"First challenger, Airi, please take your position!"
The referee didn't give them much time to think. As soon as the group entered the arena, he immediately called out.
"Oh, coming!"
Hearing the referee call her name, Airi quickly responded. More than two years as a Trainer had made her much less reserved, so speaking loudly in public was no longer difficult for her.
"Wow! It's a girl!"
"Her voice sounds so nice!"
"Why doesn't she take off her robe? A voice that beautiful must belong to a gorgeous girl!"
"Yeah, yeah! I really want to see what she looks like!"
The moment the crowd heard Airi's soft, pleasant voice, the men in the stands became excited.
(Pewter City was famous for its mines, so there were especially many men living there.)
"The next Gym Challenge match will be between Airi from Aoki Town and Shi En, an intermediate apprentice of the Rock Gym!
"This will be a 2-on-2 battle with no first-strike priority and will use rush-attack rules. Challenger Airi has the right to switch Pokémon!"
After both participants took their places, the referee loudly announced the battle rules through the loudspeaker.
Taking the opportunity, Icarus finally got a good look at Airi's opponent.
How should he describe him?
Completely ordinary.
Wearing the earth-gray Rock Gym uniform, he looked like the average Gym apprentice.
"Both contestants, send out your Pokémon! The battle begins now!"
With the referee's command, the match officially started.
"Go, Poliwag!"
For her first Gym battle, Airi chose her starter Pokémon.
"Yo bo~"
A red light flashed, and Poliwag appeared on the battlefield.
"Oh my god! That Poliwag has muscles!"
"And a lot of them!"
"It looks like this girl is a muscle enthusiast too! She really knows how to train Pokémon!"
"Exactly! Maybe we can discuss training methods together someday!"
The audience immediately noticed that this Poliwag was different.
Its eyes were sharp, and its body was covered with well-developed muscles. While it wasn't yet comparable to a Poliwrath, it was far more robust than an ordinary Poliwag.
Hearing the discussion, Icarus thought they were completely mistaken.
Those muscles weren't the result of training with Airi.
They came from training with him and Stone.
Especially Stone, the true muscle fanatic.
Airi herself was a girl as gentle as water.
As Airi released Poliwag, her opponent sent out a Graveler with a somewhat unhappy expression.
"Poliwag, use Rain Dance!"
Rather than attacking immediately, Airi first established a favorable battlefield.
"Interrupt it! Graveler, Stomp!"
Naturally, Shi En wasn't willing to let Rain Dance go up so easily.
"Gulu~"
Unfortunately, Poliwag's specially trained move activation speed was incredibly fast.
A large sphere of water instantly floated into the air.
"Splash! Splash!"
In the next moment, heavy rain poured down across the battlefield.
"Huh? This Poliwag's control is incredible!"
The referee had been preparing to put on protective gear, but he quickly realized the rainwater never crossed the boundary line. Every drop remained under Poliwag's precise control.
"Boom!"
At that moment, Graveler's Stomp landed directly on Poliwag, which made no attempt to dodge.
"Yo bo~"
Poliwag staggered backward.
The Ground-type energy caused some damage, but that was all.
Years of physical conditioning had given it durability far beyond that of an ordinary Poliwag.
"Take advantage of it! Rock Throw!"
Seeing Poliwag lose its footing, Shi En immediately pressed the attack.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several sharp rocks shot toward Poliwag like bullets.
"So it's just rapid-fire Rock Throw."
Stone, who had originally expected some kind of special Rock-type combo move, shook his head.
He knew this technique well.
His own Graveler could launch rocks even faster.
"Brick Break! Smash them! Then Spiral Water Gun! Follow up with Water Pulse!"
Airi remained completely calm.
The incoming rocks were nothing compared to Stone's training.
"Yo bo!"
White Fighting-type energy gathered around Poliwag's fists.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Its punches flashed out repeatedly, shattering every incoming rock into dust.
Compared to Stone's Graveler, these projectiles were noticeably slower.
This sort of training had long since become routine for Poliwag.
"Whoosh!"
Immediately afterward, a spiraling stream of water erupted from its mouth.
At the same time, its fists continuously launched Water Pulse attacks.
"Rock Shield!"
Shi En hurriedly shouted.
"Boom!"
But it was too late.
The attacks arrived far too quickly.
The half-formed Rock Shield shattered instantly.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Cha! Cha!"
Amid the barrage of Water-type attacks, Graveler cried out in pain before finally collapsing.
Its eyes turned into spirals as it lost the ability to battle.
Under Rain Dance, Water-type moves received a power boost.
Combined with the item enhancing Water-type attacks that Poliwag carried, it wasn't surprising that the Rock-type Graveler was defeated so quickly.
"This Poliwag is insanely strong!"
"Seriously!"
"Our Gym's Pokémon got destroyed!"
The spectators immediately began discussing the battle.
Many had seen challengers use Grass- or Water-type Pokémon against the Gym before.
Some had even brought starter Pokémon like Ivysaur.
However, even when facing a type disadvantage, Gym apprentices usually managed to put up a decent fight.
A same-level Pokémon being instantly defeated by a single counterattack was something many spectators had never witnessed before.
"Apprentice Shi En's Graveler can no longer battle!
"Apprentice Shi En, please send out your second Pokémon!"
The referee looked at the Gym apprentice with mild surprise.
Internally, he was thinking:
Kid, you really aren't very good.
Still, he professionally instructed him to continue the battle.
"Go, Primeape!"
After recalling Graveler, Shi En felt extremely embarrassed.
He silently switched Poké Balls and released Primeape.
