"I hope your performance won't disappoint me," Brock said confidently as he glanced at Sam.
…?
After spending several days repeatedly crushing a rookie like Ash Ketchum, Brock had clearly grown a little distracted.
As one of the strongest Gym Leaders in the Kanto region, someone often mentioned alongside the Cerulean Gym, how could he say something like that so casually?
Sam stepped onto the battlefield, feeling slightly bewildered.
"Ash, watch carefully how others battle. It'll do you good," Brock added.
Before Ash could leave, Misty grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the spectator seats to watch Sam's Gym Challenge.
"The rules are simple," Brock explained patiently. "This is a 1v1 battle. Each side may use two Pokémon. During the match, only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokémon. Do you understand?"
Sam nodded.
Unlike Ash's reckless approach, he had already learned the Pewter Gym's rules before coming.
"Then let the battle begin. Go, Geodude!"
"The decision is yours, Bulbasaur."
When Brock saw Sam's choice, he nodded slightly. At least in terms of Pokémon selection, Sam was already far better than Ash.
And as a breeder himself, Brock could tell at a glance, Sam's Bulbasaur had been raised impeccably.
He couldn't help but praise it. "An excellent Bulbasaur. Flawless in every aspect."
"Thank you," Sam replied calmly. "But I won't go easy just because of that."
"Hahaha, good. That's exactly what I want. Geodude, use Rollout!"
The moment he saw Bulbasaur, Brock abandoned any hint of arrogance and threw himself fully into the battle.
Just as Sam had expected, Geodude opened with Rollout.
But he already had a counter ready.
"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf."
The biggest weakness of Rollout is its slow startup. Sam's command struck perfectly at that flaw.
Geodude curled into a ball, but before it could build momentum, countless razor-sharp leaves slashed into it like flying blades.
Caught completely off guard, Geodude let out a painful cry.
Still, as a Pokémon carefully trained by Brock, it wasn't taken down by Razor Leaf alone.
"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip, now!"
Before Geodude could recover, Sam immediately followed up.
Emerald-green vines shot out from Bulbasaur's body and lashed Geodude heavily.
At that moment, Geodude could only feel aggrieved. With no long-range attacks, it was nothing more than a living target against Bulbasaur, unable to fight back at all.
Under Sam's precise command, Bulbasaur never gave it a chance to close the distance. Being beaten without the ability to retaliate was pure frustration.
"Geodude is unable to battle. Bulbasaur wins."
Brock frowned slightly as he recalled Geodude.
He hadn't expected Sam to be this troublesome.
Judging by Sam's Bulbasaur, he was clearly a Trainer who had only just begun his journey not long ago.
Brock glanced toward Ash in the stands, emotions stirring in his heart.
Both were rookie Trainers, but the gap between them was enormous.
Ash, however, had no idea what Brock was thinking. His full attention was fixed on the battle.
Sam's command style had completely shocked him. He had never imagined that a Trainer could influence a battle to such an extent.
Misty seized the moment and said, "Charging in with passion alone isn't enough, Ash. Strategy matters most."
"Yeah! I get it, Misty!" Ash replied eagerly.
…Do you really?
Misty wasn't so sure.
The battle on the field continued.
"The match goes on. Go, Onix!"
Here it comes.
A massive Onix, towering like a small mountain, appeared on the battlefield. The moment it landed, it let out a thunderous roar.
Onix's presence didn't scare Bulbasaur in the slightest.
Despite being only a fraction of Onix's size, Bulbasaur stood its ground and roared back defiantly.
"That's the spirit, Bulbasaur," Sam said with satisfaction. "No matter what kind of opponent you face, never be afraid. Razor Leaf!"
Once again, scimitar-like leaves filled the air, all of them slashing toward Onix under Bulbasaur's control.
"Onix, Rock Throw!" Brock commanded calmly.
He didn't bother trying to dodge the incoming Razor Leaf at all, choosing instead to counterattack directly.
It was the correct decision.
Onix was simply too large to completely evade Razor Leaf. In that case, it was better to ignore the damage and strike Bulbasaur head-on.
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