"Breloom, huh..."
Okamoto muttered to himself.
The gym's rule was a 1v1 battle, so he only needed to figure out how to defeat this Pokémon.
Grass + Fighting type, weak to Flying?
As a second-year student with plenty of battle experience, his mind immediately began to race.
"Then, it's decided—it's you!"
After some quick thought, he swiftly tossed out an Ultra Ball.
"Chaa!"
A shiny Scyther appeared, its body a vibrant green and its arms as sharp as blades.
"Scyther, huh?"
Aiden remained calm, even nodding slightly in approval.
As he watched, a few lines of text quickly appeared before him.
[Scyther (Female)]
[Type: Bug + Flying]
[Ability: Steadfast]
Scyther was a Bug + Flying dual-type, meaning Breloom's two STAB moves wouldn't pose much of a threat.
Whether on offense or defense, it had a huge advantage over Breloom.
Understanding the basic principles of type matchups and earning the recognition of such a proud and clearly strong Scyther...
It seemed this somewhat impatient trainer still had some skill.
Not bad!
However, relying solely on that would still be far from enough to win a gym battle.
"I almost forgot one thing, Okamoto."
Before the battle officially started, Nemona, acting as the referee, suddenly raised her hand, drawing Okamoto's attention.
Nemona ran up to Okamoto and handed him a mask.
"Please make sure to wear this mask before starting the battle!"
Okamoto didn't quite understand the significance of Nemona's earnest request, but he dismissed it as another bizarre rule of this shoddy gym and nodded nonchalantly.
After confirming that both Aiden and the challenger had put on their masks, Nemona finally relaxed and raised her hand again.
"Then... the match begins!"
"Scyther, Wing Attack!"
The Sunlight Gym's challenge rules allowed the challenger to attack first, so Okamoto immediately issued a command.
Upon hearing its trainer's order, Scyther instantly assumed its stance, flapping its wings and charging toward Breloom!
With Scyther's formidable offensive capabilities, combined with the multiple weaknesses of Flying against Breloom, this single move would practically end the gym challenge!
Talking so big, but this is all there is to it!
Okamoto could already envision the shock about to appear on this gym leader's face.
However...
"Breloom, Protect."
After Aiden calmly issued the command, a transparent barrier immediately formed in front of Breloom, blocking what would have been a fatal attack.
In the real Pokémon world, the principle behind Protect was basically similar to the game.
When the difference in power between the two sides wasn't significant, this barrier could effectively counter some troublesome moves.
"Tsk, it blocked it?"
Okamoto clicked his tongue in frustration, preparing to command Scyther to attack again.
"Breloom, Spore!"
At this moment, Aiden preemptively spoke.
While using Protect, Breloom had already prepared.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the large mushroom on Breloom's head immediately sprayed countless microscopic spores imperceptible to the naked eye, quickly spreading around the battlefield.
Noticing Breloom's actions, alarm bells rang loudly in Okamoto's mind.
His instincts told him that this move was extremely suspicious!
"Scyther, dodge quickly!"
Okamoto instinctively shouted.
Only then did he realize why this gym battle required wearing masks, but it was too late.
Due to the close proximity, by the time Breloom's mushroom sprayed its spores, Scyther had already inhaled quite a bit.
The once energetic Scyther immediately became listless, feeling dizzy and barely able to hear its trainer's commands.
Down and out, down and out!
Aiden smiled faintly, looking at the challenger whose face was visibly reddening even through the mask.
"Choosing based on type advantages is commendable, but being careless on the battlefield isn't a good habit."
As a competent trainer, what malicious intentions could Aiden possibly have?
He merely wanted to give novice trainers a heads-up, not use dirty tactics to disgust people.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately let Nemona remind them again.
If this Trainer Okamoto had carefully completed the questions he prepared earlier or observed Breloom's behavior more closely, he wouldn't have found it difficult to discover his tactics.
And once Breloom got this opportunity, the match became very difficult.
"..."
Stimulated by Aiden's words, Okamoto clenched his teeth tightly.
Isn't this too dirty?!
"Indeed, I was careless, but even so, a mere Breloom defeating my Scyther in one go is impossible!"
Okamoto naturally had the confidence to say this.
Scyther resisted Grass and Fighting four times over; even if it fell asleep, Breloom's attacks wouldn't hurt it much.
And as soon as it received an attack, Scyther would wake up.
You only have one chance to act!
What the challenger was thinking, Aiden could naturally see.
Still too young, Okamoto-kun~
His gaze turned to the Breloom he rented.
[Breloom (Male)]
[Type: Grass + Fighting]
[Ability: Technician]
[Moves: Mach Punch, Spore, Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Toxic, Brick Break, Seed Bomb, Swords Dance, Rock Tomb]
[Somewhat cheerful personality.]
If not for the abundance of Brelooms in the Paldea region, with over a dozen stored in the League, it wouldn't have been easy to find this perfect fit for his requirements.
While its strength was average, its moveset was nearly flawless, with Rock Tomb compensating for its offensive blind spots.
Very suitable as an "examiner."
"Breloom, use Rock Tomb to finish off the opponent in one go."
After Aiden's voice dropped, Okamoto's expression instantly turned terrified.
The reason was simple.
The Bug + Flying dual-type might perfectly resist Breloom's double STAB moves, but it also exposed a very fatal weakness.
Rock.
A Scyther with four times weakness to Rock would almost certainly not survive this move.
Moreover...
Okamoto suddenly remembered the question he glimpsed on the test paper earlier.
What is the effect of the Technician ability?
He actually could answer this because Scyther had the Technician ability among its known abilities.
Pokémon with this ability used low-power moves more effectively.
Simply put, attack moves below 60 power in the move list dealt more damage.
And Rock Tomb fell into this category!
So...
"I forfeit."
Before Breloom made its move, Okamoto decisively admitted defeat.
Given Scyther's current unprotected sleep state, it couldn't possibly withstand the impact of Rock Tomb, so it was better to surrender.
With his declaration, Breloom stopped its action of preparing to forcibly extract rocks from the ground.
"The challenger has conceded, so this battle is won by the gym leader!"
After Nemona, wearing a mask, announced the battle result, she immediately opened the windows to let the mushroom spores dissipate quickly.
The once confident Okamoto now stood dejectedly like a defeated rooster, head bowed.
Why is this gym's style so different from other places?
Shouldn't battles be passionate, blood-boiling exchanges of attacks?!
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