The scorching flames swirling around Braixen's feet rose into a vortex, forming a solid shield of fire. Under the cover of the Fire Spin, the fire wall blocked each incoming Air Cutter blade one by one.
Falkner was stunned, not because the Fire Spin had blocked the Air Cutter, but because of Serena's reaction. It had been almost unnaturally fast. Normally a rookie Trainer, seeing a dense barrage of light blades, would freeze first, regardless of the actual power behind the attack.
In their panic, they wouldn't know what to call, and the only order they'd manage to push out would be something simple like dodging or basic defense. Serena wasn't reacting like a rookie at all. Not only had she not panicked, she'd immediately come up with the most appropriate response on contact, as if she'd already simulated the scene in her head beforehand.
It was hard to imagine a novice Trainer pulling that off. A powerful Pokémon could be chalked up to talent, but this kind of calm, composed response in a real battle wasn't something talent alone explained.
Falkner didn't think Ash had been lying to him on the way in. Could it be that this seemingly novice girl had actually fought countless battles in those two months?
That was obviously impossible. Forget countless battles. In two months Serena hadn't actually had a single official match. At most, she'd done a few informal sparring sessions with Ash.
Informal training was a completely different beast from an official battle, and sparring with Ash was completely different from sparring with anyone else. The pressure of facing Ash was higher than anything she'd see in a Gym match.
Even so, the reason Serena was now handling this match almost perfectly wasn't from her own combat experience. It came down entirely to Ash's tactical analysis the night before.
"Falkner doesn't lack for Pokémon, but because you've only been on the road for two months, and you want a one-on-one match, the Pokémon he'll send out is naturally going to be Noctowl. That Noctowl is one he raised personally. It's currently in its growth phase. He'll be most comfortable commanding it, and its level matches what he expects from a novice on a two-month journey.
Normally, getting an Mid-level Pokémon in two months is already considered serious overachievement. He won't expect you to be running a High-level Pokémon."
"At the opening moment, take advantage of your better tier. Don't hesitate. Open with a long-range attack right away. Noctowl will get caught off guard. It won't be able to dodge in time, and the move will land. Of course, you're not going to finish it in one shot. We can't be that delusional. But we can seize the initiative."
"After Noctowl takes that opening damage, Falkner will be thinking about how to counterattack quickly. Noctowl's physical attack is on the weaker side, so he'll definitely reach for a strong long-range Flying move. It's basically certain to be Air Cutter. At that point, use Fire Spin around yourself to form a shield and block the move."
"Right after that, look for your counterattack opening. A Trainer at his level is going to need a beat after a move like Air Cutter. That beat is your best window."
Ash's voice echoed in Serena's head, and the images on the field tracked perfectly with what he'd described. From the moment the battle began, every beat had matched his prediction. It was as if Ash had actually fought this exact match himself at some point.
Of course, that was impossible. The real explanation was simply that Ash's Trainer skill was much higher than his opponent's. Falkner was a perfectly capable Trainer in his own right, but next to Ash he was still a step behind.
For a battle-hardened Ash who could read his opponents on instinct, predicting Falkner's choices wasn't difficult. But being able to predict to this depth was still beyond what Serena had imagined. Now wasn't the time to admire him, though. She had to focus on the present and finish the match in front of her.
"Braixen, Flamethrower again!"
As the volley of Air Cutter blades, like a thinning meteor shower, slowed, Serena gave the next order without hesitation. The Fire Spin around Braixen dissipated in an instant. The remaining Air Cutter blades that struck Braixen's body did almost nothing. They'd already lost most of their power.
Braixen drew a deep breath, fierce flame energy gathering in her mouth.
Falkner saw it coming. "Noctowl, get out of the way, fast!"
"Hoo-hoo!"
A torrent of scorching flame burst out into the sky, aimed directly at Noctowl above.
Noctowl wanted to dodge, but it had just spent its wings forming Air Cutter, and even pulling its wings out of that motion was an effort. Where would it find the extra force to slip a Flamethrower? Without much surprise, Noctowl took the strike again.
The first time, Noctowl had been at full stamina and had flown straight out of the flames. That had also been a situation without sustained burn damage. This time was different. Noctowl's stamina wasn't anywhere near where it had been at the opening, and it was already carrying burns from the earlier hit. Its injuries deepened sharply. The owl let out a piercing cry of pain.
"Noctowl!" Falkner's frantic shout couldn't pull Noctowl out of the fire. Only when the flame finally weakened did Noctowl emerge from the inferno, covered in burn marks, its overall condition badly degraded.
"One last attack. Braixen, Psychic!"
"Noctowl, don't give up! Air Cutter again!"
As Falkner tried for one last counter, Noctowl fired Air Cutter again exactly as he'd called for. The sharp blade caught Braixen across the body, drawing a flicker of pain from her, but the strike couldn't stop her from launching Psychic.
The wave of psychic force fell across Noctowl's body, then suddenly tightened, tearing through it from the inside. Psychic energy corroded the owl from within while crushing force compressed it from outside. The damage stacking inward and outward at once was unbearable. Under another wave of the attack, Noctowl's head tipped sideways, its eyes lost focus, and it slumped unconscious.
"Noctowl is unable to battle. Braixen wins! The winner of this match is Serena!"
"Ah! I won!"
