Shade put her Galarian Rapidash, her two Galarian Slowpoke, Orbeetle, Thievul, and Drakloak. She looked over at Aaron and smiled a cheeky smile before heading into the Hammerlocke Stadium. She walked through the stadium before entering the vault. The gym's referee told her that she needed to battle three gym trainers, each at a double battle, against varying weather conditions. The Gym Leader, Raihan, will also be fought at a double battle. Nodding, Shade walked towards the first arena. A guy in the Gym Trainer uniforms of Hammerlocke with glasses got his two Pokemon ready: a Pelipper and a Sliggoo. Shade threw out her Galarian Rapidash and Drakloak, getting ready for the fight.
Suddenly, the air felt very wet and damp, and clouds formed overhead as rain began to drop. Luckily, she didn't have any Fire-Types. She decided to use Super-Effective moves, as that would be easier and faster to get through the gym match. Of course, her opponent thought the same.
Shade let her Pokemon fight, as her Caretaker and Unique Horn Pokemon knew what to do. As the Pelipper flapped his wings heavily and Sliggoo released a breathful of harsh snow and ice, Drakloak sunk into the shadows to avoid the Blizzard and Hurricane while Rapidash used Agility and Quick Attack, running at breakneck speeds to avoid the attack. While running, he enveloped himself in electricity and jumped at the already flying, Pelipper, only for the bird to fly higher to avoid it. A sudden crackle of energy could be heard as the Drakloak emerged behind the Sliggoo and sent off a Thunder into the sky. It boomed in the rain clouds as Drakloak used Breaking Swipe, swiping her tail at the Sliggoo and flinging it back to the Pelipper in the sky, catching the bird off guard. The lightning from the sky came down suddenly and shocked the two Pokemon. The Pelipper was immediately knocked out, and the oncoming Wild Charge from the Galarian Rapidash didn't help things either, as the two Pokemon were smashed into, sending them rocketing back to their trainer. Sliggoo was still up however, and made its way to his side of the field. It fired off an Ice Beam at Drakloak, who flew up, then back down again towards the ground and vanished. Then, a wave of sludge was emitted by the Sliggoo, knocking the Rapidash backwards and enveloping him in acid. Struggling to get up, the sky was penetrated by a little meteor, only for the sky to filled with more meteors and they fell upon the Rapidash. A green barrier could be seen in the dust that accumulated and a Drakloak could be seen, using Protect to save its comrade. The Drakloak helped the Rapidash up with her tail. Eyes filled with determination, the Drakloak shone bright with yellow light before giving off that energy to Rapidash in the form of a hand on his shoulder. The Helping Hand boosted the amount of power used, and the Rapidash pooled together all of its energy in its mouth.
He then fired. A direct hit. The Sliggoo was pushed back towards his trainer and was knocked out. Shade returned her two Pokemon, and moved on to the next fight.
