Dwayne's Sceptile

**Dwayne's Sceptile** (Japanese: **ドゥエインのジュカイン** *Douein's Jukain*) is the second Pokémon that Dwayne captured during his travels in the Hoenn region, and his twenty-third overall.

## **New Era**

### **Hoenn Again**

While continuing towards Route 104, Dwayne suddenly sees a bunch of Treecko running through the trees. He says that he had wanted one since he first saw one at Professor Birch's laboratory. He quickly tosses a Poké Ball, but the Treecko bats it away with its tail, before running away. Dwayne chases after them and sees what looks like a huge, odd tree up ahead. Unfortunately, he doesn't pay attention to where he's going and falls face first down a steep hill. When he looks up, he sees that the tree is right in front of him, and it's massive. It's more than twice as tall as all the other trees in the forest. Dwayne comments that it looks almost magical, but he notices that it has no leaves and looks somewhat dead. Suddenly a sharp twig lands in the ground right in front of Dwayne's face. He looks up and sees an angry-looking Treecko sitting on a branch with another twig in its hand. Dwayne challenges the Treecko to a battle. Treecko leaps into action, jumping between the branches before spitting its twig at Dwayne. Dwayne dodges, but Treecko lands next to him and delivers a powerful whack with its tail, with Dwayne recognizing the attack as Pound. Treecko taunts Dwayne, urging him to battle. Dwayne sends out Dratini, who quickly rushes towards her opponent with Headbutt, though Treecko dodges and strikes Dratini with its Pound.

Dwayne and Dratini soon find themselves surrounded by a large group of Treecko. An older Treecko attempts to talk to the one that Dwayne just battled, but is yelled at and pushed backwards. The other Treecko look pretty mad, but the old Treecko urges them not to attack. Seeing their body language, Dwayne realizes the old Treecko is saying that the tree is going to die and all the Treecko need to move to another tree. However, the other Treecko remains defiant, replying that it was born on that tree and isn't going to give up on it, no matter what. The sentiment really moves Dwayne, who agrees with Treecko's mentality. Dwayne then notices that all the Treecko are leaving except for the one that Dwayne just battled. Once the others are out of sight, that Treecko rushes off too. Instead of following it, Dwayne has a better idea, and decides to stake out in the tree.

As the sun sets, Dwayne and Dratini are still waiting at the old tree. Treecko appears carrying a leaf full of water. It carefully waters the tree before placing some dry leaves down to keep the ground from drying up again. Treecko goes off to get more water, as Dwayne wonders whether it's too late to save the tree. As darkness falls, he and Dratini start to help the Treecko water the tree. Treecko is angry at first, but it warms up to them when it realizes they just want to help. As the trio return from collecting more water, they hear a commotion and discover a bulldozer ramming all the trees, knocking the sleeping Treecko into their cage. Dwayne then sees a group of men leaving the bulldozer, and they introduce themselves as Pokémon poachers and remark the Treecko would make them very wealthy. But the Treecko that Dwayne befriended wasn't caught in the net, and now it's angry. It spits its twig at the bulldozer, but it just bounces off. Treecko leaps from the top of a tree into the bulldozer, and starts attacking the poachers. One of the poachers steps backwards and accidentally hits the button that releases the trapped Pokemon. Treecko leaps around the poachers, and hits each one with a Pound, knocking them all out cold, and saving the other Treecko.

The Treecko that Dwayne befriended makes up with the old one, but still doesn't want to give up on the tree. Everything seems to be going well until the giant tree suddenly splits in two. The Treecko try to hold it together and Dwayne gets a rope out of his backpack, but they are stopped when the sun rises, illuminating the tree beautifully. As they look on, Dwayne and the Treecko have some sort of vision of the tree's life from a seed to the majestic tree it used to be. But the imagining fades and they're only looking at a split, dead tree again, and the two halves suddenly split even more and they fall over completely. A seed rolls from the wreckage and stops at Treecko's feet. Dwayne takes this as a sign of gratitude from the tree for trying so hard to save it. But Treecko doesn't take kindly to this suggestion and hits Dwayne. He realizes that Treecko is trying to tell him it's ready to battle.

The battle begins, as Dratini uses Dragon Rage, which Treecko dodges multiple times, before finally scoring a hit. However, Treecko doesn't seem to have taken much damage. Dwayne calls for a Dragon Tail, which Treecko also dodges. However the evasion manoeuvre leaves Treecko vulnerable, and Dratini delivers a lot of damage with a Twister. Treecko hits the ground, and Dwayne throws a Poké Ball, but Treecko easily breaks out, impressing Dwayne with its endurance. Treecko then uses Leer to decrease Dratini's defenses, but Dratini quickly uses Headbutt, but Treecko dodges and scores a direct hit with Pound, leaving Dratini with great damage.

As Dratini struggles to regain her footing, Treecko taunts her, signaling for her to get up, but as Dratini continues to struggle, Treecko merely shakes its head in a dissapointed manner, and this triggers Dratini to force herself back up, and she promptly evolves into Dragonair. Treecko smiles at this, and charges towards Dragonair, who showcases having learned Agility, allowing her to effortlessly dodge Treecko's attacks. As Treecko struggles with Dragonair's newfound speed, Dragonair wraps herself around Treecko with Wrap, squeezing him before leaping upwards and slamming Treecko on the ground with great force. As Treecko lays unconscious, Dwayne throws a Poké Ball and successfully captures the Treecko. Dwayne thanks Dragonair for her effort, and praises her for her evolution, and recalls her for a well-earned rest.

