Blaine's last Pokémon was a Typhlosion.
Typhlosion, classified as a Volcano Pokémon in research studies, was a perfect fit for the current environment.
However, when Cole sensed the aura emanating from it, he frowned and asked, "Gym Leader Blaine, this shouldn't be a Pokémon that appears in gym battles, right?"
"Hahaha~" Blaine laughed, "Sorry, young Cole, I got a bit carried away. But don't worry, whether your Lopunny wins or not, I'll give you the Volcano Badge. If you win, I can also give you a special gift."
"Well... alright." Since Blaine had offered, Cole had no reason to refuse.
Blaine turned to his Typhlosion, "We have an extremely strong challenger today. You can't hold back, or we'll lose face if we're defeated!"
"Typhlosion!"
Typhlosion gave Blaine a cute nod and even a thumbs up.
"Lopunny, attack, Dizzy Punch!"
At Cole's command, Lopunny leaped high into the air, both long ears clenched into fists, smashing down hard toward Typhlosion.
"Typhlosion, dodge it!"
Hearing Blaine's voice, Typhlosion activated its "divine skill". It dropped to all fours, gathered its strength, and jumped away from its original position, avoiding the attack.
Boom!
Lopunny's fists slammed into the ground, instantly creating numerous cracks. The entire battlefield began to shake, with chains making grating sounds as they rubbed against each other.
Seeing this, Blaine looked amazed, "Your Lopunny's physical strength is truly terrifying."
"Thank you for the compliment. Lopunny, continue attacking!"
"Lopu~"
Lopunny's long legs lightly touched the ground as it jumped nimbly toward Typhlosion, simultaneously using Double Kick.
"Typhlosion, it's time for us to counterattack!"
"Typh!"
Typhlosion roared, suddenly erupting with raging flames from its back. As it waved its arms, those flames transformed into fire dragons charging toward Lopunny.
Seeing this, Lopunny's expression changed. It quickly backflipped while using Quick Attack.
This move was one its partner Heliolisk knew, so naturally, Lopunny knew it too.
After using Quick Attack, Lopunny's movements became even more agile and swift. Despite the fire dragons' pursuit, they couldn't touch it at all.
Cole initially thought that Typhlosion's flames would gradually dissipate over time, but he soon noticed something was wrong.
Tiny red energy particles in the air were continuously being absorbed by the red spots on Typhlosion's back, making its controlled flames increasingly intense.
At first, Cole couldn't understand the source of this ability. But as Typhlosion absorbed more and more flame energy from the air, he finally realized this was a special application of its Flash Fire ability.
Flash Fire normally functions passively, only activating when hit by fire-type attacks. However, Typhlosion had transformed this passive ability into an active one, effectively utilizing the surrounding environment.
Being at the mouth of a volcano with bubbling magma beneath their feet meant Typhlosion had an endless supply of fire-type energy to replenish itself.
This was truly troublesome.
Truly worthy of being a Fire-type Elite Four member's Pokémon!
As Typhlosion controlled more fire dragons, the temperature on the field began to soar. The heat was so intense that Lopunny's feet were smoking where they touched the ground.
"Lopunny, Thunder Wave!"
As the partner of an Electric-type Pokémon, Lopunny had naturally learned Electric-type moves.
It dashed across the field, its body flickering with golden electricity. While dodging the fire dragons' attacks, it hurled balls of golden light toward Typhlosion.
Though most of the light balls were annihilated by Typhlosion's flames, traces of golden energy still silently penetrated its body.
Eventually, Typhlosion's flame-controlling movements suddenly paused, and the galloping fire dragons instantly dissipated. It was paralyzed.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Seizing the opportunity, Lopunny leaped forward, appearing in front of Typhlosion, and raised its foot to deliver a powerful High Jump Kick.
The opponent wanted to control the flames to repel it, but the paralysis interrupted its move, forcing it to raise its arms to block.
BOOM!!!
Lopunny put almost all its strength into this kick. Under the tremendous force, Typhlosion was sent flying, rolling several times before coming to rest at the edge of the field with half its body hanging off.
Just as Typhlosion was about to fall into the magma, it managed to grab the edge of the field.
Cole thought regretfully that if only it had fallen off the field, he and Lopunny would have won this battle.
Typhlosion nimbly flipped over, pushing itself up with its arms and jumping back onto the field in one smooth motion.
Still an agile big guy.
But Typhlosion's condition told the real story. Lopunny's kick had clearly caused significant pain. Its face was contorted, and it gasped for air continuously, showing signs of severe energy depletion.
"Typhlosion, since we've reached this point, let's go all out!" Blaine said with a sigh. He hadn't expected to be at such a disadvantage so quickly, especially since this was his strongest Pokémon after his main team.
Young people nowadays are truly remarkable!
"Typhlosion!"
Typhlosion roared angrily in response.
"Typhlosion, Overheat!"
Overheat is a powerful Fire-type move with extreme power, but its drawback is that after use, the user's Special Attack drops significantly. For Pokémon that rely on Special Attack, this move weakens with each use, making it generally a last resort — a "desperate measure".
Clearly, Blaine intended to decide the battle's outcome with this final attack.
Sparks sprayed from Typhlosion's fur as flames flickered in its mouth. The next second, a spinning pillar of fire erupted from its body, shooting straight toward Lopunny.
The fire pillar was several times Lopunny's size. A direct hit would instantly engulf it in a sea of flames.
At this critical moment, the paralysis failed to restrict Typhlosion.
"Lopunny..."
Cole initially wanted Lopunny to dodge. With its outstanding jumping ability, avoiding this attack might not be impossible.
However, Lopunny didn't follow his command. Its gaze suddenly sharpened, and it charged straight into the scorching fire pillar, its figure disappearing into the sea of flames.
