The Balance Badge

In the early morning, Yuga woke up to the sweet chirping of birds. He had spent a very comfortable night at the Petalburg Gym.

"Good morning, everyone," Yuga greeted the awakened Pokémon with a smile. They responded energetically to his greeting, except for Meowth.

Meowth had been eating Yuga's food and drinking his drinks for the past few days but still maintained an aloof attitude toward him. It left Yuga a bit perplexed, but Meowth never showed any intention of running away, treating Yuga as a consistent source of meals.

After waking up, Yuga led his Pokémon to the backyard of the Petalburg Gym for some light training. Since it wasn't his home, he didn't engage them in their usual skill-based training but opted for simple physical exercises.

At that moment, Mr. Norman approached them, observing Yuga's Pokémon. He asked, "How about having a Pokémon battle to warm up?"

Yuga turned to him with a smile and replied, "Sure, I haven't battled a Gym Trainer before."

Mr. Norman showed genuine interest and said, "Oh, really? If you can defeat me, I'll give you the Balance Badge from the Petalburg Gym as a memento of your first Gym Trainer battle."

Excited by the offer, Yuga said, "I'll do my best, then!"

Mr. Norman smiled and gestured for Yuga to follow him. Yuga recalled his Pokémon into their Poké Balls and trailed behind Mr. Norman.

They arrived at Mr. Norman's personal Ecopark, which housed various Slakoths, Vigoroths, and even a Slaking. Yuga marveled at the sheer number of Slakoth in the Ecopark, considering how rich Mr. Norman must be to maintain such a large collection of the same species.

As they walked deeper into the park, Mr. Norman stopped one of the Vigoroths along the way. He then turned to Yuga and said, "Your opponent for today will be this one."

The Vigoroth appeared exceptionally robust, a testament to its excellent care and training.

"Vigoroth!" The Vigoroth roared energetically and struck a flexing muscle pose, accompanying Mr. Norman's announcement.

Yuga couldn't help but use his Aura Reader to examine the Vigoroth's information.

...

<<Vigoroth>>

Type: Normal

Ability: Vital Spirit

Gender: Male

Potential: Green

Level: 46

Moves: Reversal, Uproar, Slash, Focus Punch, Bulk Up, Taunt, Blizzard, Shadow Ball, Aerial Ace, Night Slash.

...

Seeing the Vigoroth's stats, Yuga felt relieved that Mr. Norman hadn't chosen one of his ace Pokémon. After all, Mr. Norman was a pseudo-elite Trainer, and any of his main Pokémon could easily overpower Yuga's entire team.

They reached the central area of the Ecopark, where Mr. Norman activated some hidden mechanism. A battle arena rose slowly from the ground.

"This battle arena is what I use for training, and not many people get to see it," Mr. Norman explained.

Yuga chuckled and said, "I feel honored to be using it today."

Mr. Norman and his Vigoroth took their positions on one side of the battle arena, while Yuga stood on the other.

Yuga tossed a Poké Ball, and Absol's imposing figure appeared on the battlefield.

The moment Absol appeared, not only the Vigoroth but even Mr. Norman felt the air freeze momentarily. It was due to Absol's Intimidate ability coming into play.

After rigorous training, Absol had learned to control its Intimidate ability effortlessly, providing significant psychological pressure on its opponents when faced in battle.

"Absol is impressive!" Mr. Norman thought to himself.

Mr. Norman called out to Yuga, "You're the younger one here, so I'll let you make the first move."

Yuga nodded and said, "I appreciate that. Absol, use Swords Dance!"

Yuga was aware that Mr. Norman's Vigoroth had the Taunt move. He didn't want to miss this opportunity to use Swords Dance, which was Absol's only boosting move.

A blue aura surrounded Absol as it performed a graceful spin, infusing itself with increased power, completing the Swords Dance.

"Vigoroth, use Taunt!"

As Yuga anticipated, Mr. Norman didn't give Absol a chance for a second Swords Dance.

Vigoroth taunted Absol by turning around, wiggling its buttocks, and even raising a middle finger, successfully infuriating Absol. Without hesitation, Absol unleashed Dark Pulse toward Vigoroth.

Vigoroth displayed impressive agility, somersaulting and narrowly dodging Absol's attack.

"Vigoroth, use Bulk Up!"

Since Vigoroth hadn't reached its final evolution form, it might have lacked in terms of attack power. Therefore, Mr. Norman, like Yuga, decided to boost Vigoroth's attack.

Yuga wanted to prevent that, so he instructed, "Absol, use Sucker Punch!"

Absol's two front claws radiated with dark energy, and it lunged towards Vigoroth, who was performing Bulk Up.

However, Mr. Norman's Vigoroth had undergone special training. Before Absol could reach it, Vigoroth executed a successful Bulk Up.

In a surprising twist, Absol seemed to predict Vigoroth's attack trajectory, even at such close quarters. It agilely evaded Vigoroth's Focus Punch, leaving Vigoroth momentarily bewildered.

But while Vigoroth was in a daze, Absol swiftly struck with a Sucker Punch, knocking Vigoroth out of the battle.

Mr. Norman, with a puzzled expression, couldn't comprehend how Absol had managed to evade the attack at such close range. He was unaware of Absol's extensive experience in predicting opponents' attack patterns, especially when opponents were unaware of its abilities.

Vigoroth, now incapacitated on the ground, let out a painful howl. It looked worse for wear, with the added pressure from Absol's ability affecting its movements.

"Vigoroth, one more Force Palm!" Mr. Norman commanded.

Despite Vigoroth's slowing movements, it launched another Force Palm at Absol in an attempt to strike back.

However, Absol seemed to have eyes all over its body. It effortlessly dodged Vigoroth's swinging fists.

Finally, amidst Vigoroth's increasingly sluggish movements, Absol landed another Sucker Punch, rendering Vigoroth unable to battle.

Mr. Norman watched Vigoroth fall to the ground and admitted with a smile, "You won. Your skills are getting stronger."

While Mr. Norman was curious about Absol's unique evasion tactics, he understood that this was a Trainer's secret and didn't press further.

Yuga humbly replied, "Thank you. I'll cherish the Balance Badge."

Mr. Norman took the Balance Badge from his pocket and handed it to Yuga, saying, "Even if you're not competing in the League Challenge, keeping it as a memento is a good idea."

Yuga accepted the Balance Badge with gratitude and whispered, "I'll treasure it."