Dwayne calls Treecko out of its Poké Ball, and the old Treecko hands it the seed from the dead tree. Treecko promptly plants it, before turning to Dwayne and after staring at each other in complete silence for a few seconds, Dwayne crouches down and offers Treecko a fist bump, which it accepts, and Dwayne says that they would grow stronger together, and Treecko smiles in response, hoping to prove its worth to Dwayne. Dwayne and Treecko then depart as the other Treecko wave them goodbye.

Treecko and Dwayne first battled together during their Rustboro Gym battle against Roxanne, where Treecko faced off against Roxanne's Geodude. Though Treecko has the type advantage, Dwayne remembers that Treecko does not know any Grass-type attacks, rendering the point moot. Dwayne starts with Treecko using Quick Attack, which Geodude replies with a Mega Punch, sending Treecko flying. Treecko recovers from the fall and it hits back with a midair Pound, which makes its mark, but does not knock it out. Geodude recovers with Rollout, and Treecko retaliates with Leer, trying to lower Geodude's Defenses, which it does, although Geodude keeps rolling towards him. As Geodude gets closer, Dwayne tells Treecko to use Slam, but Geodude lands a direct hit before Treecko could use the attack, which knocks him out.

When Dwayne challenged the Dewford Gym, Treecko was chosen as his second Pokémon to battle against Brawly's Machop. He tells Treecko to use Pound continuously, but none of the attacks land as Machop continues to roll to evade. Machop stumbles forward and is beginning to show signs of exhaustion, so Dwayne orders a Quick Attack. While Machop evades the attack, Treecko follows up with a Pound, and the attack from behind knocks Machop out. Dwayne declares that now it's a one-on-one match, and Brawly admits that things are starting to get interesting. Brawly sends Makuhita out next. Dwayne has Treecko start things off with a Pound attack, but Makuhita rolls to evade. Treecko continues to use Pound, though they all fail to hit their mark. Dwayne is becoming increasingly frustrated, and Treecko suddenly collapses to his knees as he attempts yet another Pound attack. He catches his breath for a moment before launching into a Quick Attack. Makuhita counters with Vital Throw, slamming Treecko to the ground. He then has Makuhita use Arm Thrust and everybody thinks Treecko is done when it gets back up, barely. Dwayne then orders Pound again and Makuhita counters with Seismic Toss. Treecko manages to stumble to its feet when Makuhita evolves into Hariyama. Brawly tells Dwayne that Treecko has reached its limits and Dwayne agrees, but Treecko refuses to throw in the towel, and convinces Dwayne to let him keep battling, and Dwayne reluctantly agrees. Dwayne has Treecko use Pound again, but Hariyama blocks it and uses Knock Off, slamming Treecko into the wall and knocking it out. The referee officially calls the match, announcing that Brawly is the victor. Brawly commends Dwayne on his effort before recommending that he get Treecko to a Pokémon Center.

At the Center, Treecko lies bruised and exhausted in a recovery bed. Nurse Joy informs Dwayne that Treecko will be physically okay after some rest, but states that Dwayne should not force a Pokémon to overextend itself in future battles, and Dwayne says that Treecko wanted to keep battling, and he didn't want to disappoint Treecko by giving up, and Nurse Joy states that while commendable that Dwayne cared about his Pokémon's feelings, he nonetheless needed to think about his Pokémon's well-being, and sometimes, ignore his Pokémon's feelings to preserve their health, and Dwayne agrees with Joy's sentiment.

After Treecko heals up, Dwayne takes him to clear their heads during an evening beach stroll. The pair stumble across Brawly surfing with Hariyama, helping it get used to its larger form. As Brawly and Hariyama walk ashore, Dwayne approaches them. Brawly asks about Treecko and Treecko himself walks up and shows that he was fine. Brawly says that he would await for Dwayne's return, but urges him to train before doing so, and Dwayne agrees and thanks Brawly for his words of encouragement, and Brawly heads off with Hariyama back into the sea to surf again.

During their rematch against Brawly, Treecko was chosen as Dwayne's first Pokémon to battle against Machop. Machop begins with a speedy Karate Chop, which slices through a nearby stalagmite as Treecko nimbly dodges the attack, landing nearby on another rock formation. Machop attempts another Karate Chop attack, but Treecko evades it once more, leaping from rock-to-rock as easily as if they were the familiar trees of home. Machop becomes annoyed and sends three more Karate Chop attacks at Treecko, only to be easily avoided by the small Wood Gecko Pokémon again and again. Brawly orders Machop to use Cross Chop, but the move fails, leaving it vulnerable. Treecko uses the opportunity to smash into it with a Quick Attack, sending it flying backwards into the battlefield. Just when Dwayne thought the opposing Pokémon was done for, Brawly reminds him about the geysers and grins confidently. The ground begins to rumble and Machop readies another Cross Chop, positioning itself over one of the holes. A jet of water shoots up and propels the Pokémon at Treecko, but just before the impact, Dwayne recalls Treecko.