"Lopunny!" Cole cried out in alarm.
Suddenly, a white light emerged from the sea of fire, transforming into a bullet that shot out of the flames like lightning, slamming hard into Typhlosion.
"Typh!!!"
Typhlosion let out a painful cry and fell to the ground with a thud.
Already severely injured, it couldn't possibly get up again after taking another hit like that.
As the sea of flames dissipated, Lopunny was revealed kneeling on one knee, its smooth, silky fur now charred black in several places.
(-‿◦)
Even in this state, Lopunny still had the spirit to look up at Cole and wink, as if saying: Look, I won!
Cole quickly ran over to help it up.
"Lopunny, did you just... learn a new move?"
The move it had just used must have been Mirror Coat, which reflects special damage back at double the power.
That explained why Lopunny had charged into the flames without hesitation.
"Lopu~"
Lopunny nodded in response.
While watching Typhlosion's fire pillar shooting toward it, it had experienced a sudden moment of inspiration and immediately mastered the new move.
Eager to test this new ability, it had ignored Cole's command and charged directly into the sea of flames.
Cole shook his head helplessly, "There was no need for that. Even without using Mirror Coat, we still had a good chance of winning."
As he spoke, he took out some medicine to treat Lopunny's wounds.
Lopunny shook its head. It wanted to end the battle quickly — the field was too hot, and the pads on its feet were almost roasted. Who could understand the feeling of being covered in fur while standing in a furnace? It was unbearably painful.
Rather than being slowly roasted by a small fire, it preferred to go all-in and end the suffering sooner.
Lopunny decided not to tell its boss the real reason, letting him believe it was fighting desperately for his victory. Perhaps the boss would be happy enough to give it a raise.
Cole was indeed thinking along those lines. Since Lopunny had fought so hard, it would only be right to give it some extra bonus.
Clap Clap Clap~
Blaine applauded. "Well done! Very impressive. You're the most talented young trainer I've ever seen. Your future is promising!"
Cole responded humbly, "Gym Leader Blaine, you're too kind. I still have a long way to go!"
Blaine shook his head, "I'm just telling the truth. Since you've beaten me, as promised, I'll give you a gift! Follow me!"
He headed back up the stairs they had descended. Halfway up, he paused and tossed something to Cole.
"Oh, and here's this for you!"
Cole caught it — the Volcano Badge. With this, he had secured his 10 points.
Watching him examine the Volcano Badge, Chiyo's face showed envy. Back home, she too had often been praised by her elders as a genius.
Although she had an even more talented cousin ahead of her, that cousin hadn't inherited the family's special abilities. The elders had said that talents like her cousin's appeared perhaps once in many years, so there was really no need to compare herself to her cousin.
But once she ventured out into the world, Chiyo discovered that there were others as talented as her cousin — and not just one! It was truly disheartening.
Blaine noticed her dejected expression and said, "As for you, young lady, keep trying next time. You're an excellent trainer too."
Hearing his words, Chiyo's mood improved somewhat.
"I will." She nodded firmly.
Under Blaine's guidance, Cole arrived at the storage room located in the Hot Springs Gym. There, he saw numerous collections: Fire-type Pokémon eggs, held items, rare Poké Balls, and evolution stones of different attributes.
Blaine pointed at the items and said, "You can choose any one item to take with you."
Cole entered the storage room and carefully examined the items inside.
Among the Fire-type Pokémon eggs, he could identify some species but not others. The ones he recognized weren't particularly rare, suggesting that the ones he couldn't identify were probably similar.
The held items were all common varieties, and the evolution stones were even more ordinary — just run-of-the-mill items.
Cole guessed that this place was probably where Blaine rewarded young trainers. While the selection was comprehensive, none of the items were particularly valuable.
Oh well, receiving any reward was an unexpected bonus, so he shouldn't be picky about its value.
Just as Cole was about to randomly choose something, his peripheral vision caught sight of a yellow glass ball.
Hmm? Is that a Light Ball?
Cole walked over and picked it up.
The Light Ball is a rather obscure held item because it's only effective for Pikachu, a Pokémon that isn't particularly popular itself. Few trainers invest in raising Pikachu, making the Light Ball an even more overlooked item.
Despite being obscure, the Light Ball itself is quite rare — most Pokémon supply shops don't even stock it.
Cole decided to choose this item and bring it back as a gift for Ash's Pikachu.
"I'll take this Light Ball." Cole said to Blaine, holding it up.
Blaine looked surprised. He hadn't expected the young man to choose such an obscure item. To be honest, he had forgotten how he had acquired this Light Ball or when he had placed it there.
However, he simply nodded and said, "Very well, it's yours now."
Cole left the Cinnabar Gym to find the sun had already set. It was too late to return to Pallet, so he decided to spend the night at the Pokémon Center in town.
Chiyo was still outside. Seeing him emerge, she approached and asked, "Cole, are you heading back to Pallet Town?"
Cole shook his head, "It's too late now. I'll go back tomorrow morning. What about you?"
"I plan to stay and study Gym Leader Blaine's Pokémon, then challenge the gym again tomorrow." Chiyo replied.
"Good luck then."
"Thank you."
The two weren't close to begin with, so after exchanging a few words, they went their separate ways.
After booking a room at the Pokémon Center, Cole also reserved a training room.
The Pokémon Center is a welfare facility established by the Pokémon League to serve trainers — a comprehensive venue combining hospital, hotel, shop, restaurant, training facilities, and more.
For newly registered novice trainers, they even offer free food and lodging.
However, Cole wasn't a novice trainer — he hadn't even registered as a trainer at all — so the free services didn't apply to him.
The Pokémon Center's accommodation and dining fees were very affordable, but the rental price for training rooms was quite high. The advantage was that the training facilities were very well-equipped.
✲✲✲
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