Gym Battle- Muk

"It seems like there is another skin of this unknown Pokemon," said Seliska.

"The previous skin has turned to sand and is falling off. Is this the new ability of this unknown Pokemon?"

"That is an interesting move, but you are open now," said Koga. The rest of the armor came off, and there was a bulk of sand around Mamoswine now.

This was the disadvantage of this move; it had just been learned and had not been mastered well.

"Mamoswine, let's get serious too. 'Blizzard'," shouted Axel.

With the help of the 'Ice domain', the power of Blizzard had heightened. There was nowhere to run for Muk. It was hit by the attack, but Koga remained calm.

All this time, Muk was only using 'Poison gas'. When it was hit by the attack, Koga didn't tell Muk to dodge or counter it. He just told it to use 'Poison gas'. This was suspicious.

The move injured Muk, but it was not down yet.

Without the armor, Mamoswine could get poisoned now. However, Muk was injured, and a couple of moves would finish the battle.

But suddenly...

"Muk, now use 'poison blast'."

Since the stadium was filled with poison gas, it was purple in color. Suddenly, a small blast hit the left side of Mamoswine, causing it to stumble while trying to regain its footing. The blast left a patch of purple color on its left leg, as observed by Axel.

Multiple small blasts started to happen around Mamoswine, and Axel didn't know what was happening.

"Wait, is this due to 'poison gas'?"

Axel was right. This new way of fighting was creative, and Axel didn't know what to do right now.

Within a few seconds, the whole body of Mamoswine was covered with purple patches, and then it gave a low growl.

It had been poisoned, and Axel could see that it was getting weaker. Muk, on the other hand, was getting bulkier.

"Mamoswine, use your full-powered 'Blizzard'."

Mamoswine let out a loud roar and started the 'Blizzard'. A strong gust of wind and ice came and went towards Muk. Since Muk was super slow, it was hit by the attack and got injured.

But something happened.

"Muk, now use 'Swallow'."

Muk started to lose its bulkiness and weight as it began to heal, and soon it was completely fine.

Now Axel understood what had happened. It first used 'poison gas', and when the whole stadium was filled with it, it proceeded to use 'poison blast' and a new move called 'poison stick', which stuck the poison patches onto Mamoswine.

It then transferred Mamoswine's health by using 'Stockpile', making it bulkier, and then used 'Swallow' to heal itself. It was a well-thought-out plan. Koga was a genius.

Mamoswine was now poisoned and injured. Muk was happily staring at it, completely healed. Is this how it feels to battle a gym leader? This was his 6th badge, so he knew that the gym leader would not hold back.

Muk was now ready to finish the battle.

"Axel, it seems like I will be winning this one. It was a good battle, though."

"You think that you could win so easily. Mr. Koga, you don't seem to know me very well. I will win this battle and this gym challenge," said Axel.

"I know what you are doing. You are trying to waste time so that your Pokemon can heal. But I will not give you the opportunity," said Koga.

"Was it that obvious? I think you should give your junior some handicap," said Axel.

"I am sorry, Axel, but I can't do that. Muk, finish it with 'Gunk shot'."

Muk targeted Mamoswine and fired a concentrated poison attack. If Mamoswine was hit by it, it would definitely lose the battle.

The attack landed on the face of Mamoswine, and then poof...

Mamoswine had disappeared.

"What the hell happened? This huge Pokemon of the challenger Axel just disappeared. Wait a minute? Was that a substitute?" said Seliska.

It was a substitute, but a question arose. If this was the substitute, then where was Mamoswine?

Koga started to look around. He searched for a minute but couldn't find it. Mamoswine was not so small that it could hide. Where was it? Then he realized where it was, but it was too late.

The ground started to shake like a mini earthquake.

"MUK... Get out of there!!!" shouted Koga, but it was already hit by the huge white tusks and sent flying into the air.

"Mamoswine, now use 'Icicle spear'."

While in the air, it was hit by the attack and slammed onto the ground. Mamoswine then used 'Earthquake'. It was a devastating move and seriously injured Muk.

"Now use 'Anchor shot' and finish this battle."

Two steel chains came out of its two tusks and wrapped around Muk. Those chains pulled Muk towards Mamoswine, and then it used 'Ice beam' at point-blank range.

Muk was already frozen solid by the beam. Mamoswine's tusks penetrated the solid Muk, and the ice broke off. It then slammed those tusks onto Muk, forcing it to the ground.

If it was any other Pokemon, those tusks would have penetrated its body. But it was Muk, so it was still alive.

"Mamoswine has won the battle. Gym leader is requested to send out his other Pokemon," said Ronny.

"The battle turned, and the challenger has won. We don't know what happened, but it seemed like Mamoswine used 'Dig' while letting its substitute on the ground," said Seliska.

It was more than that. Since Mamoswine was badly hurt, it needed to heal itself. So, during 'Blizzard', Axel had told Mamoswine to use 'Dig' and then use 'Rest' to recover. He also told it to use 'Calm mind' again so it would wake up fast.

Using 'Rest' while underground allowed it to wake up faster as it couldn't get any air.

'Rest' was not fully mastered, but it had recovered Mamoswine's health to a good margin. It was still poisoned, though.

Another good thing was...

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Ding!

Mamoswine's 'Dig' has leveled up to 40. Mamoswine can now stay underground for an extended period of time.

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