FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I finished up in Granite Cave and headed back south to Dewford Town and headed to the Pokemon Centre to have my Pokemon fully healed and battled ready. While that was happening I did some research on the gym leader Brawly, I knew he specialised in Fighting Types and the Pokemon he used in battle were, Machop and a powerful Hariyama, the evolved form of Makuhita. That would be a real physical powerhouse to take down. Fighting Types were weak to Flying, Psychic and Fairy Types. Not only that, they couldn't hit Ghost Types either. The current Pokemon that I owned that would be good against Fighting Types were, Beautifly, Swellow, Wingull, my two Kirlia, Masquerian, Ninjask, Shedinja, Sableye and Mawile. Sableye and Shedinja were immune to Fighting attacks which would make them a good choice. Though one could never assume a battle will be over thanks to type advantages. Gym leaders were no pushovers.

As such I decided that, Swellow and Sableye were my choice of Pokemon, simply because Swellow had a good advantage and Sableye would be immune to Fighting Attacks. I apologised to the Pokemon who didn't get chosen, but they were fine and knew that I had my reasons. They knew they would get stronger in their own time. At that, I gathered my Pokemon from Nurse Joy and headed to the Fighting Gym. Upon entering the gym, I immediately took note of the fact that the gym seemed to actually reflect that of a gym. There were trainers, or I assumed they were trainers, using workout equipment surrounded by Fighting Type Pokemon who seemed to be working out as well. Perhaps this gym was also a workout area for those wanting to increase their physical strength. That is both people and Pokemon too.

I was soon approached by a man who had blue hair and carried a surfboard around with him. "Yo, you here to challenge the Dewford Town Gym?" I nodded my head, "yes, I'm Leo from Viridian City." The man then introduced himself, "great, my names Brawly, I'm the gym leader here." At that we headed to the battlefield at the back of the gym. Brawly had deposited his surfboard away, to concentrate on the battle. When we took our positions a referee spoke up declaring the rules. "This will be a gym battle between Brawly the gym leader and Leo from Viridian City. This battle will be two on two and the battle will be over when one sides Pokemon are unable to battle. In addition only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Trainers please send out your Pokemon."

At that Brawlt began "come out my Machop!" His Machop appeared muscles bulking for such a small Pokemon. "I need your help Sableye!" Sableye appeared grinning at the confident Machop who returned his grin with a smirk of confidence. Brawly observed my Sableye curiously, "a Ghost Type huh? Looks like this'll be more fun than I thought." At that the referee began the battle, "battle start!" At that I made the first move, "Sableye start by using Fake Out!" Before Brawly could even make a move Sableye had landed the first attack and had even flinched Machop. "Confuse Ray!" Sableye threw the orbs before Machop could even recover from the Fake Out making Machop confused right after being flinched. "Don't think you've won yet!" Brawly shouted, "Machop snap out of it and use Bulk Up!"

Machop heard the command but was unable to execute the command and in his confusion instead smashed into the ground causing damage to himself. Brawly sighed in annoyance, gritting his teeth before I made my move. "Sableye use Shadow Sneak!" Sableye struck with Shadow Sneak but didn't do as much damage as I had hoped. Seems as though Machop had better defence than I had expected. As an unintended consequence of using Shadow Sneak, Machop snapped out of confusion and Brawly took advantage. "Bulk Up!" At that Machop bulked up and rose its attack and defence. However, it still wouldn't be able to hit a Ghost Type with Fighting moves so what would their plan be.

"Machop can use other types of moves, not just Fighting Types. You underestimated us if you caught that Sableye thinking we wouldn't be able to hit it. Machop show them what we mean, use Foresight!" At that I knew Sableye would have some difficulties now. Machop's eyes glowed as he scanned Sableye. The move Foresight allowed a Fighting or Normal Type move to hit a Ghost Type. The same could be said, if a Ghost Type used it on a Normal Type. It removed the Pokemon's immunity to a respective type. "Sableye we need to wrap this battle up fast!" Sableye turned to me and nodded, he understood the panic in his trainers head and wanted to reassure him that no matter what, he wouldn't lose and betray the trust his trainer had in him.

"Sableye use Night Shade!" From Sableye's eyes, Night Shade was launched and smashed right into a surprised Machop who was pushed back quite some distance. When the attack ended, Machop stumbled slightly, but grinned and retained his footing. "Right on Machop, now use Karate Chop!" Machop ran toward Sableye but I wasn't going to allow that move to connect under any circumstance. "Dodge that!" Sableye waited for the right moment, before jumping over Machop. In that moment, I saw the briefest of chances to at least halt the advantage that Machop held. "Use Disable!" At that Machop was now unable to use Karate Chop anymore, but I'm sure they had other moves that would be just as dangerous, if not more so.

