The Dave
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Chapter 25, part 1
🕑 Added 2025-02-19 11:25:37 +0000 UTCWith Doro’s match scheduled at eleven and Ran’s match and the ensuing conversation only having ran for about fifteen minutes, he’s got over an hour and a half to kill before he has to be in the stands to watch Doro’s match. Which is good, because his first stop, the moment he exits the Gym, is of course the pokécenter.
It’s quick and easy work to hand in the balls of Caesar the Arbok, Skorupi and Golbat, leaving him only with Croagunk and Aria the Ariados still in their balls and on his belt. Then, he wanders over to the computers. Considering the relatively early hour, it’s no surprise to see only one of them in use, allowing Ran to settle down comfortably and, after attempting a video call which of course isn’t answered as his father is working, send his father a long video message in which he recaps the battle and its outcome.
With that handled, he sends Grady an update, letting the younger trainer know about his triumph over Chuck and his future plans to head to Olivine. A response doesn’t come immediately, likely meaning that Grady is too busy to notice or read Ran’s message. An answer isn’t particularly urgent by any means, so Ran is content to consider it a job well done, as he turns his attention to texting Josie.
Immediately, he runs into bigger issues, as he doesn’t quite know how to start the message. There was something off about Josie’s final few messages and he isn’t quite sure what he did to cause it. All he knows is that he doesn’t accidentally want to upset her.
He considers mirroring Josie’s first message, proclaiming his victory and demanding acknowledgement of his awesomeness, but considering Josie’s own admission that she might have started to resent him if they stuck together, he doesn’t want to risk offending her in that way. Another option would be just letting her know when he’s due to arrive in Olivine, but that’s something he doesn’t actually know yet, not until he’s booked a ticket, which he won’t do until he’s had an opportunity to talk with Doro after her own match against Chuck.
Ultimately, he settles for a neutral update, simply informing Josie that with his goal in Cianwood accomplished, he’ll be booking a ticket to take ship to Olivine sometime in the next few days. It’s yet another message he isn’t too happy with, as it reads more like a formal obligation than an update sent out of friendship or care. Still, he’s sent it and, with Josie also not responding immediately, there’s nothing left to be done but grab a quick snack before he wanders back over towards Chuck’s Gym.
Once there, it’s just a matter of heading up the right stairs to start making his way to the stands. Before he can enter however, his eyes fall on the large instructional posters plastered against the double doors. He scans them, rather than reading them in full, but even that cursory look is enough to reveal that the crowd’s remarkably restrained behavior isn’t so much a matter of choice on their behalf, as it is a demand levied upon them by Chuck and his Gym.
Not particularly bothered by the instructions, as they essentially boil down to “be quiet and clap when the rest of the crowd does”, Ran opens the doors and moves to pick out a seat in the stands. It’s an easy enough task, though he does immediately notice that there’s been a significant increase in the amount of spectators, compared to the numbers that were present for his own match. Which makes sense, of course, considering the far more palatable hour of day.
Doro herself is no longer in the stands, clearly already having moved towards the waiting area. Which is a bit of a shame, as Ran wouldn’t have minded an opportunity to exchange some words, but then he would have needed to arrive a lot earlier, as there’s a clear ban on talking during the matches themselves. A ban which at least is lifted temporarily then, as Chuck chooses that moment to have his pokémon, a peculiar white and light blue humanoid figure with an onion-shaped head, Zen Headbutt its opponent, a Machop, into unconsciousness.
Ran joins the crowd in a round of polite applause as Chuck exchanges some words with the clearly disappointed trainer he just battled. The guy in question looks to be about Ran’s age, though from the brief look Ran got of his Machop, he’s quite confident that the other trainer isn’t at Ran’s level. Something which is confirmed when he gets a proper look at the other trainer’s belt and only spots two pokéballs on it.
Though Ran feels somewhat apologetic towards the other trainer for his uncharitable thoughts, he can’t help but be gratified, in a way. After all, after spending so much time with Spencer, Josie and, recently, Doro, it’s easy to forget that there’s a lot of trainers out there that are a lot slower to grow, if they even do so at all. In that regard, it’s an encouraging sight to see a rookie who is so clearly behind Ran in his own journey.
Of course, it’s a bit of a pointless realization, as he already knew full well that he’s miles ahead of schedule, but still. Affirmation is always nice.
He gets drawn out of his own self-justifying thoughts, as Doro finally enters the arena. She makes quite an entrance too, with her usual gold-and-pink training jacket nowhere to be found. Instead, she’s only wearing her black tank top and black shorts with white stripes running up the sides. Complimented by some white boxing tape which she’s got wrapped around her hands, it’s a look that, if she wasn’t here for a pokémon battle, would make any viewer believe that she’d be stepping into the arena herself.
