Author's Note : In case there was confusion in yesterday's chapter persian has minimal success in learning iron tail as most of its time went to learn speed control with Raichu, so now Grey is gonna focus in the future chapters on it mastering iron tail and dig .
Grey's POV
There wasn't anything particularly significant that happened on the final day of training before my gym battle. At this point, there wasn't much point in trying to teach completely new things. The focus was instead on refining what we had already worked on over the last few days.
Most of today's attention was on Charmander and Axew.
Charmander had finally managed to consistently use Sunny Day. While the weather she created wasn't nearly as intense or long-lasting as Exeggutor's, she could now reliably bring out sunlight in battle instead of relying on luck. That alone was a huge improvement.
Axew, meanwhile, continued his training against Cloyster's Icicle Spears. He still didnt like every second of it, but I had to admit the training was beginning to pay off. Instead of getting completely overwhelmed by Ice-type attacks, he was now managing to deflect a few of the incoming spears and even force his way through some of the barrage before being stopped.
It wasn't as though Ice-type attacks had suddenly become ineffective against him.
They were still his biggest weakness.
But if he could endure just one or two more attacks than before, that might be the difference between winning and losing an important battle in the future.
As for Persian, she had spent the day with Mr. Stuffle learning Dig.
When I went to check on her during the afternoon, she looked thoroughly annoyed with me.
Apparently learning Dig involved a lot of... well... digging.
Which meant her normally pristine fur had become covered in dirt several times throughout the day.
She gave me a look that clearly blamed me for this entire situation.
I wisely chose not to argue.
Her Iron Tail practice had been put on hold for now as well. There simply wasn't enough time to work on two completely different moves simultaneously.
While thinking about Iron Tail, I suddenly remembered another reason I wanted Persian to learn it.
Back when we trained with Lt. Surge's Raichu, I had originally wanted to test my theory about using a metal-coated tail to absorb and redirect certain Electric-type attacks.
Unfortunately, the spar had evolved into a fast-paced battle, and we never actually got around to experimenting with the technique rather Persian improved his speed than focus on the technique.
Now that Persian was beginning Iron Tail training, maybe I could finally revisit that idea later.
For the time being, though, the objective was much simpler.
First, she needed to learn how to properly channel Steel-type energy through her tail.
Then she had to maintain that coating.
If she could consistently hold the metallic coating for fifteen seconds without it breaking apart, I would consider the first stage of Iron Tail training complete.
Come to think of it...
Charmander might be able to benefit from a similar concept someday.
A Charizard understanding how to disperse or redirect Electric-type energy might become useful in the future. Flying-types naturally hated Electric attacks, so any defensive trick would be worth exploring either with it learning metal claw to use as a lightning rod or it figures out iron tail.
That was something to think about after Cerulean.
Time passed surprisingly quickly, and before I knew it, evening had arrived.
I returned to Mr. Stuffle's place to pick Persian up.
The moment she saw me, she walked over with an expression that practically screamed, 'I have suffered enough. Compensation. Now.'
I couldn't even blame her.
The first thing I did after bringing her back was give her a proper bath to clean all the dirt out of her fur. Only after she looked satisfied with herself again did I prepare her dinner.
Alongside her usual Pokémon food, I bought a premium fish dish from one of Cerulean's better restaurants.
The moment the plate was placed in front of her, all traces of annoyance vanished.
Food really was the fastest way to negotiate with Persian.
I still had no idea what kind of teaching methods Mr. Stuffle used, but they were undeniably effective.
After only a day and a half of training, Persian already had a basic understanding of Dig. She wasn't battle-ready with the move yet, but if things continued at this pace, she should finish learning it sometime tomorrow while I was busy with my gym battle.
Originally, I had planned to keep Persian as my backup Pokémon for the Cerulean Gym in case things somehow went wrong.
After thinking it over, though, I decided against it.
There was no point interrupting her move training halfway through.
If I needed a third Pokémon tomorrow, Exeggutor would take that role instead.
Persian could focus entirely on mastering Dig.
With everything settled, I recalled my team after dinner, went back to my room at the Pokémon Center, and turned in early.
Tomorrow was finally the day of my Cerulean Gym battle.
