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This would prove to be a bit of an issue on both ends. Mareep due to inexperience and less endurance, Dodrio because each of those pecks resulted in small discharges. "Sorry, don't want that thing running all over us and somehow leaving tire tracks. Mareep, if it wants a jolt, give it one! Thundershock!" Proximity was also a slight edge; when Mareep fired off her attack, she aimed to throw Dodrio off yet again. And because it was so close, aiming wasn't much of an issue.

"..." Now that he thought about it, he was seeing a trend. Dodrio liked being up close and personal to attack. Speed was prevalent, but maybe there was a way he could turn that against it...

Aden gave a sigh of relief, seeing that the Dodrio couldn't move. Quick to keep Mareep as long as possible, he recalled her to get Poliwhirl back out. "Here... let's try this. Poliwhirl, Water Gun!"

He wasn't sure how this would go past leaving Dodrio a little wet, having Poliwhirl keep his distance and send a gush of water at one of the opponent's heads. It was almost like old times to him.

Aden was left a little surprised. That seemed almost a little too easy... was Dodrio that fragile? He would've asked how he managed to get one down so quickly until he saw that it may have very well been a warm up. Seeing the Skarmory take its place was a little intimidating. "This might be a little bad... Poliwhirl, test the waters a bit. Bubblebeam!"

Something about the opponent made him wary about using Poliwhirl's ice attacks on it. Until he was more sure of what he was dealing with, he didn't want to take any huge risks. Poliwhirl reared back and let loose a harsh spray of bubbles, most of them directed at Skarmory.

Perhaps seeing that was enough to make Aden's resulting freakout a little understandable. He went for testing the waters, and now Poliwhirl was to be gut open? Yeah, a little bit of help was in order. "Poliwhirl, try to get out of the way! Get some rain going while you're at it!"

He never thought he'd be making a command like that, watching Poliwhirl dive to the side. What could've become rather dangerous was luckily a graze, but it still hurt a lot. Once he thought it was safe, he what might've been best described as an odd dance. It was ended with a gush of water being sent skyward... followed by the most unexplained of downpours. Inside a gym.

With the rain and wind going, one might think a light hurricane had hit the gym. All that was missing was a little... wait, that might work. Nodding to himself, Aden went to recall Poliwhirl. "Bear with me here... Mareep, come back out!" Trying to avoid using a third Pokemon just yet, he yet again swapped the two Pokemon.

There was a method to his sudden madness, though. "Dunno if this storm will work too well, but Mareep, let out anything you've got charged up from earlier!" His call would culminate into a decently powered Thundershock, traveling wildly across the rain as it sped towards the target Skarmory.

At this point, Aden was hoping to merely pile on the damage. Keep the Skarmory at bay. He wasn't able to get a further command in time, his mouth opening just in time for Mareep to be hit by the attack. Not only that, the attack struck a point where recovery was next to impossible. "Mareep!"

Without thinking, he rushed over to survey the damage. Already, keeping her out was going to prove too risky. And that speed only made things worse. "Oh man... here, don't say anything. Just come back." He didn't want to take a chance, not with that. Quietly, he moved back to where he was supposed to be and let Poliwhirl back out.

Aden's face didn't convey much past sheer horror, with his Poliwhirl being blown away and instantly recalled. Before he knew it, the gale had forced another ball off him and let out the one thing that was liable to seal his fate. His Nidoran. "W...wha..."

Seeing that Skarmory and being left without what was possibly his best shot on more than one count... he knew he was screwed.

A shot Aden might have, but it was dwindling fast. He barely even saw it, especially after Nidoran was struck hard by the attack. Even if he could've fired a command, his Pokemon just didn't have the speed to compete. Poliwhirl might've been his best shot to remain, but he'd just become a sitting duck. With the rain and wind still going strong, he quickly saw what little he had in comparison to someone like Falkner.

Getting Mareep hadn't helped him this time; if anything, she became a liability. He should've worked more on her before coming back here, same with Nidoran. As he saw it, nothing short of obtaining a flier himself would've truly helped him here. He had the disadvantage on all counts, and with every edge now in Falkner's favor, to say he lost was an understatement.

He was practically paralyzed, everything seeming to happen in slow motion. This battle was all but over before it really began, and while he still had trust in each of his Pokemon, he felt he had failed them greatly just by poor actions alone.

"Nidoran, just... ready yourself. Even if you can get one hit before you're down, that'll be good enough." He finally said. He might've thought he still had a chance, but with something nearly as quick and powerful as Dodrio and practically impervious to damage, maintaining it was becoming difficult.

Nidoran was quick to charge himself up, but seeing Aden like this all of a sudden made him really tempted to jab his horn into his leg. The hell was wrong with him now!?