Author note: 

Seems like the issue going on as been resolved.

*********

Aoki had decided to use Bagon, Clefairy, and Nidorino for the match. 

Although Bagon is at the beginning of the intermediate stage, the power level of an intermediate-stage dragon Pokemon cannot be underestimated. 

Bagon had stepped into the intermediate stage due to the boost received from the Dragonite or else it would take more time.

In terms of potential and comprehension speed, Bagon surpassed all the Pokemon of Aoki. 

He could tell beforehand that his final evolution would be a disaster. 

It was not that Aoki was underestimating Surge but he was confident in defeating him with the Pokemon he chose. 

This was the current Pokedex entry of Bagon. 

[ Name: Bagon

Type: Dragon 

Species: Rock head Pokemon

Gender: Male

Ability: Rock head 

Stage: Intermediate

Moves : Ember, leer, bite,dragon breath,dragon claw,ember,fire fang,protect,dragon dance,headbutt,zen headbutt,rain dance,brick break,Rock tomb,dragon rage

Pokedex entry: BAGON harbors a never-ending dream of one day soaring high among the clouds. As if trying to dispel its frustration over its inability to fly, this POKéMON slams its hard head against huge rocks and shatters them into pebbles. ]

The average height of a Bagon is around 0.6 m but Aoki’s Bagon had grown to 0.8m.

For Nidorino 

[ Name: Nidorino 

Type: Poison 

Species: Poison Pin Pokemon

Gender: male 

Ability: Poison Point, Rivalry 

Stage: Intermediate

Moves: Leer, poison sting, peck, focus energy, fury swipes, toxic spikes, double kick, counter, water pulse, protect, thunderbolt, ice beam, horn attack, sudge bomb, thrash, poison tail, disable, fury attack, dig, iron tail, poison jab

Pokedex entry: Nidorino has a horn that is harder than a diamond. If it senses a hostile presence, all the barbs on its back bristle up at once, and it challenges the foe with all its might.] 

And lastly Clefairy

[ Name: Clefairy 

Type: Normal 

Species: Moonlight Pokemon 

Gender: Female 

Ability: Magic guard 

Stage: intermediate 

Moves: charm, copycat, defense curl, pound, sing, metronome, gravity, minimize, disarming voice, light screen, heal pulse, calm mind, psychic, confusion, mimic, thunderbolt, water pulse, ice beam, flamethrower, protect, bulk up, misty terrain

Pokedex entry: On every night of a full moon, groups of this POKéMON come out to play. When dawn arrives, the tired CLEFAIRY returns to their quiet mountain retreats and go to sleep nestled up against each other. ]

*******

For the next three days, Aoki trained his Pokemon, especially for the Gym in a private training space owned by the researcher association.

Misty didn’t have that privilege so she trained normally near the coast. 

Her Starmie and Slowpoke became good partners in psychic training.

Aoki trained Bagon, Nidorino, and Clefairy, especially for the gym battle. Specially Bagon as he had less experience than others. 

Charmeleon, Pidgeotto, and Weepinbell did their own training separately. All three of them were near master rank and needed a push or a hard battle. 

Sometimes Aoki cannot believe that he would soon own the master-level Pokemon that so many people dream of owning. Some Pokemons spend their lifetime training but still cannot reach the master rank. 

Together with the harsh training, they go through and Aoki's nutritious meal, all his Pokemons had become monsters in their own league.

The growth potential of a Pokemon also depends on their age, as Aoki’s Pokemons are all young, and they have a very fast growth rate.

 As Pokemon grow older, their comprehension speed decreases so the best way for a Pokemon to reach their peak is by starting very early. 

But only training is not enough to make a Pokemon stronger, there are multiple factors that are important that many trainers forget. 

The first was if the Pokemon had the desire to get stronger or not; without will and determination, no Pokemon can become strong no matter how much he trainers. 

The second was getting trained as per their species. For example, if a person wants to teach an Abra line Pokemon in physical moves where that species shines in a special attack, that Pokemon will never become stronger. 

The third was a sense of urgency. There is a reason why when a strong wild Pokemon is found in an area, all the wild Pokmons start becoming stronger. 

The constant feeling of urgency and instinct for survival makes the Pokemons grow faster. This is why all the strong wild Pokemons from the areas around the main roads are removed so that the Pokemons of that area don’t become strong. 

While Aoki was going back to the hotel, a piece of information reached his ears. 

The Powerplant at the far east of Vermillion City had exploded last night causing a blackout. 

Aoki was so engrossed in training that he didn’t realize anything. 

“Powerplant exploding in the middle of nowhere….strange.

 If I remember correctly there are two powerplants that run the city, as I didn’t hear much commotion so the second one must have provided enough backup. “ 

It was worth investigating but Aoki had more important things to do.

***********

“Ready,” asked Misty 

“Yes let's go “ Aoki took a deep breath and opened the door to the gym which was situated near the coast.

In the reception sat was a woman who had a tattoo of an Electabuzz on her arm. She had black-red colored spiky hair similar to a gang member. 

