The Hive Badge

As Bugsy, Machine, Kusa, and Yellow began to head back toward Azalea Town, Kusa was the left one in the pack as she looked down at the ground. Even though she had denounced Hakel as a friend, she couldn't him out of her mind.

She thought of sad he was when he was left, and the look on his face when Machine told him to leave. She began to miss him as she started to not pay attention to where she was walking. So, as she walked forward, she accidentally stepped into Machine who had stopped in place.

"Machine?" Kusa asked as Machine sighed.

"Kusa... You miss Hakel, don't you?" Machine asked as she shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah... I'm sure. I'm fine. Let's just keep going. We don't want to keep Bugsy long. I'm sure he has better things to do." Kusa said as Bugsy smiled.

"Kusa, don't worry. Compared to what I was doing, this is much more exciting than what I was doing. Even though I'm an explorer, Pokemon Battling is definitely tied as my passion. It's an exciting past time, starting in the regions as long as I can imagine." Bugsy said, as Kusa smiled back at him.

"Let's go then, Bugsy. I'm challenging you first." Machine said, as Bugsy nodded to him. They all walked into the small town and then stood at the entrance as they watched Machine walk into the Gym with Bugsy. Yellow and Kusa walked into the Pokemon Center and walked up to their room.

In the Gym, Bugsy and Machine stared at the scenery around the place. Honestly, to Machine, it reminded him of Erika's Gym back in Kanto. However, it had bugs crawling all over the place, with Pokemon like Spinarak, Pinsir, and Kakuna against the ceiling, climbing on trees and spiderwebs that they had fabricated for them.

"Wow, Bugsy... You sure like Bug type Pokemon, huh?" Machine asked, as Bugsy nodded and laughed.

"Yeah, I have kind of an obsession for them. They're powerful Pokemon, don't doubt what they can do." Bugsy said, as he walked to the other side of the Gym and prepared the battlefield. The Grass lifted up off the battlefield, leaving an open place for them to battle.

However, the grass folded to one side revealing that many other trees and Pokemon climbed on them, making Machine smile. Seeing Pokemon run free was exciting to him and he wanted to see when he was done exploring the world.

"Well, then, are you ready, Machine?" Bugsy asked as Machine got a confident expression on his face and nodded to him. "Alright, let's begin!" Bugsy tossed his first Pokemon into the air, releasing it onto the field in front of him.

Let's see here... Machine said, as it was revealed that Bugsy had chosen Metapod as his first Pokemon. Alright, time to decide here... Machine said as he took out two Poke Ball's. One had his Charizard inside of it and the other had his Larvitar in it. ''Charizard could easily defeat all of Bugsy's Pokemon but... no, that would be too easy. I want to make my experience in Johto interesting. I can't use Charizard for this battle. ''With his decision made, he put Charizard's Poke Ball away and released his Larvitar out of its Poke Ball onto the battlefield.

"For my first Pokemon, I choose, Larvitar!" Machine shouted as Bugsy nodded, however, he was skeptical about his choose.

"Let's see how your Larvitar fairs against my Metapod!" Bugsy shouted. "I'll make the first move! Metapod, use Tackle on Larvitar!"

"Larvitar, dodge that and use Bite on Metapod!" Machine ordered as Larvitar dodged a hit from Metapod and then jumped at it, giving Metapod a powerful onto its head. "That's good work, Larvitar! Now, Sandstorm!"

"Metapod, shake it off!" Bugsy shouted as his Metapod starting to shake violently. However, no matter what it did, it couldn't shake Machine's Larvitar off of its head. Larvitar then jumped off of Metapod's head and then began spinning back down towards it. As Larvitar began to spin, it created a tunnel of sand around its body in the form of a spike. "Metapod, use Harden now!" Bugsy shouted as Metapod sat on the ground as its body gleamed twice in the light.

