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"Hello, Miss Joy. Welcome to the Sunlight Gym."
Gazing at the Nurse Joy whose hairstyle seemed a bit dangerous, Aiden instinctively recited his opening lines.
"I'm the Gym Leader, Aiden."
"Mm-hmm! I've been a long-time fan of Azure~"
Miss Joy from Los Platos smiled as she surveyed the gym after entering.
"Though the gym isn't large, it has a cozy atmosphere—it's wonderful!"
"And you, Azure, are younger than I expected for a Gym Leader!"
Nurse Joy's words made Aiden pause.
He was now Batman (Paldean style), and her comment somehow felt a little hurtful…
But since it was just an innocent remark, he didn't plan to explain.
Doing so would only burden her unnecessarily.
"Let me confirm again, Miss Joy—you're here to challenge the Gym, right?"
Aiden kept a gentle smile as he looked at this Nurse Joy with whom he had a special connection online.
"Of course! Don't assume all Nurse Joys are weak girls. Please take care of me, Gym Leader Aiden~"
Nurse Joy smiled faintly, lightly shaking the Poké Ball in her hand.
"Then, follow me."
Aiden quickly led Nurse Joy to the battlefield.
"Nemona, we have a challenger!"
"Yay!"
Nemona, who had been sitting in the corner playing rock-paper-scissors with Pawmi out of boredom, instantly perked up and walked over to stand outside the midline of the battlefield.
As a Gym apprentice, it was reasonable for her to act as a referee when there were challengers, right?
With Nemona's presence, at least the Sunlight Gym didn't feel quite so shabby.
Or so Aiden thought silently to himself.
He and Nurse Joy soon entered the battlefield, and Nemona's energetic commentary immediately rang out:
"The rules for battles at the Sunlight Gym are 1v1. The challenger goes first. When one Pokémon is unable to battle, the opponent wins!"
Almost all Gyms defaulted to letting the challenger go first.
The reason stemmed from the role and function of Gyms within the current League system.
Challengers came in varying skill levels, and to balance both sides and focus on testing Trainers' overall abilities, this default rule gradually emerged.
Of course, Aiden didn't have many options.
With the limited number of Pokémon at the Sunlight Gym, he couldn't afford to be picky…
While Nemona explained the Gym rules, Aiden quietly recalled Eevee and Riolu, who were lounging in the corner, into their balls.
Since this was a Gym battle, throwing out a Poké Ball still carried a sense of ceremony.
"So, the Pokémon I'll send out is this child!"
Nurse Joy nodded, gently tossing out her Poké Ball.
A bell-shaped Pokémon floating in the air appeared before Aiden.
Chimecho?
Aiden froze.
He had mentally prepared himself to fight the pink demon he unleashed.
But Nurse Joy wasn't following the script?
Though Chimecho's color scheme did match Nurse Joy perfectly.
[Chimecho (Female)]
[Type: Psychic]
[Ability: Levitate]
A few lines of text automatically appeared, but even without the system, Aiden knew its ability.
After all, though Chimecho was niche, it was part of Aiden's professional expertise, and he naturally knew it only had Levitate as its ability.
If it's this Pokémon…
After a moment of thought, Aiden pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket, a faint smile forming on his lips.
"As a Gym Leader, I value the Trainer's style and synergy with their Pokémon more."
"Rather than raw strength, whether a Trainer can make their partner exceed 100% of its potential is what defines their skill."
"Then, please shine brightly."
Finishing the obligatory pre-battle banter, Aiden flashed a confident smile and pressed the trigger on the Poké Ball.
A beam of red light shot out, and Riolu appeared on the field, ready for action.
As expected of Azure—his opening remarks were always so powerful!
And facing a Psychic-type Pokémon, he confidently sent out Riolu, whose type was at a disadvantage. Truly impressive behavior for a Gym Leader!
Nemona nodded repeatedly, waving her flag under Aiden's signal.
"The battle begins!"
"Chimecho, Growl!"
Joy immediately issued her command.
From the opening move, it was clear that she favored a cautious style, attempting to weaken her opponent first to gain an advantage—a sound strategy.
Chimecho was skilled in using sound. Using Growl allowed it to maintain a safe distance while exerting a decent effect.
Aiden silently approved and quickly countered:
"Riolu, Fake Out!"
In theory, Riolu shouldn't have been able to learn this move.
But his Pokémon weren't exactly "legal" anyway, and Aiden had gradually come to accept this.
If Dewgong and Pawmi could use Fake Out, why couldn't Riolu, who had hands and feet, do the same?
Upon receiving Aiden's command, Riolu's move was almost frame-perfect, appearing instantly in front of Chimecho and delivering a swift slap.
Though it sacrificed power for speed, this slap successfully interrupted Chimecho's Growl and closed the distance between the two Pokémon.
"Chimecho, Astonish!"
Facing Riolu's rapid assault, Nurse Joy remained calm and quickly issued another command.
Chimecho used its ribbons to emit sharp crackling sounds, attempting to intimidate Riolu into retreating and then create distance.
This move wasn't bad—if it faced a timid opponent, it might have worked wonders.
Unfortunately, its opponent was Riolu.
Completely unfazed by Chimecho's Astonish, Riolu stood resolute.
"Quick Attack."
Aiden smiled faintly as he gave the command.
If his Riolu had the Steadfast ability, this move might have backfired.
But no matter—it wasn't a problem.
From the perspective of an average Trainer, Nurse Joy was definitely above-average.
So how would she respond in a disadvantaged situation?
Riolu struck again, and after enduring two consecutive hits, Chimecho's HP had already dropped significantly.
Nurse Joy bit her lower lip, contemplating how to escape this predicament.
"Chimecho…"
She took a deep breath, her eyes gradually becoming resolute.
"Use Extrasensory!"
Hearing Nurse Joy's command, Aiden raised an eyebrow.
Among Psychic-type moves, Extrasensory was fairly powerful.
The fact that Chimecho could learn this move indicated its level wasn't low.
Moreover, most Psychic-type moves were intangible, creating a natural disadvantage for Fighting-types like Riolu that relied on observation to react to attacks—it was very tricky.
If Extrasensory hit Riolu, it might even KO it?
That's what Aiden thought.
However, upon noticing Riolu's unwavering focus and lack of fear, he decisively chose to trust Riolu's judgment.
Gym battles didn't need to obsess over victory or defeat. Whatever choice Riolu made had no right or wrong.
This was also an opportunity for him to observe and adapt to its style.
The Extrasensory Chimecho concentrated with all its might quickly blended into the air, ready to strike from any direction at any moment.
On the other hand, Riolu showed no reaction, standing straight in the center of the field.
Until a compressed Extrasensory shot out from behind, Riolu's body instantly glowed faintly with white light.
Then, its legs suddenly surged with force, propelling it high into the air.
Dodging the Extrasensory attack, Riolu simultaneously delivered a karate chop to the unsuspecting Chimecho.
At this point, the battle was decided.
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