"Hmm, I don't know. Grey and Cynthia are both incredibly strong, so it's hard for me to answer that on the spot."
One was her closest friend, while the other was her boyfriend, leaving Caitlin genuinely torn between them.
Still, if she was being honest, Grey truly did have a chance of defeating Cynthia.
After all, Grey had caught an entire collection of Legendary Pokémon. Compared to him, Cynthia almost seemed more like the challenger.
Half an hour later, Grey finished resting and led Cynthia onto the battlefield.
"Cynthia, you don't mind if I livestream this battle, do you?" Grey asked before the match began.
"I don't mind."
Cynthia nodded in agreement.
Grey adjusted his streaming equipment and entered the title and tags.
Title: [Gym Challenge, VS Cynthia]
Tags: [One-on-One] [Gym] [Indoors] [Ultra HD] [Uncensored]
Grey had learned plenty of tricks for choosing tags lately.
Using certain explicit words directly could get the stream taken down by the platform's moderators, but describing things as "uncensored" or "censored" was apparently perfectly acceptable.
His viewers undoubtedly knew what he meant, so there was no need for him to elaborate.
[It's starting! Is the streamer seriously battling Cynthia today?!]
[Gym Leader Grey has really made it big. He actually gets to battle Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion!]
[I have a question. This place looks like the Fighting Dojo, so they should be in Kanto. Who's running the Sinnoh League right now?]
[My guess is Lucian.]
[Why can't it be Flint?]
[I bet it's Aaron. He's been unusually enthusiastic about doing actual work lately!]
[What about Bertha? Don't tell me she retired.]
Everyone in the chat was curious about who was handling the Sinnoh League's affairs while Cynthia was visiting the Fighting Dojo.
The viewers offered all kinds of wildly different guesses.
Cynthia did not see any of those comments. She merely took out a Poké Ball and looked toward Grey.
"Gym Leader Grey, let's confirm the rules one more time before we begin. We may each use three Pokémon, correct?"
"Correct. Both sides are also allowed to switch Pokémon freely. Unless you have any objections, we can begin immediately."
Grey also took out a Poké Ball, having already decided on his lead Pokémon.
"All right."
Cynthia nodded gently.
At the same time, a three-second countdown appeared on the screen.
The instant the countdown ended, both Trainers threw their Poké Balls.
"Blaziken, I choose you!"
"Spiritomb, you'll open the first battle!"
A cracked stone appeared on Cynthia's side of the battlefield.
A mass of strange energy suddenly emerged from the fissure, forming shapes resembling a mouth and eyes. Numerous circular patterns of various sizes floated throughout the gaseous body.
[Pokémon: Spiritomb]
[Type: Ghost/Dark]
[Level: 75]
[Ability: Infiltrator]
[Moves: Pain Split, Destiny Bond, Smokescreen, Disable, Hypnosis, and others]
It was obvious that this Spiritomb was entirely focused on disruption.
Its collection of moves was extremely devious.
Then again, Spiritomb was naturally suited for that kind of fighting style.
In Pokémon Journeys, Cynthia's Spiritomb was also the only Pokémon in the Masters Eight Tournament to single-handedly take down Ash's Pikachu, which showed just how well Cynthia had trained it.
Grey, meanwhile, had sent out Blaziken.
Blaziken had been training at the Fighting Dojo recently, and it had even undergone specialized training with Groudon and Reshiram.
It had now reached Level 76, placing it among the primary Pokémon used by regional Champions.
"Blaziken, use Swords Dance!"
Grey suddenly called out.
"Blazi!"
Hearing that familiar order, Blaziken immediately unleashed its full presence. Countless sword-shaped projections surrounded its body as its power rapidly climbed.
[Greedy, greedy, greedy! I can't believe he's still playing this greedily against Cynthia! He'd better be careful, or Spiritomb might sweep all three of his Pokémon!]
Several viewers immediately criticized Grey's greedy opening.
The Swords Dance and Speed Boost strategy was certainly effective in lower-level battles.
However, Grey's opponent was Cynthia.
She was the Champion of Sinnoh.
Despite that, Grey had chosen to begin the match by greedily setting up.
"Spiritomb, use Curse."
Cynthia immediately ordered Spiritomb to use Curse and steadily drain Blaziken's stamina.
"Spir!"
A nail formed from Ghost-type energy emerged from Spiritomb's body.
Spiritomb's presence instantly weakened, but the energy contained within the nail suddenly multiplied several times over before plunging directly into Blaziken.
"Blazi!"