Treecko gets called back out as Dwayne's final remaining Pokémon against Hariyama. Hariyama starts the battle by quickly rushing forward with an Arm Thrust. Treecko dodges it and delivers a strong Pound to Hariyama's right leg before jumping back to evade another Arm Thrust. As Hariyama keeps up the offensive with several more Arm Thrusts, Treecko manages to dodge each one, landing a few more Pound attacks on Hariyama's legs while carefully keeping its distance. Brawly orders his Pokémon to settle it with Vital Throw, but the pain shooting through its legs slows it down, and the attack misses Treecko by mere inches.

At this point, both Pokémon are exhausted. Dwayne picks up on the sudden rumbling of water beneath them and announces that this will be the deciding point in the match. Brawly agrees, and both of their Pokémon position themselves over separate parallel holes, awaiting the right moment. As the geysers spring forth and propel them at one another, Hariyama readies its Knock Off attack while Treecko spins in preparation for Pound. Both attacks make contact and the two pass each other, landing on opposite sides of the battlefield. Each spectator waits in agonizing anticipation as neither of the Pokémon move a muscle. After a long moment of silence, Hariyama falls unconscious and Josie declares Dwayne the winner of the match. Dwayne cheers and praises Treecko, and Treecko simply closes his eyes, proud of himself.

Whilst training for their upcoming Gym battle, Dwayne decides to teach Treecko how to use Bullet Seed by using his watermelon's seeds, since the process was pretty much the same. Dwayne demonstrates how to spit the seeds of the watermelon several times. Eventually, a small glowing ball of energy forms in Treecko's throat, but Treecko ultimately fails to perform the act. Just then, Dwayne notices someone approaching him, and an older girl says that she was watching him train with Treecko, and says she was impressed that Dwayne was willing to become physically involved with his Pokémon's training, exclaiming that such an act was quite rare. Dwayne thanks her and introduces himself, and the girl also introduces herself, revealing her name to be Jannette. Jannette explains that she was impressed with his desire to help his Pokémon become stronger and offers him a helping hand, to which Dwayne accepts. Jannette offers a Double Battle to help his Treecko grow stronger, to which Dwayne eagerly accepts.

Dwayne chooses Treecko and Swablu while Jannette chooses her Grovyle and Torkoal. Dwayne commands Treecko to use Pound against Grovyle, and Swablu to use Cotton Guard to increase her Defense. On Jannette's orders, Grovyle dodges and fires a Bullet Seed to neutralize Treecko's attack. Then, Jannette commands Grovyle to fire Bullet Seed on Treecko, and Torkoal to use Flamethrower on Swablu. Dwayne counters this by commanding Swablu to use Mist while Treecko hides within it. Jannette momentarily compliments Dwayne's strategy, and Dwayne orders that Treecko use Quick Attack on Grovyle and Swablu hit Torkoal with Fury Attack. Jannette has Grovyle dodge Treecko's advance and it lashes Swablu with a Leaf Blade. Shortly after, Jannette commands Grovyle to use Bullet Seed and for Torkoal to use Flamethrower. Equally quickly, Dwayne counters by commanding Swablu to use Mist and Treecko to be hide himself within it. The two miss, and Jannette again praises Dwayne's strategy, but says that it has run its course.

Dwayne commands Treecko and Swablu to attack, but Grovyle again dodges and uses Leaf Blade on Swablu. Jannette then tells Torkoal to use Body Slam and for Grovyle to use Bullet Seed. By this command, Grovyle and Torkoal rush forward to attack, and again Dwayne tells Swablu to use Mist and Treecko to be hide within it. However, Jannette quickly orders Torkoal to switch to Rapid Spin, and the spinning causes the Mist to dissipate. With this protection negated, Grovyle leaps into the air and hits Treecko with a direct Bullet Seed. Dwayne asks Treecko if he can still keep going, and, with some exhaustion, Treecko manages to stand. Equally exhausted, Swablu also struggles. Dwayne has Treecko grab a hold of Swablu's right wing, and Swablu propels him forward and Treecko increases his velocity with a Quick Attack and it slams directly into Grovyle, while Swablu batters Torkoal with Fury Attack. Jannette remains confident as she orders Grovyle to use Solar Beam. Dwayne commands Treecko and Swablu to dodge, and both do so. Swablu then swoops in towards Torkoal with Fury Attack, and Jannette commands Torkoal to use Overheat, and Torkoal launches the attack just as Swablu reaches towards it, and the point-blank distance causes an explosion that knocks out both Pokémon.

After recalling their fainted Pokémon, the battle resumes, this time one-on-one. Dwayne commands Treecko to use Bullet Seed. Treecko attempts to perform Bullet Seed again, but it fails. Jannette commands Grovyle to use Leaf Blade, though Treecko dodges and Pounds it in a follow-up attack. Grovyle unleashes a Bullet Seed, but Treecko evades the move and knocks Groyle to the ground with a Quick Attack. Jannette asks Grovyle to get up, and with a struggle Grovyle does so. Treecko is panting heavily, and Dwayne notes that Treecko is almost out of energy. Jannette realizes that Grovyle does not have enough energy for Solar Beam, so she calls for another round of Bullet Seed. Dwayne retaliates, commanding Treecko to use Bullet Seed also. The Bullet Seed attacks collide in midair, but suddenly Treecko's Bullet Seed is depleted and Grovyle's Bullet Seed overwhelms Treecko. Treecko gets knocked out as a result, giving Jannette the win.

