The Pewter Gym was located at the northernmost edge of Pewter City.
Following the main street all the way north, a massive stone building came into view.
"Hello, we're here to challenge the Pewter Gym."
Pushing open the doors of the Rock-type Gym, Hakuya had barely finished speaking when several white spotlights illuminated a squinty-eyed young man standing on an elevated rock platform.
At this point in time, Brock still maintained the imposing aura of a Gym Leader.
He stood up, snapped his fingers lightly, and with a deep rumble, a rocky battlefield rose from the floor of the Gym.
"I am Brock. You two are Trainers who just started your journey, correct?"
Before the official Gym battle, Brock followed protocol and asked about Hakuya and Ash's background.
"Yes, yes!"
Before Hakuya could speak, Ash answered for both of them.
With his sights set on the Regional League Tournament, the boy was already impatient to begin the challenge.
"Good, I understand."
Brock nodded, his squinted eyes instantly turning sharp.
"The rules are a 2-on-2 battle. The match ends when either side's Pokémon are entirely unable to battle."
Once the turn order was decided, Hakuya and Brock took their places on opposite sides of the battlefield.
Looking at the rugged, rock-strewn terrain before him, Hakuya felt a surge of excitement.
Although he had battled Misty and Sabrina, those were out in the wild, not in an official Gym setting. Therefore, this could be considered his very first Gym challenge since arriving in the Pokémon world—
"Geodude, prepare for battle!"
Seeing the figure waving its rocky fists, Hakuya also sent out his first Pokémon.
"Come on out, Sprigatito."
"Your first choice is Sprigatito, a Grass-type from the Paldea region?"
Brock raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise.
Dreaming of becoming a Pokémon Breeder, he naturally didn't limit his knowledge to Kanto's native Pokémon. He had a general understanding of Pokémon from other regions as well. For example, the adorable cat in front of him was named Sprigatito, one of the three starter Pokémon available to new Trainers in the Paldea region.
"Using a Grass-type to counter Rock-types... Your foundational knowledge is solid."
Brock silently gave Hakuya a "Good" rating in his mind.
During his time as a Gym Leader, he had seen far too many rookie Trainers send out Bug-type Caterpies, Flying-type Pidgeottos, and Electric-type Pikachus against his Rock/Ground-type Geodude.
Now that he had finally met a rookie Trainer who understood type matchups, his mood improved significantly.
"Since this is a Gym challenge, you have the first move, Challenger."
Brock stood tall on his side of the field, exuding the invincible aura of a Gym Leader.
"Geodude!" Geodude also gestured with its fists in a friendly manner, signaling Hakuya and Sprigatito to bring it on.
Since the opponent was telling him to go all out, he had to activate Omni-Transformation out of respect.
"Alright, then I won't hold back."
Hakuya nodded. Under Brock's confused gaze, he recalled Sprigatito and immediately threw her Poké Ball back out.
"Sprigatito, use Scratch."
"Meowha~"
In the next instant, claw blades several meters long materialized right in front of Geodude's face.
And then, Geodude collapsed.
"???"
Brock froze instantly, a massive question mark popping up in his mind.
I need to confirm this again. Challenger Hakuya, you didn't say Leafage, nor did you say Petal Blizzard. You just said Scratch... a non-STAB Normal-type move with 40 Base Power, right?
...
Many years later, facing a challenger's Scratch attack, Geodude would recall that distant afternoon when a green cat showed it firsthand the true terror of pure stats.
Hiss—
Staring at his Geodude, lying on the ground with swirly eyes, Brock instinctively sucked in a breath of cold air.
Even though Geodude wasn't his ace, there was no way a beginner's Pokémon should have the power to one-shot it with that move?!
"Could it be... Have I been slacking on training Geodude and the others lately?"
After a brief moment of self-doubt, his foundational discipline as a Gym Leader quickly snapped him back to reality.
"Come on out, Golem!"
Brock took a deep breath and threw his next Poké Ball.
"This opponent is an incredibly strong Trainer."
Brock made a point to warn Golem to take the opponent seriously, looking at Hakuya as if facing a mortal enemy.
This Golem was one of his top-tier Pokémon.
It possessed true Gym Leader-level strength and normally wasn't allowed to be used against a rookie Trainer.
But in the face of the overwhelming power Sprigatito had just displayed, even someone as rigid and unyielding as the rock-solid Brock felt the League's stupid rules needed to be bent this time.
Watching the Golem land, causing the entire battlefield to tremble, Hakuya recalled Sprigatito and opted to send out Milcery from the backline.
"Another Pokémon not native to the Kanto region?"
Brock's eyebrows knit together again. After quickly comparing their sizes and auras, the tension in his heart eased slightly.
While he never judged a book by its cover, his years of battle experience told him there was no way this cute Fairy-type Pokémon could defeat a Golem honed through thousands of fierce battles.
