4th gym battle continues

Blaine "*sigh* damn, that was brutal. I have never seen a kicking Scyther, and even more so one that can produce so much force." He said in astonishment as he recalled his Arcanine.

Rex "That is the beauty of it," he said frankly. Blaine nodded.

Blaine "indeed, that is what battles are all about. And that rock kicking you did, exceptional quick thinking. Very smart of you. But I'm not out yet!" he said as he threw out anything Pokeball. What burst out of it was a bulky red and yellow Pokémon.

It was Magmortar. Rex was wary of it since according to the system, it could create fireballs that were up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Although that was extremely doubtful it didn't diminish the fact that it was probably hot. After all, the Pokedex was completed by a bunch of kids. And they exaggerated everything.

Blaine smiled and commanded magmortar to use flamethrower. He didn't hesitate and breathed in, causing the already hot air to become even hotter before it came out of his arms. The heat was immense. Rex no longer doubted that it was hot, but definitely not to the extreme of being 3,500 degrees.

Rex "Scyther double team and swords dance!" he said quickly. He was already plus two and with this opening, it would be plus four. The flamethrower landed on a Scyther only for it to disappear like it had hit an illusion. Magmortar frowned and continued to spray his incredibly hot fire everywhere. But the time only two Scyther's were remaining, they had already completed swords dance and the remaining clone faded. Scyther was unscathed and Blaine grimaced.

But he didn't let up.

Blaine "use flame wheel!" Magmortar began to roll forward at increasingly fast speeds as he sped towards Scyther. Rex didn't know what he was thinking but decided to meet it head-on.

Rex "Scyther use counter!" Scyther got into a defensive position and waited for impact, Blaine grinned when he saw that which made Rex unsettled, but it was too late to stop the attack. They both collided, Scyther used his powerful legs to stay upright, albeit half-buried and retaliated instantly with double the damage. Flame wheel was stab and super effective so even though Scyther took a lot of damage, Magmortar was sent smashing into the wall and fell unconscious.

Rex expected Blaine to frown at that but was surprised since he saw him grinning instead. He was confused and was about to ask when he saw Scyther stumble and fall to one knee as small flames burst from his body. It suddenly hit Rex. Flame body! He facepalmed. Now Scyther did half the damage and was burned with on recovery moves. Plus, it had sustained heaving damage from the last encounter, he was done for the match.

Blaine "you seem to have realised it. I knew I wasn't going to win this match if your Scyther was still on the field. He must be your strongest Pokémon, so by taking him out now, I can turn this around." He said with a smile.

Rex was flabbergasted. Since when was Scyther his strongest Pokémon? But when he put himself in Blaine's shoes, it made sense. For a Pokémon to be so uncharacteristically strong and unique. It would require a lot of time and effort. Usual you would only have time to train one or two to such mastery. But he had the system and Machoke who helped by co-training the Pokémon.

So, he could circumvent that issue. He could only commend Blaine for giving it his best but it would only get more difficult for him. After all, his other Pokémon were even better matchups for his fire types. He debated on who to use and decided on Arcanine. He was feeling upset about the loss, and Rex wanted to cheer him up so giving him a win in a gym battle would be adequate.

Rex "Commendable effort, but you made one big miscalculation." He said with a sudden smile. Blaine felt like he missed something.

Blaine "and what could that be?" he asked

Rex "Scyther is not my strongest, but currently my weakest," he said simply. But to Blaine, this was like the roof had collapsed. He was stunned with his mouth agape. How could that be possible? The Scyther was already a nightmare, and here he was, hearing his opponent say that it was his weakest Pokémon. It was simply ludicrous.

Blaine "Y-young man, please don't joke," he said wiping away the building sweat in his forehead. Rex didn't bother to convince him further and shrugged.

Rex "well actions speak louder than words," he said as he threw out his next Pokeball.

*Pop* ROOOOOAAAAAR

A deafening roar could be heard as Arcanine took to the field. A wave of heavy pressure flowed out of his majestic image. Blaine was shocked beyond words. He had spent almost a lifetime with his Arcanine, and yet, he had never seen one so different yet powerful. He wanted to ask questions but when he saw Arcanine's stare he gave up. He knew he couldn't win, but his pride as a gym leader forced him to battle to the very end.

Blaine "*sigh* this will be an uphill battle ninetails, but one we must climb!" he said as he threw the Pokeball he was just whispering to into the field. With a *pop* a strong Ninetails appeared, swaying his tails as he observed the biggest Arcanine he had ever seen in his life. It dwarfed the one he was friends with.

An: Fluff boi comes out :) hope you're enjoying the gym challenge so far :)