"Blaziken, remember what I told you. If you change the way you think, the problem won't be so hard to solve." Cain shouted to Blaziken.
Upon hearing Cain's words, Blaziken, who had landed on the ground, was stunned for a moment.
Then he recalled what Cain had told him before.
Maybe, if he looked at it from another angle, the problem could be easily solved.
If he couldn't solve it with his fists, then he just had to use fire.
He would cook it!
Suddenly, a large flame erupted from Blaziken's body, engulfing him entirely.
Thanks to his speed, Jumpluff could only defend at this point and had no means of counterattack.
Every time it tried to use an offensive move, it was lucky if it hit one out of three times.
Blaziken ran five hundred laps a day during training—his stamina was incredible. Now he was moving frantically around the battlefield, making it impossible for Jumpluff to calculate his position.
But Blaziken could attack Jumpluff in the air.
This time, it wasn't a close-combat fight.
Blaziken wasn't weak when it came to special attacks.
So many layers of cotton? Shouldn't it be hot in there?
As Blaziken ran with flames surrounding him, the temperature on the battlefield rose rapidly.
At the same time, he occasionally launched the move Heat Wave at Jumpluff.
All that was missing was to trap it in a steamer and cook it.
By changing his strategy and not relying on brute strength, Blaziken found that this kind of battle also had its charm.
Besides Heat Wave, moves like Flamethrower and Flame Burst were also viable options.
Jumpluff, which had previously floated calmly in the air, was now completely flushed.
Although it hadn't taken a particularly strong direct fire attack, it had already entered a burned status.
And all Blaziken had to do was dodge Jumpluff's attacks while tossing out small flames every now and then.
Eventually, unable to withstand the high temperatures and continuous burn damage, Jumpluff lost the ability to fight.
It fell to the ground.
Cain, who had been directing the battle from the start, wasn't completely satisfied with Blaziken's control over fire. But after all, he had just evolved.
In the future, in addition to training close combat, he would also need to work on his special ranged fire moves.
It was important for Blaziken to have multiple strategies to face opponents.
Mr. Ramos withdrew Jumpluff and didn't immediately send out his next Pokémon.
Instead, he was considering which one would be best suited for the next battle.
He wanted to assess Blaziken's capabilities and, seeing his performance, began to get excited about the idea.
As if reading his thoughts, Cain said, "Mr. Ramos, don't worry. You can send out a stronger Pokémon. I also want to see how far Blaziken can go."
Mr. Ramos was a bit surprised to hear that, but then smiled again.
After all, this battle wasn't about deciding a winner.
Cain was using it to train Blaziken, and Mr. Ramos wanted to see his true potential and help him improve along the way.
He nodded and smiled. "Alright then, let Blaziken recover a bit of energy."
Cain didn't object. Although Blaziken had leveled up after defeating Jumpluff and was now at level 37, he had used up quite a bit of energy—especially after raising the temperature of the entire gym by several degrees just to win the battle.
Also, if Mr. Ramos had used maximum mid-level Pokémon, the next one would surely be advanced level.
Although Swampert had shown interest in fighting, Cain trusted that Mr. Ramos wouldn't send out an overwhelmingly strong Pokémon, given his kind nature.
Given his age, his main Pokémon were likely at least quasi-elite, if not full elite level.
But seeing Blaziken's performance, Mr. Ramos had opted to use a Pokémon of a similar level.
As a Gym Leader, adjusting his choices based on the strength of challengers was an essential skill.
When Blaziken was ready, Mr. Ramos released his Pokémon.
It was a Gogoat, with green leaves covering its neck and back, and two long, curved horns on its head.
A Gogoat!
A Pokémon exclusive to the Kalos region.
Cain's eyes lit up upon seeing it.
He had always wanted one.
Pokémon: Gogoat (Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 42
Type: Grass
Ability: Sap Sipper
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Rollout, Milk Drink, Grassy Terrain
Basic Moves: Aerial Ace, Tackle, Growth, Vine Whip, Tail Whip, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Worry Seed, Synthesis, Take Down, Bulldoze, Seed Bomb, Bulk Up, Double-Edge
Learned Moves: Iron Tail, Giga Drain, Bounce, Snore, Stomping Tantrum
TM Moves: Protect, Solar Beam, Earthquake, Attract, Energy Ball, Rock Slide, Grass Knot, Wild Charge
Gogoat was an ideal Pokémon for Cain's island.
Not only was it a Grass-type, but it also produced high-quality milk and could use Grassy Terrain to improve the island's ecosystem.
He thought of Whitney's family in Goldenrod City, who had built their fortune with Miltank and its nutritious milk.
They weren't an influential family, but their stable milk production had connected them with many powerful families, granting them protection.
In Cain's eyes, Gogoat was even better than Miltank when it came to milk production.
Goat milk had nothing to envy from cow milk.
And the best part was that Gogoat could grow its own food, saving resources.
If he managed to produce large quantities of Gogoat milk steadily, the income could match that of a pearl farm.
In fact, with enough Gogoat, it could surpass it.
Coumarine City, famous for its Grass-type Pokémon, had Gogoat as one of the emblems of its gym.
Cain knew that the Coumarine City Gym raised many Grass-type Pokémon, including Gogoat. Maybe he could get a few.
His plan was clear: to become a ruthless rancher.
In the future, he'd drink milk and waste it without remorse.
Total luxury!
Mr. Ramos's Gogoat was level 42. It wasn't his strongest Pokémon, but probably the most powerful of the ones he used to defend the gym.
Gym Leaders rarely used their main Pokémon against challengers. They always had different teams to match the challengers' levels.
That ensured fair and effective evaluations.
In his own gym, Cain had already implemented this strategy since Skye took over as interim leader.
Now, the Leafy Town Gym was running perfectly. It just had one small issue: the leader was never present.
And something else curious: Gogoat had Aerial Ace among its basic moves. Who would've thought?
(End of Chapter)