Aoki vs Erika

Two days had passed since the battle between Aoki and Steven took place.

In a spacious hotel, three people could be seen devouring the food on their plates forgetting about every etiquette.

They were the Hoen trio that invited Misty and Aoki to their hotel. S

Steven was about to order food for them but Aoki decided to cook for them.

Misty who had already finished her part had a proud smirk on her face seeing them eat as if wanting to say ' Isn't my boyfriend amazing!'

"I WANT ANOTHER FILL !!" Phoebe loudly exclaimed. Both Steven and Wallace were silent but it was clear from their expression that they wanted more.

Never in their life, they had eaten something so good. The food they were eating was from one of his restaurants but under his hands, the taste was enhanced to a new level.

Aoki turned out more amazing than they had ever expected. A professor, a strong trainer, and a world-class chef.

Steven would not be surprised now if Aoki pulled out a legendary Pokemon from his pockets.

"So, where is your next stop? " Aoki asked

"We will take this evening's flight to Pewter City, I want to visit the museum there. " Steven said.

"After that Cerulean City, I want to check out the gym and the mermaid show, " Wallace said.

"If you take my name, you might get some special treatment there, " Misty said to Wallace and told them about his sisters.

"We will go to Lavender town after that, I want to see the Pokemon Tower," Phoebe said.

Although she didn't reveal any of her Pokemon, Aoki knew she was a ghost-type specialist.

If his memory served right….

Phoebe comes from a small village that lives in Mount Pyre in the Hoen region.

Mt. Pyre is like the Pokemon tower of Lavender tower having a large Pokemon cemetery and an abundant ghost Pokemon.

From what Aoki remembered from the games, Phoebe had the ability to talk to ghost Pokemons which she developed after spending a lot of time in the mountain among ghost Pokemons.

After a satisfying meal, Aoki and Misty accompanied the Hoen trio to the airport and said their goodbyes for now.

"Finally, it's time for another gym battle "

*********

"Whoa! The gym looks amazing.."Misty exclaimed.

It was a wide building which was in the shape of a Vileplume i.e red around petal-like structures.

The area around the gym was a flower garden releasing a very sweet and pleasant scent.

"Let's go, Misty"

Aoki and Misty entered the gym and showed their ID for the gym battles.

Erika would be battling both Aoki and Misty one after another as it would be a two-on-two match.

The inside of the gym was the same filled with flowers too.

'They better have a good fire management system or this building is burning down very quickly' thought Aoki.

He remembered from the anime how Ash got his badge but that incident repeating in real life should be pretty slim.

This gym had both public and private matches, and as Aoki wanted to make it quick and less distracting he chose the private option.

As they entered the main battle hall, they were greeted by a grass-type battlefield but this one had no flowering plants.

On one of the walls was a screen similar to the one in Saffron City that would display the Pokemon's currently in use or the Pokemon that have lost combat capability.

At the opposite end of the battlefield stood Erika in an elegant Kimono and a gentle smile on her face.

Her expression slightly fluctuate seeing Aoki but turned normal the next second that was the gentle smile that she always had.

It was not only because of Aoki's appearance but also because she remembered his face from a list she received for the youth cup.

He was one of the top trainers the Alliance had their eyes on. Eve gym leaders like Sabrina and Chongyn seem to favor him.

"Welcome to the Celedon Gym challengers, I am gym leader Erika and specialize in grass-type Pokemons," she said calmly.

Erika had that natural gentle and calm presence similar to that of a grass-type Pokemon.

Misty stepped back out of the field with Aoki staying there as he wanted to go first.

At the same time, a young man entered the room with the uniform of the referee.

He was the same person who took the role of the prince in Erika's play.

He looked at the two challengers. The moment his gaze fell on Misty, his eyes lit up for a second.

"I am gym apprentice Liam, I would be acting as the referee of the match" the young man announced.

"May I ask how many badges you own challenger? " Erika asked.

" I have 7 badges, 5 official and 2 unofficial "

"~fufu ~ That's very nice, if you collect all the badges early then you can have more time to prepare for the league.

Since this is your last gym badge required for the league, I will go a bit lenient on you " Erika said with a chuckle.

She didn't say this because she was looking down on Aoki but because of her nature.

She tends to go easier on trainers who require one or two badges to participate in the league.

"Please don't hold back, you might have to regret it " Aoki declared.

