76 CH14 (75), Bug Catcher Meruem (1)

After spending a relaxing and fun weekend with my parents, I am back at the Bug Club. My goal for today is to upgrade my rank to Bug Collector, which means I need to win 15 times in a row if I want to achieve that. Truthfully I don't know if it is possible to participate in that many battles in a single day, but I hope it is.

I just went up to the reception to sign up for a fight and am currently waiting for my turn in the lobby. There are 4 huge TVs in the room, where one can watch the ongoing battles. All battles are being streamed live on the club's webpage and later on uploaded to their video library, with the agreement of both trainers, of course.

So, it is possible to watch any battles one finds interesting. Members can watch any videos of their rank for free and those above their rank for a fee. Non-members have to pay a fee to watch any battles, which is one of the main revenues for the club. Watching the highest-ranking battles has a few more requirements but that's alright.

All Trainers that agree to share their battle receive a small cut depending on the popularity of the video, but anonymous trainers only receive a one-time payment depending on their rank. They also asked me while I was signing up for the fights if I was okay with the streaming option and I told them that I did not want my battles to be live-streamed or recorded.

I mean, I can't do anything about the present spectators, but I do not want any videos of my alternate identity out there, at least for now. They accepted my choice and here I am currently waiting for my turn. I have been watching the ongoing Bug Catcher battles while waiting, and all I can say is that I do not believe that I will lose today.

There is also the fact that all Bug Catcher battles were only 1 vs 1 fights, so I am 1000% confident that I will get promoted today as long as the Club lets me fight often enough.

"May Bug Catcher Meruem and Bug Catcher Anthony please proceed to Court No. 4. I repeat, would Bug Catcher Meruem and Bug Catcher Anthony please proceed to Court No. 4." I hear from the loudspeakers and start moving there. After entering the court I see my opponent already standing there, beside the referee.

While walking towards them I check out my opponent a bit. He looks like a young teen, which means his age could be anything between 13.5 and 17.5 years old. He has short black hair, an amber skin tone, and a slightly chubby body build. Once I reach their side, we exchange polite greetings and the referee addresses us.

"You may have heard these before but I am obligated to say them anyway, so listen up. Here are the ground rules, the battle is going to be 1 vs 1. In case I decide that one of the Pokemon is unable to battle then the fight is over. Attacking after I declare the battle over is forbidden and may result in a fine or worse. Attacking the trainer or referee is also forbidden and will definitely result in a fine or worse. Understood?" He looks at us both and we nod.

"Good! Now that's out of the way, let's talk about the wager. Do you want to put up a wager?" He asks us and we look at each other. "Yep!/Yeah!" We answer at the same time. " Alright, then let's talk about the sum. The maximum amount Bug Catchers can wager per fight is 500 Poke. So, how much do you guys want to bet?" He inquiries. "I'll match whatever Anthony here is willing to bet," I say first and after briefly shooting me a look Anthony says, "Is that so? Alright, we are betting 500 Poke."

The referee shoots me a look and I nod confirming Anthony's statement. "Okay, 500 Poke it is. Please, prove that you have the money you wagered and after that go to your side of the field. Then once I give my signal, you have to release your Pokemon. The battle starts as soon as the Pokemon appear on the field." The referee instructs us, and we do as he said.

While walking to my place I think about which Pokemon to use for this and the following battles. I currently have 4 bug types, and after briefly thinking about my options I decide that both Weedle are not strong enough to guarantee my victory. Which leaves me with Mothra and Butterfree. In the end, I decide to use Butterfree and leave Mothra as my surprise for the next rank, so that everyone thinks that Butterfree is my best Pokemon.

Once the two of us are in position, the referee raises his flag and counts down from three. "Three! Two! One! Begin!" He lowers his flag while saying "begin" and we do exactly as instructed. I call out Butterfree and Anthony releases a Paras. I think that's the first Paras I am seeing so I check out its status.

'Species: Paras

Gender: Male

Type: Bug, Grass

Potential: Orange

Stage: Iron-stage (high)

Genetic variation: None

Abilities: Effect Spore

Talents: None

Affinities: Bug, Grass'

Now, I would like to say what followed was an exciting battle, but that would be a lie. Butterfree made short work of that Paras. Even I felt a bit bad seeing how fast he took the Paras out. He used only 2 Confusions to beat it and the second one was even low-powered because Butterfree saw that Paras was nearly beaten after the first Confusion.

Once Butterfree knocked out Paras the referee declared it unable to battle. "Butterfree wins!" Announces the referee and we recall our Pokemon. After that, we walk up to the referee, where Anthony and I shake hands. I can see that he is feeling a bit down, undoubtedly by the crushing defeat his Paras just experienced, so I try to encourage him a bit. I don't know why I feel like consoling him, but I do.

"Don't worry about your loss. You're Paras is not bad, it's just that my Butterfree is too strong. It was simply bad luck that you had to fight someone strong that has yet to rank up to a rank that is appropriate for his/her prowess." I tell him, but honestly, I am not sure if it is worse to hear that from someone smaller, thus most likely younger, but I am genuinely trying to lift his spirit.