In the next arena, the next trainer - a female this time in the same uniform as the last trainer - sent out her Ninetales and Turtonator, while Shade sent out her Galarian Slowpoke and Drakloak. The sun began to heat up and the rays of sunshine lit up the arena, as well as the heat becoming almost unbearable. With this in mind, Shade began taking charge. She told Drakloak to use Agility and Galarian Slowpoke to use Belly Drum. The Slowpoke stood up on its hind legs and began smacking his belly, hurting itself but also raising its physical attack. The Drakloak sped itself up and now it was practically a blur. A couple more times and the Drakloak was nearly invisible as it moved. The Turtonator fired a Dragon Pulse at the Drakloak while the Ninetales shot forth a Dark Pulse at the Galarian Slowpoke. At the last moment, they were able to pull up a Protect, pulling a green barrier to protect themselves from their respective attacks. Slowpoke used Slack Off and regained his energy, and now Drakloak was spending its time protecting her comrade. The Ninetales fired off Shadow Balls and Flamethrowers, while the Turtonator fired off Dragon Pulses and Solar Beams. Drakloak was able to tank the hit from the solar energy and flames, but had to use Protect again to block those hits. The Galarian Slowpoke was using Calm Mind and Amnesia at the same time to speed up the process. More varying ranged attacks were used. Some Drakloak was able to tank, while others she had to use another attack to block it or use Protect, which she was slowly running out of uses for. Finally, the Ninetales came in close for a Foul Play, a dark energy enveloping the Ninetales as she charged. As soon as Drakloak used Breaking Swipe - swinging her tail around - the Ninetales grabbed the tail with her teeth and swung the Drakloak around towards the Turtonator. Now, the Ninetales was within reach of the Galarian Slowpoke. A point-blank range of Flamethrower hit, but she failed to notice the sun's rays petering out. The Flamethrower did a bit, but it wasn't enough to flinch the Slowpoke, or cause it to react from pain. He was calm and numb to the outside world's pain. Seeing the damage had no effect, she turned around to see the Drakloak had caused an explosion. Drakloak rushed at Turtonator, using the momentum the Ninetales gave to rush in with Dragon Rush, but as the cloaked draconic energies got close, the Turtonator spun around and Shell Trap activated. An explosion was given off, knocking the Drakloak back a bit. From all the hits she took and energy used in protecting the Slowpoke, she was starting to lose the energy to keep going.
Until the Slowpoke's eyes opened.
All that energy, all that stored power and increases to its mental fortitude and mental and physical power was going somewhere. Suddenly Drakloak used Double Team. As several copies of the Drakloak appeared around the arena, so did the Galarian Slowpoke. The Slowpoke had used Psych Up, copying over Drakloak's increased speed and Double Team. While the Turtonator and Ninetales were confused on what to hit, a sudden beam of energy rushed into the sky, only to descend on the Turtonator. The Stored Power knocked the Blast Turtle out, and now it was just Ninetales. A sudden rush of water hit the Ninetales on the back, drenching her as the Hydro Pump hit its mark, and another beam of psychic energy fell upon the Ninetales.
All that set up, all that work, won them the battle, even though it nearly knocked out Shade's Drakloak. Shade apologized to her Drakloak and tended to her wounds before moving on to the next battle.
The next battle was to be set in hail, as the opponent sent out an Abomasnow and a Hakamo-o. The Abomasnow's Snow Warning activating and hail began to fall. Shade sent out her other Galarian Slowpoke and her Drakloak. With that in mind, Shade instructed Drakloak to use Double Hit while the female Galarian Slowpoke got ready to use Future Sight. The Dreepy from the Drakloak's head short towards the Hakamo-o, who then got hit by the Drakloak herself before the two flew off and up in the air. She then used Acrobatics as a beam of ice energy shot out at her. The Abomasnow had missed, so he used Blizzard. Drakloak got hit and was immediately suffering from the ill effects of the hail. Suddenly, an aurora borealis appeared in the air above them. Aurora Veil had now taken into effect and so did a Safeguard on the opposing team. To avoid being frozen, the Galarian Slowpoke also used Safeguard. Drakloak used Agility, quickly becoming a blur and then hardly visible after a few uses. The Slowpoke used Psych Up, copying this power and was actually able to run. A Belly Drum later, and now she was strong enough to hurt something. She rushed over to the Abomasnow, who was taken aback by this usually slow creature, and got hit point-blank Fire Blast. The fire erupted from the Slowpoke's mouth and formed a Kantonian symbol and it hit the Abomasnow. The hail melted around the fire, earning the Slowpoke some reprieve from the attack. Drakloak spun around and used Flamethrower, cloaking herself in fire to avoid the damage from hail. She then charged at the Hakamo-o, using Dragon Rush as her body began to be cloaked in both flames and draconic energy. As soon as she got close, the Hakamo-o was already charging up for an Outrage, only for Drakloak to launch her Dreepy at him to trip him up, hitting his leg. As the Dreepy kept the Hakamo-o busy, Drakloak got closer and was able to hit him with the power of Dragon Rush and Flamethrower. As soon as the Hakamo-o fell back, the Drakloak rushed towards it and bit down with Psychic Fangs, her teeth coated in psychic energy as it radiated across the Hakamo-o, the pain making him flinch. The Abomasnow was severely crippled and another Flamethrower and a swipe with a metallic tail caused him to faint. As soon as the Drakloak backed off, the Galarian Slowpoke rushed in and used Zen Headbutt, her head glowing with psychic energy as it connected with the Hakamo-o. They were both fainted.
