"Frosmoth, return." Grusha remained calm, well aware that the Gary standing before him wasn't an ordinary trainer. Thinking it over carefully, Gary had subdued an Articuno, so of course his strength wasn't something to underestimate.
It seemed today was going to be difficult, since his opponent's power was clearly beyond the standard range of an ordinary Trainer.
Gary hadn't wanted things to play out this way, but the mission had its restrictions. He didn't have any Gym-level Paldea Pokémon on hand. Cetoddle and Gimmighoul couldn't be used in this battle. Great Tusk could have worked, but Gary hadn't brought it with him, so he had no choice but to rely on Annihilape to fight all four of Grusha's Pokémon alone.
Grusha then threw out his Poké Ball and sent out his second Pokémon. "Go, Altaria."
In a flash of light, an Altaria with sky-blue feathers and cloud-like wings appeared.
[LV50 Altaria / Quasi-Elite]
"Chiu-hee!"
Without waiting for Gary to ask, Grusha spoke up first to explain: "My Altaria's Tera Type is Ice, so it still meets the rules for a Gym battle."
"I understand," Gary said, nodding.
The Paldea League did allow for this rule, permitting each of the region's Gym Leaders to prepare one Pokémon whose base type didn't match their Gym, as long as its Tera Type did.
Although Altaria's Tera Type was Ice, whether Grusha chose to actually Terastallize it was entirely up to him. Under normal circumstances, in a standard training match, Grusha would naturally let Altaria Terastallize freely. But facing Gary, he clearly wasn't going to hold back.
What was more notable was that this Altaria was level 50, technically above the standard cap for Gym battles—though only by a single level, subtle enough that it wasn't immediately obvious.
"Then I'll attack first. Altaria, use Moonblast." Grusha launched his attack immediately.
Altaria quickly condensed a pink orb of energy and fired it forward.
"Dodge with Phantom Force. Once you're out, hit it with Ice Punch," Gary ordered calmly.
Annihilape let out a light growl, and its body lifted into the air. As it rose, its form gradually turned transparent before vanishing completely.
Boom!
Moonblast struck the ground without finding its target, kicking up a spray of snow.
"Shine—Terastallize!"
Grusha pulled out his gleaming Tera Orb and hurled its energy toward Altaria, soaring high above the field.
The moment the Tera energy reached Altaria, its power erupted outward, and pillars of crystal suddenly formed, enclosing Altaria's entire body.
Bang!
The crystal shell surrounding Altaria shattered, revealing a Pokémon now covered in ice-blue crystal, with a crown-like Tera gem glowing atop its head. The icy Tera gem was the unmistakable symbol of the Ice type—clearly recognizable at a glance.
"Mia!"
At that exact moment, Annihilape reappeared, stepping out of the void more than a meter above Altaria. Ignoring the transformation entirely, it drove an Ice Punch straight down into Altaria's back.
Struck hard, Altaria plummeted toward the ground, crashing down and kicking up a cloud of snow dust—but it wasn't knocked out.
Even after Terastallizing into a pure Ice type, giving it natural resistance to Ice-type moves, Altaria had still taken serious damage. The gap in levels was simply too wide.
"Ice Beam!"
"Rage Fist!"
Both trainers called out their commands at the same instant.
Altaria fired off a beam of freezing light. Annihilape, its fighting spirit surging with fury, channeled all its energy into its right fist. As the punch blasted forward, the sheer force of the air pressure caused the Ice Beam to stagger and pause for a brief moment. Then the shadowy fist plowed straight through it, crashing down onto Altaria's head.
Bang!!
A massive cloud of white snow burst outward. When the dust settled, everyone could see Altaria lying in a crater in the snow, eyes rolling in circles.
"Altaria is unable to battle! Annihilape wins!"
Luna stared at the fallen Altaria, stammering, "Altaria... lost too...?"
Luna knew very well that Altaria, alongside Frosmoth, was one of her brother's ace Pokémon. She hadn't expected it to look so overmatched against Annihilape, unable to withstand even two of its attacks.
Grusha stayed composed, recalling the defeated Altaria and moving on to send out his third Pokémon.
"Beartic, come on out." Grusha threw the Poké Ball.
In a flash of light, a massive white bear appeared.
[LV47 Beartic / Quasi-Elite]
"Ughh!"
Beartic looked over at the fiercely determined Annihilape and returned its gaze with an intimidating glare, showing no trace of fear.
"Mia!"
Annihilape sized up the tall Beartic, its fighting spirit surging as it wondered whether this bear would prove to be a real challenge or just another pushover.
"Use Cross Chop!" Gary ordered.
Hearing the command, Annihilape immediately charged toward Beartic.
"Icicle Crash!"
Beartic channeled its ice energy, and greatsword-like icicles condensed above it before launching forward in a wave.
"Mia!!"
Annihilape's hands transformed into blades, slicing through every incoming icicle as it advanced. Beartic's Icicle Crash couldn't slow down its charge in the slightest.
"Switch to Ice Punch!" Grusha immediately changed his command.
"Ughh!"
Beartic lunged forward, its paw wrapped in dense ice energy, swinging directly at Annihilape.
Seeing the paw coming, Annihilape crossed its blade-like hands to intercept the blow.
Bang!!
Cross Chop and Ice Punch collided with a heavy thud, and Beartic was pushed back several steps before finally coming to a stop.
Beartic's strength was still formidable—more than enough, at Gym level, to hold its ground against a Cross Chop from Annihilape.
Gary didn't give Beartic a moment to recover, immediately following up. "Dynamic Punch!"
"Mia!"
The previous clash hadn't fazed Annihilape at all. It rushed forward and threw a punch charged with fighting energy.
Whoosh!!!
Beartic had no time to dodge and took the Dynamic Punch head-on. Its body was sent flying, crashing into the arena's energy barrier before dropping onto the snow, unable to get back up.
"Beartic is unable to battle! Annihilape wins!" The referee made the call, clearly stunned.
Having served as referee at the Glaseado Gym for so long, this was the first time he had ever seen Grusha lose so badly—three Pokémon defeated in a row, with Gary's Pokémon landing an overwhelming number of effective hits.
Grusha also found himself regretting agreeing to a full four-on-four match with Gary, especially with so many spectators watching. It was more than a little embarrassing.
If he was being honest, if there hadn't been so many people present, Grusha might have wanted to concede right then and there.
But with this many eyes on him, admitting defeat wasn't an option—if word got out, he'd lose his reputation as the strongest Gym Leader.
Recalling Beartic, Grusha sent out his final Pokémon.
"Go, Cetitan."