After the battle, Jannette rewards everyone with some spare watermelons. Treecko, however, is sitting by itself, clearly annoyed by its loss. Dwayne walks over to him, with Dwayne assuring Treecko that it will take time to perfect his Bullet Seed technique. Treecko dismisses Dwayne's optimism, so Dwayne sprays seeds at the back of Treecko's head. Treecko, irritated, retaliates by firing a real Bullet Seed attack at him, and Dwayne gets knocked backwards. Jannette comments that all Treecko needed was the right motivation, and Dwayne, offended, questions why Treecko was motivated to attack him. Jannette responds that what Treecko learned was important, not what the target was, and Dwayne agrees, although somewhat upset that Treecko was motivated enough to attack him.

While passing through the Petalburg Woods en route towards Petalburg City, Dwayne stops for lunch and notices that Treecko is secluding himself up in a tree and appears to be in an unhappy mood. Dwayne climbs up and tries to cheer Treecko up, but it doesn't work. Corphish then runs up the tree and knocks Dwayne away, also attempting to assist Treecko, but it again doesn't work. Suddenly, Dwayne begins hearing something, and soon its source, a Loudred rampages through his picnic spot. It continues dashing along toward its Trainer, Layla. Layla attempts to calm Loudred down but can't seem to, until she jumps on its back. Layla apologizes to Dwayne for the trouble, but Dwayne assures her that it was nothing, and asks how many Badges did Layla obtain, and she shows off her five Badges, and Dwayne comments that he was heading towards her mother's Gym for his fifth Badge. After exchanging further pleasantries, Layla says that not very long ago, Loudred has grown to be a troublemaker that sometimes has trouble listening to her commands. Dwayne considers Treecko's current odd behavior, and suggests a battle would help ease Loudred's angst. Layla agrees to the idea. As Dwayne goes to select his own Pokémon, Treecko leaps down and is determined to battle Loudred.

Treecko commences the battle with a Quick Attack which appears to do no damage. Loudred counterattacks with a Stomp that traps Treecko, but it manages to break free by using Bullet Seed. After this, Loudred responds with a Screech that knocks Treecko back, and follows up with Earthquake. Treecko dodges the seismic waves and sends Loudred flying into a tree with a powerful Pound attack. After this, both Pokémon glare at each other, and start to evolve at the same time. As both Trainers seem to be awed and surprised that Treecko and Loudred simultaneously evolved, Dwayne's newly evolved Grovyle reveals that it has learned a new move, Leaf Blade. The battle continues and Grovyle charges in with another Leaf Blade, when Layla commands her newly evolved Exploud to dodge. But instead of dodging, Exploud sends Grovyle flying back with its newly learned Hyper Voice attack. After this, Exploud begins rampaging once again and Grovyle tries to stop it with Bullet Seed, but it does nothing. Grovyle then uses Quick Attack, but Exploud hits it away and continues charging, and Layla and Dwayne then chase after Exploud.

Dwayne and Layla start calling Exploud's name but get no response. As Layla begins to feel disheartened, Dwayne offers her hope that they'll find Exploud soon. Dwayne notices that Grovyle is becoming agitated, but he refuses to return and instead leaps into the trees. Layla looks up at Grovyle and is reminded of how tame Loudred used to be when it was a Whismur. Meanwhile, Exploud sees an apple up a tree and uses Stomp to knock it down, although this also disturbs the many Beedrill sleeping the in the tree, and they all attack Exploud, releasing a loud cry in the process. Grovyle hears this cry and proceeds towards it. Grovyle makes it to the location and saves Exploud from the Beedrill. Grovyle then stares Exploud down for a while, until they resume their previous battle as the sun comes out. Grovyle charges in, and Exploud uses Stomp. Grovyle dodges and uses Pound, only to provoke Exploud to strike back with Hyper Voice. After taking the hit, Grovyle lands a direct hit with Bullet Seed that knocks Exploud down. Dwayne and Layla then arrive at the scene and the real battle begins. Dwayne commands Grovyle to use Leaf Blade while Layla orders Exploud to dodge. But instead of dodging, Exploud takes the hit head on. Grovyle goes in for another Leaf Blade and Layla again commands Exploud to dodge. Exploud once again ignores Layla's command and blocks Grovyle's attack, while Grovyle breaks free using Pound. After Layla scolds Exploud to listen to her commands, it walks away just as the Beedrill return for another ambush.

Just as Layla notices Beedrill in the bushes, the Beedrill fire off multiple Pin Missile at Exploud, but Layla pushes it out of the way just in time. As the Beedrill attack Exploud again, Grovyle uses Bullet Seed to knock them down, and the Beedrill are scared off once and for all. Feeling touched that Layla saved it despite its previous treatment towards her, Exploud helps Layla up and it explains that it wants to continue training with her, making the two hug each other. After this, Grovyle and Exploud resume their battle once again. Dwayne orders Grovyle to use Pound, but Layla orders Exploud to dodge, which it does, and follows up with Hyper Voice, but Grovyle dodges and knocks out Exploud with a Leaf Blade, giving Dwayne the victory.

During Dwayne's Petalburg Gym battle, Grovyle was chosen as Dwayne's third and final remaining Pokémon against Gwendolyn's Blaziken. Dwayne attacks first by ordering Grovyle to use Bullet Seed, but Blaziken easily blocks the attack with his hands, sustaining no damage at all. Grovyle attacks again with Leaf Blade, but Blaziken grabs it mid-attack and tosses Grovyle back across the arena. Blaziken begins to attack with Focus Punch, but is stopped after Grovyle hits it in the face with Bullet Seed. The attack angers Blaziken, who retaliates with Aura Sphere.