Now, it was Raihan's turn.
As Shade walked up to the last battle arena in the vault, Raihan calmly awaited her arrival. As soon as she stepped up, Raihan knew she wasn't messing around. After Shade had healed up Drakloak between battles, she sent out her newly healed Drakloak and Orbeetle. Raihan sent out his Gigalith and Flygon. Immediately, a sandstorm brewed and it became a little hard to see. Shade knew his full team, since she had asked one of the earlier participants here what Pokemon he had. In addition to the two he sent out, he also had a Sandaconda and a Duraludon, which can Gigantamax. Due to these Pokemon knowing a wide range of moves and her Pokemon's weaknesses lining up to these, she had to be careful.
Drakloak went up into the sky, and Raihan's Flygon intercepted. Orbeetle's Solar Beam was ineffective here, and now Orbeetle was facing off against a large rocky behemoth. Of course, his brain began to think of different kinds of strategies and, seeing that Gigalith was weak to a few moves it knew, it began to spew out a volley of Energy Ball. As soon as he got a chance to breathe, he spent his time using Iron Defenses, tightening up his body and using metal energy to raise its physical defenses. The Energy Balls hit, but the Gigalith didn't seem to be phased. Then it was instructed to use Power Gem, and it fired off a rocky beam of energy from its mouth towards the floating ladybug. Immediately, Orbeetle strafed to the right and shot off more Energy Balls and popped off one last Iron Defense before rushing in and smashing its now hardened body down on the Gigalith, using Body Press. The amount of damage received was enough to make the Gigalith stagger, but neither were done yet. The Gigalith created a Weather Ball in its mouth, which became hard and rocky and shot it towards the Orbeetle. However, the Orbeetle caught the Weather Ball, inches from its body, with Psychic and redirected it back at the Gigalith, doing minimal damage.
Meanwhile, Drakloak had been trading blows with Flygon in the sky, both firing off Dragon Pulses, and Flygon firing off Dragon Breath. Both Drakloak and Flygon came in with Breaking Swipes, Dragon Tails, and Dragon Rushes. Suddenly, Drakloak unleashed Outrage and managed to knock out the Flygon, and immediately began attacking the already damaged Gigalith. The Orbeetle was saved from getting hit by another Weather Ball and Raihan returned both of his Pokemon, only to throw out his last two: Sandaconda and Duraludon.
Drakloak was now dizzy from the rageful attack she went on and it took her a moment to shake her head free from the confusion. Shade returned Orbeetle for Thievul, and Thievul immediately used Grass Knot, covering the floor in grass that immediately took a hold of the Sandaconda. It missed Duraludon, since Raihan returned him and activated his Dynamax Band, which then the beefed up PokeBall was thrown behind him and a Gigantamax Duraludon appeared. Shade quickly copied down its data on her datapad while her Drakloak finally recovered from her confusion.
Species: Gigantamax Duraludon
Type: Steel/Dragon
The Alloy Pokemon
Average Height: 141'01" (43m)
Average Weight: ????lbs (????kg)
Slides From/To: Duraludon
Possible Abilities: Light Metal, Heavy Metal, Stalwart
Light Metal - Halves the Pokemon's weight.
Heavy Metal - Doubles the Pokemon's weight.
