Grey's POV
After my rest and my Pokémon's training, I decided to move on. Together with Exeggutor, I continued travelling until we finally reached the underground path.
Along the way, a few more trainers challenged me. Near the entrance to the underground path, one of them turned out to be a camper couple named Lisa and Liam, who asked me for a double battle.
To be frank, I had never actually participated in a double battle before. Still, I had read a lot about them and possessed quite a bit of theoretical knowledge from my previous life.
I thought about which pair to send out. For some weird reason, the first combination that came to mind was Exeggutor and Cloyster. I immediately discarded that idea. Not only would they probably spend half the battle arguing with each other, but it would also be complete overkill for this couple.
Instead, I chose Persian and Axew. I briefly considered Persian and Charmander, but then remembered Persian wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the fire lizard, so I decided against it.
The cat and the tusked dragon stepped onto the battlefield while the campers released a Nidorino and a Nidorina.
The battle ended rather quickly.
Persian immediately rushed forward with Quick Attack before following up with Night Slash, injuring both opponents and forcing them onto the defensive. While the two poison-types were still wary of the cat's sudden aggression, Axew charged in from the side and finished the combo with a Strength-enhanced Slash attack.
The match was over before it had really begun.
I felt a little bad for the couple. They looked disappointed that the battle had ended so quickly. Still, I couldn't exactly help it. Vermilion was currently surrounded mostly by three-badge trainers, and my Pokémon had undergone training that far exceeded that level.
I fought several other trainers throughout the day, and most of the battles were similarly one-sided.
Except for one.
That battle was against a trainer named Jackson.
At first glance he appeared to be a six-badge trainer, but after talking to him I figured out this wasn't his first League challenge. He was probably participating in his second League circuit, which meant his Pokémon were likely closer to the strength of an eight-badge trainer unless he had deliberately restarted from scratch.
I had asked him for a battle.
Initially, he wanted to decline. I guess he thought he would end up bullying some kid with only three badges. Unfortunately for him, I insisted.
Eventually, we agreed on a two-on-two battle.
Jackson opened with Nidoking.
I responded with Cloyster.
For a brief moment, surprise flashed across his face upon seeing Cloyster. To his credit, he quickly regained his poker face.
The battle was genuinely interesting.
Nidoking opened aggressively with Megahorn and Earthquake. Cloyster blocked the Megahorn using Counter Shield Ice, though it still took damage from Earthquake. In return, it unleashed a barrage of Icicle Spears.
Nidoking switched tactics and launched Sludge Bombs. Cloyster kept them at bay with Aurora Beam before attempting to use Surf.
Jackson reacted instantly.
Nidoking fired Thunderbolt directly into the incoming Surf, causing the electricity to travel through the water and strike Cloyster before the wave crashed into Nidoking.
At that point, I decided to gamble.
"Shell Smash!"
The moment Jackson heard those words, genuine panic appeared on his face.
"Nidoking! Horn Attack!"
Nidoking charged forward, but Cloyster immediately formed another Counter Shield and blocked the attack. Then, boosted by Shell Smash, it unleashed a devastating close-range barrage of Icicle Spears.
Nidoking went down.
Jackson recalled his Pokémon and admitted he was impressed before sending out his second Pokémon.
Machamp.
I ordered Cloyster to use Icicle Spear.
Machamp responded with Detect, weaving through the attack just like Brock's Hitmonchan had done in the past.
"Counter Shield!" I called.
Cloyster tried.
Unfortunately, Machamp was already moving.
All four of its arms glowed simultaneously as it unleashed Brick Break.
The hastily created Counter Shield collapsed instantly. Cloyster had been forced to create it in panic and without proper setup.
The result was inevitable.
Four super-effective Brick Breaks slammed into Cloyster's shell at once.
Cloyster fainted.
I recalled it while Jackson looked visibly pleased with the comeback.
"Your next Pokémon?" he asked.
I felt a little sorry for him.
"Exeggutor."
The moment Exeggutor appeared, Jackson's expression visibly paled.
The second battle ended quickly.
To be fair, Machamp did know Ice Punch. The problem was that Exeggutor never allowed it to get close enough to use it.
The palm tree Pokémon seized Machamp with Psychic and completely controlled the pace of the battle. Every time Machamp tried to advance, it was thrown back, restrained, or battered by psychic attacks.
The fight wasn't much of a fight anymore.
Eventually, Machamp collapsed.
Inside our telepathic link, Exeggutor immediately spoke.
"See, Trainer Grey? I am stronger than that brute. It lost to this Machamp, yet I defeated it easily."
I rolled my eyes.
"You have a type advantage against Machamp while Cloyster has a type disadvantage. Honestly, both of you have a weirdly petty rivalry."
Exeggutor ignored me.
Jackson recalled Machamp and paid me for the victory. We exchanged numbers afterward since he wanted a rematch someday.
Honestly, so did I.
As I continued walking afterward, I reflected on the battle.
While my victory had certainly been helped by type matchups, it still highlighted something important.
Two of my Pokémon were already approaching Indigo League-level strength.