"Come back, Poliwag.
"It's your turn, Staryu!"
Seeing the Primeape, the cautious Airi immediately exercised her right to switch Pokémon.
"Buzz~"
A red light flashed, and Staryu appeared.
Its central ruby-like core glowed twice, clearly showing its fondness for the rainy battlefield.
Its appearance hadn't changed much over the past two years.
Only those familiar with it knew how terrifying the Psychic power hidden within that gem had become.
It could be said that most of Airi's earnings over the last two years had been invested in Staryu.
Fortunately, Luna had developed a Psychic-type food formula, greatly reducing the costs.
"Psychic-type powers… Damn it!"
The moment he saw Staryu, Shi En's expression darkened.
"Battle start!"
The referee silently offered a moment of sympathy for Primeape.
A Staryu at this level definitely wouldn't lack Psychic abilities.
"Staryu, use Confusion to create a Water Prison and restrain Primeape!"
"Primeape, Rock Tomb!"
Both Trainers issued commands simultaneously.
"Whoosh!"
Primeape had only managed to throw two rocks before Staryu's core began to glow.
"Hummm!"
The flying rocks froze in midair.
At the same time, Primeape's body stopped moving completely.
"Puchia!"
Suspended helplessly in the air, Primeape's face twisted in pain.
"How is that possible?"
"That Staryu's Psychic power is ridiculous!"
"Is Staryu really that strong?"
"That Psychic power is almost comparable to a true Psychic-type Pokémon!"
"I want to buy one for my son!"
The audience was stunned.
The battle had become completely one-sided from the very beginning.
A faint smile appeared beneath Airi's hood.
Hearing the crowd praise Staryu made her feel that every cent she had spent over the past two years had been worth it.
Splash!
Water gathered from the surrounding rain and formed a sphere around Primeape.
"Cough! Cough!"
Now trapped inside the floating water prison, Primeape looked like a drowning monkey.
Fighting-type energy surged throughout its body as it desperately struggled.
But its increasingly weak resistance left it no chance of escaping Staryu's Confusion.
"Referee, I surrender."
Faced with this hopeless situation, Shi En helplessly raised his hand.
He had no choice.
Staryu's Psychic power was already comparable to that of a true Psychic-type Pokémon at the same level.
A type-disadvantaged Primeape simply had no means of fighting back.
"Damn it! Why surrender?"
"Refund!"
"Yeah! Is he even a man? Losing to a girl and surrendering!"
"Gym! Give us our money back!"
Some audience members felt cheated and immediately began shouting.
But others understood what they had just witnessed.
"That Staryu's Psychic power is incredible."
"Maybe still slightly weaker than a Kadabra of the same level, but not by much."
For knowledgeable Trainers, the ticket price had already been worth it.
"The first Gym Challenge match is over!
"Airi from Aoki Town is victorious!
"Please accept your Rock Badge!"
Ignoring the noisy complaints, the referee officially announced the result and handed Airi a silver-gray badge shaped like a miniature meteorite.
"Boo!"
When Shi En left the stage, the crowd booed him loudly.
The matter quickly passed.
"Next challenger, Icarus, please come to the battlefield!"
After five or six minutes of cleanup, the referee called the next participant.
The second battle was about to begin.
"This will be the second challenge match under Advanced difficulty!
"The participants are Icarus from Aoki Town and Teng Dou, a senior apprentice of the Rock Gym.
"This battle will be 2-on-2. Both sides will send out Pokémon simultaneously. The challenger has first-attack priority, and the winner may not switch Pokémon."
Because the rules differed from the previous match, the referee explained them once again.
"Oh! An Advanced-tier challenge!"
"Now this is worth watching!"
"Advanced-tier battles are completely different from Intermediate-tier!"
"Good thing I didn't leave!"
The spectators became excited once more.
There was far more to see in an Advanced-tier battle.
"Both contestants, send out your Pokémon simultaneously!"
The referee inwardly sneered at the people who had demanded refunds earlier before continuing.
"Go, Weepinbell!"
Having already made his decision, Icarus immediately released his ace.
"Moo moo!"
A flash of red light appeared.
Weepinbell landed on the battlefield.
Compared to two years ago, it looked mostly the same, though slightly larger and with deeper purple markings on its body.
"ROOOAR!"
In contrast, the Pokémon appearing on the opposite side exuded overwhelming presence.
"It's Onix!"
"Crush him, Onix!"
"It's huge!"
"What a magnificent Onix!"
"Now that's the kind of giant serpent a man should raise!"
The crowd erupted with excitement.
Even Icarus was briefly stunned.
Seeing an Onix in person was completely different from seeing one in pictures.
This Onix was nearly ten meters long.
Its head alone was over four meters wide.
Without question, it was a true giant.
Its massive size reduced its agility and made dodging difficult.
But in exchange, it possessed terrifying destructive power.
Take a simple Tackle attack, for example.
A Geodude's Tackle might leave only a small crater.
An Onix's Tackle could blast out a huge pit as though an explosion had occurred.
Power in this world wasn't determined solely by energy levels.
Size mattered too.
Unlike in games, where a Level 40 Poliwag could theoretically hurt a Groudon with Water Gun, reality worked very differently.
A Water Gun aimed at Groudon would likely evaporate from the intense heat before it even reached its target.
As a result, giant Pokémon often possessed combat power far beyond others at the same level.
Of course, they also consumed far more resources.
An ordinary Trainer simply couldn't afford them.
Icarus estimated that Teng Dou probably came from a family that owned a mine to be able to raise an Onix like this to the Advanced stage of the Ordinary level.