Stalwart - Ignores the effects of opposing Pokemon's Abilities and moves that draw in moves.
Gigantamax Method: Use Dynamax Band with Wishing Star to Dynamax; Capture Gigantamax Duraludon at Giant's Seat.
Signature G-Max Move: G-Max Depletion - A Dragon-Type move, Gigantamax Duraludon absorbs the energy from the opposing Pokemon, draining the energy from the target's ability to use its last move.
It's grown to resemble a skyscraper. Parts of its towering body glow due to a profusion of energy. The hardness of its cells is exceptional, even among Steel-Types. It also has a body structure that's resistant to earthquakes.
In response, Shade was about to return her Drakloak to Dynamax, only for Duraludon to use G-Max Depletion. The attack hit both Thievul and Drakloak as the energy echoed from the Gigantamax beast before it caused a twister to envelop the two, sucking in their energy. Two "wings" appeared from the ground as it began harnessing their energy, causing Thievul's energy for Grass Knot and Drakloak's energy for Protect - which she used as an instinct - to diminish. As the dust cleared, Thievul and Drakloak could be seen on the ground, struggling to get up. Suddenly, Drakloak's form burst into a bright light. As the Pokemon's form shifted ever so slightly, Shade's breath hitched. Finally. After all this time training her Pokemon ever since she was a Dreepy, she finally evolved. As the light faded, a Dragapult could be seen in front of them. Still injured by the attack, the Pokemon was panting, but now she had two Dreepy at her disposal, and a few new moves.
Shade finally got the chance to Dynamax her newly evolved Pokemon, and did so immediately. The Dragapult became quite huge as it towered over them, but it was still minuscule compared to the Gigantamax Duraludon before her. Still, she didn't let that stop her. She used Max Geyser, spitting out a torrential amount of water at the Gigantamax Duraludon. It wasn't very effective, but that's not what she was aiming for. The move started up rain, getting rid of the Sandstorm. The Sandaconda used a few Iron Defenses as the Thievul rushed at him, but before the Sandaconda can use Body Press, Thievul's teeth became encased in ice and he bit down, flinching the Sandaconda. A part of its body was now frozen, and a few Tail Slaps were all it took to take it down. Shade's Dynamaxed Dragapult and Raihan's Gigantamaxed Duraludon were now at it again. Thievul dodged all he could, but another G-Max Depletion went straight towards him. He used Protect, but the green barrier broke and he got hit. Granted, the barrier took in a lot more damage than most would think, allowing Thievul to live. Enraged, Dragapult shot out a Max Wyrmwind. The draconic energy flew out of her mouth at the Gigantamax Duraludon, and wings appeared from the ground as it began to rotate around the target, causing a twister to form. The Duraludon then used Max Darkness, two portals of dark energy were created by his side as they rushed at the Dragapult. She used Max Guard, the barrier protecting herself from the Max Darkness's explosion and enveloping darkness tendrils. Suddenly, they both went back to normal size.
Shade noticed that Thievul was gone, but a hole remained where he was. Raihan noticed as well, but it was too late. Thievul erupted from the ground, using Dig upon the Duraludon while it was preoccupied. Risky, considering most Steel- and Dragon-Typed Pokemon knew Earthquake, but it worked and, with a couple well-aimed Dragon Darts, the Duraludon went unconscious. Raihan returned his Pokemon and gave Shade the Dragon Badge.
Finally. All eight Gym Badges. She hugged her two comrades, and rushed out of the vault to meet up with Aaron and Seth. "I did it! And my dear Dragapult evolved! Hm..." A thought occurred to her. It's not too late to name her Pokemon, was it? She thought about it for a moment. Both Dragapult and Thievul were bruised and scraped, but they were happy. They felt proud in themselves and it definitely showed. The two Dreepy in Dragapult's horns floated about their caretaker's body, clearly excited about what had just happened.