Larvitar smashed into Metapod, ripping at its body with its spike of sand. Larvitar eventually made a direct hit against Metapod, slamming it into the ground with its power. It blew a wave of sand everywhere around them, making their eyesight impossible as to who had won in the collision. However, when the debris had cleared, it showed that Machine's Larvitar had succeeded.

"Nice work, Machine." Bugsy said, recalling his Metapod back to its Poke Ball. "Now, let's see how well you do against my second Pokemon! Come out, Scyther!" Bugsy tossed her second Poke Ball up into the air, releasing his second Pokemon onto the battlefield.

"A Scyther, huh?" Machine asked, smirking at Bugsy. "That sounds good to me! Larvitar, let's see if we can go for a winning streak! Use Rock Slide now!" Machine's Larvitar jumped into the air, and then slammed its fist into the ground. A hand made of the ground itself, reached up from the ground and grabbed Scyther. Larvitar jumped to the other side of the earth hand, destroying with a simple punch. Scyther was released from the hand, however, all the rocks that began to fall slide onto Scyther, crushing him easily. "Nice work, Larvitar!"

"We're not done yet, Machine! Scyther, Swords Dance now!" Bugsy shouted as the pile of rocks began to rumble loudly. Then, as Larvitar began to charge at the pile of rocks, they all flew back at Larvitar, throwing him against the wall, defeating him easily. Scyther then stopped spinning, as Machine called back his Larvitar, annoyed at Scyther's endurance and strength.

"Damn it! I wasn't expecting that!" Machine said, taking out his second Poke Ball. "But two can play it that game! Scizor, I choose you!" Machine shouted, calling his Scizor, the evolved form of Scyther.

"Oh, so you have a Scizor, eh?" Bugsy asked as Machine nodded.

"That's right! I used to Scyther just like you until I used Metal Coat to evolve it into its stronger form!" Machine shouted, confident that his newly obtained Scizor could beat its evolutionary predecessor's stage.

"Well, let us see who's form is truly stronger? Scizor or Scyther?" Bugsy asked as Scizor and Scyther stood each other down, glaring at one another.

Scizor and Scyther stood there eyeing each other for a few seconds until Machine and Bugsy knew it was time to begin again. They put hand out to the enemy and shouted, "GO!"

Scizor and Scyther jolted at one another, however, it was obvious as they took the first step, that Bugsy's Scyther was much faster. But, what Scizor lacked in speed, he made up for in Defense and Strength! "Scyther, use Slash now!" Bugsy shouted as Scyther slashed at Scizor, however, Scizor was able to block it and hold his Scyther in place.

"Scizor, Metal Claw now!" Machine ordered as Scizor pushed Scyther back and crossed his two arms as they glowed a bright white glow. He then slammed his arms into Bugsy's Scyther, sending it rolling across the ground. "Scizor, quickly follow up with False Swipe! Finish Bugsy's Scyther!"

"Scyther, get up!" Bugsy shouted as Scyther slowly rose back to its feet. "Counter Scizor's False Swipe with your own! GO!" Scyther shook off its dizziness it had suffered from Scizor's attack and charged at Scizor. Scizor dashed at Scyther and they slashed at one another. However, Scizor expected the next slash from Scyther. Scizor ducked the attack and slashed Scyther as hard as it could, knocking it backwards, onto the ground in front of Bugsy. "Scyther!"

"See, what did I tell you, Bugsy?" Machine asked. "Scizor's obviously the better Pokemon! Just accept it!"

"Never! Scyther and I will succeed!" Bugsy shouted, as Machine smiled at him, admiring his determination. "Scyther, get back up and use your Quick Attack!"

"Scizor, X-Scissor now!" Machine shouted as Scizor covered its claws in bright red energy. It then raised its arms to slash at Scyther, however, it was no use. Bugsy's Scyther was ten times faster and slammed its side against Scizor's body, knocking him backwards. Scyther was hurt a bit by Scizor's metallic structure, however, was not down and out, yet. "Damn! Your Scyther is much too fast! Let's make that stop! Right, Scizor?" Scizor nodded as he stood back to his feet, ready for another bout with Bugsy's Scyther.

