Steven started healing his Skarmory immediately after it got unconscious. He was slightly frustrated that Skarmory lost even though it had more level and type advantage.

He felt like he still had a lot to learn. Steven was sure that without his Metagross, he would have easily lost to Alex. ​​

After calling Skarmory back to his Pokéball to rest, he started talking to Alex.

"Wow, Alex. You are really a very skilled trainer. You beat me so easily even though I have a stronger Pokémon. It's really impressive."

Alex said with a smile, "Thanks, Steven. But this fight was harder than it looked and actually quite close. If your Skarmory had a good long-range move, the result might have been different."

Steven understood that Alex was advising how to cover his shortcomings.

"Thanks for the suggestion, Alex. I also noticed that this is really a big weak point of Skarmory."

"Yes. Though it doesn't matter that whether you are specialized in close combat attacks or not. But in such cases, you have to have a plan if your opponent takes advantage of that. Do you know my Scizor's Sandstrom tactics that I used in the Kanto rookie tournament?"

"Ohh, yes. I saw that on the TV. It is a really creative and interesting tactic."

Alex said with a relaxed smile, "Yes, though this tactic cannot be used often. But if it can be used, it can weaken Scizor's opponent almost completely and hide Scizor very well. He doesn't have to be afraid of being hit and can make himself strong and fast to easily win the fight. And most likely, he will win without any damage, too."

"True. But Alex, you can't use that against many Pokémon."

"That was just an example, and every Pokémon usually requires its own specific tactics. If you are skilled enough, you can even create several tactics for your Pokémon and use them depending on the situation."

"Sounds good, but it's harder to do it than saying."

"Yes, it's really challenging to find an optimal tactic with few counters or hiding weak spots. I may even say, almost impossible. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

"*Sigh* Alex, although it sounds tempting, that's not really my style. These multiple tactics suit you better."

Alex smiled when he said, "I'll take that as a compliment then."

Steven recalled that he still has a Pokémon that he wanted to test. He looked at Alex and said, "Alex, I still have a Pokémon, but it's not really strong. It is the Pokémon I used when we fought each other for the first time."

After a short pause, he asked in a funny tone, "Can you remember which one it is?"

Alex shook his head with a smile still plastered on his face and said, "Mr. Steven Stone, do you really think I don't remember. Don't underestimate my power of memorizing. It was your Aron that you used the last time and lost to me. And if my guess is right, it must have evolved to Lairon, right?"

Steven, who heard Alex say that he lost to him, just nodded his head with a weak smile.

They both know that they are just having fun and that this fight was just a practice fight between two very young Pokémon.

Steven said, "Do you mind having this fight again?"

Alex said, "Sure, sounds interesting."

Bastiodon and Lairon appeared on the battlefield simultaneously.

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Pokémon: Lairon

LV: 32

Type: Rock/Steel

Ability: Rock Head

Gender: Male

Potential: Deep Gold

Moves:

- Harden, Tackle, Mud-Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Roar, Iron Head, Rock Slide, Take Down, Metal Sound, Iron Tail

- (Innate Talent) Rock Polish [E], (Innate Talent) Sandstorm[E], (Innate Talent) Protect

- (TM) Toxic, (TM) Earthquake, (TM) Facade, (TM) Rest, (TM) Sleep Talk, (TM) Substitute, (TM) Shadow Claw, (TM) Stone Edge, (TM) Aerial Ace

------------------------------------

Alex saw this info and was a bit disappointed with the level of Lairon.

But the next moment, he realized something as he thought,

"Wait, it's actually pretty good considering that Steven has less training time than me and has not trained in the wilderness."

Steven saw that the Bastidon's level was higher than his Lairon, and he knew that Lairon probably couldn't win this fight. (Experienced trainers can roughly estimate the level of other Pokémon with an error range of 0-2 LVs.)

But after seeing the look from Lairon, he knew that his Pokémon really wanted to fight and wash away his shame of defeat.

Alex saw the look in the eyes of Lairon, too, and knew that it would not be proper to prevent this fight. After all, it's not bad for both Pokémon to have a friendly rivalry.

He looked in the direction of Steven and said with a confused expression, "Steven, don't you have two other Pokémon? You said you managed to revive Omanyte and Kabuto."

Steven showed a slightly guilty expression when he said, "Yes, that's true. But I don't have these two Pokémon anymore. I traded them for three other fossils."

Alex, who heard this, started laughing out loud.

"Hahaha!! Steven, why do you look so guilty when you say that? I only ask out of curiosity. I'm happy for you if you can make a good trade."

Steven could only nod with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Hmm, out of curiosity, whose fossils were they?"

"Oh, they were of Lileep, Anorith, and Aerodactyl. I was able to successfully revive Lileep and Anorith a few days ago. But the revival of Aerodactyl's fossil has encountered problems and is currently at a standstill."

Alex thought after hearing this, "Steven is about to finish his champion team, and there is only Claydol missing now."

"Ok, let's start the fight."

Alex and Steven agreed that they should not use tactics before the fight and to let both Pokémon fights as they want. So that this fight becomes a fight of willpower that will only intensify the rivalry of both Pokémon. (Otherwise, Bastidon will win too easily)

Both Pokémon started using [Earthquake] without stopping, trying to win each other as quickly as possible.

Alex, who saw this, couldn't help but facepalm.

"What are you doing there? Did you even try to think, or did you just saw Lairon doing it and started copying him? That's just plain stupid. Lairon has a much better attack and just a little bit weaker Def. How come you chose to fight like that? If you want to do an attack, at least use move like Metal Sound, so you will have a chance to win."

When Alex was dealing with the unforeseen mental crisis, both Pokémon began to get badly injured.

Both Pokémon have a 4-fold Ground-type weakness, so it's not surprising that it wasn't a long battle since both Pokémon were not trying to evade. (Both used [Protect] once.)

After less than a minute, Bastidon was lying on the floor in front of Lairon, unconscious.

Alex was thinking only about one thing while healing.

"From today on, I will assign extra training hours for Bastiodon to correct his tactical nonsense."

Bastidon, who laid unconscious on the floor, did not know what kind of destiny is awaits him.

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