With a flash of red light, a Pokémon with short limbs, eyes closed just like Brock's, and a reddish-brown flower on its head appeared on the battlefield.
Its appearance was very similar to a Rafflesia from a tropical rainforest. The pistil on its head was surrounded by four spherical petals, and beneath the giant flower was a body resembling a blue plant bulb.
Pokédex: "Bip. Gloom, the Weed Pokémon. A Grass and Poison type. The evolved form of Oddish. It constantly has foul-smelling but honey-sweet drool hanging from its mouth. However, when it is relaxed, it will not release its stench. Only when it is nervous or senses danger will it release a foul odor to drive away enemies."
The smell emanating from Gloom spread, and even Natsui, standing in the trainer's box, could smell it from afar.
It seemed that, just like the Skuntank he encountered yesterday, this one also had the Stench ability!
Looking at Charmeleon, perhaps due to its previous experience, although it was also nauseated by the smell, it relied on the unyielding fighting spirit in its blood and stood its ground, refusing to retreat a single step!
Knowing that the longer he dragged this out, the more disadvantageous the situation would become, Natsui took the initiative: "Charmeleon, let's strike first!"
Charmeleon opened its mouth, and a flame stronger, larger, and hotter than Ember shot out!
"It's already learned Flamethrower?" Erika waved her hand and shouted, "Gloom, dodge it quickly!"
Unfortunately, without the boost from Chlorophyll, Gloom's slow speed made any attempt to dodge futile, and it was ultimately hit by the searing flames.
Its body was set ablaze, and when the flames subsided, Erika quickly commanded, "Gloom, use Sleep Powder!"
Encountering a first-move Sleep Powder like this, Natsui knew it would typically be followed by other powerful moves, so he didn't dare be careless and decisively ordered, "Charmeleon, use Smokescreen again!"
The smoke from the previous battle had long since dissipated. Charmeleon quickly spewed black smoke again, enveloping itself once more.
On the other side, clumps of powder drifted from Gloom's pistil, gradually spreading across the entire field and eventually seeping into the smoke.
While the smoke was still thin, through the faint silhouette, Erika could vaguely see Charmeleon standing in place, falling into a deep sleep.
"Excellent! Gloom, use Growth!"
Gloom's body glowed with a faint green light. Not only did it grow larger, but under the sunlight, the power of its moves was also greatly enhanced.
In the trainer's box, Natsui also understood that while Charmeleon was asleep, without being hit by an external force, it couldn't wake up on its own in a short amount of time. So he remained silent, observing the situation and waiting for what came next.
He had done what he could. Now, it was time to see the opponent's performance!
At this moment, after holding back for so long, Erika finally revealed her trump card.
"Gloom, use Solar Beam!"
Following Erika's command, Gloom began to absorb sunlight. Countless particles of light quickly gathered and condensed at its pistil, eventually forming an orb of light!
And that orb of light, upon reaching peak energy, was fired猛然 at Charmeleon!
A beam of light shot straight across, directly dispersing the layers of smoke and hitting Charmeleon squarely!
Solar Beam, an advanced Grass-type move that can cause massive damage. Because of its long preparation time, it usually needs to charge up by storing sunlight beforehand. But in today's abundant sunlight, its energy-gathering time was greatly reduced!
Charmeleon took the full damage, staggered, and fell to the ground.
Although Grass-type moves only deal half damage to Fire-types, with the boost from Growth, this single blow nearly caused Charmeleon to faint outright!
Charmeleon had a pained expression as it gritted its teeth and struggled back to its feet.
Both its stamina and its endurance were at their limit, but thanks to that beam of light, its sleep was finally broken!
It let out a roar, its Blaze ability activating. Before Natsui could even give a command, it charged towards Gloom on pure battle instinct!
"You're quite persistent!" Erika first praised it, then shook her head. "But with the little stamina you have left, what can you possibly do! Gloom, use Poison Powder!"
Gloom flapped its petals, and clumps of sickly green powder instantly formed a barrier in front of it.
Erika's intention was to force Charmeleon to change course, but to her surprise, it didn't dodge or evade at all. It charged into the Poison Powder, and before the move could take effect, it suddenly leaped high, pounced, opened its mouth, and with flames flickering between its teeth, bit down hard on Gloom!
In a flash, Gloom cried out in excruciating pain!
Fire Fang activated! Super effective!
"What!?"
Erika was shocked. Just as she was about to order Gloom to break free, she saw Charmeleon's body sway. The Poison Powder had drained its last bit of stamina, and it fainted on the ground.
She let out a long sigh of relief. But just as the blue-haired girl beside her was about to announce the result of the match, the unexpected happened!
Gloom's body suddenly took on a red hue, and it began to tremble violently as if it were burned all over!
"Oh no, it's the burn effect!"
Erika couldn't help but cry out, and just as the words left her mouth, Gloom collapsed, also unable to battle.
"This…"
Erika and the blue-haired girl looked at each other, both stunned by this outcome. It wasn't until a few seconds later that the blue-haired girl came to her senses and raised her right hand.
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle! The challenger is the winner!"
Taking out a Poké Ball, Natsui silently recalled Charmeleon. This gym challenge had been truly tough for it.
And that last turn of events had shown him Charmeleon's latent potential. If he trained it well in the future, it would surely become a powerful partner!
"Congratulations on defeating me and winning the Rainbow Badge." Erika walked up to Natsui at this point, applauding gently and saying sincerely, "I must say, your Charmeleon is really amazing. Its unyielding spirit at the end really impressed me."
"Its performance surprised me too." Natsui shook his head. "I will continue to train it and make it even more outstanding in the future."
Erika said no more, took a badge from her clothes, and handed it to Natsui.
Great, the fifth badge, finally in hand!
Looking at it closely, the badge was shaped like a blooming flower, and its several petals corresponded perfectly to the colors of the rainbow, making it very unique.
Placing it in his badge case, Natsui said gratefully, "Thank you for the battle, Ms. Erika. Well then, I hope we meet again someday."
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