"It doesn't matter! We'll still win! Scyther, attack Scizor with Air Slash!" Bugsy ordered as Scyther dashed over to Scizor, sending a slash to his face.

"Scizor, dodge that and use Night Slash on its legs!" Machine ordered as Scizor barely dodged it, getting skimmed by its slash. Scizor's pincers then glowed a dark red color as it slashed at Scyther's legs, cutting its speed down harshly. Scizor then slashed at Scyther again with the same attack, sending it crashing into one of the trees. "Amazing! It's a critical hit!"

Scyther got back up, panting heavily as Machine knew that this was the time to finish it off. Scizor was still full of energy because Bugsy's Scyther had not landed but a few strikes against him.

"It's not over yet, Machine! We'll win!" Bugsy shouted, as Scyther started to walk over to him, ignoring the pain that it felt within its legs. However, when Scyther stepped over to Bugsy, it feel to its knees, feeling the pain that Scizor had given it for the past few times. "Scyther, are you alright? Can you still fight?" Bugsy's Scyther seemed determined. Bugsy smiled and knew that, if his Pokemon wasn't giving up yet, he couldn't give up either.

"Alright, this is enough! It's time to end this round! Scizor, let's do this! Bullet Punch now!" Machine shouted as Scizor nodded, facing Scyther once more. Machine's Scizor pulled back its arm, as its pincer's eye-like patterns glowed dark red.

"Wait a second! I've heard about this move! Scyther, we must not let Scizor attack!" Bugsy asked as Scyther stood to its feet, however, it was very shaky. "Excellent, you can stand! Scyther, you must use your Vaccum Wave! Can you do that?" Scyther nodded and despite its pain, pointed its blade-like forearms directly at Scizor, gaining a wave of wind around them slowly.

"Time to end this! Scizor, Bullet Punch now!" Machine ordered as Scizor dashed forward, faster than before.

"Scyther, release your Vaccum Wave now!" Bugsy shouted just as Scizor was about to strike Scyther down. Scyther released its attack as the two waves of energy made contact, causing an explosion to erupt all over the battlefield, covering it in debris once more. The smoke lasted for a few minutes and no one could heads or tails of what was going on.

A few minutes later, after the tension began to drop, two figures appeared through the smoke. At first, Machine and Bugsy thought it was each other and their Pokemon, however, the image soon became clear. It was Machine's Scizor and Bugsy's Scyther standing on opposite ends of the battlefield, with their attacks diminished and their energy extinguished. As Machine and Bugsy waited for a response from the two, each Pokemon began to fall to the ground. When the smoke had completely cleared, it seemed Scizor and Scyther had both lost, making this round a tie.

"Holy-" Machine said as he chuckled for a second. "The round was a tie? Impossible, how did that happen?"

"Because, their attack strength seemed to do them both in. When the two attacks collided, from what I can gather, the two were caught in both attacks, making them faint at the very minute." Bugsy said as he returned Scyther back to his Poke Ball and shrugged. "But eh, there's still one more Pokemon I haven't used yet."

Machine returned Scizor back to his Poke Ball and took out his third and final Pokemon he was going to use for the battle. "As I do! Come out, Totodile!" Machine called out his new starter Pokemon, as it came dancing out of the Poke Ball, full of energy and strength.

"Very well!" Bugsy shouted, as he tossed his last Pokemon into the air. "I choose you, Heracross!" His final Pokemon, Heracross, was released from its Poke Ball, smiling at Machine and Totodile as it came out.

"Damn! What is that?" Machine asked, taking out his Pokedex and examining it.

''Heracross, the Single Horn Pokemon. ''The electronic voice of Pokedex read off to him. It is usually docile, but if it disturbed while sipping on honey, it chases off the intruder with its horn.

"Seems awesome. Let's test its strength, shall we, Bugsy?" Machine asked, putting away his Pokedex and focusing on the battle ahead.

"We shall!" Bugsy shouted, as they stared at one another, seeing who make the first move.

