Alex thought Growlithe had fought well. He was still just a puppy, after all, and he had been battling fully evolved Pokémon. There was no further advice to give—he was simply limited by his movepool and stats. That would change once he evolved, which might happen when he started bounty hunting.
Alex recalled Growlithe and had him revived at the healing station. On his way back to his designated battleground, Growlithe suddenly popped out of his Poké Ball and barked excitedly at Alex.
"Grau, Grau, Growlithe!"
"Are you sure?"
"Grau!"
"Alright!"
With excitement, Alex took out the Fire Stone he had prepared for Growlithe's evolution and handed it over. Growlithe simply held it in his mouth.
A burst of fiery energy erupted from the Fire Stone engulfing Growlithe as a brilliant white light replaced the fiery glow on Growlithe's frame. He was evolving.
The light expanded and morphed into the shape of a 6'3" (1.91m) Arcanine. As it receded, Arcanine stood in all his splendor, his proud expression ready for battle.
Suddenly, he burst into a sprint with Extreme Speed, landing back at the battleground, eager for round two. Meanwhile, Alex was busy recording Arcanine's new stats.
Name: Arcanine, Expert
Type: Fire, Male
Ability: Justified
Moves:
Novice: Extreme Speed
Advanced: Morning Sun(+25% Heal)
Description: Arcanine the Legendary Pokémon. Arcanine is known for its incredible speed and majestic presence. It can run over 6,200 miles in a single day, its blazing mane flowing as it dashes with grace. Revered for its loyalty and power, many cultures see it as a symbol of bravery.
Arcanine was currently focused on improving his proficiency with Heat Wave while having maxed EVs in Defense and Special Defense. This setup allowed him to rampage across the battlefield while maintaining the option to heal himself. With the AOE (area of effect) of Heat Wave, he could deal significant damage to multiple opponents.
Alex arrived at the battlegrounds just in time to witness Hitmonlee getting one-shotted with Play Rough from Arcanine. Even Charles, Hitmonlee's trainer, hadn't seen it coming—he had assumed Hitmonlee would at least survive one hit.
The power difference was undeniable, drawing the attention of other gym trainers. Many had initially dismissed Growlithe as an unworthy challenge, but now that he had evolved, they saw Arcanine as the perfect sparring partner for their Expert-ranked Pokémon, similar to Raticate a long time ago.
"Hahaha! Finally, a real challenge. I've been wanting to try out this new battleground," said Joe, the gym trainer who had first introduced Alex to the Fighting Gym. He released his Machamp with a confident grin.
"Machaaamp!"
"Arc! Arc!"
The two Pokémon greeted each other before charging forward, unleashing attacks in rapid succession—Play Rough, Counter, Heal Pulse, Heat Wave, Brick Break, Heal Pulse, Morning Sun, Low Sweep, Heal Pulse…
Their battle continued relentlessly until, five minutes later, both combatants were stopped, and the winner was revealed—Arcanine. He had been periodically using Morning Sun to heal himself, but only enough to allow Clawitzer to keep up with its own healing support. As a result, Arcanine received less overall healing throughout the fight.
The battle was fast-paced, with occasional missed attacks—Machamp would slap aside Arcanine's strikes, while Arcanine skillfully circled around to avoid being struck by all four of Machamp's arms.
This was exactly the kind of training Alex had envisioned for Growlithe: a continuous, close-range brawl that forced him to learn how to maximize damage while minimizing incoming blows.
Alex glanced at Ruan, who gave him a confirming nod. The new battleground was an undeniable improvement over the old one and would be officially accepted. Ruan suggested removing the scoring system and implementing a five-minute time limit per challenger to ensure proper rotations.
This battleground was soon dubbed "The Sandbag"—a place where challengers could test their offensive skills by trying to deal as much damage to Arcanine as possible while avoiding damage themselves.
It was a perfect environment for non-stop combat, eliminating the need for frequent trips to a healing station since a personal healer was on standby.
Arcanine would have all the battle experience he could possibly want for the entire day. Given his heightened energy levels, it was the perfect way to put them to good use.
Alex left the battleground with Ruan as he began explaining his next idea—a battleground designed specifically for Forretress. The concept was simple: a one-on-one fight against Forretress, with the gimmick being terrain restrictions. The battlefield would be completely covered with hazards set up by Forretress, making movement a challenge for both Pokémon.