Grovyle slices the Aura Sphere in half with Leaf Blade and attempts a Pound attack, but Blaziken grabs him in midair and tosses Grovyle into the ceiling. Grovyle counterattacks with Bullet Seed, but Blaziken blocks with a powerful Flamethrower, which blasts through the Bullet Seed and sends Grovyle flying. Watching Grovyle struggle to his feet, Gwendolyn suggests that Dwayne should withdraw from the match for Grovyle's safety. Dwayne begins to consider it, but stops when Grovyle indicates that it wants to keep fighting. Remembering the battle with Brawly, Dwayne wonders if he should truly cater to Grovyle's feelings or simply forfeit for his sake. Grovyle senses Dwayne's reluctance and shoots his twig onto his feet, and Dwayne realizes that Grovyle would never forgive him if he threw in the towel. Accepting Grovyle's wishes, Dwayne tells Grovyle to show Norman what he's made out of. Inspired by Dwayne's confidence, Grovyle activates his Overgrow Ability, which powers up his Grass-type attacks.

Leaping back into combat, Grovyle dodges both a Blaze Kick and Slaking's clumsy attempts to grab him. Grovyle then begins bouncing around the arena. Dodging a Flamethrower, Grovyle hits Blaziken with a vicious Quick Attack. Gwendolyn congratulates Dwayne for his recovery, but tells him that he'll need more than just speed to beat Blaziken. She orders Blaziken to attack with Focus Punch while Dwayne tells Grovyle to use Leaf Blade. The two attack each other at the same time, and after a moment's pause, Blaziken falls to the ground, defeated, giving Dwayne and Grovyle the victory.

During Dwayne's battle against Drake of the Hoenn Elite Four on the latter's boat, Grovyle was chosen as his second Pokémon to face off against Drake's Altaria. Despite knowing about Grovyle's Grass-types weakness against Flying-types, Drake was fully aware that Dwayne had something up his sleeve. As Drake predicted, Dwayne has Grovyle jump from mast to mast, allowing it to reach the Flying Pokémon. Grovyle then uses Bullet Seed, but Altaria flies behind one of the masts to evade the onslaught. Grovyle prepares to lash its opponent with a Leaf Blade, but Altaria is nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, it appears from behind with a Take Down attack. With its opponent starting to wear out, Altaria then uses Dragon Breath, knocking Grovyle to the ground. Drake advises Dwayne that he needs to fully focus on the battle if he hopes to win. Altaria then charges downward with a Sky Attack, but Grovyle is able to dodge it with Quick Attack, before throwing out a Leaf Blade at its opponent. However, Altaria dodges the attack with Aerial Ace and fires a Solar Beam, which sends Grovyle crashing through two barrels before slamming into a wall and knocking itself out. Drake gently picks up Grovyle, and after a quick inspection admits that some rest at the Pokémon Center will help it recover. Dwayne agrees and recalls Grovyle.

During the second round of Dwayne's Sootopolis Gym challenge, Grovyle was chosen to battle against Juan's Luvdisc. Grovyle immediately uses Bullet Seed, which Luvdisc dodges and counters with Water Pulse. Grovyle dodges and moves in with Leaf Blade, which Luvdisc then dodges and counters with Sweet Kiss. Grovyle is hit and becomes confused. Dwayne orders Grovyle to move, who instead begins bashing its head into a nearby pillar. Dwayne decides to call back Grovyle, but Dwayne isn't quick enough — Grovyle is defeated by a timely Water Gun from Luvdisc.

During Dwayne's battle against Jannette in the first round of the Finals Tournament of the Ever Grande Conference, Grovyle was chosen as his sixth and final remaining Pokémon to battle against Jannette's Sceptile. Grovyle emerges from his Poké Ball onto one of the stadium platforms, pulls out its twig, and eyes the competition, remembering the last battle he had against Jannette's ace. Jannette starts the final match-up by ordering Sceptile to use Energy Ball. Following orders, Grovyle leaps over Energy Ball, but Jannette orders Sceptile to dodge by diving underwater and Grovyle lands on Sceptile's platform, unable to make Leaf Blade connect. While Grovyle looks around for his opponent, Jannette orders Sceptile to use Energy Ball. Sceptile quickly emerges from the water and fires the attack, landing a direct hit. Grovyle smirks and gets back up, shooting a look at Sceptile before it dives underwater once again. Sceptile repeatedly emerges in various areas of the pool while Dwayne looks on in frustration. Suddenly, Dwayne decides to take a gamble, and orders Grovyle to leap high up in the air. As everyone looks on confused by Dwayne's strategy, Dwayne yells out to Grovyle, commanding him to put all of his power into a Mega Kick aimed at the pool. Grovyle's sky high Mega Kicks rains down towards the pool and the sheer impact, causing the water in the pool to completely splash out of it, emptying the pool entirely, and removing Sceptile's underwater advantage, taking Jannette by surprise.