"Oh my! Confident are we? Okay then I will use my full strength then"

Liam made sure that both of them were ready and announced.

"THIS IS AN OFFICIAL GYM MATCH BETWEEN CHALLENGER AOKI AND GYM LEADER ERIKA FOR THE RAINBOW BADGE.

THE MATCH WOULD BE TWO-ON-TWO WITH ONLY THE CHALLENGER BEING ALLOWED TO SWITCH POKEMON IN BETWEEN "

"Begin !" the referee announced the start of the battle for the Rainbow Badge.

Erika decided to reveal her Pokemon first as a gym leader and released her Pokemon.

"Come out Vileplume !"

~Puuuum~

It was a master-level Vileplume.

But this Vileplume was a bit different, instead of a blue body and red petals, it had orange petals and a green body.

In short, it was a shiny Vileplume.

Aoki only had seen four to five shiny Pokemon in his entire life signifying thier rareity. Some even go thier entire lives without seeing a single shiny Pokemon.

'Let's finish this quickly shall we'

Aoki sent out his Pokemon too.

"Come out Charizard"

~Roooar!!~

Charizard released a terrifying roar shaking the gym immediately after coming out.

Erika and Liam covered their ears from that roar while Misty didn't do anything as she was used to it.

Although they both had seen pretty dangerous Pokemons, this large Charizard sent a chill down their spine.

Erika calmed down her breath and looked at Charizard carefully.

"Seems like I need to take you seriously after all …" seeing Charizard Erika knew that she had already lost the first match.

Vileplume sleep powder, sweet scent, stun spore, poison powder combo " Erkia commanded.

Vileplume aimed his head at Charizard and started releasing every type of power toward him as well as into the entire battlefield.

"Charizard use Heatwave to destroy all the powders and Fire Blast to end the match " Aoki commanded.

Charizard flapped his wings releasing very hot air into setting the grass on fire and burning away everything Vileplume sent at him.

Boom!

Not even a second had passed since the last move when Fire blasts exploded on Vileplume smashing him to the gym wall and instantly ending the match.

The speed at which Charizard used Fire blast defied logic.

Neither Erika nor Vileplume were able to do anything before it was already over.

"VI-VILEPLUME IS UNABLE TO BATTLE, CHARIZARD WINS THE FIRST ROUND "

Erika widened her eyes with shock at seeing the damage.

She instantly ran towards the fainted Vileplume and sprayed Burn Heal and Hyper portion on him.

As the grass field was now on fire, the anti-fire system started working to put out the fire.

'At this point, any Pokemons I send would end up the same. But I have my pride as a gym leader, so I cannot go down so easily.

I need to bring her out ' Erika called back her Vileplume and sent out her next Pokemon.

"Your Charizard is strong, in fact, one of the strongest Charizards I have ever seen.

But my next Pokemon is not so easy to deal with. I suggest you proceed with caution" Erika said.

"You don't have to warn me. Charizard can handle it no matter what you send at him. Right, buddy? "

~Roar!~

"Arrogant huh but with a Pokemon like that your arrogance is justified"

Erika sent out her second Pokemon.

~Veenusaaar ~

A giant green frog-like Pokemon appeared on the field.

It had a small tree-like structure growing out of its back with red petals. From the base of the tree, multiple large leaves could be seen growing out.

It was an elite-rank Venusaur.

Aoki looked at the Venusaur and decided something.

'Let's prolong the battle a bit. I wish to see an elite-level Venusaur in action. Moreover..' he took a glance at Misty who was observing the match with a serious face.

'If Misty faces this Venusaur it should help.

She is not ready to face an elite Pokemon at full power yet.

Even during our training, my Pokemons had limited their strength to elite rank so she is not used to it yet.

I could give her more experience with my Pokemon but I didn't. She needs to fulfill some conditions and find out what separates her from strong trainers, till then I would not use elite-level strength against her '

Venusaur immediately used Sunny day after coming to the field.

"This is my Venusaur who has been with me for the last 10 years. He is my trusted and strongest Pokemon. " Erika said proudly.

"Now then Venusaur use forest whip" she commanded.

Just like Aoki's Victreebel who used great forest emergence, vines started emerging from all over the field aiming at Charizard. All the vines had some small flowers on them which was not just for decoration.

"Charizard use Dragon Claw "

Charizard manifested large violet claws and started slashing apart all the trees that came toward him.

Erika made her next move.