“You so you are the runts that want to Challenge Surge huh.!!

Don’t be a pussy and start crying like those pathetic trainers because they didn’t stop the match and got their Pokemon injured.  Lt. Surge wouldn't show mercy. “ she said as she took Aoki and Misty to the field.

This gym battle was only available in private mode as people knew what happened in the gym and didn’t want to see Pokemon getting brutally beaten up.

On the other side of the battlefield stood a giant muscular man in a military uniform. He was the tallest man Aoki had ever seen. 

‘Damn he looks intimidating….scary !! Misty felt a chill down her spine seeing that man.

He could probably punch a Pokemon to death. I hope the rumors that he can eat a rock Pokemon alive are not true’ Misty thought seeing Surge. 

Misty stood back while Aoki went first with a confident smile. 

“A confident kid huh!

How many official gyms did you beat brat ?” asked Surge 

“Three, it's going to be four soon  “answered Aoki with a smirk

“Haha, I like your confidence Brat. Be sure to have the same confidence in the battle or you’ll be the same as the other trainers that overestimated their strength and ran away crying like a pussy.”

“Oi set up the anti-electric barrier “ he shouted

The receptionist turned on the barrier that stopped lightning from damaging the gym and left for her post. 

The next minute a man who looked like another gang member came in acting as the referee. 

Standard rules would be followed in this 3vs3 match. Only the challenger is allowed to change Pokemon.

“Start !!” 

Both of them sent their Pokemon to the field together; Aoki chose Bagon while Surge chose Electabuzz.

~Grrr~ Electabuzz smashed his fists together as sparks danced around them. 

Bagon looked directly into the eyes of Electabuzz with immense pride.  

“A dragon Pokemon huh! Let’s see how much Power does your little dragon packs.

Electabuzz thunder punch !! “ 

~Buzz~ Electabuzz kicked the ground and dashed towards Bagon with thunder-clad fists.

“Bagon dodge following my commands and use dragon dance”. 

~Baaa~ The eyes of Bagon sharpened as he dodged the first few combos of Electabuzz hearing Aoki’s commands and got two dragon dances. 

Surge was surprised and amazed to see Aoki accurately predict the trajectory of Electabuzz’s punch. 

“The pokemon is jumping too much …Electabuzz use thunder wave and paralyze him “ 

“Bagon dragon breath “ 

A condensed wave of Dragon breath was released from Bagon destroying the thunder wave. Aoki could not let Bagon slow down or come in contact with Electabuzz at any cost. 

“Electabuzz Discharge “ 

“Bagon protect and dragon rage “

A large amount of electricity was released from Electabuzz which covered the entire battlefield in his range but Bagon was safe due to Protect and fired a dragon rage.

“Electabuzz, break the dragon rage with thunder punch “ 

~Buzz~ Electabuzz punched the orb of the dragon energy creating an explosion. 

“Bagon  go near him and use dragon cloak with dragon claw and dragon rage combo” 

Dense Dragon-type energy enveloped Bagon as he dashed towards Electabuzz with Dragon claw. 

“Electabuzz thunderbolt “ 

Bagon broke through the thunderbolt with a dragon claw and fired a few orbs of dragon rage at the face of Electabuzz dealing a lot of damage. 

The combination of dragon dance and dragon cloak had given a major boost to his dragon-type moves. 

Their fight continued with Bagon and Electabuzz evenly matched but Aoki knew prolonging the match would be against his favor. 

“Bagon stop restraining your energy and go wild “ 

Bagon had completely stopped restaining his dragon-type energy which was going rampant and clashing against Electabuzz. 

It was surprising seeing a Pokemon at the first evolution stage could have so much energy to spare. 

‘This brat is a genius in commanding his Pokemon ‘ thought Surge as he looked at his Electabuzz. 

Even after being faster and more moves than Bagon, Electabuzz was getting pushed back.

“Let's end this! Electabuzz snap out of it and use thunderbolt “ 

~Buzzz~

This is when both Aoki and Bagon became more serious, he could not let Bagon take damage from the thunderbolt at any cost. 

“Bagon dragon cloak maximum and headbutt “ 

~Baaa~ Bagon roared as the dragon energy around him became denser. 

“ Electabuzz keep the thunderbolt active and use brick break “ 

Bagon dashed towards Electabuzz like a bullet as the dragon cloak kept colliding with the thunderbolt. 

Bagon gritted his teeth with pain and increased the energy of the attack.

Just before the fist of Electabuzz clad with fighting-type energy was going to clash with Bagon’s head Aoki commanded.

“Zen headbutt “ 

Instantly the normal type of energy is converted into psychic type energy and collided with Electabuzz.

BOOM!! 

The clash of the two moves threw Bagon backward into the field while Electabuzz slammed into the wall of the gym but still the dangerous thunderbolt Aoki wanted Bagon so much to avoid could not be avoided. 

Both Pokemon took huge damage from the collision and none of them were able to stand up again.

“Both Pokemon are unable to battle

This round is a tie “ announced the referee.