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Third POV
Grey woke up early in the morning and, after freshening himself up, headed straight for the Cerulean Gym for his scheduled battle. He had booked this match four days in advance, so there was no point delaying any longer.
After informing the receptionist of his appointment, one of the gym trainees escorted him towards the battle arena. Walking through the corridors of the gym, Grey eventually arrived at the battlefield where his fourth Gym Badge would be decided.
Unfortunately, the Gym Leaders themselves were nowhere to be seen.
A few moments later, one of the gym trainees approached him apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Challenger Grey. One of today's performance shows ran a little longer than expected. The Gym Leaders should be here shortly."
Grey simply nodded, though inwardly he wasn't exactly pleased.
On one hand there's Lt. Surge.
The man probably has dozens of challengers every week on top of his military responsibilities, yet somehow he always manages to keep everything on schedule.
Then there are these three...
I specifically booked this battle four days ago so they'd have enough time to be available, and somehow I'm still the one waiting.
Fortunately, it wasn't a very long wait.
About fifteen minutes later, the three Cerulean Sisters finally entered the arena.
Daisy, Violet and Lily were all still dressed in their swimming costumes, making it obvious they had come directly from their performance show.
Daisy walked to the challenger's side of the field and looked Grey over before asking casually,
"So you're today's challenger. How many badges do you have?"
"Three."
Grey answered simply.
Daisy nodded, although there was a slight grimace on her face.
"Very well. This will be a three-on-three battle. If either side loses all three Pokémon, they lose the match."
Grey nodded in agreement.
The battlefield then began transforming.
What looked like an ordinary white tiled arena suddenly shifted as numerous sections sank downward. Water quickly filled the openings while only selected white platforms remained raised, creating several narrow paths across the battlefield. The end result resembled a giant swimming pool with scattered islands of solid footing between them.
It was a battlefield designed almost entirely for Water-type Pokémon.
The gym trainee stepped forward, now acting as the referee.
"Both trainers ready?"
Grey stood on the left side.
Daisy stood opposite him.
"Battle... Begin!"
Grey released Charmander.
Across from her, Daisy released Goldeen into the water.
The moment Daisy saw a Charmander, her expression noticeably improved.
"Goldeen! Water Gun!"
Without hesitation, Goldeen fired a stream of water towards the Fire-type.
"Dragon Pulse."
Instead of dodging, Grey ordered Charmander to attack head-on.
A blue sphere of draconic energy shot forward and collided with the Water Gun. To Daisy's surprise, Dragon Pulse completely overpowered the attack before continuing onward and striking Goldeen directly.
The fish Pokémon was blasted backwards into the pool.
Daisy recovered quickly.
"Goldeen! Close the distance! Horn Attack!"
Goldeen immediately swam towards Charmander at high speed.
"Sunny Day."
Rather than retreating, Grey gave a completely different order.
Charmander raised her arms and the sunlight above the battlefield suddenly intensified.
The temperature around the arena noticeably increased.
At the same time, Charmander's hidden ability, Solar Power, activated.
Grey and Charmander had spent the last several days working towards synchronizing Sunny Day with her ability. While she couldn't yet draw out the full boost Solar Power was capable of providing, she was already gaining a noticeable increase to her Special Attack.
The downside, however, remained.
Every second Sunny Day remained active, it slowly drained her stamina.
Goldeen suddenly burst from the water with Horn Attack and slammed into Charmander, knocking her backwards.
"Dragon Pulse."
Despite taking the hit, Charmander fired another Dragon Pulse almost immediately.
Boosted by Solar Power, the attack struck Goldeen point-blank and launched her clean across the battlefield before crashing into the opposite wall of the pool.
The referee raised his flag.
"Goldeen is unable to battle!"
For a few seconds...
Nobody said anything.
Charmander blinked.
Grey blinked.
Even Daisy simply stared.
All three had almost comical expressions on their faces, wondering how the battle had somehow ended that quickly.
Daisy eventually recalled Goldeen before looking back at Grey suspiciously.
"...Do you actually have only three badges, or were you lying to us?"
Without saying a word, Grey opened his badge case and showed her the three badges resting inside.
Daisy stared at them before slowly closing the case for him.