"Machop use Knock Off!" Brawly commanded and Machop dashed toward Sableye but this may be our only chance to end the battle with the next attack. "Sableye use Night Shade at full power!" Sableye unleashed the Night Shade at Machop whose eyes balked as he realised he had no time to dodge or counter the attack. Night Shade scored a massive hit and created a smokescreen. When the smoke eventually cleared me and Sableye watched as Machop slumped down unable to battle.

"Machop is unable to battle, Sableye is the winner!" The referee announced and Brawly returned his Machop. "Return Machop, you battled well." At that Brawly brandished his second Pokemon. "Your my last Pokemon, I'm relying on you. Come out Hariyama!" Hariyama appeared and landed on the field with a heavy thud signalling he was a heavy and powerful Pokemon. Sableye didn't appear nervous he remained calm. To understand more about my opponent I scanned Hariyama with my Rotom Phone.

"Hariyama the Arm Thrust Pokemon a Fighting Type. It loves to match power with big-bodied Pokemon. It can send a truck flying with its arm thrusts." Hariyama sounded like a exceptional Pokemon and might be stronger than I had initially expected. "Sableye return for now" I returned Sableye. "Take a good rest, I might need your for later." I grabbed my second Pokeball, "I need your help Swellow."

Swellow appeared flying on to the battlefield before glaring down at Hariyama with surprising ferocity. Not to be outdone, Hariyama returned the glare with his own, smashing his fists together in a powerful threatening posture. "Hariyama, Bulk Up!" At that Hariyama powered up his defence and offence. "Swellow take to the skies and use Aerial Ace!" Since Hariyama was occupied using Bulk Up he couldn't fully defend against the super effective Aerial Ace which seemed to do some serious damage. "Hariyama stand up!" Brawly encouraged his Hariyama and it barely managed to stand back up, breathing heavily but not giving up.

"Good work Hariyama, now use Arm Thrust!" At that Hariyama ran with surprising speed to where Swellow was. "Swellow take to the skies and use Focus Energy." Just as Hariyama got close, Swellow flew upward and out of range. Swellow then powered up with Focus Energy, which would allow Swellow to hit critical hits on his opponent. "Hariyama use Force Palm!" Hariyama again dashed forward his palm extended and ready to meet Swellow. "Swellow counter that with Aerial Ace!" Swellow flew low to the ground and the two Pokemon met fist to beak.

The massive shockwave blew winds into me and Brawly's face as we waited to see what had happened. Eventually, the smoke cleared and Hariyama was down on the ground unable to battle. While Swellow was sparking with electricity, which meant he had been paralysed thanks to the Force Palm. Luckily the battle was over so he could be healed immediately. "Hariyama is unable to battle, Swellow is the winner. As such, the winner of this battle is Leo from Viridian City." The referee declared as Brawly returned his Hariyama.

I dashed toward Swellow, who walked slightly over to me. Swellow immediately tried to drape me in a hug with his wings, but I grabbed a Cheri Berry I had on hand and fed him it to heal the paralysis. At that Swellow was no longer paralysed and properly covered me in a feathery hug. I congratulated and thanked him, petting him on the head as thanks for battling super well. "Not bad, well you've earned this. It's the Knuckle Badge." At that I thanked Brawly and placed the badge my badge case before leaving the gym.

I returned to the Pokemon centre and had Sableye and Swellow fully healed and when they were I thanked them both extensively for how good they battled. Both Sableye and Swellow were more than happy at the attention they received. The next gym was quite some distance away, in Mauville City but to get there I still needed to get through Slateport City speaking of which I returned back to where Briney had been waiting for me.

"Ah, you've finished here on Dewford have you?" Briney asked me and I nodded. "Then would you like to set sail for Slateport City?" I nodded again, "yes that would be great." I thanked Briney and once again climbed aboard is ship and we set sail for Slateport. Surprisingly, the journey was shorter than I expected, only a few hours and we'd arrived at the shore right before Slateport on Route 109.

"It was nice sailing with you young trainer. If you need my assistance, don't hesitate to come and see me again." At that I headed north and began exploring the beach of Route 109. I could definitely stay here and get myself a tan if I wanted and enjoy the sunshine and the ocean waves. While exploring I was challenged by a Tuber who sent out a Zigzagoon and I sent out my Makuhita having him use Force Palm defeating Zigzagoon.

Next a second Tuber challenged me with an Azurill and I sent out my Linoone having him use Headbutt defeating Azurill. A Beauty then challenged me with a Goldeen and I sent out my Grovyle having him use Mega Drain defeating Goldeen. Next was a Sailor who sent out a Tentacool and I sent out my Marshtomp having him use Mud Bomb defeating Tentacool. The second sent out was a Machop and I substituted for my Wingull having him use Air Cutter defeating Machop.

Next a Street Thug challenged me with a Poochyena and I sent out my elder Kirlia having him use Disarming Voice defeating Poochyena. The second Pokemon sent out was a Carvanha and I substituted for my Beautifly having him use Bug Bite defeating Carvanha but unfortunately took some damage thanks to the Rough Skin ability. Next a Tuber challenged me with a Azurill and I sent out my Dustox having him use Poison Sting defeating the Fairy Type Azurill.