Chuck for his part seems unbothered, though there’s a clear eagerness to him at the sight of the budding fighting-type specialist that was missing for his earlier matches. Ran can’t exactly blame the man, as, unlike for example a poison-on-poison match, with no mutual resistances and similar mentalities about training and battling, fighting-types might well prefer fighting each other over any other possible challenger. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see that extend to the trainers as well, which in fact seems like it perfectly explains the existence of such niche-competitions as the P1 Grand Prix, over in Celadon City.
The referee swiftly runs through the rules once more, similar to the rules Ran himself was subject to, which makes sense as Doro is also challenging at the fourth-badge level. There’s a difference in which badges they’ve acquired beforehand of course, with Ran having previously acquired the Zephyr, Hive and Plain badges, whilst Doro is the proud owner of the Plain, Fog and Mineral Badges, but that’s an irrelevant detail under the circumstances.
The match starts with another surprising mirror match, after Doro’s earlier contest between her own Hitmonchan, Precise, and the gym trainer’s Hitmonchan, during the Croagunk-race. This time, her Hitmonlee, Strong, faces one of its fellow Kicking Pokémon. Both bounce in place loosely as they wait for the fight to start, their trainers similarly rolling their heads and noticeably loosening their shoulders for a few seconds.
Then, the fight begins.
It’s an intriguing match, with neither Hitmonlee seeming to have any way to hit the other with a super-effective attack, it all comes down to the pure essence of fighting-types, those being physical prowess and technique. Though Strong would undoubtedly be outmatched by any Hitmonlee Chuck would consider part of his true elite pokémon, he clearly has the advantage against what Chuck considers an appropriate challenge for a fourth badge level pokémon.
Neither trainer really gives many orders, as the Hitmonlee dance around each other whilst snapping kicks at each other, the fight too high-paced for either trainer to risk directly distracting their team member. Ultimately, between its superior physique and cleaner technique, Doro’s Hitmonlee starts to fully take over the match, forcing Chuck’s own battler completely onto the defensive.
It’s a state of affairs that can’t last indefinitely, but the way in which it comes to an end still comes as a surprise to Ran. Having been solely on the defensive for the past minute, Chuck’s Hitmonlee makes the mistake of attempting to lash out with a Blaze Kick, only for Strong to lean back far enough to get out of reach. He actually bends back so far that he has to put his hands on the ground behind him to keep himself from falling. However, this leaves him in the perfect position to be the faster of the two to recover, as he lashes out with a Low Kick to sweep his opponent’s planted leg.
Chuck’s Hitmonlee hits the ground and, before it can even think of recovering, is on the receiving end of a punishing Double Kick that knocks it out, as Strong puts all of his weight onto his arms for a moment in an impromptu handstand, before launching himself upwards and landing on his prone opponent with a heavy double stomp. Doro takes the lead in convincing fashion, to a round of polite applause from the crowd, which Ran joins in with, almost overeager in his enthusiasm before he manages to restrain himself to simply clapping along calmly with the other spectators.
The withdrawal of Chuck’s Hitmonlee and the accompanying applause only provides a brief intermission in the bout, as Chuck congratulates Doro on her well-trained Hitmonlee, a compliment she accepts with a polite nod, before he sends out his next combatant. It’s a Heracross, which draws twin frowns from Ran and Doro, likely for similar reasons. Its dual-typing gives it a defensive advantage over Hitmonlee which the Kicking Pokémon only has a single, easily-scouted answer to, and Heracross tends to learn Aerial Ace, which is far more of a predicament.
Because Aerial Ace is renowned for its speed of execution and precision, making it far more challenging for Strong the Hitmonlee to defend himself against Heracross’ super-effective attack, than the other way around. Ran isn’t sure just what Doro’s own internal thought process looks like, but from the frown on her face, it’s rather similar to his own.
Doro doesn’t balk or hesitate however, simply initiating the next stage of the fight by ordering Strong to Focus Energy and prepare to counter Heracross with a Blaze Kick when it closes in. It’s a clever move, assuming Heracross has no self-boosting or ranged moves of its own, as it forces Heracross to close the distance, giving Hitmonlee an extra moment or two to try and dodge the inevitable Aerial Ace.
It’s a good idea, in theory. Unfortunately, though it’s hardly a move that sees much action at the highest levels for its relatively limited impact, all Heracross innately know the move Leer. Chuck is more than happy to remind Doro of that detail, immediately instructing his Heracross to carry the move out. So, even as Strong bounces in place, a small aura of fighting-type energy briefly flaring up around him, Heracross meets its eyes with an intimidating look of its own that, through the bizarre and still ill-understood mechanics of pokémon battling and type energies, weakens Strong’s innate defenses.