It looks like it worked, at least a bit. "That may be right for now, but I, no, we are going to get much stronger and the next time we are going to be the ones that will easily win," Anthony says to me and I simply nod. The referee that had been simply watching our exchange until this point chimes in after that.

"Alright, Bug Catcher Anthony please pass over the wagered sum to Bug Catcher Meruem." Anthony nods and takes out 500 Poke that he then holds out to me. I accept my winnings gracefully and we bid each other farewell. I have to wait for another 10 minutes until my second opponent is announced and I use that time to find out more about the betting on fights in general as well as my own.

Turns out one either has to be popular or take part in the streaming deal for any betting to be organized, so I can't bet on myself. As far as betting on others is concerned, I am not interested in that for now because I don't know enough about the trainers battling. Anyway, my second fight was against an attractive young lady called Isabelle.

I had to stop myself from chuckling when the referee addressed her as Bug Catcher Isabelle because it did not fit her look at all. I used Butterfree and she used a (high) iron-stage Swadloon with deep yellow potential. Butterfree still won easily, but he had to use 3 Air Slashes because Swadloon managed to throw in an Iron Defense.

After I won and accepted my hard-earned money, I asked her where she got her Swadloon from, since they are generally found in Unova and the western continent. Well, turns out there are a few small colonies of the Leavanny-line in the deeper parts of the Viridian Forest and her parents paid a few experienced trainers to catch her a young Sewaddle. After thanking her for the information I returned to the lobby and waited for my next opponent.

The next three fights went like that as well, with nothing interesting happening, except for the 1000 Poke he earned. In fact, the fights were even easier than before, since my third for had a (mid) iron-stage Metapod, the fourth had a (mid) iron-stage Kakuna, and the fifth had a (low) iron-stage Spinarak. After my fifth win, I was informed that I earned 1000 Poke for my first 5-win streak.

Anyway, I have just finished my sixth battle and this one had been a bit more interesting. The young boy, Steve, I fought against had a (low) bronze stage Scyther and I have to say it was well trained. I ordered Butterfree to use Fast Asleep but the Scyther used Agility and started dodging around, escaping Butterfree's efforts to force him into sleep.

Still, while Scyther was running around occasionally hitting my Butterfree with Slash, Butterfree used Psybeams and Air Slashes to herd Scyther into an Electroweb he had shortly before released. Once he got momentarily stuck and shocked I had Butterfree douse him in Sleep Powder. After that Butterfree used Air Slash until Scyther was knocked out.

The four fights after that were relatively uninteresting again, but a win is a win and I did earn 1400 Poke, so I can't really complain. The fights were uneventful and took only 1 or 2 moves. The seventh Bug Catcher had a (low) iron-stage Wurmple, the eighth trainer had a (mid) iron-stage Venonat, the ninth one was a bit interesting because he had a (mid) iron-stage Grubbin.

I obviously asked him where he got a Grubbin from, but unfortunately, he said he got it as a gift from a relative from Alola. That was a bit disappointing because Vikavolt are strong and I wouldn't say no to one. Anyway, the 10th Bug Catcher I beat was a girl called Stacy and she had a (high) iron-stage Beedrill. The fight against her was a little bit interesting, not because it was harder than the others, no, it took Butterfree only 4 Air Slashes to beat her.

What was interesting was that her Beedrill used something like a Metal Claw with its Stingers/Lances. It used its Metal Sting/Lance, not sure which one to use yet, to successfully block 2 Air Slashes before it was overwhelmed. I made a mental note to remember that move, so I can teach it to my own Beedrill in the future. It shouldn't be too hard I think, since Kakuna can learn Iron Defense, which I can use as a basis for the new move.

Not only that, after my 10th victory I received two rewards from the Bug Club, 1000 Poke for 10 wins (total) and 2000 Poke for my 10-win streak.

My 11th fight is against an older-looking lady that had a (high) iron-stage Shuckle with deep red potential. I am a bit ashamed of what I did after seeing that Shuckle, but truthfully I never like that Pokemon.

I had Butterfree douse it with Sleep Powder and after it fell asleep I had him use Gust to hurl it through the air until I got knocked out because of dizziness. I regretted my decision right after seeing the older woman's sad look and I apologized to her for my unnecessarily mean behavior.

The kind woman accepted my apology, and smiled a bit after telling me she was simply doing this occasionally for fun, which I am sure was unintentional, but dealt me a slight blow because of my previous behavior. Resolving myself to not bully a Pokemon just because I don't like its species, I accept the 200 Poke from her and say goodbye to her.

The fights 12 to 14 are easy wins as well, with number 13 being a bit harder since the girl had a (low) bronze stage Ninjask. The battle turned to a little game of tag, but ultimately Butterfree won without any problems. Right now I am registering for my fifteenth battle.

Once I win this one, I will rank up to Bug Collector, which should allow me to meet more opponents that are somewhere around my level. While walking away from the counter I signed up for my next battle, I say "that's been much easier than I expected. After I win the next fight I'll rank up to Bug Collector and it didn't even take me a single day," to myself.

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