Next was a Delinquent who sent out a Sableye and I sent out my Mawile having him use Fairy Wind defeating Sableye thanks to it only being weak to Fairy Type moves. That was lucky I had a Fairy Pokemon to use. After winning that battle, I moved north and entered the bustling city of Slateport where there was so much to do and so much to see.

As I explored Slateport I visited a small market to see whether there was anything worth buying, but most of the items there weren't useful to me or my Pokemon. There was a Oceanic Museum here too, which had all sorts of interesting items that the ordinary person probably has never seen before. However, the main attraction for Slateport was the contest hall and apparently according to several brochures I had seen lying around there was a contest being held here later today.

Contests were something that trainers, called coordinators made their Pokemon shine, by showing off their Pokemons conditions and their battling skills, though some contests just showed a Pokemon's coolness, beauty, cuteness, cleverness and toughness. When I first heard about contests I'd wondered whether I would want to enter a contest. Sure, I like battling and getting stronger with my Pokemon, but contests always seemed rather different. As I bypassed the contest hall, I was suddenly distracted once more when I heard some people cheering excitedly.

I headed on over seeing that there was a girl with an Altaria that looked quite powerful, but also very beautiful too. "Nice to see you everyone! It's Lisia and I'm visiting Slateport City's contest hall for some fun! Well, today I'm here to scout yet another fantastic trainer into the world of contests!" At that Lisia began observing the crowd, seeing many citizens attempting to push forward and attract Lisia's attention. From where I was standing I had believed I was out of view but Lisia turned to face me and smiled wide with excitement.

At that she dashed towards me with surprising speed and was followed by her entourage or fans and camera crew too. "You there with that baffled expression on your face. Nice to meet you! What I want to know is whether you've ever joined a contest?" At that I stuttered my response nervously eyeing the camera watching me. "Leo" at that Lisia beamed and headed back to the contest hall with me following.

"Alright, this is the trainer I'm going to scout today and his name is Leo! When I first saw Leo I knew he was a powerful, yet talented trainer with two gym badges already in his possession. A contest will help show you that there are so many different things you can do with your Pokemon. Whether it be battling or showing your skills off in a contest. You can show your Pokemon's inner beauty here. This here is a Contest Pass which will allow you to take part in any contests all over Hoenn and also a little gift from me. Here this is a Pokeblock kit which allows you to make Pokeblocks for your Pokemon to enjoy."

At that Lisia handed me the Contest Pass and the Pokeblock Kit and I accepted them both still nervously eyeing the camera crew that were filming my every move. That then made me wonder whether my mom at home was watching this, especially if the show was being broadcast live to all the regions. "Well that's all from me Lisia goodbye for now everyone!"

At that Lisia and the camera crew disappeared inside the contest hall while I decided to do some decision making at the Pokemon centre and perhaps figure out whether I would enter the contest. As soon as I arrived I had an incoming phone call from my mother. "Leo, I just saw the news, you were scouted by Lisia for a contest. Are you planning on entering?" My mother sounded extremely excited and I guess shocked too. "I'm not sure, I always planned on catching every Pokemon and completing the Pokedex. I battle gym leaders but maybe contests would help my Pokemon relax." I couldn't see my mum but I knew she was nodding in agreement.

"Of course, Pokemon like battles but some might enjoy a change in scenery. I'm sure that some of your Pokemon would love to compete in a contest and show their beauty and skills." At that I thanked her for her advice and decided to now speak with some of my Pokemon about the contest. "Come out everyone!" At the moment I only had, Groyvle, Marshtomp, Combusken, Swellow, younger Kirlia and Skitty. The group of six seemed surprised at all of them being called out.

"I wanted to know how you felt about entering a Pokemon Contest. There different from gym battles and their used to showcase a Pokemon's beauty, coolness, cuteness, cleverness and toughness all in one." Grovyle seemed undecided, he always preferred battles compared to the idea of showcasing his abilities to a crowd of people and judges. He did seem more interested when I mentioned specifically the coolness and toughness as that was where he shined the most.

This was much the same as Combusken as he also preferred showcasing his strength in coolness and toughness but not cuteness or beauty. Though he did want to show just how brilliant his trainer had been raising every single on of his Pokemon. Marshtomp, had surprised me when he decided he didn't mind competing in contests though, he was more interesting in toughness and coolness. The younger brother Kirlia was shy, but I had been wondering whether competing in a contest would help him grow more confident and comfortable too. However, that was ultimately his own decision to make.

Swellow, had made his decision like most of the others and didn't mind competing if it helped them show just how amazing their trainer was. Meanwhile Skitty sounded really interested in showcasing his beauty and cuteness as he knew he shined in those categories. I did also speak with the other Pokemon and their responses were much the same and so I made my decision. I would enter the Pokemon Contest if only to see whether they would be something I would be interested in.