Blaziken felt as though something foreign had suddenly entered its body.
Grey raised an eyebrow, realizing that the situation had become troublesome.
Curse was a move that inflicted the cursed condition on a Pokémon.
In the games, a cursed Pokémon lost one-fourth of its maximum HP at the end of every turn.
In reality, Curse similarly continued draining the affected Pokémon's stamina.
Baton Pass also transferred the user's current conditions to the next Pokémon.
In other words, if Blaziken used Baton Pass, the next Pokémon Grey sent out would inherit the curse.
Blaziken had already completed Swords Dance.
Seeing that, Grey decided to go all in. His Key Stone shone brilliantly as his clear command tore through the air.
"Blaziken, use Flare Blitz!"
As Grey touched the Key Stone, Blaziken immediately Mega Evolved into Mega Blaziken.
After Mega Evolving, Mega Blaziken's offensive power skyrocketed.
Violent flames erupted around its body, making it resemble a burning meteor as it charged straight toward Spiritomb.
Cynthia's eyes sharpened.
"Protect!"
"Spir!"
The ghostly face on Spiritomb's Odd Keystone suddenly lit up. A translucent dark green barrier instantly expanded before it, forming an impenetrable wall.
Mega Blaziken crashed violently into the barrier while surrounded by raging flames.
Fire and spectral light collided, producing a harsh, grating sound as they tore against each other.
Unfortunately, Mega Blaziken ultimately failed to break through the absolute defense.
The instant Protect successfully blocked the attack, the flames surrounding Mega Blaziken disappeared.
Cynthia's next order followed immediately.
"Spiritomb, use Hypnosis!"
Grey's expression changed.
"Blaziken, dodge with Flame Charge!"
Purple light flowed around Spiritomb as strange waves began spreading outward.
At the last possible moment, two clusters of searing flames erupted beneath Mega Blaziken's feet.
Using the recoil, it launched itself backward through the air and narrowly avoided the invisible waves of hypnosis.
Grey breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was close. At least Spiritomb didn't succeed."
Had any other Trainer used Hypnosis, Grey might have simply allowed Mega Blaziken to endure it before counterattacking with Sleep Talk.
Cynthia was different.
Her Spiritomb knew Dream Eater, and the move was extremely powerful.
Even Ash's Dragonite had been knocked out after taking three Dream Eaters from this Spiritomb, turning it into little more than dead weight during the rest of the battle.
Grey was worried that Mega Blaziken might fall asleep and then be eliminated by only two Dream Eaters.
After all, Mega Blaziken possessed the Fighting type. Dream Eater was a Psychic-type move, making it super effective against it.
"It seems you're quite wary of Spiritomb, Gym Leader Grey," Cynthia said with a smile. "In that case, why not send out another Pokémon?"
She even had Spiritomb remain where it was, seemingly giving Grey an opportunity to withdraw Mega Blaziken.
"Blaziken is already cursed. If it continues battling, I'm afraid it will lose a considerable amount of stamina."
"There's no need to switch."
Grey shook his head and continued his relentless offensive.
"Blaziken, show Spiritomb what you can do! Use Blaze Kick!"
Mega Blaziken suddenly leaped into the air. Flames erupted beneath its feet like a pair of wings.
Its body accelerated to the limit in an instant, leaving a continuous trail of crimson afterimages across the battlefield and making its true position impossible to follow.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Spiritomb suffered several heavy blows in only a few seconds.
However, the faintest smile appeared at the corner of Cynthia's lips.
The moment Grey saw her almost imperceptible expression, he realized something was wrong.
An ominous black aura suddenly erupted around Spiritomb.
It was the warning sign of Destiny Bond.
"Blaziken!"
Grey's pupils contracted as he attempted to stop it, but Mega Blaziken's attack had already been launched like an arrow released from its bow.
Its final blazing kick struck Spiritomb with tremendous force, knocking it to the ground.
At the same time, the black aura silently wrapped itself around Mega Blaziken.
The instant the darkness enveloped it, Mega Blaziken's body stiffened.
It then collapsed to the ground as well, immediately reverting to its normal form.
"Speed Boost led it to victory, and Speed Boost led it to defeat."
Cynthia recalled Spiritomb and looked toward Grey with a calm smile.
"Mega Blaziken's speed was certainly impressive, but it was precisely because it moved so quickly that Spiritomb managed to seize its final opportunity to use Destiny Bond."
"That's true."
Grey agreed with her assessment.