Charles volunteered to try it out, realizing that his Hitmonlee would never be able to challenge Arcanine again. He needed a new training method for Hitmonlee, but unfortunately, Forretress was too low-leveled to provide a meaningful fight. Instead, he chose his Hawlucha, which was only slightly stronger than Forretress.
Forretress began setting up the battlefield, and Charles quickly grew pale. Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes covered the entire arena—not just the opponent's side, but the entire field. This kind of hazard placement was usually avoided to prevent harming a trainer's own Pokémon, but Forretress could handle it without issue.
Once the setup was complete, Forretress took its position on one side of the battlefield, while Hawlucha was already in place at the other.
"Fly and get close to avoid the hazards," Charles commanded.
Alex remained silent. He had drilled a basic routine into Forretress so that he wouldn't have to oversee the battles himself. His only responsibility would be reviving and healing Forretress when it lost.
As Hawlucha soared high into the air, Forretress began glowing dark pink and released a pulse of energy. The Gravity move took effect, suddenly increasing the gravitational force in the area. Hawlucha plummeted from the sky, hitting a Stealth Rock along the way, which exploded on impact and dealt significant damage.
Still determined, Hawlucha charged forward, aiming to finish the fight in one blow with Close Combat, knowing Forretress was weak to Fighting-type moves.
Unfortunately, as it dashed in, it landed on Toxic Spikes, poisoning it instantly. Then, it ran over Spikes, taking even more damage. By the time it reached Forretress, it was already on the verge of fainting.
Forretress responded with a Heavy Slam, its steel body crushing down on the weakened Hawlucha. Although Hawlucha managed to land a devastating Close Combat in return, the attack wasn't strong enough to bring Forretress down. The sheer difference in weight caused Hawlucha to be sent flying backward, knocked out from the impact.
Ruan remained skeptical about this new battleground. It was too one-sided against challengers. Opponents would have to wade through traps, only to be sent flying back before even landing a proper hit. Perhaps it would be better to train Pokémon to navigate the hazards without interference from Forretress.
Then again, they were all Fighting-type specialists, and a single strong hit was usually enough to turn the tide of battle. It was worth giving the battleground a trial run to see if any adjustments to the rules were necessary.
Having been given a trial period, Alex was excited. Forretress trained like a madman to get all his important moves to Basic and even more on the hazard setting moves.
Name: Forretress, Adept
Type: Bug Steel, Male
Ability: Sturdy
Moves:
Basic: Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, Rollout, Gravity, Earthquake, Body Press, Heavy Slam, Iron Defense, Pain Split, Reflect, Light Screen…
Description: Forretress the Bagworm Pokémon. Forretress hides within its steel-hard shell, only revealing itself when launching rapid-fire spikes at threats. It remains motionless in forests, camouflaged as part of the environment, but will swiftly counter any disturbance with a barrage of hazards. Its shell is so tough that not even explosive force can crack it.
He was quite difficult to train at first because Clauncher kept distracting him, but once he was reminded that strength would impress Clauncher, he immediately put in the work and managed to evolve a few months later.
Clauncher, misunderstanding Pineco's effort, worked just as hard and finally evolved a month later. Since then, they have been competing in move mastery.
Forretress' EVs were set to Special Defense and Speed to give it a fighting chance against most Pokémon.
Alex was quite proud of his Forretress and Clawitzer but had some concerns about his lovely Frosmoth. She had a secret crush on Forretress, admiring his hard work and growing strength.
Since both were in the Bug Egg Group, Alex would gladly support their relationship. However, there was a problem—Forretress was in love with Clawitzer, who belonged to a different Egg Group. Frosmoth was aware of this but hadn't given up. Motivated by her feelings, she began training seriously and even managed to evolve, yet Forretress remained oblivious.
He only saw her as another hard working teammate.
Meanwhile, Alex had a headache. He could easily guide his Pokémon in battle, but romance? That was beyond him. He would never force them into a relationship—they had to figure that out themselves. He wasn't a breeder, after all.
'Maybe I should find a breeder or consultant for advice?' Alex thought as he dragged Ruan to his final battleground.
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