Grey gave the order.
Poliwag snapped its tail and slammed the floor!
Water surged up, rippling outward.
In a blink, the waves rose out of nowhere, lifting Poliwag until it loomed over Cloyster!
"Poli—wag!"
Poliwag looked down at Cloyster from above. A huge shadow covered most of the field as it closed in!
K-CRACK—!!!
The frozen Whirlpool smashed into the cresting wave. Cold rushed out in a gale, flash-freezing most of Poliwag's Surf!
But the effect Grey wanted was already in place!
Now Poliwag hovered over Cloyster, the high-ground pressure bearing down hard.
"Mud Shot!"
Grey's command snapped out.
"Poli—wag!"
Poliwag's mouth yawned wide and spat an uncountable volley of earthen shots, showing no mercy as they peppered Cloyster!
There were so many clods that a bead of cold sweat ran down Cloyster's brow—how was it supposed to dodge this?
Seeing Poliwag's fierce barrage, Daisy called out in a rush: "Hurry, Withdraw!"
"Cloy—ster!"
Cloyster tried to clamp its shells shut.
But Mud Shot moved too fast. Before the back shell could seal the front, several shots struck the true body locked between the twin shells!
Splat!
Yellowish mud pasted over Cloyster's face, its white eyes immediately stained the color of muck.
The leftover crest of the wave came crashing down just then, smacking Cloyster right on the head!
Two chained blows left Cloyster a little out of it, head swimming.
[If that were a different color, the stream would get banned.]
[If only he'd used Water Gun instead…]
The chat scrolled. Idea-guys zipped by.
[I have a plan! If the streamer caught an Onix…]
[Cut the schemes. Don't defile the sacredness of Pokémon battles!]
While the jokes flew, Cloyster's Withdraw plan got cut off on the spot; Daisy's "tactic" didn't pan out.
"Finish it—Mud Shot!"
"Poli—wag!"
Dropping from above, Poliwag blasted Cloyster with mud again!
The clods roared out like a machine gun, hammering Cloyster's vulnerable core without leaving a single gap!
The impact sent Cloyster flying, tumbling for dozens of meters before it finally skidded to a stop.
Dust billowed. Cloyster lay sprawled inside it, unable to battle.
"Cloyster is unable to battle. Gym Leader Daisy, please send out your next Pokémon."
Bumiao announced the result.
"Hah… lost after all, huh…"
Smiling helplessly, Daisy recalled Cloyster, not surprised by the outcome.
Still, getting through a few of Grey's Poliwag's moves wasn't half bad.
"Ms. Daisy, why doesn't your Cloyster know any physical-category moves?"
As the first bout ended, Grey voiced his doubt.
Cloyster's Ability is Skill Link—when it uses multi-hit moves, it hits the maximum number of times.
If it learned Icicle Spear and Rock Blast, it would actually give Poliwag a real threat.
"Huh?"
Daisy tilted her head.
Grey: …
One look at that blank, adorable stare and Grey knew—she really didn't understand this part.
"I just saw Ms. Lorelei use those kinds of moves a lot, so I copied her. Is… is that wrong?"
Daisy didn't know Cloyster well; she'd picked it because it's Water-type, and with Lorelei as a "ready-made answer," she decided to raise one.
Call it a case of knowing next to nothing.
"Nothing wrong—but if your Cloyster has Skill Link, teach it Icicle Spear and Rock Blast. It'll be much stronger overall."
Grey offered the tip.
Daisy tapped her chin, enlightened. "Got it! I'll learn them when I get back! Thanks, Gym Leader Grey—you're handsome and kind."
Their exchange perked up the chat. Plenty of folks thought of a certain Elite.
[Icicle Spear and Rock Blast—I remember those wreck Lance's whole team, right?]
[Isn't Lance a Dragon-type Elite? How does Rock Blast counter him?]
[Shows what you know—Lance's team runs lots of Flying-types. At one point he even had more Flyers than Dragons.]
[Wow, if Ms. Daisy trains this Cloyster up, won't she one day knock Lance out of the saddle?]
[Daisy: Me, fight Lance? For real?]
[Haha, I'd love to see Gym Leader Daisy challenge me someday. (sends Ultra Ball×6)]
[That gold chat's putting on airs—wait, no, that's real!]
The rainbow of comments suddenly snapped into a sea of "???"
ID: Dragon Master Lance!
"Thanks to 'Dragon Master Lance' for the six Ultra Balls! Wow—Lance, you're too generous. I'm already thrilled you dropped by the stream, and you even sent such a pricey gift!"
Grey was pleasantly stunned—he hadn't expected this stream to draw the man himself.
He'd seen Red, Blue, and Mustard around online before, but running into another member of the Elite Four was still a shock.
[Seeing Kanto Gym Leaders help each other like this moves me a lot.]
[Just a small token of appreciation—and consider it a tiny investment in the Fighting Dojo.]
[Alright, back to work for me. If there's time, I hope we can discuss Pokémon-raising in person.]
Lance fired off three messages in a row.
Then his avatar vanished from the stream.
[Streamer, streamer—how come you didn't call him "Lance-Lance the Elite" this time? (sends Parting Shot×3)]
"Thanks to 'Hoenn-is-the-Origin-of-Dragon-Elites' for the three Parting Shots—both my offenses just dropped three stages. Also, you're a bit chatty today, huh? We run a friendly, cozy stream here—let's avoid anything that hurts unity."
Grey gave that user a playful scolding. While the second match hadn't started, he skimmed a few more messages.
[Streamer, which day this month are you free? My lady would like to call on you. (subscribes: Member, Star Guardian, Governor)]
"Thanks to 'Battle Castle—Official' for the monthly sub. Other than the gym bracket at month's end, I'm mostly free. If you want to find me, come by the Fighting Dojo~"
The second he saw that official account, Grey knew who it was.
Naturally, Caitlin's butler, Darach.
Though… why use the official account this time?
Grey didn't dwell on it. He looked back to Daisy.
"Let's start the second battle, Ms. Daisy. Want to keep fighting Poliwag, or go for a higher difficulty?"
"Go higher—I want this kid to grow."
Daisy drew a Great Ball and tossed it down.
A deep-blue turtle Pokémon took the field, with wing-like ear fins at the sides of its head and a tail as smooth as a cresting wave.
[Pokémon: Wartortle]
[Type: Water]
[Level: 35]
[Ability: Torrent]
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810