Mars recognized his opponent for his next battle.
[break][break]
Not just because he was a gym leader, but because they had chased down some Alolan Exeggutor together back at Lilycove beach.
[break][break]
He was about to greet the other man, but apparently his pokémon was eager to begin, and he raised an eyebrow at this.
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It was another one of those battles where all pokémon had been weakened beforehand, after all, which meant that the moment that Air Cutter hit (it was Air Cutter, right? Ugh, Mars really didn’t see the appeal of Flying Type moves) it would all be over for the pokémon he had called to the arena.
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Sadly for the Oricorio, this pokémon was Mars’ beloved Inkay.
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Inkay who, weakened as he was, was quick to lay the curse of DESTINY BOND the moment he saw an attack coming his way. The second he fainted, the Oricorio would as well.
[break][break]
”Hey, you can choose your next pokémon first. How’s the tournament going?” Mars smiled, as if he were unbothered these events.



[BREAK][BREAK]

+ Alexei Ivanov
[break]POKÉMON FAINT COUNT: 1

For a gym leader, this guy looked pretty confused.
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Did he not know his way around a battle or something?
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If so, that must have made things really hard at his job.
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”Learning experience, huh? I guess that makes sense, it’s a good chance to battle a lot of different people.”
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Was Mars here to learn? Maybe, kind of, but that wasn’t his main goal…
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He just watched the Butterfree fly up, and after returning the Inkay to his pokéball, he brought out a cute Brionne that happily clapped her flippers upon landing onto the sand.
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He tried to ignore the painful memories that came with the sight, continuing to smile.
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”Icy Wind.” Was that called having no chill, or maybe having too much chill? Either way, the Brionne lightly blew out air, which soon turned into a strong wind – ice sparkling within it as the gust blew directly towards the Butterfree.
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It was far from the most powerful of moves, but under these circumstances and considering type advantages, it was a deadly choice.
[break][break]
”So, had any cool battles yet? Some of the challenges are pretty unique.”

[BREAK][BREAK]

+ Alexei Ivanov
[break]POKÉMON FAINT COUNT: 1

”Huh… That’s interesting, I didn’t know that was allowed for gym leaders. So, what do you do if someone goes to your gym and challenges you to a traditional battle, then? Do you just tell them no and that you want to do a sky race?” He was genuinely curious. After all, it was likely there would soon be a day when Mars himself paid the Fortree gym a visit.
[break][break]
While this was discussed, the Butterfree fainted, the other man then releasing a Mothim that was quick to drain away what little energy the Brionne had left in her. It caused her to wobble, exhausted – her consciousness slowly fading away until she FAINTED.
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Well, the Mothim had healed itself a bit, but would that really help it with what came next?
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After calling Clio back to her pokéball, Mars released an innocent-looking Dratini.
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”Hyper Beam.”
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And so, HYPER BEAM it was. Goodbye Mothim.


[BREAK][BREAK]

+ Alexei Ivanov
[break]POKÉMON FAINT COUNT: 2
[break][break]
✔ Endeavor: Have your pokemon use a move that requires recharging

Mars considered the other’s words, and he smirked in response. ”Ah, I see… So, would you call yourself a pushover right now, then?" Alexei’s words, not his, mind you.
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Apparently, gym leaders came in all forms, and after having battled a handful of them in this tournament, the man wasn’t all that sure about which one he liked most. This was definitely different from those other battles though.
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The JUMPLUFF attacked with a FAIRY WIND that resulted devastating to his little Dratini that had been resting after such a powerful attack – the small dragon losing consciousness and being called back to his pokéball soon enough.
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Mars then released a Wailmer.
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”I can understand that, most of these aren’t pokémon I work with often. Heavy Slam.”
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And so, all 130 kgs of whale fell heavily upon the Jumpluff.



[BREAK][BREAK]

+ Alexei Ivanov
[break]POKÉMON FAINT COUNT: 3

Was it really okay for a gym leader to be that way? Mars wondered if there was some sort of rulebook for it or something, and this made him genuinely curious. He would probably ask his personal assistant to look that up for him later though, since right now he had other things to concern himself with, such as this weird battle…
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”Huh. So, what if someone challenges you to a non-traditional challenge that isn’t what you’re used to? Does anything go as long as it fits the theme?”
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While they spoke of this, the RAZOR LEAVES made quick work of the Wailmer, Mars calling it back and then watching the Worwadam.
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Two pokémon left…
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Out of the two, he chose Shellder.
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”Has it? That’s good to hear. Have you been having a good time with your battles though?”
[break][break]
Like frozen spears, the Shellder created ICE SHARDS that were aimed at the Worwadam.




[BREAK][BREAK]

+ Alexei Ivanov
[break]POKÉMON FAINT COUNT: 4

Alexei hadn’t really understood his question, so Mars decided to drop it, because of course he knew how gyms in Hoenn worked (unlike some pink idiot out there who had ignored that when moving to the region).
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”Oh, right. Charja-cola guy, huh? I’ve heard of him, seems like a cool dude.”
[break][break]
A Yanma was released onto the arena, using an AIR SLASH that threw the little Shellder back a few metres before it landed with its body half-buried in the sand. Of course, it had FAINTED. He too was returned to his pokéball.
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Alexei also hadn’t understood Mars’ second question.
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”I asked about having a good time though. Don't you think you’re being a little too serious? You can have fun even if you lose.”
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With this, his last pokémon was released, one that looked vastly different from the ones before: a stern-looking Blastoise. ”Calliope here has some pent up energy from her fights, so let’s end this with a blast, yeah?”
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On cue, the keystone that was attached to a gold chain at his wrist began to shine, the Blastoise MEGA EVOLVING into a rather unusual form. "Ever seen a Cannonade? It’s quite something.”
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And it sure was. The Blastoise turned her back on the Yamna, every single gun on her shell (and they sure were a lot) pointing at her opponent as they gathered water that was then released in one powerful, overwhelming, and incredible shot that seemed to hit almost the entire field.

[break][break]
Water rained down on both Alexei and Mars just as it had when they had met but about a hundred times worse. The latter grinned, despite now being completely soaked.





[BREAK][BREAK]

+ Alexei Ivanov | Welcome to Azul needed mega evo so Mars bullies Alexei into chilling out a little
[break]POKÉMON FAINT COUNT: 5

”Ha! Only with the right people and when the time calls for it.” He smirked, although the true meaning behind his words may have been lost to the gym leader.
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He gave the Blastoise’s shell a couple of pats. ”Good one, Cal.” And then, he returned her to her pokéball just like that, turning to face a woman who had been standing at the sidelines. She, unlike them, was completely dry, and held in her arms a couple of Piazza Oro Grande Bank branded towels. He jogged to her, then tossing one of the towels towards Alexei.
[break][break]
”Catch!”
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He was sure to need it after that last attack.


[BREAK][BREAK]

+ Alexei Ivanov
[break]POKÉMON FAINT COUNT: 5