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The Dragon Gym's spectator stands on both sides of the battlefield were completely packed. Because of the social media video Jacob had posted at noon, the Dragon Gym was already overflowing with visitors by the afternoon.
"That's Jacob over there."
"Did you see that video he posted?"
"He's incredibly arrogant, but he really is handsome."
On the battlefield, Jacob, who had prepared himself mentally, took deep breaths to adjust his mindset and stood quietly on the field, waiting for his first challenger to appear.
Although there were significantly more spectators than usual, Jacob found himself in a surprisingly calm state of mind.
After all, this was merely a gym defense training match. There would be even larger crowds in the stands during the College Cup competition, especially once the provincial tournaments began - those events would draw massive audiences. This was just the beginning of what he could expect.
Jacob carefully reviewed every technique his Pokemon had mastered, ran through various tactical scenarios in his mind, and made thorough preparations in advance. He absolutely had to give his best effort to win these battles.
Jacob understood clearly what consequences would follow from posting that social media video. He would definitely face overwhelming criticism and challenges from other trainers. The moment he lost even a single battle, he would become a laughable figure in everyone's eyes.
However, as long as he could persevere and claim victory in every match, all the criticism would eventually disappear.
People never mocked others for having an arrogant attitude - they only ridiculed weakness and incompetence.
Another major reason Jacob had dared to post that provocative video was his confidence in his team's strength: he had the support of his Sceptile, Charmeleon, and his Noibat.
With such an impressive lineup among trainers of the same skill level, Jacob believed that once his Charmeleon evolved into Charizard, he wouldn't be inferior to any of the top-tier gym leaders.
If he encountered Isaac again, Jacob felt confident he could hold his own in battle.
"Battle Arena Number 8: Lord-level trainer Jacob versus Lord-level trainer Logan. Match rules will be chosen by Logan."
"Two-on-two singles format."
Logan appeared to be roughly the same age as Jacob, and both were students who would be participating in this year's College Cup competition.
Looking at Logan, Jacob still felt somewhat nervous despite his mental preparations. What he had said in that social media video had been extremely arrogant. If his opponent started insulting him, how should he respond with trash talk?
What if he couldn't come up with good comebacks?
However, Logan seemed remarkably polite: "Hello Jacob, I'm actually a fan of yours. Could I possibly take a photo with you after our match?"
Logan's respectful attitude made Jacob feel rather embarrassed. He had to swallow all the aggressive responses he had prepared - he had almost been ready to insult a supporter. He could only smile and nod in response: "Of course, that would be fine."
"Battle commence!"
"Go, Charmeleon!"
"Go, Venusaur!"
The weather today was exceptionally sunny, which provided the equivalent of a natural Sunny Day move. Since this was a two-on-two singles match, Jacob naturally chose his Charmeleon as his lead Pokemon.
Thanks to the bright sunshine, Charmeleon could immediately activate its Solar Power ability without needing to use the Sunny Day technique. Similarly, Jacob glanced at his opponent's Venusaur, noting that it possessed the extremely rare Chlorophyll ability, which would double its speed under sunny conditions.
Chlorophyll, like Solar Power, was an ability that heavily depended on weather conditions - one boosted special attack power while the other increased speed.
It seemed that Logan had the same strategic idea, wanting to take advantage of today's natural sunny weather to trigger beneficial abilities and secure victory.
Facing his opponent's Venusaur, Jacob felt no fear whatsoever, despite his Charmeleon not yet having evolved to its final form. With the type advantage and his Pokemon's champion-level potential, Jacob was completely confident in his Charmeleon's capabilities.
Now they would see whose Pokemon was truly stronger - his Charmeleon or Logan's Venusaur!
"Venusaur, use Growth!"
At the start of the battle, Logan chose a rather greedy strategy. Instead of immediately using Venusaur's speed advantage to launch attacks under the sunny sky, he opted to have Venusaur strengthen itself with a stat-boosting move.
The Growth move could increase both attack stats, and its effects were doubled on sunny days. Venusaur became wrapped in fluorescent green grass-type energy, with the flower on its back greedily absorbing the glowing energy and seeming to bloom even more beautifully. Venusaur's entire body appeared to grow noticeably larger.
"Charmeleon, maximum power Heat Wave!"
Almost simultaneously with Logan's command, Jacob chose to have his Charmeleon unleash a large-scale Heat Wave attack.
Since his opponent had chosen to begin with a stat-boosting move, Jacob would naturally seize the opportunity to strike aggressively. The reason Jacob didn't choose to have Charmeleon use Flamethrower was because Heat Wave had a much wider area of effect, preventing Venusaur from dodging the attack despite its Chlorophyll-enhanced speed.
Scorching breath erupted from Charmeleon, and with the combined blessings of the sunny weather and Solar Power ability, the attack's strength reached truly terrifying levels. The steaming orange-red heat wave surged toward Venusaur like an unstoppable tide, instantly engulfing and covering the Grass-type Pokemon as if it were being roasted in a blazing furnace.
Even with the protection provided by the referee's Pokemon, spectators sitting behind Venusaur could still feel the intense heat waves washing over them, causing them to break out in heavy sweats.
Logan had greedily attempted to strengthen his Venusaur, planning to greatly enhance its dual attack stats before adding the Chlorophyll speed boost for an overwhelming offensive push. However, he had clearly underestimated Charmeleon's devastating offensive capabilities.
Even though Jacob's Charmeleon hadn't yet evolved into Charizard, with the blessing of sunny weather, a Heat Wave attack of this caliber was definitely not something Logan's Venusaur could withstand.
Venusaur, which had been focused on using Growth to gather fluorescent green grass-type energy, showed no intention of dodging and chose to use its large body to directly absorb the powerful Heat Wave attack.
"Saur!"
Venusaur cried out in agony when struck by the Heat Wave technique. Its body was immediately set ablaze by the intense heat, causing it to shake uncontrollably. The severe pain directly interrupted Venusaur's Growth move.
Seeing that Venusaur was in serious distress, Logan realized something had gone terribly wrong and quickly shouted: "Venusaur, use Synthesis!"
But it was already too late. The scorching Heat Wave had ignited Venusaur's body, bathing the Pokemon in flames. It howled in pain before suddenly collapsing to the ground.
The referee reacted quickly, raising his flag to declare that Venusaur had lost the first round, and immediately dispatched Pokemon to rescue Venusaur and help extinguish the flames.
"First round victory goes to Charmeleon!"
The opening battle had started promisingly but ended disastrously. No one had expected that Logan's Venusaur would be completely overwhelmed by Jacob's Charmeleon's Heat Wave attack.
"Logan was far too greedy with his strategy. I've battled him before - his Venusaur has the Chlorophyll ability. If he had chosen to attack first and had Venusaur use Earth Power, there might have been some hope for victory."
"He completely underestimated Jacob's strength. Although Jacob's Charmeleon hasn't evolved into Charizard yet, its ability is Solar Power. With sunny weather, Solar Power activation, type advantage, and same-type attack bonus all working together, Venusaur had absolutely no way to withstand that Heat Wave."
"This weather is incredibly favorable for Jacob. Any Pokemon weak to Fire-type moves definitely won't be able to handle such powerful heat-based attacks."
"Logan will have to send out a Water, Rock, Fire, or Dragon-type Pokemon next. Only Pokemon of those four types can properly resist Fire-type techniques."
Logan recalled his fainted Venusaur, clearly not having expected his Pokemon to lose so completely and decisively. He took a deep breath, pulled another Poke Ball from his belt, and threw it onto the field.
"Go, Flareon!"