"LEADER, LEADER! Something bad's happening! That Dark King Sato is here at our Gym!"
In the backyard of the Oreburgh Gym, a young man rushed toward Forge's room, shouting as he ran.
"Such noisy behavior… what kind of manners is that!" came a scolding voice from within the room, and soon a vigorous man in his fifties, with graying black hair but a commanding presence, strode out quickly.
It was none other than Forge, the Gym Leader of Oreburgh City!
"Leader, Sato... Sato is here!" the young man said anxiously, pointing toward the front yard, paying no mind to Forge's reprimand.
"I heard you." Forge replied casually, then walked off with large, steady strides toward the front.
"Leader! Wait for me!" the young man hurried after him, his frantic state making Forge shake his head in disapproval.
Arriving at the battlefield in the front yard, Forge spotted the dust-covered trio at once. Thinking of the trending news he'd just seen online, he gave a slight sigh… then quickly made up his mind.
"You three must've just arrived in Oreburgh City. Why not rest at the Pokémon Center and come challenge the Gym after recovering your strength?"
Seeing that Forge was speaking in a gentle tone, Sato naturally maintained his formal posture.
"Gym Leader Forge, nice to meet you. I am Sato, newly appointed Gym Inspector. I'm here to conduct a surprise evaluation of Oreburgh Gym. Due to the urgency, I hope you'll understand."
The moment Sato took out his examiner badge, Forge had no choice but to accept the battle.
" 'Inspector' Sato… are you so sure you can defeat me?" Forge couldn't help but ask before the match began.
"Just doing my best and leaving the rest to fate. After all, it's only a battle. Win or lose, your position as Gym Leader isn't going to be shaken easily, is it?"
Seeing Sato reply without giving a clear answer, Forge understood he didn't want to speak honestly and could only sigh inwardly for his old friend Lolo.
A young Trainer who could earn public support from Nurse Joy herself… wasn't going to be easy to bully.
'Forget it. Just like he said: "do your best, leave the rest to fate".' This would be his final effort. If it worked out, so be it. If not, then maybe it was time for them old-timers to step aside and let the next generation take the stage.
Forge thought through many things in that instant, but once he stepped into position, this veteran Gym Leader in his fifties was already in top form.
He would give his all in facing this rising star's challenge.
"We now begin the Oreburgh Gym evaluation battle! Each side will use 3 Pokémon in a 1v1 rotation format. The match ends when all three Pokémon on one side have lost the ability to battle!"
The young man from the Gym took his place as referee and announced the rules.
"Both sides, send out your first Pokémon!"
"Rampardos, the opponent is strong, give it everything you've got!"
"Krookodile, get ready for battle."
In the audience stands, Mark and Joseph suddenly stood up, stunned to see the Pokémon Forge had sent out.
Rampardos: long confirmed to be an extinct Pokémon. Its remains exist only as Fossils, a testament to how powerful it once was.
The referee smirked. This was his Leader's ultimate ace. If it weren't for facing a truly strong opponent, he would never have brought out Rampardos.
Unlike Mark and Joseph's shock, Sato was fairly familiar with Fossil Pokémon and knew well how terrifying Rampardos' Attack was. In ancient times, it had been a top predator.
However, while Rampardos did possess overwhelming Attack, it also had many fatal flaws. Facing it with Krookodile wasn't that difficult.
"Then... battle start!"
"Rampardos, close in on the opponent!"
"Krookodile, Sand Tomb."
Both commands rang out at the same time. Rampardos pushed off with its powerful legs, practically leaping forward as it charged at Krookodile at high speed.
Meanwhile, Krookodile gave a slight flick of its tail, and the battlefield began to shift into sand. Numerous sand traps formed, spreading across the arena.
But under its seemingly massive body, Rampardos was surprisingly agile, dodging many of the Sand Tomb traps with ease.
Of course, the Sand Tomb still blocked its path enough to slow down its momentum; its charge lost steam.
"Rampardos, Rock Tomb!"
"RAAAAAMP!"
Rampardos let out a loud cry, and a mass of rocks suddenly erupted from the ground in front of it, directly covering the Sand Tomb.
It leapt onto the rocks, picking up speed again as it lunged toward Krookodile.
"Krookodile, Bulldoze!"
Following orders, Krookodile slammed its left foot down. Ground-type energy surged, and the rocks from Rock Tomb were instantly cleared away.
"Create distance, Dark Pulse."
Even though Krookodile specialized in physical attacks, when compared to Rampardos, it was still far behind.
In terms of pure Attack power, Rampardos was nearly unrivaled outside of Legendary Pokémon and some Mega Evolutions.
On the other hand, its Defense, Special Defense, and Special Attack stats combined probably didn't even match its own Attack stat.
From the start, Sato had no intention of going head-to-head with it.
Dark Pulse blasted toward Rampardos at the perfect moment, just as it was landing from a leap off the rocks.
"Rampardos, head defense!"
"Raaamp!"
Midair, Rampardos quickly ducked its head. Most of the Dark Pulse struck its rock-hard skull before it crashed to the ground.
…But that just caused Rampardos to fall straight into the Sand Tomb trap.
A perfect chain setup!
"Krookodile, Dark Pulse."
Sato's command came again, full of aggressive momentum, forcing Forge to furrow his brows tightly.
Very few people even knew Forge had a Rampardos, let alone understood its weaknesses.
But Sato's determination to avoid close combat was so resolute that even with Rampardos trapped, he never once considered letting Krookodile engage up close.
At this rate, Rampardos had no chance of winning. It was powerful.
…Too powerful in one direction.
"Rampardos, Flamethrower!"
Left with no choice, Forge had to resort to using Special Attacks moves to block some of the incoming Dark Pulse damage and hopefully find an opening.
And so, a bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield: two Pokémon built for physical combat now duking it out like spellcasters…
Neither had many moves for this role: Rampardos kept firing off Flamethrower after Flamethrower, while Krookodile responded with wave after wave of Dark Pulse.
…But with Rampardos' pitiful Special Attack, every Flamethrower was overwhelmed by the Dark Pulse and smashed right back into its own body.
Rampardos' cries of pain echoed non-stop. Even Joseph and Mark couldn't help but feel a little sorry for it.
It was just... too miserable!