I Sting (Pokemon Poison Type Specialist)

The Primeape, being what it is, was wholly enraged, the Pokemon's existence was nothing more than a consistent anger and nothing more.

Virah couldn't help it, she wanted to come up with something capable of reducing that rage, maybe make a Primeape mild until its in battle, a type of medicine works, but an item that permanently does it is good too…

'But where do I even start with that?' The poison specialist asked herself with as much gravity as she could muster, what she was tackling was something serious and she wasn't sure if it was even possible.

Looking at the Primeape however convinced Virah that maybe what she was considering was uneeded as the Pokemon was using its rage for something productive.

Still, that much anger couldn't possibly be healthy for the Primeape.

When the massive screen at the top of the arena flickered to life once more, the fight restarted, Hollie's and the Primeape's health bar could be seen on screen.

Virah eyed Hollie's HP, happy that the Machop barely took damage from the first fight.

'Hope that's enough to set Tyrogue up for a proper victory,' Virah thought grimly as she eyed the Muscle Band tied around Hollie's bicep, Grene had two of them so it should be enough to give her the edge against Chuck…

"Rock Tomb!" Grene started the fight the same way she did against the Mankey, by hindering the much faster Primeape with a move that creates obstacles within the terrain.

Chuck laughed, "you think that'll work again girly?!"

"Confident." Grene bit back seriously, her assured glare an answer all on its own.

"We'll see about that!" The Gym Leader bellowed, "Primeape! Jump up high and shatter that thing!" Chuck pointed at the giant boulder twice his size flying through the air, "Rock Smash!"

The Primeape made incoherent noises as it jumped in place while banging its hands against the ground, then, like a frog, it jumped from all four limbs and took to the skies, it pulled back its fist and with a loud roar that the microphone within the arena had to dampen, it punched the giant boulder, shattering it into rock-sized pieces.

Dust clouds started to sprout as the rocky debris rained on the battlefield, the largest of them got kicked up when the Primeape landed, causing a one-wave sandstorm to suddenly blow out within the barrier.

As the air settled once more, the dust started to thicken and the visibility of the area lowered to the point that Virah had to rely on her aura to see where the two Pokemon were.

Thankfully, the screen above the arena had some sort of technology which allows its cameras to see through the dust and she was able to view the battle without hindrances.

Grene, and possibly even Chuck still had to use aura perception to view the battlefield however though that didn't seem to hinder them.

"Hollie! Rock Tomb again! Make it smaller and aim it at the Primeape directly!" Grene's voice echoed out from her podium.

"Primeape, Brick Break then Low Kick!"

"Shoot it with a rock Hollie!"

The battle went on, with both Pokemon coming to blows and attacking one another with their respective moves, from the screen up top, Virah could see them hit each other as much as possible, with Hollie constantly releasing Mach Punches after feigning with her Brick Breaks.

The Primeape on the other hand just didn't bother to think of anything, its attacks had no grace, with the Pokemon constantly using Fury Swipes and followed by Take Downs in seemingly no order.

Of course, that didn't mean that the Primeape's attacks were ineffective, in fact, Hollie's slower, yet more refined approach was starting to get overwhelmed and she was getting pushed back by her opponent.

Virah eyed Hollie's steadily depleting health bar in concern, the Primeape was also losing health every time Hollie landed an attack but even if the Machop's damage output did a decent amount compared to the Primeape, the fact that it was inconsistent indicated that the victor in their bout would be the Primeape.

'An understandable outcome,' Virah thought, 'the Primeape is fully evolved and had enough power to beat a trainer with three badges,'

It was only obvious that the victor would be the Primeape, but Grene still had another Pokemon, the question is though, would Knuckle even listen to her?

When Hollie finally fell, Virah waited with bated breath as Grene grabbed Knuckle's PokeBall, would Grene's labor bore fruit? Virah wondered as Grene tossed the sphere into the air.

When Knuckle fully materialized, it was with a serious look on his face, and Virah's hope surged at the sight- only for it to plummet when the Tyrogue dashed forward and raised its leg for a powerful kick.

'That wasn't even a move,' Virah thought with a frown.

"Knuckle!" Grene shouted as the crowd gasped.

The Tyrogue yelled back at its opponent when the Primeape bellowed out a roar, then it quickly shifted its kick so that it went downward, the Tyrogue's feet slid across the ground, then, with a grin, it executed a powerful Low Kick that it quickly led into a Thunder Punch.

Yellow sparks of lightning erupted from the center of the arena, sending dust clouds flying as they slithered through the air.

"Knuckle! Back down and use Inner Focus!" Grene ordered but it was no use.

Knuckle moved forward, his hands clenched into fists, he chased after the Primeape as it rolled away, once he got close enough he slammed his foot down on the ground, again, that wasn't a move and it didn't even hit but Virah saw why he did it moments later.

'Another feint?' Virah thought as she watched the Tyrogue redirect the momentum from his slam into a powerful Mach Punch, catching the Primeape off guard.

Knuckle's fist met the face of the recovering Primeape, sending its head reeling back.

The Tyrogue growled and sent another Mach Punch towards the Primeape, then another-

As Knuckle won the fight by his lonesome, outside of the arena, on her now darkened podium, Grene was wiping her cheeks with her palm, "please stop and listen to me,"

Whitney frowned, "why is Knuckle doing this?"

"He thinks he can win against the Primeape on his own, and he's not wrong," Virah answered, her tone serious.

Tyrogue was wrong for disobeying his trainer but he was winning, which ultimately made him right.

Whitney sighed as the battle ended with Knuckle's victory, the Tyrogue's health didn't even lower by a tiny bit, "guess that's that,"

"We should go," Virah stood up.

"Right-" Whitney's glumness was replaced by energy as she followed after the poison specialist.

The two of them made their way out the bleachers to meet up with Grene, the martial artist was just climbing down the podium as they arrived, Whitney, however, didn't wait for her to reach the ground and quickly offered words of consolation.

"Grene, it's okay, you'll control him one day," the pinkette soothed, "today just isn't that," she adds, "but I'm sure that one day, it will happen,"

"What she said," Virah chimed, "you don't have to rush things Grene,"

"It's not fair," the martial artist hiccuped, "people will start to think I'm a bad trainer because of this,"

"Hey," Whitney said softly as she hugged Grene, "they won't, right Virah?"

"Actually, yeah," the poison specialist hummed, "we'll only start to get really noticed by other Elite Trainers once we've gotten our fourth badge, before that? They'll think we're rookies,"

Grene looked at her, she went silent for a few seconds, then she nodded, "right," she said, "I'll remember that,"

"You better!" Whitney exclaimed near the martial artist's ear, causing Grene to wince, "Virah knows what she's talking about because she's smart so she's right!"

"Haha…" the person in question looked away.

And that was when the spotlight shone on them, "Oh? It looks like she was just being comforted by her friends folks! No need to panic!" The announcer's booming voice echoed, "aren't they sweet?"

A wave of 'awwwss' came from the audience, most of them female.

Virah coughed, "right, guess you should grab your badge," she says while lightly pushing Grene forward, "good job Grene, Hollie fought that Primeape well,"

Grene paused, "I… thank you, she did, didn't she?"

Virah didn't know what Grene's expression was since Grene had her back turned to her but from Chuck's happy expression, the poison specialist thought that her friend must have been smiling brightly.