Silas's assigned battlefield was Arena No. 6.
The senior Gym apprentice guarding this arena was a young woman named Kiera.
Before the battle began, Silas sat in the waiting hall watching the ongoing match on a broadcast screen.
From what he could see,Kiera's strength was already among the strongest trainers below the Elite level.
Her Electrode and Magneton were both just one step away from reaching elite-tier strength.
....
The Arena Atmosphere
When Silas walked through the challenger tunnel and stepped toward the spectator stands, loud cheers immediately flooded his ears.
"Go! Crush them with lightning!"
"Release your electricity!"
"Come on challenger, show your strength!"
For a Gym, one of the biggest sources of income was selling tickets for Gym challenge battles, especially matches involving powerful apprentices.
Rumor had it that when Wattson's true disciples battled, the stadium would be completely packed.
Sometimes tickets even sold out.
These long-established Gyms were extremely good at making money.
What was originally a League obligation had now been turned into a profitable spectacle.
...
The Match Begins
After halftime ended, the next match began.
"Please welcome the next challenger—Silas!"
The referee stood on a raised platform holding a microphone.
"Next is an official Gym Challenge match with the Dynamo Badge at stake!"
"The competitors are challenger Silas and Gym apprentice Kiera!"
"The battle format is best-of-three. Each side sends out three Pokémon."
"The challenger must win two battles to succeed."
"The challenger releases their Pokémon first. The Gym apprentice will then receive a random Pokémon provided by the Gym."
(Note: The Gym-provided Pokémon will be roughly equal in level to the challenger's Pokémon.)
The referee repeated the rules once both trainers stepped into position.
....
Silas's First Pokémon
Silas tossed his Poké Ball.
"Sandile , this is your debut battle. Let's go."
A burst of white light flashed.
"San-dilee!"
A small crocodile Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
It had dark scales, a yellowish-brown armored back, and fierce eyes.
Sandile.
....
Crowd Reaction
The audience immediately began whispering among themselves.
"My goodness, another Ground-type Pokémon?"
"Yeah! Why do challengers always pick Pokémon with type advantage?"
"But what Pokémon is that? It looks pretty rare."
Sandile was not commonly seen in the Hoenn region. Only a few experienced trainers recognized it.
Most ordinary citizens had never seen one before.
Still, that didn't stop them from getting excited. Battles involving senior Gym apprentices were usually very entertaining.
.....
Kiera's Situation
When Silas sent out Sandile, Kiera frowned slightly.
Being a Gym apprentice was far from easy.
Some people paid extremely expensive tuition fees to enter a Gym.
Others signed long-term contracts, sometimes lasting decades, essentially selling their future to the Gym.
So despite the glamorous appearance, their lives were not as easy as outsiders imagined.
Many apprentices had to accept bounty missions in the wilderness to earn money for raising their Pokémon.
Gym defense battles were also recorded and evaluated at the end of each month. Those results directly affected how many resources they would receive from the Gym.
At this moment, Kiera really wanted to send out her ace Pokémon and teach this arrogant challenger a lesson.
Unfortunately, Gym rules required her to use a Pokémon provided by the Gym.
She accepted the Poké Ball handed to her by the referee.
Please don't be a pure Electric type…
When she saw what Pokémon it was, the tension in her heart finally eased.
"Go, Magnemite!"
A small floating Pokémon shaped like a magnet appeared on the battlefield.
Magnemite.
Magnemite was an Electric and Steel type Pokémon.
While Electric attacks would be useless against Sandile, Magnemite could still use Magnet Bomb, a Steel-type move.
However… Electric + Steel meant four-times weakness to Ground-type attacks.
Kiera had already accepted that this match would likely end badly.
She could only hope the challenger's command ability wasn't very good, so she wouldn't lose too embarrassingly.
...
The Battle
Silas gave his first command immediately.
"Sandile, Hone Claws, then use Bulldoze!"
Sandile sharpened its claws.
A cold gleam flashed along its sharp talons as its attack power increased.
Then Sandile suddenly raised its front claw and slammed it into the ground.
A powerful shockwave rippled across the battlefield toward Magnemite.
"Magnemite, use Magnet Bomb!"
Kiera gritted her teeth as she gave the command.
Several silver metal spheres shot toward Sandile.
Sandile twisted its body and used its armored back as a shield. The yellowish scales absorbed the impact easily.
Magnemite, however, wasn't so lucky. The Ground-type shockwave struck it directly, knocking it off balance.
The small Pokémon tumbled toward the ground.
Silas didn't hesitate.
"Sandile, use Sand Tomb! Don't let it fly!"
Sandile instantly summoned swirling sand around Magnemite.
The sand formed a violent vortex that trapped Magnemite in place.
"Finish it. Fire Fang!"
At Silas's command, Sandile dashed forward through the swirling sand.
Flames ignited around its jaws.
"SAAAND!"
Sandile bit down fiercely.
....
Result
"Magnemite is unable to battle!"
"Sandile wins!"
"Challenger Silas takes the first victory!"
The referee calmly announced the result.
There was nothing surprising about it.
This Magnemite wasn't Kiera's personal Pokémon,it was raised by the Gym specifically for challenge matches.
Its talent was average.
Sandile, on the other hand, clearly showed signs of careful training:
fierce eyes
shining armored scales
sharp claws
terrifying teeth
a body noticeably larger than normal Sandile
Combined with the overwhelming type advantage, the result was inevitable.
Electric attacks were completely ineffective against Sandile.
Meanwhile, Sandile's Ground-type moves dealt four-times damage to Magnemite.
From the referee's perspective, this battle was extremely obvious But to the majority of spectators who didn't understand Pokémon battles very well, the result still caused a wave of discussion.
After all, even though Gym apprentices often faced challengers using Ground-type Pokémon like Marshtomp or Torterra, they usually managed to fight back and create an exciting battle But seeing a senior Gym apprentice lose in less than half a minute?
That was something they had never seen before.
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