Max had told Norman that Kashiwagi was a very powerful Trainer. Because of this intel, Norman had quietly dialed up the difficulty of the Gym challenge by a few notches.
Now, it seemed he had still underestimated Kashiwagi's capabilities.
The Pokémon he had prepared were likely a bit too far behind that Aggron in terms of level. When the level gap is too wide, it's difficult to execute complex tactics unless the opponent is willing to give you an opening.
Judging from the previous round, Kashiwagi was clearly not that foolish. The moment he realized Spinda could dodge moves, he shifted from narrow-range attacks to wide-area ones, and delivered the final blow the instant the enemy was weakened.
The synergy with Aggron was also quite impressive.
Thoughts raced through Norman's mind, but on the surface, he calmly recalled Spinda. "Good work, Spinda. My second Pokémon—Slakoth! I'm counting on you!"
Pop!
A flash of white light revealed a brownish-gray sloth with sleepy eyes, lying flat on the ground.
"Dig!"
Kashiwagi had no intention of switching Pokémon. The command was issued the moment Slakoth landed, and he quickly registered it in his Pokédex.
"Aggron!"
Aggron's claws churned the earth, and its massive frame vanished underground in an instant, leaving only a dark, gaping hole.
Seeing this, Norman shouted, "Water Pulse into the burrow!"
"Sla-ko~"
Slakoth stood up wobbling, but its reaction speed was not slow. A sky-blue sphere of water rapidly condensed in its palm and flew toward the hole left by Aggron.
The ground vibrated slightly, indicating movement below. Norman watched the surface, the scene before him seemingly slowing down in his eyes. As an elite Trainer, even if his Pokémon's power was inferior to the opponent's, his long-term experience allowed him to easily judge Aggron's path underground.
He could even observe the moves being used through subtle shifts in the soil—even without hearing the opponent's commands.
So, where would Aggron emerge?
"Sand Tomb!"
Hmm!?
Norman looked up sharply. In his slowed perception, he saw the Water Pulse successfully collide into the burrow. With a thud, the water erupted into a wave that flooded the hole, with some splashing out onto the grass.
At the same time, the vibration under Slakoth's feet intensified, and spiderweb-like cracks suddenly splintered the earth!
"Get out of there!"
BOOM!
In an instant, the ground collapsed. The solid rock turned into flowing sand at a visible rate. The massive pit caused the Slakoth, which failed to escape in time, to fall in and begin sinking!
"Aggroon!"
Aggron revealed itself at the very bottom of the Sand Tomb. The surrounding sand was noticeably darker than the outer edges; it seemed the Water Pulse had indeed hit its mark.
"Rock Tomb!"
"Blizzard!"
Kashiwagi and Norman issued their commands simultaneously.
Aggron roared, churning up the surrounding debris to create massive boulders that crashed toward Slakoth. The latter took a deep breath and exhaled sharply—visible white snowflakes accompanied by a fierce storm surged toward the falling rocks!
Crash!
The giant boulders disintegrated, unable to withstand the freezing breath and intense wind of the Blizzard.
Kashiwagi's breath hitched, only stabilizing when the rocks eventually suppressed the storm. Once Slakoth was successfully struck by the Rock Tomb, his expression relaxed.
Thud!
The massive rocks shattered, turning back into sand. Slakoth was half-buried in the grit, lying on its back with its eyes swirling in a daze.
"Aggrooon!!" Aggron let out a victorious howl.
"Slakoth is unable to battle! Aggron wins!" Kenny immediately raised his flag to announce the result.
Norman recalled Slakoth and praised, "Using Sand Tomb to leave Slakoth with nowhere to run... that was a commendable idea. Your Aggron is also very well-trained. Powerful novice Trainers like you are rare."
"You flatter me. Your Slakoth was also very impressive," Kashiwagi said sincerely.
In that brief moment, Slakoth's Blizzard had actually suppressed Aggron's Rock Tomb! A non-STAB move used by an unevolved form... if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Kashiwagi wouldn't have believed it. That Slakoth must have had its Effort Values cheated up to a level over a thousand.
Luckily, Aggron was sturdy enough.
"Now then, my third Pokémon—Vigoroth! I'm counting on you!"
Norman threw his Pokéball. On the other side, Kashiwagi recalled his Aggron from the sand pit and sent out a different Pokémon. "Hard work, Aggron. You're up!"
Pop! Pop!
Two crisp sounds of Pokéballs opening.
Vigoroth appeared, its red tuft of hair standing tall, looking incredibly hyperactive as if it couldn't stay still for a single second.
Falling not far from it was a milky-white, round stone.
"This is—"
Norman froze for a second, momentarily failing to realize if the object was even a Pokémon. But as a Gym Leader in Hoenn, his knowledge was broad enough to recognize most species, and he quickly recalled the name.
"Galarian Corsola... I remember it's a Ghost-type."
Recognizing it was one thing; having memories of battling one was another. Norman thought for a moment, and seeing that Kashiwagi hadn't attacked yet, he said, "If you aren't moving, then I'll go first! Shadow Claw!"
"VEE-guh!"
Vigoroth barked, lunging at Galarian Corsola with incredible speed. Its pitch-black claws were enveloped in a ghostly purple glow as it swung down mercilessly!
Whoosh!
The force and speed were so great that the air let out a sharp whistle.
But the moment the Shadow Claw made contact with Galarian Corsola, its hidden, smoke-like tentacles suddenly shot out, blooming like a firework and naturally sinking into Vigoroth's body.
Bang!
Shadow Claw hit, exploding in a cloud of smoke. Vigoroth quickly retreated, staring at the stone-like Galarian Corsola a short distance away. Its surface was still smooth, without a single scratch from the hit.
"Vig-uh?" The attack didn't work?
Vigoroth tried to lift its claw to strike again, but for some reason, its arm began to tremble.
"That's... Strength Sap!" Norman instantly recognized why Vigoroth had become "weak."
"Curse".
Having reduced Vigoroth's Attack to ensure it couldn't one-shot Galarian Corsola, Kashiwagi began his setup.
Two red lights glowed on the front of Galarian Corsola. An eerie purple light seeped from its body, then flew up and transformed into a screeching ghost-shadow that lunged at Vigoroth.
"Dodge it!" Norman waved his hand, and Vigoroth jumped aside to evade. However, the ghost-shadow dove straight into Vigoroth's shadow, vanishing within it.
The next instant, Vigoroth's own shadow took on the form of the ghost and began to tear at it.
"Vig—RROTH!" Vigoroth let out a cry of pain.