''Okay... I can't make this battle as epic as the other battle with my Scizor but... Totodile seems up for the challenge. I think I can win if we really try! ''Machine thought to himself as he sighed, getting back into the zone. "Totodile, attack! Use your Bite on Heracross!" Totodile dashed forward up to Heracross, however, Bugsy was prepared.

"Heracross, Take Down now!" Bugsy ordered as Heracross dodged a Bite from Totodile and then slammed its body into it, knocking Totodile through the air. Totodile landed on the ground, as Heracross came at it again, faster than before. "Heracross, Horn Attack now!"

"Totodile, dodge it and hit with a Water Gun!" Machine ordered, as Totodile barely dodged an attack from Heracross, jumping backwards in the process. Totodile then centered itself and then sent a gushing blue stream of water from its mouth into Heracross, knocking it backwards into a tree. "Totodile, try it one more time! Water Gun!"

"Heracross, stop Totodile with your Reversal! Send its attack back at it!" Bugsy ordered as Heracross got back up and ran directly into Totodile's Water Gun. Heracross then deflected the water back at Totodile, knocking it onto the ground, hurt by its own attack. "Follow up, Heracross! Use your Fury Attack onto Totodile!"

"Totodile, watch out!" Machine shouted as Totodile got back to its feet. However, by the time it got back up, Heracross was thrown into the air. Heracross followed after it as it pelted Totodile several times with its horn, as hard as it could, dealing heavy damage onto Totodile as Heracross sent Totodile onto the ground, heavily beaten by Bugsy's Heracross. "Totodile!"

"Nothing person, Machine. It was just a battle. Nobody wins all of them..." Bugsy said as he shrugged.

"No..." Machine said, as he smirked at Bugsy. "I won't lose! Totodile and I can't lose you to you! We're determined to win! No matter how many times we're beaten down by you, we WON'T give up! Right, Totodile?" As Machine looked down at Totodile, he saw that he was glowing a bright white light. Within the light, Totodile stood up and began to grow a bit bigger.

When Totodile finally was let go from the light, he had changed completely, as an entirely new Pokemon. "Whoa, what's that Pokemon?" Machine asked, as he took out his Pokedex and examined his new Pokemon.

''Croconaw, the Big Jaw Pokemon. It opens its huge jaws wide when attacking. If it loses any fangs while biting, it grows them back. It is the evolved form of Totodile. ''Machine put away his Pokedex and smiled back at Bugsy and his Heracross.

"Alright, now I know we can win! Right, Croconaw?" Machine asked as his newly formed Croconaw danced around the battlefield, just as happy as Totodile was.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you're Totodile evolved! Heracross and I will still win!" Bugsy shouted as he pointed at Machine and his Croconaw. "Heracross, attack Machine's Croconaw with your Brick Break now!"

"Croconaw, dodge Heracross' attack and return it back at him with your Slash!" Machine ordered as Croconaw ducked under Heracross' attack, and gave him twice the power with a violent slash that ripped into Bugsy's Pokemon. Heracross went sailing backwards, however, it was able to stop itself from crashing into Bugsy or another tree. "Then, follow up with your Ice Fang, Croconaw!" Croconaw jumped at Heracross just as it got back up and bit its head.

As it bit into Heracross, Heracross' entire body immediately froze and became covered in ice. Croconaw then delivered a devastating punch into the ice, breaking it immediately. Heracross flew against the wall of the arena, finally ending the match between them.

"Heracross, return!" Bugsy said, as he recalled his Heracross to its Poke Ball. Bugsy then walked over to Machine just as Croconaw jumped into his arms and then climbed on his head. Bugsy then held out his hand for Machine to shake as he said, "Excellent match, Machine. Your Pokemon are truly amazing. I was glad to have fought them. Here is the proof of your victory against me, the Hive Badge." Machine smiled, taking the Hive Badge and shaking Bugsy's hand. He had finally achieved his second badge, a few steps further in his plan to eventually enter the Johto Pokemon League Conference.