of mini-landmines that would damage any of his Pokémon moving on foot, it wasn't a major problem as long as Gardevoir made good use of her buffs.
Especially since Ditto and Crobat could ignore the spikes.
Gardevoir used Teleport again and warped to the far edge of the arena.
Skarmory, now moving much faster, flew straight toward Gardevoir as she prepared a new move.
Gardevoir also began preparing a move, watching calmly as Skarmory sped in her direction.
However, given Skarmory's greatly increased speed—and the fact that Gardevoir remained stationary—he reached the range of his attack before she could finish preparing her move.
Skarmory immediately used Steel Wing, and Gardevoir failed to dodge the attack.
She lost more than half her HP from the hit.
Gardevoir reacted quickly, however, and unleashed the move Thunderbolt she had just finished preparing.
Thunderbolt hit Skarmory, who only managed to stay conscious for a second before falling unconscious to the ground.
***
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