I had known this to some extent already. They had spent an entire week battling and training against Surge's eighth-badge-level Pokémon.
Most trainers entering the Indigo League were around that level.
The scary part was that both Cloyster and Exeggutor still had room to grow.
Neither of them would evolve further, but they could still improve tremendously. There were weaknesses to patch, strategies to refine, moves to master, and TMs to acquire.
The same applied to the rest of my team.
Axew still hadn't evolved.
Charmander was developing rapidly.
Even Persian had countless moves and techniques it could still learn.
For the first time in a while, I felt genuinely optimistic about the future.
Eventually, I noticed the sun beginning to set.
According to my map, the underground path wasn't very far away anymore. Still, there was no point entering it at night.
I decided to set up camp instead.
Tomorrow, I could continue fresh.
For now, rest sounded much better.
(Pokémon POV)
Normally, Grey kept his Pokémon inside their Poké Balls whenever they were resting or travelling.
However, there were rare occasions when he allowed them to stay outside at night, either sleeping beside him or resting under the open sky.
Tonight was one of those nights.
The problem was that while Grey had fallen asleep fairly early—as he had been doing for the past week due to his recovery—his Pokémon were still very much awake.
"The heck do you mean you're the glue of the team, you stupid marimo?" Cloyster snapped.
"You heard exactly what I said, you stupid bivalve," Exeggutor shot back immediately.
"I am the reason this team functions."
"You are literally a walking coconut tree."
"And you're a clam that throws ice sticks."
"They're called Icicle Spears!"
"They're still ice sticks."
The two continued bickering back and forth.
Eventually, the flap of Grey's tent opened.
A sleepy Axew walked out, rubbing one eye.
The little dragon stared at both Pokémon.
Both immediately fell silent.
"If you two numbnuts don't stop your stupid fighting," Axew said in a tired voice, "you're going to wake Grey up."
Neither replied.
Axew nodded.
"Good."
Then he turned around and went right back into the tent.
The moment he disappeared, Exeggutor and Cloyster resumed glaring at each other.
On the sidelines of this argument, if one could even call it an argument anymore, Charmander looked curiously toward Persian.
"Why do they both listen to Brother Axew?" Charmander asked. "Aren't they stronger than him?"
Persian, who normally preferred not talking to Charmander unless necessary, surprisingly decided to answer.
"It's probably the same reason I don't backtalk Axew despite being stronger than him."
Charmander blinked.
Persian lazily stretched before continuing.
"All three of us are stronger than him."
"For now."
Charmander tilted her head.
Persian continued.
"But there's more to it than that."
"Out of all of us, there isn't a single Pokémon who has trained harder than Axew. Maybe Exeggutor comes close, but Axew has been doing it longer."
The cat flicked its tail.
"Secondly, before everyone started evolving and becoming monsters, Axew was the strongest Pokémon on the team."
"There were a few times Shellder beat him," Charmander pointed out.
"Rarely."
Persian rolled her eyes.
"And that was mostly because ice attacks worked against Axew. Not because Shellder was stronger."
Charmander nodded thoughtfully.
Persian then lowered her voice dramatically.
"And thirdly..."
"The main reason none of us talk back to him too much."
Charmander leaned forward.
Persian's expression became serious.
"That dragon holds grudges."
Charmander froze.
Persian nodded gravely.
"God forbid he ever decides to cash them in after he evolves."
"Grey called the final evolution Haxorus, right?"
Charmander nodded.
"I think when Axew becomes that thing, we'll all be ten feet under the ground."
Charmander immediately imagined a gigantic axe-jawed dragon chasing the entire team around.
It looked incredibly cool.
The fire lizard's eyes sparkled.
"You think I'll become that strong too when I evolve?"
Persian looked her up and down.
"Heh."
"You'll probably still be a runt."
Charmander puffed up her cheeks in outrage.
"Hey!"
But Persian had already lost interest in the conversation.
The cat casually walked away, leaving Charmander to sulk by herself.
Meanwhile, near the tent, Exeggutor and Cloyster were still glaring at one another.
Neither wanted to start another argument after Axew's warning.
So they settled on a compromise.
A staring contest.
Whoever blinked first lost.
Neither Pokémon was willing to lose.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
At some point, Persian glanced over and saw them still staring.
She decided not to get involved.
Charmander checked an hour later.
They were still staring.
Axew briefly woke up during the night, looked outside, saw them still staring, and simply went back to sleep.
Eventually, the sun began to rise.
Both Pokémon still hadn't blinked.
Their eyes were bloodshot.
Their bodies were exhausted.
Neither remembered why they were doing this anymore.
But neither was willing to surrender.
Finally, as the first rays of sunlight appeared over the horizon, both Pokémon collapsed from sheer exhaustion.
Neither ever admitted who blinked first.
The rivalry remained unresolved.
Unfortunately for them, they were also completely exhausted for the rest of the next day.
Author's Note : Ok this pokemon pov is kind of like a special chapter and me trying some stuff of sort to give each pokemon some personality and as a form of comedy chapter of sorts , again Exeggutor isnt dumb not always but lets just say when it comes to cloyster he loses his braincells .