"No, I can't go back like this!"
Suddenly, Sanada Ichiro remembered the training goal he had set for himself when he left his country.
One hundred consecutive victories, and then he would return home... unless he was defeated!
And now, he had only just left his homeland and, after only two battles, he had already lost!
Because of that, he had to defeat the person in front of him. Only in that way could he continue with his training.
"My next Pokémon will be this!"
Taking a deep breath, Sanada Ichiro threw a Poké Ball.
With a flash of white light, another Torkoal appeared on the field.
"Toorrkkooll!"
At first glance, this Torkoal clearly looked more irritable.
Black smoke kept pouring out of its nostrils, and terrifying heat radiated from its body, evaporating the rain falling from the sky and enveloping it in a white mist.
"Another Torkoal."
"Don't tell me that guy's team is made up of six Torkoal?"
Seeing that, the spectators began discussing it among themselves, and from time to time, even the nickname "turtle grandpa" could be heard.
"If they were six Torkoal with the Ability Drought... Then, in an instant, they really could raise the power of sunny weather to the maximum."
Seeing that scene, Ethan also showed a thoughtful expression.
Speaking honestly, that team formation based on sunny weather was very particular, but also very practical.
Ethan began to pay some attention to it; perhaps he himself could also form a weather army in a similar way.
If he did that, the safety of Stonefield Town would be even more guaranteed!
While Ethan was thinking about that, the newly released Torkoal once again used the move Sunny Day in combination with its Ability Drought.
However, this Torkoal did not seem to follow the route of weather control.
It could be seen condensing in its mouth a ball of fire belonging to the move Sunny Day, but it did not launch it to deploy the weather.
Instead, it continued compressing the fiery sphere in its mouth and then fired it like a blaze of terrifying power, directing it straight at Slowking!
"A secondary development of the move Sunny Day?"
"Not bad. It is a fairly good offensive method; he has developed it well."
Seeing that, Ethan commented with interest.
As for the development of the move Sunny Day, he could undoubtedly be considered one of the best in the Pokémon world.
Techniques such as the Sunny Day Dragon, the Sunny Day Fire, or Solar Fire had all been developed from that move.
Of course, when he said "not bad," he only meant precisely that: not bad, and nothing more.
"Slowking, Water Pulse!"
At the same time, Slowking also moved.
It was seen extending one hand and, immediately, a rotating sphere of water appeared in it.
In addition, the water of the pool beneath the feet of the floating Slowking was pulled upward without stopping, incorporating itself into the move Water Pulse.
When Slowking launched the Water Pulse, the entire pool shook violently. The enormous pulling force attracted countless currents of water and made them rotate, turning them into a terrifying whirlpool that shot out.
Boom!
Both attacks collided brutally in the air.
Water and fire exploded on the field, transforming into a white mist of steam that spread everywhere.
Boom, boom, boom!
Inside the white mist, the rumbling did not cease.
Evidently, the two Pokémon continued exchanging blows inside the haze.
Splash, splash!
Besides the rumbling of the battle, the agitated sound of the pool water could also be heard.
Suddenly, the white mist was dispersed by the shock wave of the battle, revealing the silhouettes of both Pokémon.
In the air, Slowking's figure floated motionless, while in front of it, in the water, Torkoal floated on the surface of the pool.
"Oooh, Slowking is too strong!"
"It faced two by itself! Let's see how that foreigner keeps bragging now."
"This really feels good!"
Seeing that, the spectators burst into loud laughter.
Come on, foreigner, keep acting important. Didn't you want to sweep through the entire Daleron League? Now you know what it feels like to be humiliated!
"Who the hell are you?!!"
Sanada Ichiro, seeing that even his Torkoal in perfect condition had been defeated, shouted that question almost from the depths of his throat.
If in the first battle it could still be said that Torkoal had lost because of the great accumulated exhaustion, then in the second battle, it had been a crushing defeat with no excuses.
He, a Trainer from the Red Sun League in training for the World Championship, had not been able to defeat a Trainer of only 20 years old! That was driving him crazy.
"I really am only a normal 20-year-old student. If you don't believe me, you can ask the audience."
Ethan smiled broadly. His words made the whole audience burst into laughter, and they began shouting and backing him up one after another.
A 20-year-old student. That, of course, was true.
It was just that this 20-year-old student was already the junior champion of the Pokémon World Championship!
"Let's leave our battle here. Although your strength is fairly good, that is all: fairly good, nothing more."
"If you truly aspire to the World Championship, it would be better for you to go back and keep training for another two years. Right now, you are too weak."
Ethan spoke without the slightest consideration. Facing a foreigner like that, he did not intend to show him the slightest courtesy.
"You... I will remember you!"
Sanada Ichiro gritted his teeth, recalled Torkoal, and fled with his tail between his legs.
That scene formed an enormous contrast with the arrogant and haughty image with which he had entered the battlefield, and all the spectators could not help exclaiming in unison: "What a relief!"
...
"Ethan, this time I really owe it all to you."
After the battle, Rachel also expressed her gratitude to Ethan.
This time, the Pokémon Nightstar Club had almost been completely defeated by Sanada Ichiro. Fortunately, Ethan had intervened and forced him to retreat.
"It was nothing, I only did it in passing. But, with the World Championship getting closer and closer, more and more Trainers in training for the World Championship are coming to the Daleron League."
"From now on, there will surely be no lack of challenges from those Trainers, so it would be better for you to prepare well."
Ethan nodded toward Rachel, and at the same time reminded her of that point.
Except in some truly weak Leagues, in any slightly strong League, their Trainers in training were almost all at Quasi-Elite level.
"I know. During this time, my family will also send people to guard the Gym."
Rachel nodded. Afterward, the two of them continued discussing matters related to the evaluation of Gym battles.
At this point, the purpose with which Ethan had gone to the Pokémon Nightstar Club could be considered fulfilled.
According to the evaluation to obtain Gym Leader qualification, everything was divided into three steps.
The first step consisted of submitting the Gym application. That application mainly included the applicant's personal information, the Gym's attribute or its core theme, among other points.
In that step, thanks to Ethan's current identity, he had naturally passed the background review very easily. In addition, the idea of a Gym themed around sunny weather had also been approved.
Now what Ethan had to complete was the second step, which mainly consisted of defining the content and evaluation criteria of the Gym. As for that, Ethan had already finished establishing it, and had even written it in the form of an academic article.
(End of chapter)