Dwayne orders Grovyle to use Quick Attack, the force of which sends Sceptile flying into the arena wall and kicks up a cloud of dust. Dwayne shouts encouragement to Grovyle as he smoothly lands. Jannette then orders Sceptile to use Energy Ball, but Grovyle uses Leaf Blade to cut the attack in half. Jannette orders a second Energy Ball, but this time, Grovyle uses Mega Kick to bat the attack back towards Sceptile, who takes it head-on. As both Grovyle and Sceptile show signs of exhaustion, Dwayne and Jannette realize the ending of their battle was at hand, and both command their respective Pokémon to use Leaf Blade. As Grovyle and Sceptile charge towards each other, Dwayne orders Grovyle to switch over to Quick Attack at the last second, allowing him to evade and strike Sceptile from behind, before following up with a Leaf Blade onto Sceptile's back. As Grovyle and Sceptile stand still for a brief moment, Sceptile falls down, unconscious. The referee proclaims that Sceptile is unable to battle and that Dwayne is the winner. As Grovyle lets out a victorious roar, he suddenly begins to glow and evolves into Sceptile himself.

During Dwayne's battle against Layla in the following round, Sceptile was chosen as his fourth Pokémon to battle against Layla's Steelix. Steelix unleashes its Iron Tail right from the start, but Sceptile quickly dodges it, impressing Layla with its speed. Sceptile fires Bullet Seed at Steelix, who burrows into the ground with Dig in retreat. Dwayne tells Sceptile to prepare to dodge, and Sceptile dodges Steelix's Dig, but now Layla calls Steelix to use Dragon Breath. Dwayne calls for Sceptile to use Leaf Blade in order to power through Dragon Breath. Leaf Blade shields Sceptile as he makes his way to land the attack, knocking out Steelix. Layla matches Sceptile's speed by calling out her Shiny Swellow as her fifth Pokémon. Sceptile uses Quick Attack but Swellow swiftly dodges it and performs Steel Wing. Sceptile barely dodges Swellow's onslaught of attacks by hiding in the tall grass on the field. Sceptile jumps into the air and uses Bullet Seed, striking Swellow. Sceptile once again retreats back into the grass and Swellow pursues with Steel Wing. Sceptile leaps onto Swellow to perform Leaf Blade, but Layla tells Swellow to shake him off. Free-falling through the air, Sceptile tries Leaf Storm, but Layla commands Swellow to use Aerial Ace whilst spinning, and this allows Swellow to easily cut through the Leaf Storm and score a direct hit onto Sceptile's neck, and Swellow slams him into the ground. The attack is successful and Sceptile is declared unable to battle, leaving both Dwayne and Layla with two usable Pokémon.

### **Frontier Challenge**

During Dwayne's first Battle Frontier challenge at the Battle Factory, Sceptile was chosen to battle against Noland's Articuno, a decision that leaves Jade and Noland confused, and Jade loudly asks if Dwayne was out of his mond, as Sceptile had double the disadvantage as Articuno was both an Ice and Flying-type, but Dwayne tells Jade to just trust him, although Jade is still worried.

The match finally begins, and Articuno flies up into the air, and while Dwayne knows Sceptile can't fly, he already came up with a strategy and orders Sceptile to leap from wall to wall to catch up with Articuno, and Sceptile successfully leaps from the walls to reach Articuno's altitude, something that Jade praises Dwayne for, finally realizing why he picked Sceptile for the battle. Sceptile uses Bullet Seed, which scores a direct hit. Dwayne is exultant that Sceptile can stand up to Articuno, but the Legendary flies straight back into the air, not looking any worse for wear. Dwayne calls for another Bullet Seed, but Articuno uses its speed to evade the attack and fly right past the Grass-type Pokémon. Noland tells Articuno to spin in a steep dive and Dwayne tells Sceptile to dive right for it. Articuno uses Mist, which disorientates Sceptile, before battering its opponent to the ground. Sceptile stands up, shaking his head. He looks up just in time to see Articuno flying straight for him out of the Mist cloud. Dwayne calls for Bullet Seed again, and though Articuno dodges twice, it is hit on the third try. Sceptile rushes in to grab his opponent, though Articuno escapes with ease. Noland calls for Ice Beam, and it strikes Sceptile on his right arm. Dwayne calls for Quick Attack, which Articuno dodges and hits Sceptile with a Steel Wing. Sceptile falls from a huge height and crashes into the earth again.

Sceptile stands up, growling. He looks battered, but Articuno is still unmarked. Articuno uses a Water Pulse, sending Sceptile into the wall. Dwayne calls for Sceptile to get up, but Sceptile hunches his neck in pain. Dwayne is getting really nervous, and thinks he may have only one chance left. However, his focus quickly returns to the match as Articuno uses another Ice Beam. Sceptile manages to jump out of the way, though the claws on his feet are frozen in the process, causing him to lose control. Articuno follows up with Water Pulse, turning the ice into projectile shards. Sceptile shields itself with his arms and enters into a steep climb, though his speed is greatly reduced thanks to his frozen claws. Sceptile launches a Bullet Seed to counter, but Noland’s Ice Beam and Water Pulse combination still hits its mark.

Noland tells Articuno to finish the battle by getting above Sceptile. Dwayne realizes it's time to use his last resort. He tells Sceptile to get above Articuno, and use Cross Poison. Sceptile crosses his arms above his head, and his extended leaves start to glow purple, before slashing them in an 'X' formation. Both Pokémon zoom higher and higher into the air before Sceptile releases his built-up Cross Poison attack. However, the Legendary Pokémon counters with Steel Wing, which collides with Cross Poison in an explosion and intense flood of smokescreen as both Pokémon fall from the sky and crash hard on the ground. Both Pokémon appear to be out, and Sergio prepares to call a draw, but Noland tells him to wait, as both Articuno and Sceptile struggle to get back up. After nearly two minutes of struggling, Articuno falls back down while Sceptile staggers back to his feet, and Sergio awards Sceptile the win, defeating a Legendary Pokémon, and giving Dwayne his first Battle Frontier Symbol, the Knowledge Symbol, in the process.

