This battleground had a straightforward concept: a continuous rotation of three Pokémon. When one was on the verge of losing, it would be swapped out to rest while the next Pokémon took its place. This setup required Alex's direct involvement, splitting his attention between this battleground and Forretress's hazard-filled arena.
The three Pokémon in rotation were Swablu, Frosmoth, and Alcremie, all specializing in kiting strategies—avoiding direct confrontation while chipping away at their opponent. This battleground was designed to teach Pokémon how to efficiently close the gap and counter evasive opponents, improving their ability to chase down foes who refused to engage head-on.
Intrigued, Ruan asked a random Gym trainer to give it a try. The trainer simply tossed out a Hitmonchan, one of his weaker Pokémon that usually filled in for sparring with his main team. It had Mach Punch and Bullet Punch, ensuring it could close in on evasive opponents.
Alex released Swablu, who hopped around excitedly for her first official battle. She had sparred with the others before, but those matches didn't count—they were just for fun, after all.
Swablu and Hitmonchan squared up before the latter suddenly burst forward at extreme speed. Swablu had only just begun preparing a move when Hitmonchan closed the gap and threw a solid Bullet Punch. However, he only managed to graze her as she used Acrobatics to dodge while simultaneously putting distance between them.
Honestly, dodging Raticate had been harder. He always managed to land a Quick Attack on her no matter how she tried to evade. It was frustrating.
This Hitmonchan, though? He was only okay. He had managed to graze her, but she would adjust. Those hands were pure evil—she had learned that firsthand while sparring with Alex. They were too much. A little was okay, but too much was too much.
Swablu continued flying toward the edge of the battleground before circling high above, staying well out of Hitmonchan's reach. He slowly gave chase, trying to bring her within range of his priority moves.
The trainer grew frustrated. Fighting against such an evasive strategy was simply annoying for a Fighting-type specialist.
"Rock Slide!" he commanded.
Hitmonchan responded by punching out dark brown Rock-type energy, releasing a Rock Slide that rained down on Swablu from above. She dove, falling with the rocks before pulling up at the last moment to recover, regaining her lost altitude before continuing her evasive flight.
As she escaped, she occasionally tossed out moves—Mist, Safeguard, Tailwind, Dragon Cheer, Agility, Swift, and Hurricane—while Hitmonchan persistently chased, repeatedly using Rock Slide. Whenever she got too close, he would use Bullet Punch to close the distance, forcing her to evade with Acrobatics or Aerial Ace.
The frustration only grew until Swablu, after being continuously grazed by Bullet Punch or a stray rock from Rock Slide, finally ran out of health. Alex withdrew her and immediately tossed out Frosmoth—who did the exact same thing. Fly away, build buffs, and keep the fight at a frustrating distance.
Swablu was immediately released and made to use Rest as Forsmoth began her dance in the air.
Name: Frosmoth, Adept
Type: Ice Bug Female
Ability: Ice Scales
Moves:
Basic: Aurora Veil, Wide Guard, Mist, Tailwind, Dazzling Gleam, U-Turn, Leech Life, Bug Buzz, Acrobatics, Blizzard, Calm Mind...
Description: Frosmoth the Frost Moth Pokémon. Frosmoth flutters through icy winds, coating its surroundings in a shimmering frost. It fiercely protects the snow-covered lands it calls home, freezing anything that threatens its territory.
She had grown admirably since she hatched—it was a noticeable improvement.
The battle played out exactly the same as before. Frosmoth evaded attacks with Acrobatics and Leech Life, built up defenses with Aurora Veil, Calm Mind, and Mist, and retaliated with Giga Drain, Air Slash, Bug Buzz, Blizzard, and more.
The fight continued until Hitmonchan finally grew tired and was replaced with Sawk—a rare Fighting-type Pokémon in Kanto. It was blue and wore a gi similar to the ones worn by everyone else in the Fighting Dojo.
The battle proceeded much like before, except this new opponent lacked priority moves. Instead, Sawk relied on Rock Slide to ground Frosmoth before closing the distance and repeating the process. Eventually, it landed a lucky hit, forcing Frosmoth to use U-Turn and return to its Poké Ball. With no other choice, Alex sent out Alcremie.
The trainer, delighted to finally face an opponent stuck on the ground like the rest, had no idea she would be the most difficult challenge yet.
"Earthquake!" he commanded eagerly.
Sawk stomped the ground, sending a shockwave toward Alcremie, dealing significant damage. In response, Alcremie shrouded herself in a purple sheen, using Acid Armor.
Sawk stomped again, sending another Earthquake her way, but the damage was noticeably reduced. Another layer of Acid Armor had already stacked.
Realizing his attacks were becoming ineffective, the trainer quickly shouted, "Taunt! Stop her from stacking another layer!"