If the stand-off continues, it will increasingly favor Heracross, which is why Ran isn’t surprised to see Doro snap out an order for Strong to close in. Immediately, Doro’s first fighter lopes forwards at speed, only for Heracross to meet it eagerly, large arms easily coming up to block Hitmonlee’s first few kicks.
Both trainers give the order for their pokémon to use their respective super-effective moves at the same time, with Heracross’ horn and Strong’s foot obediently glowing with flying-type energy and bursting into flame respectively. Heracross is the faster, however, simply jerking its head down sharply in a move that at once lets its Aerial Ace slice across Strong’s body, whilst also allowing it to duck under Hitmonlee’s spinning Blaze Kick.
It’s a hard and clean hit that clearly hurts Strong a lot, but Doro’s battler isn’t down for the count yet, simply spinning through into a second Blaze Kick, the fire only seeming to intensify. Heracross, caught unaware by Hitmonlee spinning a full revolution to execute the same attack again, straightens, only to catch Hitmonlee’s burning foot directly to the side of its head. The impact is crunching, the bug-fighting type’s carapace noticeably cracked and charred as it's sent stumbling backwards a few steps.
Chuck doesn’t hesitate to order another Aerial Ace however and, to Heracross’ credit, it immediately snaps out of its daze, rushing to meet a charging Strong, who tries to capitalize on his temporary advantage. At such close range and with such speeds, there’s no way for Strong to avoid the retaliatory Aerial Ace. Heracross actually uses its horn to throw its opponent into the air this time, only to then fly up and meet his falling target in the air with a punishing hit that knocks Strong out before he’s even hit the ground.
Another round of applause rings out, though Ran has no trouble sticking to the acceptable volume this time, clapping out of respect rather than enthusiasm now that Chuck has brought the match back to equal. In pure numbers, at least, because even a cursory look at Heracross’ shows that it clearly took a lot of damage, leaving the advantage firmly with Doro.
She doesn’t hesitate to send out Precise the Hitmonchan, who only takes a moment to take in his surroundings, before nodding eagerly when his trainer orders him to close in. Chuck lets Precise close in on his Heracross, before ordering another Aerial Ace, but this time it doesn’t land, as Doro counters with a Fake Out that perfectly catches Heracross out.
It’s wobbling, but not done yet, another attempt at Aerial Ace pre-empted wonderfully by Detect. Then, before Heracross can muster any further defense, Doro barks out a sharp order for Precise to use Fire Punch. It’s the decisive blow, as Precise’s fist, wreathed in flames, smacks Heracross right between the eyes, on the base of its horn. The Single Horn Pokémon goes cross-eyed for a moment, the flames licking at its carapace and leaving a large black scorch mark, before slowly falling backwards, like a tree being felled.
Precise proudly returns to Doro’s side of the field, completely unhurt and fully fresh to continue the battle. As he moves, he raises his fists in obvious triumph, taking in the newest round of applause from the crowd with evident pride. Ran makes sure to match the rest of the crowd in enthusiasm, even as his thoughts race ahead enthusiastically.
With Precise fully fresh and Quick the Hitmontop still in reserve, assuming she doesn’t intend to use Toff the Croagunk - Ran had double-checked whether Doro meant ‘Tough’ when she told him its name, only for his newfound rival to look at him as if he were insane - Chuck’s third pokémon needs to be a lot more impressive than what he’s seen fit to use so far. That seems unlikely, which leaves it extremely likely that Doro is about to win the Storm Badge as well.
When Chuck reveals its third pokémon however, Ran discovers that he may have to reevaluate the thought that Doro’s final challenge won’t be of a different caliber than what has come before. The humanoid pokémon, its upper body, arms, head and feet gray, whilst its legs and headdress are red-and-yellow, reminds Ran vaguely of the blue-and-white pokémon with the onion-shaped head he’d briefly seen Chuck use in his previous match.
The pokémon announces itself calmly, letting out a brief call as it turns to face Chuck, bowing first to its trainer before repeating the gesture towards Doro and Precise, “Medicham.”
Doro is clearly just as unsure about just what she’s facing as Ran himself is, her whole stance screaming hesitation as she gazes uncertainly at her opponent. Fortunately, she doesn’t let her uncertainty stop her from giving orders, as she instructs Hitmonchan to use Agility. It’s a call that leaves the initiative with an unknown pokémon, which Ran isn’t too wild about, but under the circumstances he understands her decision.
Unfortunately, Chuck doesn’t seem to mind in the least, as he orders his Medicham to use Work Up. Which is a move that has all kinds of alarm bells going off in Ran’s head. Because Work Up doesn’t just boost a pokémon’s Attack, but its Special Attacks as well. He worriedly glances towards Doro, only to let out a relieved sigh when Doro’s pinched expression makes it very clear that she’s caught on to that seemingly insignificant detail as well.
