[attr="class","spiral"] Fernando is actually in his Gym for once. With the recent fame of the Pokkenger, Fernando cannot allow the opportunity to see him battle escape him. Amidst the raid, moments of triumph and failure are lost among the chaos. Out here, in his own battlefield, Fernando allows no talent to escape. His own personal Silph Scope rest behind the ridge of his ear and he sees the suited vigilante in double vision.

"Good afternoon, Pokkenger." Referring to him as such still feels weird but Fernando allows the transgression to pass. He has one job and one job only. As long as the battle provides some useful data then he'll stomach the disgraceful theatrics with reserved judgement. "Ready to take on your Two on Two challenge?"

[attr="class","spiral"] Fernando smiles with confidence built on experience.

"We'll see about that."

Fernando already has his Pokemon ready. Two capsules fit neatly between his fingers and he allows both of them to fall beside him. The dynamic duo of ghost Pokemon take up the space beside him and they rotate to their end of the field. The Aegislash stands out in front as the vanguard and it twirls in place, hilt aimed upwards as the blade shines with the sheen of a SWORDS DANCE.

Behind it is the Golurk that starts to fade from view as the PHANTOM FORCE takes effect.

"Battle routine set."

Golurk may have disappeared but its essence does not. Invisible to the naked eye, the sound of its steps can be heard stomping within the battlefield. It clamors among a variety of spots that make no sense considering the Pokemon's size. Traveling in the ether contrast deeply with the normal plane.

Fernando waits for the opponent to react.

"Execute."

[attr="class","spiral"] Their combination is interesting and flanking the otherwise stationary Aegislash is by all means a good idea. However, their attacks find no purchase against Fernando's bulwark. The Aegislash raises its shield and STANCE CHANGES in time to use KING'S SHIELD, protecting it in a mystic veil that holds strong against both their attacks. Those that challenge the king should know when to take a knee; physical strikes against it will feel their subsequent attempts dull in comparison, a consequence of the stamina used to exert themselves against the KING'S SHIELD.

"Aegislash is near impervious when STANCE CHANGES," Fernando comments, pointing a hint toward the nature of the challenge.

What he doesn't address is his missing Golurk that appears on the other end of Incineroar, sandwiching it between Fernando's Pokemon. Their pincer attack becomes undone by the Pokemon's maneuver but it doesn't fade back into view with a simple strike. No, it tears through the PHANTOM FORCE at an incredible linear speed for the Pokemon's size, packing HIGH HORSEPOWER in a direct route to ram straight through the Incineroar and into his Aegislash. Taking the extra time to position appropriately with the PHANTOM FORCE will allow it to grab onto the Aegislash during its made charge with ease.

They may not know the extent of their opponent's abilities, but working together is quite easy with practice.

[attr="class","spiral"] Once the HYDRO PUMP and DARKEST LARIAT leave their mark on the KING'S SHIELD, the Aegislash prepares to be handled by its partner. It's a practiced routine that makes up the nature of this challenge but that runs on the assumption that the Golurk will rampage straight through their enemies. However, the Aegislash does not simply levitate in place, idle, waiting for success. It remains weary, spinning into a more favorable position to be wielded, adapting to the situation.

Which is good because not everything goes as planned.

Kazimir's Feraligator is fast but it still has to navigate around the Aegislash in order to cover its flanking partner. In a solid motion, it situations itself between the Golurk and Incineroar. However, it does not leave alone. Aegislash remains in hot PURSUIT, following it and ending up in a near by position to sneak in an attack while the Pokemon focuses on maneuvering and dealing with another threat. This puts it relatively nearby and facing the Golurk.

Which doesn't stop speeding toward them. The Feraligator is fast but so is the Golurk. Between it's mass and inertia, coming full stop proves impossible. All it can do is brace for impact, focusing its weight toward its front to provide the most blunt damage that it can in a full-on collision. An arm reaches out for the Aegislash and it expects all of the Pokemon to dogpile into a hot mess.

But the Feraligator uses AQUA TAIL to redirect it into another direction. The blow lands cleanly and the Pokemon is pivoted against its own wish, spinning at the curved angle of the swipe and continues to barrel off in its new direction at the same speed, Aegislash in tow.

The Golurk continues to speed off and away from its opponents, eventually coming to a stop and well out of the range of their melee-based combo attack. Several meters away, they stare down their opponents. This time the Golurk wields the Aegislash as a HOLD ITEM, prepared to attack.

[attr="class","spiral"]Now that's a proper tactic. There are multiple ways to deal with this challenge. Avoiding melee combat is the most obvious. Although resorting to abusing ranged attack and proper spacing isn't the only way to handle it, it's the simplest. However, KING'S SHIELD allows the Golurk to maintain pressure as it closes that same distance with HIGH HORSEPOWER.

It's an uphill battle that reinforces proper spacing by retroactively pursuing the enemies every time KING'S SHIELD comes up. And in the event it fails, Golurk can rely on PHANTOM FORCE to buy time for their next advancement. Kazimir's Pokemon will spend the majority of the battle running, firing off their attacks whenever they see the opportunity, unless they want to hear the painful clang of their physical attacks being walled off by Fernando's Aegislash.

Eventually, his Pokemon succumb, and Kazimir becomes the second to conquer the double based challenge.

"Well that's certainly one way to handle that challenge." Fernando's pleasantly amused, content with how Kazimir cleared the challenge. "Hopefully that'll reinforce the value of maintaining distance against melee eccentric opponents onto your Pokemon."

Fernando plucks his badge from his pocket and presents it to the challenger turned conquerer.

"Here's proof you understand battle theory at an advance level. I present you the Silph badge."