As a core member of Frontier Club and a top Trainer who has fought in the Champion League, Hogan has seen a vast number of Pokémon. Even those from regions like Unova, Kalos, and Alola were not rare to him.
However, there are differences between Pokémon, and these differences can become more pronounced based on how a Trainer raises them. In Terrance’s case, his Pokémon had diverged so much from their original growth trajectory due to his training that it was hard for Hogan to instantly have a grasp of them.
In the conversation with Terrance, if Hogan wants to have a good understanding of the battle between Terrance’s Pokémon and the Pokémon of the Castelia Club, then Hogan can only do so if he has a very good understanding of the Pokémon on both sides.
This led to Hogan proposing a battle.
“Let’s have a battle,” he said.
“Uh, sure, no problem,” Terrance paused, it wasn’t anything difficult. A battle, was it?
“In that case, I’ll use this Pokémon,” Hogan said, throwing out a Poké Ball. A bipedal Pokémon, primarily blue in color with a white belly and black fins, appeared in the arena.
“Swammm~perttt~!” A majestic roar erupted out as the Swampert slammed its other two feet down, standing firmly on all fours, its gaze fixed intently on Terrance’s five Pokémon.
“Swampert.” Terrance raised an eyebrow as he noticed the arena shaking when Swampert’s feet landed. It seems to be incredibly powerful.
From its aura alone, it was clear that the battles it had experienced couldn’t be compared to Terrance’s Pokémon at all.
However, from a breeder’s perspective, Terrance had seen many exceptional Pokémon: Steven, Cynthia, Master Victor, the Tower of Despair… So after a brief moment of surprise, he quickly regained his composure.
“Hmm…” Hogan looked at Swampert standing in the arena and suddenly felt it might be bullying. After all, Swampert was his Starter Pokémon, his earliest companion, and terrifyingly strong. Was it really appropriate to use it against someone as young as Terrance?
Recalling his original intention to understand Terrance’s Pokémon, Hogan considered it and said, “How about you send out two Pokémon for the battle?”
“Two Pokémon?” Terrance was surprised.
“That’s right. Have you heard of the double battle?” Hogan asked with a chuckle.
“Of course,” Terrance replied.
“But do you understand them?”
“I’m all ears,” Terrance said.
“Having you send out two Pokémon is a sudden idea to test how capable you are in a double battle. A person’s energy is limited; commanding one Pokémon perfectly is already impressive. However, some people can multitask, mastering the rhythm so well that they can handle a double battle as if it were a single battle. For these people, the power they can demonstrate in battle is more than just one plus one equals two.”
“Most Trainers perform better in single battles than in double battles, but if they can adapt to double battles, then they can be considered top-tier Trainers.”
“The most crucial part of this is whether the two Pokémon each showcase their own strengths or if they can complement each other.”
Terrance quickly understood what Hogan was getting at. In a double battle, the key lies in whether the two Pokémon can cooperate and support each other or if they are merely seen as two independent fighters.
In fact, Hogan was still holding back some information. In the training programs at the club, all the Trainers striving for the Champion League aim for the status of Elite Four, and the battles that the Elite Four typically engage in are high-risk—either driving off rampaging Pokémon or eliminating illegal organizations. In those situations, how could they rely on just one Pokémon?
Two Pokémon are within the range that most Trainers can effectively command. As a result, double battles have gradually evolved into an art. The question of how to maximize the effectiveness of two Pokémon, and which two Pokémon to pair, has become a topic of research for most Trainers.
In the Frontier Club, double battles are a primary focus of study.
“Next, I’ll explain in more detail during the battle,” Hogan said.
“Instructor Hogan, aren’t you going to send out another Pokémon?” Terrance asked, noticing that Hogan had only sent out Swampert and showed no intention of sending out a second Pokémon.
“Swampert is enough,” Hogan replied.
Terrance nodded, “Although I haven’t had much experience with double battles, I’ll take this seriously.”
As he glanced at his five Pokémon, he closed his eyes briefly, then suddenly opened them and said: “Altaria, Mismagius, you two are up.”
Swampert was going to be tough to deal with—it was incredibly powerful. The moment Terrance saw Swampert, he could sense its strength from its aura. Among his Pokémon, Altaria had the greatest destructive power after being strengthened by Dragon Dance. However, due to Altaria’s Ability, it wasn’t suitable to pair with Castform. Growlithe’s combat style was too straightforward, making it difficult to coordinate with the others. Although Beautifly could coordinate well with other Pokémon, its attack power was too low. Terrance knew very well what a strong Trainer’s Pokémon represented—
They could take a beating!
Without a doubt, Hogan’s Pokémon were likely trained to withstand heavy hits, and being from the Frontier Club, they had probably undergone more rigorous training than Terrance’s Pokémon. This meant that the Pokémon responsible for stalling needed to be either Mismagius or Beautifly, while Altaria would serve as the primary attacker.
After careful consideration, Terrance decided to send out Altaria and Mismagius.
“These two, huh?”
“I recall you mentioned earlier that your Mismagius can create illusions, right?” Hogan became alert and then said, “You can start.”
“Sure!”
Although Hogan had already learned about the characteristics of most of Terrance’s Pokémon through their discussion, the specifics still needed to be demonstrated in battle.
Mismagius’ illusion skill, even if the opponent was on guard, didn’t need to be overly concerned about.
Because it was only a matter of time before it was discovered, and recently, Mismagius had also begun to formally train the illusion skill as a move, rather than just a sneaky trick like before.
“Darkness” and “Flash” were just the beginning.
Growlithe, Castform, and Beautifly moved to the back, leaving the arena to Swampert, Altaria, and Mismagius.
“Swampert!”
Hogan called out, and Swampert moved to one end of the arena, letting out a powerful roar. It lifted its arms, which doubled as its legs, and focused with an intense, piercing gaze.
“This battle is going to be quite intense,” Terrance instructed Altaria and Mismagius.
Unlike the 1vs1 battle in the Battle Tower, Terrance felt a much heavier atmosphere from this battle. The pressure from the opponent was overwhelming.
But not only did Terrance feel no fear, he became even more excited. Sure, he couldn’t beat Steven for now, but with the advantage of using two Pokémon, could he possibly challenge Hogan, who might even rank within the top 100 Trainers in Hoenn?
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