Immediately, she orders Hitmonchan to fire off a Vacuum Wave, only for what might well be a worst case scenario to reveal itself, as Chuck calmly orders his Medicham to counter with a Psybeam.
Vacuum Wave is the faster move to be executed, with Precise firing it off within a second and the move swiftly crossing the distance. Medicham seems to deliberately wait for half a second, just long enough for the Vacuum Wave to hit it and dissipate. It doesn’t appear as impacted by the attack as it should, lending credence to Ran’s growing worry that it doesn’t just know psychic-type moves, but that it’s a proper fighting-psychic type.
The Psybeam crosses the distance swiftly, with Precise unable to muster the last-second Detect Doro calls for in time. He still tries to hurriedly sidestep to the right, at the very least not taking the full brunt of Medicham’s attack, but the glowing pinkish-purplish beam still wings the Hitmonchan’s right shoulder, a ripple effect seeming to radiate out from there and towards his head.
Precise is clearly hurt from the super-effective hit, but by no means is he out of the match yet, as Doro hurriedly instructs him to close the distance. It is here that Agility proves its value, as Medicham appears to be roughly as fast as Precise would be under normal circumstances. With the boost to its speed provided by Agility however, Medicham stands no chance of preventing its opponent from closing the distance.
Instead, Chuck calls for a Zen Headbutt, only for Precise to start rifling Bullet Punches into Medicham’s face with unerring accuracy, disrupting its attempts to muster up the concentration needed for the move. The punches land with one painful thud after another, Medicham actually stumbling backwards as it attempts to defend or block Precise’s hits. Its noodly arms are no match for the Punching Pokémon however, the momentum of the match firmly shifting to Doro’s favor.
Chuck waits for multiple seconds to see if Medicham will manage to get its Zen Headbutt off despite the barrage it’s suffering. It’s too long a wait, in Ran’s opinion, but finally the Gym leader orders his final battler to use Detect, at which point it starts managing to dodge Precise’s hits by a hair, again and again and again.
Doro wastes no time in ordering a Feint, which successfully gets Medicham to dodge into a punch, but the impact lacks the raw power of the previous attacks. It’s enough of a reprieve for Medicham to finally muster the Zen Headbutt Chuck calls for, its red headdress glowing with a slab of concentrated psychic-type energy.
The Medicham has taken an absolute battering however, clearly on its last legs as it finally snaps its head forwards with frightening speed. Precise stands no chance of preventing the hit from landing, but he does manage to snap off a final Bullet Punch directly into his opponent’s torso, just as the Zen Headbutt connects.
Both pokémon are sent flying backwards, sliding on their backs and throwing up sand. Medicham is unfortunate, crashing hard into a boulder after sliding just a short distance. Precise is more fortunate, his own involuntary path not having any boulders on it, as he more gradually comes to a stop on the sand. Neither pokémon stirs for a few seconds, the referee swiftly glancing from one to the other, clearly ready to proclaim a double knock-out.
Just before she can, however, there’s movement.
Precise the Hitmonchan rolls over onto his belly, fists planting into the ground before he slowly starts to lever himself upwards. It’s a maneuver that isn’t matched by Medicham, who remains prone. The referee announces Medicham’s defeat and Chuck’s along with it. Ran jumps upright, barely restraining himself from cheering wildly as he claps with an enthusiasm that draws a few side-eyed glances, but little more than that.
Doro has won the Storm Badge!
Comments
ted bridgman
Oh no, multiple 'meh' messages to Josie is might make her crush on him die. She's trying to find hope in their messages and he's so awkward about how to make it Not Weird he is making it seem like he's detaching himself from her. I feel like this is going to make their reunion very awkward. As a Random aside, I hope we get news that Grady beat Whitney soon. I have to admit, I thought she was going to beat Chuck a bit more by the skin of her teeth like Ran did. Mildly amused that he was so heated about the double Croagunk thing, and now from an outsider view it looks like she she might better than him when he can't hide behind Golbat's flying.
A ferret
Was a good showing for Doro. She needed it after the Golbat Sweep. She lacks the versatility of a Gym Leader(who doesn’t), but she definitely has the power.
A ferret
I think Doro heads to Goldenrod next actually. She already has the Mineral and Fog Badge.
Simplexity
Epic match, why do I have a feeling Josie is going to jump to conclusions when Ran arrives in Olivine with his new traveling partner.... Welp good luck Ran
TempestK
Very nice indeed! Also glad to see Chuck is invested in fair play, Medicham would have probably curbstomped his team, or at least led to him using Aria instead of Skorupi.