She genuinely began wondering if Cerulean Gym's standards for three-badge challengers had somehow fallen behind the rest of Kanto.
Grey then spoke.
"I don't mind if you use your strongest Pokémon."
Lily immediately frowned.
"You're getting a bit too cocky. Sure, your Charmander is strong, but she won't last very long against our strongest Pokémon."
"I know."
Grey answered honestly.
"I still want her to battle."
The three sisters looked at one another.
Grey continued.
"I'm a marked trainer."
That sentence immediately surprised all three of them.
Apparently they hadn't bothered doing a background check on today's challenger.
After discussing it quietly amongst themselves for a minute, they eventually agreed.
"If you're so confident," Lily said as she stepped forward, "then don't complain afterwards."
She released her Pokémon.
A large Kingdra emerged from the Poké Ball.
Charmander instinctively stiffened.
She could immediately tell this opponent was much stronger than Goldeen.
Grey noticed the hesitation.
He simply smiled.
"It'll be fine."
Charmander looked back at him before nodding.
"Full-power Flamethrower!"
Charmander opened with her strongest Flamethrower, empowered by Sunny Day and Solar Power.
"Hydro Pump!"
Kingdra answered with an enormous Hydro Pump.
The two attacks collided violently in the middle of the battlefield, creating a massive cloud of steam. Charmander's Flamethrower held on for a few moments before Kingdra's greater power gradually forced it back.
"Move!"
Grey shouted.
Charmander immediately leapt sideways onto another platform as the Hydro Pump smashed into where she had been standing moments earlier.
"Smokescreen!"
A thick black cloud covered much of the battlefield.
Lily reacted instantly.
"Kingdra! Dive underwater!"
Kingdra disappeared beneath the surface before the smoke completely spread.
"Dragon Dance!"
Grey wasn't interested in the attack boost.
The Speed boost was what mattered.
Charmander quickly completed the dance.
Almost immediately, Kingdra burst from the water right in front of her.
"Water Gun!"
Thanks to Dragon Dance, Charmander narrowly avoided the attack.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Charmander fired another Dragon Pulse, but Kingdra slipped beneath the water again before it connected.
A second later, Kingdra resurfaced behind Charmander.
Another Water Gun struck her squarely in the back.
Charmander stumbled forward.
She was beginning to look exhausted.
Not only had she taken several Water-type attacks, but Solar Power was continuously draining her stamina as well.
Grey narrowed his eyes.
"This game of hide-and-seek ends now."
"Charmander... Flamethrower the pool!"
For a brief moment even Lily looked confused.
Instead of aiming at Kingdra, Charmander pointed her Flamethrower directly into the water.
The already sunlit battlefield became unbearably hot.
Large amounts of water rapidly began evaporating.
Steam spread throughout the arena.
Kingdra suddenly burst out of the pool.
The water surrounding her had become uncomfortably hot. While Dragon-types possessed durable scales, that didn't mean Kingdra enjoyed remaining inside rapidly boiling water.
Lily finally understood Grey's plan.
"Kingdra! Hydro Pump! Don't let her evaporate the pool!"
Kingdra immediately fired another Hydro Pump towards Charmander.
Charmander didn't stop.
Even as the Hydro Pump struck her, she continued pouring every bit of strength she had into maintaining Flamethrower. She toughened it out for her trainer.
Little by little...
The water disappeared.
Eventually, almost the entire battlefield pool had been evaporated.
Kingdra landed awkwardly on the now-empty floor of the drained pool.
Charmander landed opposite her.
Both Pokémon were breathing heavily.
Both had clearly reached their limits.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Hydro Pump!"
Both Pokémon attacked.
Thanks to Dragon Dance, Charmander managed to launch Dragon Pulse just a fraction of a second first.
The attack struck Kingdra before Hydro Pump fully connected.
Even so, Kingdra's attack still hit.
The massive torrent launched Charmander backwards into the arena wall before she collapsed unconscious.
The referee raised his flag.
"Charmander is unable to battle!"
Grey recalled her with a small smile.
"You did well, Charmander. Thank you."
She had lost the battle...
But she had accomplished exactly what Grey wanted.
The swimming pool was gone.
Neither of his remaining Pokémon would have to worry about fighting Water-types on their own turf anymore.