When Dwayne challenged the Battle Dome, Sceptile was chosen to battle alongside Dragonite in a Double Battle against Tucker's Arcanine and Swampert. The battle quickly goes underway with Sceptile launching into a devastating Quick Attack towards Swampert. Arcanine then rushes towards Swampert and is thrust into the air reaching a high velocity and collides with Sceptile, knocking him backwards. Sceptile recovers from the attack as Dragpnite attacks with an array of Hurricane. Swampert then jumps in front of Arcanine to shield themselves from the attack with Protect.

Sceptile goes for another attack, speeding towards his opponent with Leaf Blade, and Arcanine returns with Extreme Speed. The two attacks collide, thrusting Sceptile backwards and forcing Arcanine to the ground unable to stop himself from the fall. Dragonite sees the opening and goes for the attack with Dragon Claw while Swampert launching a Hydro Pump attack right behind Arcanine. Just before Arcanine and Dragonite make contact, Arcanine dodges Swampert's attack with Dragonite taking direct damage and slamming into the nearby wall. Tucker thanks Dwayne on his battle spirit and effort but Swampert quickly resumes the battle with another Hydro Pump. Both Sceptile and Dragonite dodge this attack with Sceptile thrusting towards Swampert with a devastating Leaf Blade. Swampert retaliates with a Dynamic Punch as both attacks collide in an explosion of light and color. Arcanine then dashes toward Swampert to perform Aerial Ace. While Sceptile comes forward for Leaf Blade, Arcanine launches a strategic Flamethrower towards Sceptile but the attack is avoided at the last second. Arcanine then increases its fire power with Fire Blast, hitting Sceptile.

Swampert is controlling the water from the air and shaping it with a Water Pulse attack. Sceptile dodges Arcanine's first attack, Extreme Speed, and launches towards Arcanine once more with Cross Poison, making contact creating a gigantic explosion. Dragonite goes for an opening with Dragon Claw as Swampert forces the nearby Water Pulse towards Sceptile and Dragonite, which collides creating a structure formed of water and ice. Arcanine launches a devastating Fire Blast within the structure rotating around creating a fusion of fire and water, Tucker's greatest of tactics. Both Sceptile and Dragonite are suspended within this structure as a gigantic explosion taking place between the two forces and both Pokémon are forced towards the ground. Neither Dragonite nor Sceptile have enough energy to continue the battle, but soon, both Pokémon revive with a fighting spirit greater than ever. Both Arcanine and Swampert launch a Flamethrower and Hydro Pump towards Sceptile. Both attacks are diverted by Dragonite's Twister attack. Sceptile then thrusts towards with Quick Attack as Swampert uses Dynamic Punch, and just as Arcanine goes for the opening, Sceptile dodges forcing Arcanine into Swampert for a direct hit. A giant plume of smoke and dust engulfs the arena. Arcanine launches another Fire Blast attack but this is again diverted by Dragonite's Twister. Visibility is lowered by a great amount of fog lingering within the arena.

Both Arcanine and Swampert are confused of Sceptile's exact location and fly towards Sceptile and Dragonite. Just as both attacks are to make contact, Sceptile falls from the sky, and as Arcanine and Swampert focus on him, Dragonite sneaks behind them, with the fog having hidden his presence, and restrains them both, as Sceptile charges towards them with Cross Poison. At the last second, Dragonite lets go of Arcanine and Swampert to prevent getting hit, and Sceptile lands a direct hit on both Arcanine and Swampert, before Sceptile and Dragonite finish them off with a combination of Bullet Seed and Hurricane, granting Dwayne the victory over Tucker.

During Dwayne's Battle Palace challenge, Sceptile was chosen as his first Pokémon to battle against Spenser's Shiftry. Sceptile starts out with a blistering Bullet Seed but Shiftry is very fast and manages to dodge it. Shiftry and Sceptile run off down the side of the hill, closely followed by Dwayne and Spenser. Sceptile and Shiftry are speeding through the forest running side by side, eyes locked onto one another, and Dwayne orders a Leaf Blade from Sceptile, but Shiftry counters it with a Quick Attack. The two continue running along the grass in the jungle as Shiftry bounces through the jungle closely followed by Sceptile, and Spenser compliments Dwayne on his Sceptile's Speed not long before he orders his Shiftry to use Double Team.

Sceptile is surrounded by many Shiftry, and before Dwayne can reply, a powerful Shadow Ball from Shiftry knocks Sceptile into a nearby pool. Then, as ordered by Spenser, Shiftry uses Rock Smash on the ground by the lake, which sends off a barrage of rocks from the nearby water's edge and fills the pool. Dwayne is worried that Sceptile has been crushed as they see Sceptile's head just duck underwater as the rocks hit the pond. Dwayne is sure that Sceptile has been knocked out. Suddenly, Sceptile appears from atop the waterfall, jumps out and crashes a powerful Quick Attack on Shiftry. This, along with a Cross Poison, knocks Shiftry out, giving Sceptile the victory. Spenser is impressed by Dwayne's win, but he holds nothing back for the next battle, swiftly sending out his Venusaur, and Dwayne recalls his Sceptile for some rest.

