Chapter 456 - In A Pinch

Another day has passed and Julian went to Volkner's gym once again and this time he is here to battle, not to just watch, last time he was here he only saw the ending part of the battle where both Volkner's Raichu and Ash's Pikachu seemed exhausted from battling hard.

He has a rough estimation of his opponent's strength but that won't help him, but he is confident in winning this because his pokemons are stronger and faster, they need real-life battle training against opponents they haven't faced before.

Battling with their partners daily has improved their battle awareness a lot but they have also gotten used to each other battle style, so they can anticipate each other move before they can make it and they successfully do it 60 to 70 percent of the time, the remaining 30 percent of the battle they can't predict leads to their defeat or injury.

This is also one of the reasons why Julian challenges different gyms, his pokemon need to experience all kind of battle, new opponents put them in a different situation, not the same one over and over again when they are battling one of their own.

At the level which Julian is at, he doesn't need to challenge any gyms or participate in a league but as he keeps traveling he needs a purpose to do so and raising new pokemon is always a challenge, no matter how many times he does it over, he will encounter pokemons completely different in character from his previous branch and once he starts to train them he needs to hone their skills so the only way he can do that is gym battles and leagues, during the time his pokemons will encounter the best trainers for them to grow, making their future even better.

Once they are strong enough they can do whatever they wish, to Julian his pokemon are like his children in a way, to see them grow healthy and strong is the only thing he wishes for them.

Today's battle will be big as well, he is facing Volkner, once said to be a prodigy, many thought he would be the champion of Sinnoh, having a rivalry with Flint and Cynthia made him grow even stronger, but unlike those two Volkner had other interests as well, becoming a gym leader just like his father and also a technology geek, he is fascinated by technologies, so he strayed from the path of becoming a champion. If he had not he would have definitely been a part of the elite four.

When Julian walked into the gym he saw the old man who was there with Volkner when Flint and Ash had their battle.

Proprietor "You must be the challenger that Young Volkner is waiting for?"

He asked as he tried to evaluate the young man in front of him, he had no idea how old is Julian but see his height and posture he figured that Julian would be young just like Volkner.

Julian "Yes, I cam to challenge the gym leader"

He said.

Proprietor "Then go in young man, Volkner is waiting, it's been long since he had a good battle so try not disappointing him"

The Proprietor said and walked away, Julian just watched him go as he didn't know what to say, it looks like the Proprietor is really confident in Volkner's ability to defeat him, well Julian didn't mind it at all, the old man doesn't know who he is and if he did it would be troublesome.

Julian doesn't want his opponents to feel pressured just because of his identity, he walked into the battlefield and saw Volkner already waiting for him.

Volkner "You have come, I have been anticipating you, I hope this battle is not easy for me"

He said and took out a Pokeball.

Julian "I too want a serious battle, my pokemons need to grow, the best way is to put them against a strong opponent"

He said and took out his Pokeball as well, the Proprietor walked out from the referee chamber and stood in the middle of the battlefield and acted as the referee.

Proprietor "This will be a four on four pokemon battle, the rules are the same, only the challenger is allowed to switch his pokemon during the battle, the person with no pokemon left at the end of the battle loses, are both trainers ready?"

The Proprietor asked and looked at Julian and Volkner, both of them agreed and the Proprietor started the battle with the wave of his hand.

Volkner "Jolteon, let's go"

Volkner shouted and threw his Pokeball sending out his Jolteon, Julian looked at the Jolteon and knew that this will be a fast one and with its ability Volt Absorb, electric type attacks are useless, it will even heal Jolteon and give it extra energy to battle.

Julian "Luxray, let's go"

He said and sent out his Luxray, seeing Julian's choice both Volkner and the Proprietor are surprised, Luxray is a pure electric type and its electric types would have zero effects on Jolteon, so both of them wondered what this challenger in black is up to?

Julian's Luxray's ability is Rivalry which increases the effect of his attacks on the same gender that is male, seeing Jolteon is a female his ability was useless as well, this will be a very interesting battle for Luxray.

Luxray's main powers are his electric manipulation so if they lose their effectiveness what will he do, Jolteon was the perfect training partner for Luxray.

Julian "Luxray get ready, this is no easy battle, your electric attacks won't work"

Julian said and warned Luxray, hearing this Luxray nodded his head and looked at Jolteon as his eyes glowed yellow, he is trying to intimidate Jolteon so weaken her spirit.

Luxray's Electric attacks are very powerful, he has inherited everything Electivire knows about channeling electricity, Luxray can knock out pokemons which are even resistant to electric type attacks with his electric type attacks, so with the main source of his power being useless Luxray is already in a pinch and his ability not having any effect made it even harder but that is what Julian wants.

He wants Luxray to face the hardest battle he could have.