Sawk used Taunt, but it had no effect—Alcremie's Aroma Veil made her immune.
Taking advantage of the moment, Alcremie used Draining Kiss. A pink heart-shaped energy shot toward Sawk, draining its energy before returning to her, restoring her health.
The battle was over. There was no way Alcremie would run out of health before Sawk could land a decisive blow. Eventually, Sawk collapsed from repeated Draining Kisses, while Alcremie never moved from her spot.
"I thought you said they'd all try to escape?"
"Sawk didn't try to close in. She would've run if that were the case."
"I'll accept the new battleground, but you need to remove Alcremie," Ruan explained. "We already train against Flying-types to build resistance, so that part isn't new. But Alcremie is just too much for most Fighting-types. Stacking armor while repeatedly draining health doesn't teach our Pokémon anything except how to suffer a guaranteed loss."
"Okay," Alex replied, withdrawing Alcremie as Swablu fluttered back onto the battleground.
It was unfortunate for Alex and Alcremie that she wouldn't have a chance to train herself, but it couldn't be helped. She was simply too strong against Fighting-types, and there was no way to stop her from stacking Acid Armor.
In the end, Alex had to focus on overseeing Forretress's battle, as he kept getting knocked out, while Swablu and Frosmoth managed to sustain themselves by alternating between using Haze and Rest. A new rule was added to allow them to escape battle in order to switch.
Overall, the integration of the new battleground into the Fighting Dojo was a success. The only Pokémon barred from participating were Alcremie, due to her overwhelming advantage, and Honedge and Rotom, as they were immune to Fighting-type moves.
Alex continued managing the battlegrounds for the next four hours while overseeing Raticate's and Forretress's fights. Arcanine and Clawitzer never fainted due to timely healing, while Swablu and Frosmoth avoided immediate defeat with their careful evasive strategy. When they were down to a single hit, their partner would enter the battle while the one on the field retreated to use Haze and Rest to reset.
Alex eventually stopped all the fights to give the Pokémon an hour's rest while they enjoyed their expensive snacks.
Meanwhile, Alex went downstairs for a spar of his own.
Lately, he had been growing taller—his growth spurt had arrived, and it was quite significant. At 14 years old, he currently stood at 5'4" (1.63 m). He wasn't the tallest around, but then again, neither were his parents; his father was 5'8" (1.73 m), and his mother was 5'6" (1.68 m).
Genetically speaking, he was supposed to inherit his father's scrawny physique and his mother's height, but a steady diet of high ranked Pokémon meat and regular exercise have boosted his growth, making it possible for him to reach 6' (1.83m) in the future.
This had made him taller than Hitmonchan, his regular sparring partner, which in turn made their matches more challenging—especially given the Pokémon's smaller stature relative to its impressive punching power.
So, Alex decided to seek out new opponents by choosing a battleground and waiting for challengers.
Surprisingly, none of the fighters passing by even dared to meet his gaze.
Alex was surprised by this, considering plenty of people walking around had a greater physique than his own.
There were fighters who were faster, stronger, or both. Surely, someone here would be willing to spar with him.
Yet, after ten minutes without a single taker, Alex gave up and picked a fight with a Machamp instead. He didn't have time to waste just standing around, and if nothing else, a Machamp seemed like a good way to take a beating.
For the next fifty minutes, that's exactly what happened.
The greatest challenge in fighting Machamp was its extra arms. Two would guard against his strikes, while the other two punished him the moment he stepped into range. His only real strategy was targeting its legs to deal any practical damage, but it was useless.
He was fighting a Pokémon, after all. Their natural defenses were top-notch unless type energy was involved.
Meanwhile, Alex was covered in bruises across his face, shoulders, arms, and chest. Machamp never bothered kicking—it would risk losing its balance. Alex would have capitalized on that, too, if given the chance.
Grappling or taking Machamp down was just as impossible. It used its lower arms to prop itself up, its upper arms to block, and then pushed itself upright while counterattacking in the same motion. Fighting Machamp as a human, with only fists, was a losing battle.
After healing with a potion, Alex was stopped by the floor coordinator on his way back up to the second floor.
"Hey, sorry no one wanted to spar with you. It's just that you've built a brutal reputation by constantly fighting that Hitmonchan. Every time you spar, you come out of it half-dead, and that scares the regulars. They just want a casual match, not a life-or-death battle. Don't take it too hard—they don't mean to shun you," the man kindly explained before returning to his desk.
Alex merely shrugged. The man had a point. He did want a life-or-death fight, and it showed—every time he stepped out of a brutal match, covered in blood, cuts, bruises, and swelling.
The convenience of potions had redefined sparring for Alex. If he didn't at least get blood on his gi, he hadn't fought hard enough.
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