Against all odds in a one-versus-two situation, Gary launched a fierce counterattack and successfully took down Sandshrew.
The moment Sandshrew collapsed, the spectators outside erupted into cheers for him.
"Heh… not bad, kid—you've got some skill~"
"But that Wartortle of yours is running on fumes now, isn't it?"
"Next… it's our turn to strike back."
"Ekans, Dig!"
As he spoke, Fukuoka recalled Sandshrew into its Poké Ball and immediately issued the counterattack command.
Bang—!
Ekans dove headfirst into the battlefield, disappearing underground in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the field was left with only Wartortle standing.
As a Poison-type Pokémon, Ekans wasn't like Sandshrew—it wasn't hard-countered by Water-type attacks.
Even if hit by Water Gun, it would still only suffer limited damage.
And ordinary water flooding inside tunnels posed little threat to it at all.
Snakes could burrow.
They could swim.
They could track prey by scent—and even detect body heat through infrared vision.
Once Ekans disappeared underground, Gary's earlier strategy of flooding the tunnel became useless.
And most importantly—
That Rapid Spin + Water Gun combo had drained far too much of Wartortle's stamina.
Just as Fukuoka said, Wartortle was already running on empty.
…
The remainder of the battle didn't drag on for long.
With its stamina depleted, Wartortle's movements grew sluggish and unresponsive.
In contrast, although Ekans had taken some damage earlier, it still retained plenty of vitality.
At first, Wartortle managed to avoid some of Ekans's Dig attacks by retreating into its shell—but as its reactions slowed, it gradually became nothing more than a stationary target.
After enduring several more rounds of underground assaults—
Thud—!
Wartortle finally collapsed.
"Wartortle has lost its ability to battle!
"With both Pokémon defeated, Trainer Gary is eliminated!
"The winner of this match is Trainer Fukuoka!"
The referee's voice rang out clearly across the arena.
…
Clap—clap—clap…
Clap—clap—clap…
The audience erupted into applause for both sides.
Fukuoka's 'Snake-and-Mouse Dig Strategy' truly lived up to its reputation—it was incredibly difficult to deal with.
Unless one resorted to large-scale flooding or something like Earthquake, most Trainers simply had no effective answer.
In Ash's eyes, if this Dig strategy were further refined—
integrating a sandstorm setup with moves like Sand Tomb and Sandstorm—
Even Earthquake, the classic counter to Dig tactics, could potentially be neutralized.
All in all, Ash had to admit it:
This Trainer named Fukuoka was no pushover.
His strategy had real depth and frightening potential.
That said—
Gary managing to come up with Rapid Spin + Water Gun on the fly, sacrificing Sandshrew and nearly wearing Ekans down, was an impressive showing in its own right.
The applause ringing through the stadium wasn't just for the victor—
a good portion of it was meant for Gary as well.
After all, Fukuoka was a seasoned city-arena veteran.
Gary, on the other hand, was still very much a newcomer.
-----
Player Waiting Lounge
"You did great, Gary," Ash said with a grin as Gary returned, giving him a friendly punch on the shoulder.
"You almost outlasted Ekans there. Looks like all that training really paid off."
"Obviously," Gary replied smugly.
"Sure, I can't compare to a monster like you—but I'm still Pallet Town's famous genius Trainer."
Ash laughed.
"By the way, even the losing side gets prize money here.
And if you knock out an opponent's Pokémon or pull off something flashy, the reward goes up."
"So—how much did you get?"
"Hold on, let me check."
Gary pulled out his phone, logged into the arena's official site, and checked his personal page.
"1,500 Poké Dollars. Not bad."
Even though neither of them was short on money, city arena rewards weren't measured in cash value alone.
That was because the arena's official online shop offered rare items supplied directly by the League—
items that could only be purchased using arena prize money.
And those points couldn't be transferred, traded, or bought with cash.
The only way to earn them was to keep battling.
Which made every single point incredibly precious.
Inside the arena's shop, everything was available—
from standard Poké Balls and Pokémon food…
…to rare Pokémon eggs, elite breeder Pokémon, and even special Pokémon items that couldn't be found anywhere on the open market.
Of course, most of the truly valuable items came with strict purchase requirements.
Battle count.
Win rate.
Star ranking.
Even though prices were heavily subsidized by the League, if you didn't meet the requirements—
you simply couldn't buy them.
Ash himself wasn't planning on catching new Pokémon anytime soon, so eggs and Pokémon offspring didn't interest him much.
What he wanted were Pokémon hold items:
Light Ball — exclusive to Pikachu
Quick Claw — boosts claw strength and action speed
Sharp Beak — enhances beak attacks and Flying-type moves
The Light Ball was for Pikachu.
The Quick Claw and Sharp Beak were both meant for Spearow.
However, to purchase Pokémon items normally, a Trainer needed not only sufficient battle history and win rate—but also a three-star rank or higher.
Ash hadn't even started ranked battles yet.
His star count?
Zero.
In other words, he was still very far from meeting the conditions.
But—
The city arena had one special rule.
A Trainer's very first purchase could ignore all restrictions and be bought at half price.
Which meant Ash could choose one item—
Light Ball, Quick Claw, or Sharp Beak—
and buy it at 50% off, regardless of rank.
Even so, Pokémon items averaged around 1,000,000 Poké Dollars each.
Half price still meant over 500,000 Poké Dollars.
And the discount only applied to one item.
With three items on his wish list—
Ash knew he'd have to choose very carefully.
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T/N:
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