Serena froze for a second after hearing the call, then jumped up in delight. On the field, Braixen also bounded back to her, and the two of them embraced in celebration. Winning her very first official match was a wonderful start for Braixen. Underneath the victory, all the grueling training of the past months, all the painful and bitter moments, now transformed into a deep, overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
So this was what victory felt like. Before this, she'd never really understood why Ash and the rest of his Pokémon trained so desperately.
Even with professional guidance, Braixen had always felt that they barely scraped through each training quota. Other Pokémon were different. They'd hit a quota once and then exceed it a second time, even a third. That kind of brutal, self-driven training had left her thoroughly bewildered.
Normal training was already exhausting enough to make her want to spit blood. She simply couldn't understand why some Pokémon would voluntarily push the load even higher.
Now she understood a little. The sense of accomplishment that came with victory was that intoxicating. Victory was a thing worth chasing. This was her first official battle won, but it wouldn't be her last. She'd fight countless battles in the future and earn countless wins for her Trainer.
"Congratulations. This is the Violet Gym Badge. The Zephyr Badge. Please accept it." Falkner recalled Noctowl, pulled the badge from his jacket, and handed it to Serena. There was a touch of helplessness behind the fading smile on his face.
"Thank you!" Serena accepted the badge with both hands and bowed politely.
"Actually, I'm a little curious. How were you able to predict Noctowl's movements that precisely? It felt like every step I took was already in your palm. Do you fight a lot of Noctowl-type Pokémon?" Falkner couldn't suppress the question that had been gnawing at him.
From start to finish, Serena had read all his moves. The Air Cutter feint, the follow-up attack after the Flamethrower, the next counter, and finally the steady defense against Air Cutter that opened the way for the killing Psychic. Everything had felt perfectly arranged.
It gave Falkner the sense that from the moment the match began, he'd already been standing on a carefully woven spider's web, prey waiting to be picked off. It was hard to picture how a rookie Trainer had pulled off that kind of read.
"Actually, it's all thanks to Ash. Last night he walked me through your habits, Falkner, and taught me some small battle techniques. That's why I was able to fight this smoothly today."
"Ash." Serena's answer stopped Falkner short, and he glanced over at Ash without quite meaning to.
Common sense said this was impossible. How could someone who had never fought him, working only from written records, predict an entire match's flow with this much precision?
But in reality, that was actually the more plausible explanation for how a rookie Trainer had pulled this off. The explanation was outrageous, but it had a certain weight of feasibility to it. And a Trainer capable of doing this would have to already be at the absolute top. Could it be that Ash had already reached that level?
A Trainer this skilled, capable of matching a Champion-level Trainer in tactical reading? If that was actually the case, it was genuinely frightening.
"Completely beaten. You didn't even duel me personally, Ash. You only guided remotely, and I still ended up losing this thoroughly. If we'd actually clashed directly, I might have lost even worse than I did." Falkner's expression eased.
Admitting his shortcomings wasn't frightening. Refusing to admit them was. Knowing the reason for the loss, Falkner didn't dwell on it. He simply let it go, in part because he held Ash's Trainer skills in such high regard. Losing to Ash, even indirectly, felt better than losing to a fresh rookie.
After receiving the Zephyr Badge, the rest of the group crowded around Serena to congratulate her. Serena was modest in her replies, but inside she was glowing with satisfaction. From the moment she set out on this journey, her original intent had only been to find Ash and follow in his footsteps. Now she'd found something else she could pursue.
Something she wanted to pursue. The pursuit of victory. This was just the first match. There would be a second, then a third, and the challenges would only grow stricter. She needed more strength.
After saying goodbye to Falkner, the group stepped back out of the Violet City Gym.
"Ash, which Gym are you heading to next?" May asked as she and Max walked the group to the city gate.
Ash thought it over.
"Azalea Town next. I heard there's a really strong Gym Leader there. Besides, I also need to drop off a Poké Ball to a Mr. Kurt over there, so it's on the way."
According to Professor Oak's information, Azalea Town had a powerful Gym Leader stationed there, a Fighting-type specialist, and his Pokémon was a Lucario, a relatively rare species for a Gym focus.
Aside from Ash himself, Ash had never met another Trainer running a Lucario. To hear of a Trainer using a Lucario at all was rare, and one who was a Gym Leader on top of it? How could he not check it out? On top of that, Azalea Town was where Mr. Kurt lived, the master Poké Ball craftsman, and Ash hadn't forgotten the task of delivering the GS Ball to him.
"Azalea Town. I remember now. The Gym Leader there is from Kalos. They say he's quite old, but his strength isn't anything to underestimate. I just got back to Violet City, so I can't leave so soon. Otherwise I'd have come with you." May lightly touched the soft line of her chin with her fingers, regret on her face.
She'd just gotten home and naturally wanted to spend time with her father. Having him here could also help her grow stronger. Her father losing to Ash didn't mean he was weak. It only meant Ash was outrageously strong. So she didn't know yet when she'd leave Violet City. Besides, Ash already had three companions. Two more, with one of those two being a clear handful, wouldn't have made the road easier. So for now, the parting was the better choice.
"It's okay. We'll see each other again on the road ahead. We'll definitely see each other at the Silver Conference." Ash spread his hands with a bright smile.
May was stunned for a second, then nodded firmly, gripping Ash's hand with hers.
"I know. At the Silver Conference, I'm getting my revenge."