He had not expected Cynthia's Spiritomb to successfully trade itself for one of his Pokémon.
Fortunately, the Pokémon it had taken down was only Mega Blaziken.
Had it been Annihilape or Articuno, the rest of the battle would have become considerably more difficult.
Grey might have used his one opportunity to Mega Evolve on Blaziken, but from his perspective, having Mega Blaziken force Cynthia to sacrifice Spiritomb in a mutual knockout was an excellent trade.
Grey's lack of frustration surprised Cynthia. Instead, he looked as though everything had gone exactly as he expected.
"It appears you anticipated what I was planning."
"I had a few suspicions."
Grey smiled gently.
[So Gym Leader Grey just gave away Mega Blaziken? Isn't that an awful trade?]
[Exactly. All it accomplished was knocking out Cynthia's Spiritomb. That seems like a complete loss.]
[I don't understand it either. Maybe Gym Leader Grey has his own reasons.]
The viewers continued debating why Grey had sacrificed Mega Blaziken.
Far away at Indigo Plateau, Lance and the others were also watching the battle closely.
"Red, Blue, why do you think Gym Leader Grey sacrificed Mega Blaziken?" Lance asked the two Trainers beside him.
"To be honest, the moment I saw Spiritomb use Destiny Bond, I thought Grey might have made a serious mistake," Blue said. "Now, though, I don't think it was a bad outcome."
Blue looked at Grey on the screen.
"Grey deliberately sent Mega Blaziken out to trade it for Spiritomb. Unless I'm mistaken, the two Pokémon he'll use for the rest of this battle are Annihilape and Articuno.
"Articuno's Ice-type moves can deal quadruple-effective damage to Cynthia's ace, Garchomp.
"Meanwhile, Annihilape is Grey's ace. Its strength is already approaching battle-legend tier, placing it far above all his other Pokémon besides his major Legendary Pokémon.
"Therefore, using Mega Blaziken to eliminate a Spiritomb that knows Destiny Bond is perfectly reasonable. What do you think, Red?"
After finishing his analysis, Blue turned toward Red.
"I agree," Red said with a slight nod. His eyes showed a hint of approval. "Grey is a Trainer who understands the bigger picture. In this battle, Mega Blaziken was more like a chess piece used to test Cynthia's strategy."
"Grey has already forced Cynthia to reveal her tactics. I believe her next Pokémon will be Togekiss. Grey will deliberately send out Annihilape, reinforcing the conclusion Cynthia has already reached."
As Red spoke, Grey and Cynthia sent out their second Pokémon.
They were Annihilape and Togekiss.
"Toge!"
A Pokémon with an egg-shaped body appeared on the battlefield. Soft white plumage covered its entire body, and it possessed a pair of wide, triangular wings.
It resembled a light white cloud drifting through the sky.
[Pokémon: Togekiss]
[Type: Fairy/Flying]
[Level: 76]
[Ability: Serene Grace]
[Moves: Morning Sun, Extrasensory, Air Slash, Aura Sphere, and others]
"So it really is Togekiss."
Grey secretly celebrated.
Cynthia had truly sent out Togekiss.
Before the battle, Grey had deliberately told Cynthia exactly which Pokémon he intended to use.
His goal had been to limit Cynthia's choices to Spiritomb, Togekiss, and Garchomp.
He had used Mega Blaziken to eliminate Spiritomb, and Cynthia's second Pokémon was Togekiss.
That meant her final Pokémon had to be Garchomp.
Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
On the surface, Grey appeared to be at a disadvantage.
In reality, Cynthia was the one being led by the nose.
"Togekiss, use Air Slash on Annihilape!"
Togekiss possessed Serene Grace.
A move such as Air Slash, which could cause the opposing Pokémon to flinch, was clearly the ideal choice.
Furthermore, Annihilape possessed the Fighting type, making Air Slash especially effective.
Flying-type energy gathered around Togekiss before it released countless translucent blades of cutting wind.
Grey suddenly gave his order.
"Annihilape, use Phantom Force!"
"Anni!"
A deep spectral light erupted above Annihilape's head.
It sank into the shadows and vanished from the battlefield.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless blades of wind tore through the air and struck the ground, carving cracks of various sizes into the battlefield.
With Annihilape nowhere to be seen, Togekiss halted its attack and carefully scanned its surroundings for the slightest trace of movement.
Where would it appear?
There!
The instant Togekiss sensed something, it performed a midair spin and swiftly dodged aside.
Annihilape emerged with its fist already swinging, but its attack struck nothing but empty air.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.