"Venusaur mass stun spore "

All the flowers in the large vines started releasing stun spores trying to paralyze Charizard.

"Charizard Whirlwind, Fire spin "

Charizard rotated his body and wings setting up a large fire tornado in the middle of the battlefield sucking in the spores while setting all the vines Venusaur sent at him on fire.

"Charizard Protect "

Boom!

The translucent screen of Protect blocked the Solar Beam that was shot at Charizard by Venusaur.

"Venusaur use Seed bomb"

"Charizard fly up and use Dragon Pulse "

Charizard flew up into the air and was immediately attacked with Seed Bomb from different angles which he destroyed with Dragon Pulse.

Aoki was very impressed by the level of nature control Venusaur had. He had manipulated nature to a degree that other plants that he grew just now acted as more body parts to shoot seed bombs.

The match continued for a few minutes during which Venusuar attacked with a large number of moves and Charizard destroyed all of them with his moves.

There were some moves that impressed Aoki a lot like dividing solar Beam and using them as high-power bullets rather than firing at once.

Using whips to jump and dodge various attacks of Charizard or become a hammer trying to bring Charizard down.

Unlike Vileplume, Venusaur had the entire battlefield covered in stun spore, sleep powder and poison powder but nothing seem to have fazed Charizard.

"Seems like it's my turn now…

Charizard Dragon Dance and Flair Blitz "

"Not so fast, Venusaur poison-coated Leaf storm and Seed Bomb" Erika commanded while sweating.

This was the most intense battle she was having in a while that was making her completely input all of her focus into the match.

'It's been a while since I have seen miss Erika this serious' Liam thought as he glanced at her.

He had a notebook in his hand in whichh he was noting down points from the match.

Charizard flew and moved his body in a specific pattern activating Dragon Dance while a storm of poisoned leaves surrounded him which were sharp as blades.

That was not it, Venusaur grew out another layer of vines that shot Seed bombs at Charizard.

'Alright, this should do some serious damage '

That is what Erika thought but things don't go as planned; the next second a wave of heat passed her skin making her widen her eyes.

Charizard released a large amount of flames from his body like a furnace incinerating the leaves and seeds sent at him completely destroying the attack.

Charizard became a ball of purple flames as he rushed toward Venusaur.

"This is bad Venusaur use Solar Beam and Protect "

"Charizard end the match, use Draconic flame rush"

Venusaur used Protect but that was not enough for Charizard's attack.

Boom!

A large explosion shook the room as Venusaur was sent out of the field rolling and bouncing like a ragdoll.

Erika and Liam were hit with another wave of shock setting the outcome.

"Ve-Venusaur is unable to battle, Charizard wins this round.!

With two consecutive wins, Challenger Aoki wins the gym Challenge " Liam announced.

Erika approached her Venusuar with a gloomy expression.

"Sorry for not commanding you properly, I should have stopped the match earlier, " Erika said as she sprayed Burn Heal and Max portion on him.

There was a large number of burns on Venusaur that would take at least a day to completely heal.

Erika had never seen Venusaur get beaten up so badly moreover in the entire match, Charizard didn't get a single scratch or injury which was insane.

It was not her first time fighting against Charizard or strong Fire-Types but she had only seen once a Charizard that could compare to Aoki's Charizard.

It belonged to Champion Lance.

But that was not the only concern, the main concern was the trainer.

Every time Erika would use a strategy to injure Charizard or attack from the blind spot, the trainer would accurately destroy her attack like he already predicted what was going to happen.

Where did this trainer come from?

'Sigh! get a hold of yourself, Erika, every battle is a lesson for you.

Time to fulfill duties as a gym leader'.

Calling Venusaur back to his Pokeball, Erika approached Aoki.

"Congratulations on defeating me and completing the gym challenge.

You are one of the strongest trainers I have come across in this gym.

I hope that your momentum doesn't slow down and that you grow even stronger.

I present you the Rainbow Badge as the Token " she said handing him the badge.

"Thank you very much"

"Don't mention it. Our gym gives out the T.M. for the Giga drain which you can collect at the reception. "

She looked at Misty who was a bit dazed and asked " You two are together right? "

"Yes, is something the matter? "

"I would like to take a 30 minutes break before starting my next battle if you would allow me to. " Erika said politely.

"Sure, no problem take your time. We would be in the waiting area please call us when you are done " Aoki said.