[No way—Tyrogue steamrolled a Scyther?]
[Streamer, are you stalling evolution on purpose for hype?]
[That Tyrogue's raised well, but it needs a catalyst to evolve, ru.]
[If you've got ideas, swing by the Isle of Armor and talk shop with this old man, ru. (sends 99 × Hype Tickets)]
Two golden, glittering messages stood out in chat.
ID: Isle of Armor Master Mustard
Having just finished off one of Jeanette's Pokémon, Grey glanced at the stream while she was still stunned—and those gold messages grabbed him instantly.
"Thanks to 'Isle of Armor Master Mustard' for the 99 hype tickets! Whew—Isle of Armor… that's in the Galar region, right?"
"I don't have time to go now, Mustard-sensei, but thanks for the invite. Once things calm down, I'll pay the Isle of Armor a visit."
Just saying "Isle of Armor" got Grey fired up.
Master Mustard—that's got to be Mustard!
And Mustard has Kubfu. That Pokémon is no joke.
Its evolution, Urshifu, hits like a truck.
Its signature styles land guaranteed critical hits, and its Ability punches through Protect—top-tier stuff.
If he could receive a Kubfu from Mustard and raise it into Urshifu, the scenes he could put on… unreal.
The Gym Selection Tournament kicks off in a month.
If he could get a Kubfu and evolve it before then, his odds would skyrocket.
Even if that didn't pan out, the Isle of Armor is crawling with Fighting types—perfect chance to bolster the dojo's roster.
With that, Grey decided to pick an auspicious day this month to head to the Isle of Armor and trade notes with Mustard-sensei.
For now, the gym battle continued.
"Jeanette, don't give up! You still have your ace!"
"Yeah, Jeanette—send out your trump card and flip the board!"
"Nothing's settled yet—we're all dark horses!"
Her cheering squad finally earned their keep.
When in doubt, drown the air in compliments.
At least emotionally, it did the trick.
"Mm…"
Buoyed by the shouts, Jeanette came back to herself; her posture sharpened. "Master Grey, I was discourteous just now. Next, I'll send out the ace of my team!"
Grey nodded. "Bring it."
With a thump, a slender-bodied Pokémon whose head looked a bit like a peashooter hit the field.
"Seee-bah~"
It was—Bellsprout!
[Bellsprout? That's… a warm body, right?]
[No way the streamer planted a shill, yeah? Cute opponent means easy ratings.]
[If it's cute you want, get the milk-white Snow Girl type. That's my jam.]
The chat clowned on Jeanette, but Grey didn't let his guard down.
He knew this Bellsprout was special. You couldn't judge it with "normal" eyes.
"Master Grey, I'll be frank."
Jeanette spoke slowly. "This kid has real talent for martial forms. If I make mistakes in this fight, please offer guidance. I'll thank you in advance."
"Of course. Coaching challengers is a gym leader's duty."
Grey inclined his head and let Jeanette take the initiative.
"Bellsprout, Vine Whip!"
Jeanette's lashes flicked; she opened with an attack that was both yielding and firm.
"Seee~bah!"
Bellsprout swayed; leaflike arms extended into two supple, whip-like vines.
They sliced the air as they lashed in!
Swish, swish!
Even from the sound alone, you could feel the power.
Soft vines or not, they carried rock-shattering force—if they landed on Tyrogue, they'd leave deep welts.
Speed beats all.
Grey chose to borrow force and return it, countering with pure acceleration. "Rapid Spin!"
Zzzzz—
The dojo thrummed like a drill; Tyrogue's spin hit eye-blurring speed—so fast it looked almost still.
"Seee-bah!"
Bellsprout swung hard, trying to blast Tyrogue off its feet with sheer strength.
Whip-whip-whip!
The vines thudded into Tyrogue—and nothing happened. To the eye, it looked like… whipping a toy top.
Jeanette's expected scene didn't appear. Instead, the fine hairs by her ear fluttered in the wind.
"What?!"
The tickle at her ear made something click. Jeanette froze at Grey's gambit.
She'd figured a precise Vine Whip could threaten Tyrogue.
Why did it look like she'd just… made Tyrogue faster?
Because she had.
At high spin, Tyrogue borrowed the vines' momentum to ramp its rotation even higher—basically piggybacking a second Rapid Spin.
"Bellsprout, retract the vines, now!"
Grey counter-called: "Tyrogue, ride it—Rapid Spin again!"
Da-da-da—!
Tyrogue's speed spiked to the brink. The silent wind haloing its body actually pulled the vines taut, making it look like they'd bound it.
They hadn't.
Only Bellsprout knew what it had angered.
It tried to let go—but too late.
Tyrogue's "invisible legs" stormed in; Bellsprout felt like a sedan had plowed into it.
Countless kicks blurred across its face; the wind burned its skin, guard unraveling—out cold on the spot.
[So… where's that "martial talent"? I only saw a poor Bellsprout facialed by Tyrogue and deleted.]
[Ace, huh? Kinda worse than the Scyther from last round…]
[Board's decided. That's just a jobber.]
Silence.
Dead-still silence.
Jeanette stared at the sprawled Bellsprout, speechless.
It felt like wandering through a brush on Summoner's Rift as a glass-cannon marksman—eating Electrocute, then the hidden sisters. One silky little string later, she somehow owed health bars.
[...]
[What's the guy above saying? Why the endless ellipses?]
[He said: "Nice match. I'd like to visit sometime. Shame I'm not in Kanto right now."]
Grey noticed the long line of "..." too. A wild translator popped up—he glanced at the sender's ID.
ID: Red!
Holy—
A single coaching match and I ran into three Champion-tier trainers?!
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