"Golem, use Earthquake."
"Roar—!!!"
Golem stomped the ground like a massive hammer. In an instant, the rocky battlefield seemed to tear apart under an immense force.
Countless fissures spread outward from it like black lightning. Shattered rocks flew three feet into the air before crashing back down. The entire arena seemed to tremble under Golem's roar!
As the dust settled, Brock's squinty eyes visibly widened.
—Above the devastated, cratered rocky battlefield, Milcery was still floating there, without a single scratch on her body.
"Earthquake had no effect?!"
Could it be... is this Pokémon a Flying-type, allowing it to be immune to Earthquake?
Or does it actually have the Levitate ability, nullifying the Earthquake just now?
Brock wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, his brain working in overdrive, thinking he had misremembered Milcery's typing or ability.
In that case, he had to use Rock-type moves.
"Milcery, use Charm."
During the brief moment Brock was stunned, Hakuya's command arrived seamlessly.
Stared at by Milcery's adorable eyes, Golem unsurprisingly dropped its guard.
Attack fell sharply (-2)
"Snap out of it, Golem! Use Stone Edge on the opponent!"
Even with its Attack dropped by two stages, Golem forced its weakened body to move. It threw its arms wide, and three massive, razor-sharp rocks the size of millstones materialized in the air, shooting forward with a piercing shriek that tore through the wind.
The deafening sound of the rocks cutting through the air was accompanied by deep trenches plowed into the ground, sending shrapnel flying like bullets.
However, once again, no effect.
"Finish it. Use Dazzling Gleam repeatedly."
Under the Pewter Gym Leader's disbelieving gaze, Milcery's [Dazzling Gleam] descended like a divine judgment. Countless particles of colored light completely engulfed his Golem in an instant.
"Roar—"
The sound of Golem collapsing made Brock realize that the hand holding his Poké Ball was trembling.
In the first round, he could still make excuses: Geodude wasn't his main Pokémon, his command wasn't precise enough, Geodude failed to dodge Sprigatito's attack in time... all leading to its defeat.
But the one he sent out last was from his first string—a Golem with genuine Gym-level strength! Not only did it fail to defeat a rookie Trainer's newly caught, unevolved Milcery, but it couldn't even break her defenses!
If this was the standard for rookie Trainers now, then the Pewter Gym was truly finished—
"That's amazing! I didn't expect Hakuya-bro's Milcery to be just as strong as his Sprigatito!"
"Pika, pika!"
On the sidelines, Ash and Pikachu had no idea why Golem's attacks had no effect on Milcery, but that didn't stop them from cheering for Hakuya's effortless victory.
As for Misty, who was also watching from the sidelines.
Besides gazing at Hakuya's invincible back with shining eyes, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Brock's plight.
Tch, another Gym Leader gets his spirit crushed.
By her count, this was the third Kanto Gym Leader Hakuya had violently elbowed out of the way.
Three battles, and without exception, they all ended with their martial hearts shattered.
If they couldn't even handle a rookie Trainer from Hoenn, it seemed that next time the Kanto and Hoenn Leagues held a Gym Leader exchange tournament, she'd definitely have to call in sick and run away... The girl with the orange side-braid made up her mind.
"I lost."
After a moment of silence, Brock recalled the unconscious Golem and walked toward Hakuya.
"Your Pokémon are raised exceptionally well. I think I'll probably remember this battle for the rest of my life."
"Ah..." Winning with a "wheelchair" (cheese) team and then getting praised like this made Hakuya scratch his head a bit sheepishly. "It was just luck. I learned a lot from this Gym battle as well."
Geodude was clearly not Brock's ace; it made perfect sense for it to be one-shot by a Sprigatito accustomed to fighting overpowered monsters.
Golem's fate was even more tragic. Even though the power of its [Earthquake] and [Stone Edge] was staggering, its proud Rock and Ground moves were completely useless against a [Wonder Guard] Milcery. In the end, it couldn't even chip away a single hit point before collapsing in tears.
With the first challenge over, the children who had been watching from the sidelines the whole time came swarming over.
They were Brock's younger brothers and sisters.
"Darn it, I can't believe our big brother lost..."
The youngest girl, Suzie, pouted in disappointment.
But before she could even finish her sigh, she noticed the bead of sweat about to roll down Brock's forehead.
"Eh? Big brother, why are you sweating so much?"
"Was the battle with that challenger just now really that intense?" a squinty-eyed boy asked in confusion.
"You idiot, Tommy," another, taller boy named Forrest chimed in. "Didn't you check the time? From the start of the battle to his defeat, it took less than three minutes combined. It must just be too hot inside the Gym!"
"But it's already autumn?"
"..."
Hearing his younger siblings chattering away, Brock's back, which had just straightened up, slouched over once again.