Sceptile gets called back out as Dwayne's final remaining Pokémon against Spenser's Claydol. Claydol uses Psybeam, which Sceptile manages to dodge. Sceptile then unleashes a Bullet Seed at Claydol, but Claydol dodges it with Teleport, which sends it out above the water, where it uses Rapid Spin to send a jet of water at Sceptile. Sceptile now jumps up onto the side of a cliff, as the sun behind Sceptile beams onto the yellow patches on its back, which start to glow. However, this is cut short due to a cloudy sky, followed by rain. A Rapid Spin from Claydol starts up a sand twister; Sceptile tries its best to avoid but is caught in the twister. Using this to his advantage, Spenser orders Claydol to use Psybeam at the twister, doing serious damage to Sceptile. Sceptile is sent flying and struggles to gain its feet again, slipping as it tries to stand.

The clouds start to part and Dwayne notices the yellow patches on Sceptile's back are absorbing the sunlight. Spenser explains that that phenomenon is called a squall. Later, the clouds depart, and Spenser orders a Hyper Beam from Claydol. However, Sceptile manages to avoid this by jumping out of the way, and Dwayne orders Solar Beam from Sceptile. Claydol is hit with a super-effective Solar Beam, which defeats it and gives Dwayne the win. Dwayne congratulates his Sceptile with a hug, which doesn't faze the cool Sceptile at all.

When Dwayne was possessed by the spirit of the King of Pokélantis, Sceptile was chosen by the King to battle against Brandon's Regirock at the Battle Pyramid. Dwayne orders Sceptile to use Leaf Blade, which the King replicates. Regirock uses Iron Defense to nullify the attack. The King then orders Bullet Seed, but Iron Defense also nullifies it. With a snide grin, the King orders Sceptile to fire Bullet Seed at the ceiling. Sceptile is hesitant at first, but once the King demands him to obey, Sceptile relents. The attack causes rubble to crash on top of and bury Regirock. Scott notes that Dwayne would never attack in such a brutal manner. Brandon calls the King a coward for his tactic, but Dwayne hears the insult from within the King and temporarily breaks the spell, denies that he is a coward, but soon loses control back to the King.

The King thinks Regirock is down and out, but the Rock Peak Pokémon breaks out of its tomb and immediately uses Hyper Beam. In an astonishing move, the King orders Sceptile to use the referee, Samuel as cover. Sceptile initially hesitates, not used to Dwayne using such dirty tricks. The King tells him to obey, so Sceptile leaps behind the frightened referee, Samuel, forcing Brandon to cancel the attack. The King laughs and calls Brandon weak, and says he would teach Brandon how to attack without mercy, and orders Sceptile to use Leaf Blade on Regirock's leg, causing it to kneel down. The King laughs, saying that Brandon's defeat was near, but Regirock uses Lock-On, targeting Sceptile. The King orders another Leaf Blade on the other leg, rendering Regirock immobile. Regirock uses Hyper Beam again. Sceptile's attempt to dodge fails as Lock-On ensures that the attack hits. Hyper Beam comes around and Sceptile is blasted to the ground and faints.

## **Personality and Characteristics**

Ever since his days as a Treecko, Sceptile has displayed a cool, calm, and aloof personality; preferring to seclude himself instead of remained grouped with others. Nevertheless, Sceptile is extremely loyal towards those he cares about, first seen during his days as a wild Pokémon, where he worked tirelessly to protect his home. Sceptile has a tendency to keep a twig in his mouth, and often uses to display his current emotions; spitting it out whenever feeling angry or determined. He also has a no-nonsense attitude, rarely accepting humor or light-hearted comments, seen when he finally perfected Bullet Seed by attacking his Trainer after Dwayne had playfully spat a few watermelon seeds at him as a form of teasing, merely because he was annoyed with Dwayne's antics.

Sceptile's greatest trait is his overwhelming pride, as he will stop at nothing to defend his honor in battle. First shown during his battle against Layla's Exploud, Sceptile searched tirelessly for Exploud after it had fled from the area, merely to finish their battle to prove his superiority, and during his Petalburg Gym battle against Gwendolyn's Blaziken, Sceptile made sure to let Dwayne know that he would never forgive him if Dwayne had forfeited the match for his sake, refusing to let anyone give up on his behalf.

Sceptile formed a rivalry of sorts against Jannette's Sceptile, first seen during his days as a Treecko, where he battled and was defeated by Jannette's then-Grovyle. When they met again during the Ever Grande Conference, Dwayne's then-Grovyle fiercely battled against Jannette's Sceptile, wanting to prove his worth against his own evolved form, and after finally gaining his revenge on it, Grovyle allowed himself to evolve to cement his growth.

Undoubtedly the powerhouse of Dwayne's Hoenn team, Sceptile proved himself time and again as an extremely durable and powerful Pokémon, being capable of not only defeating opponents much larger than himself, but also overcome type disadvantages, seen during his battle against Gwendolyn's Blaziken, where Sceptile, as a Grovyle, was able to outspeed and outsmart the fully-evolved Fire-type Pokémon.

## **Moves used**

### **Moves improvised**

 **Description:** A variant of Leaf Blade developed by Grovyle during his Sootopolis Gym battle against Juan. While using Leaf Blade in the air, Grovyle spins its arms around, flies down in great speed, and hits the opponent. Grovyle tried to use it against Luvdisc, but it dodged.