When Vigoroth fell under the effects of Curse, it meant the countdown on its stamina had officially begun.
"Shadow Ball!"
Norman knew this well and intended to settle the match swiftly.
"Veeg-roth!"
Vigoroth suppressed the pain etched on its face, rubbing its claws together to manifest a sphere of pitch-black energy. It hurled it at Galarian Corsola like a bowling ball.
"Hold your ground!"
Kashiwagi shouted. He didn't order Galarian Corsola to dodge or use a defensive move; he chose to have it tank the Shadow Ball head-on.
Boom!
The Shadow Ball exploded against Galarian Corsola, the impact so painful that all of its spirit-tentacles flared out.
"Disable!"
A blue light replaced the red glow in its eyes. A massive blue ring of light expanded outward, followed by smoke-like tentacles that elongated and pierced into Vigoroth's body, causing it to freeze in place, unable to move.
The ghost-shadow from Curse flickered back into existence, relentlessly tearing at Vigoroth's shadow.
"Veeg-uh!" Vigoroth let out a cry of agony.
In the anime and manga, the effect of Disable differs from the games—at least in its ability to provide a temporary physical bind. Misty's Psyduck was considered a "bug" in the early days largely because of how Disable and Confusion were portrayed.
"Break free!" Norman yelled.
Vigoroth gritted its teeth savagely, fighting with all its might against the shackles of Disable. Relying on its sheer physical power, it quickly regained its freedom, but it was now temporarily unable to use Shadow Ball.
Kashiwagi: "Strength Sap!"
Now that Disable had ended its initial bind, it was time to chain into the next move.
"Coorsola!"
Galarian Corsola waved its tentacles, and motes of green light rose from Vigoroth, rapidly flowing into the coral Pokémon's body.
The recoil from Curse and the damage from Shadow Ball were swiftly mended.
Its Attack stat is seriously high.
Kashiwagi was secretly impressed. Strength Sap is a move where the higher the opponent's Attack, the more health is restored. For Vigoroth to heal Galarian Corsola to this extent after already being debuffed once was truly remarkable.
On the other side of the field, Norman was marveling at Kashiwagi's control over the flow of the battle.
Essentially, because Norman's first two Pokémon were slow-paced while Vigoroth was fast-paced, he usually used that shift in tempo to throw off a challenger's judgment. He hadn't expected Kashiwagi to adapt so seamlessly. Aggron was the proactive type looking for openings, but Galarian Corsola had shifted into a reactive "counter-puncher" style, establishing an advantage right from the start.
"Kashiwagi, you truly deserve praise in many regards," Norman said loudly. He checked Vigoroth's condition and suddenly shouted, "Then, this is the final move! Thunder!"
"Veeg-roth!!"
Vigoroth raised its claws high, blinding lightning sparking across its body. It converged into a dragon of thunder that roared toward Galarian Corsola!
Kashiwagi didn't say a word. Before Vigoroth even finished its startup, he had already pulled out a Pokéball, recalled Galarian Corsola, and swapped in his Colossal Steelix.
The massive Steelix appeared on the field and, before it could even let out a sound, was struck head-on by the incoming Thunder.
"St-eel?"
It looked blankly at the sparks dancing across its metallic skin. While it felt a bit warm, it wasn't even as hot as a summer noon in Pyrite Town.
"Vee... guh..."
Vigoroth, having exhausted its strength only to be defeated by type immunity, stared wide-eyed. Under the lingering effect of Curse, it lost its final sliver of stamina and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"V-Vigoroth is unable to battle! Steelix wins! The winner of the match is the challenger, Kashiwagi!"
Kenny took one shocked look at the Colossal Steelix and loudly announced the result.
Norman froze for a full two seconds before coming to his senses. He gave a helpless smile. "Even at the final moment, you stayed calm and played it safe, never pushing your Pokémon beyond their limits. Thank you, Kashiwagi. You gave me a wonderful battle!"
"Thank you!" Kashiwagi responded loudly.
Many Trainers, upon realizing they are about to win or lose, become impatient and make irrational moves. Kashiwagi didn't. He didn't even try to let Galarian Corsola tank the Thunder; instead, he exercised his right as a challenger to switch Pokémon, bringing out the Steelix that was immune to the attack.
As for its size... while rare, Norman felt it wasn't nearly as dazzling as the tactical qualities Kashiwagi had displayed.
"Good work, Vigoroth."
He recalled Vigoroth into its Pokéball, walked around the sand pit Aggron had created earlier, and approached Kashiwagi.
The latter was currently comforting his Steelix.
"It's okay! Taking a hit for the team is a crucial role, you know?"
"Steel..."
"I'll let you battle properly next time. I'm not a liar—cross my heart, hope to die. Pinky swear."
"Steelix~"
"Good boy. You were great taking that Thunder. Didn't you see I was too scared to let Galarian Corsola touch it?" Kashiwagi patted Steelix's massive head. Seeing Norman arrive, he greeted him, "Mr. Norman!"
"Congratulations!"
Norman smiled and pulled the prepared Balance Badge from his pocket. "This is the Badge you've earned. Keep it well."
"Thank you."
Kashiwagi took the Badge. When he played the games, he was always curious about how the Badges felt; now that he was touching a real one, it felt incredibly satisfying. Perhaps there was a bonus from the sense of achievement?
Norman continued, "If you aren't in a hurry to leave, come over for dinner tonight. We weren't quite prepared for your arrival earlier, so we'll make sure to host you properly this time."
"I'd be honored."
Facing Norman's enthusiasm, Kashiwagi couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he agreed.
-----
The Pokémon Center.
As Kashiwagi handed Aggron and the others to Nurse Joy, he saw Hideki entering from the front doors. Their eyes met, and the boy's eyes lit up as he ran over.
"Big Brother Kashiwagi—did you win?"
"I did indeed," Kashiwagi nodded.
Hideki looked stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting such a smooth victory. He quickly asked, "Then have you decided which Gym you're challenging next?"
"Rustboro City, of course. Why? Trying to bait me into your family's Gym again?" Kashiwagi looked at him with a knowing smirk.
"Hehehe..."
Hideki scratched his head, caught red-handed. He then pleaded, "Please! You have to challenge our Gym! I-I can pay you!"
"Hey! Are you pulling that nonsense again? If you're reported for paying people to challenge the Gym, your brother's Gym will be shut down tomorrow!"
Kashiwagi gave Hideki a playful knock on the head. "You're just a kid; where do you get all these self-destructive 'bright' ideas?"
"I didn't know!" Hideki pouted, clutching his head. He really didn't understand the rules of what was forbidden.
"Where's your brother?" Kashiwagi looked around but didn't see Toshiki. "If you guys don't have any challengers, what's he doing? Just sitting in the Gym waiting?"
"He's a Gym Leader! Of course he has to wait in the Gym for challengers! What if someone comes and he's not there? He'd miss them!" Hideki defended his brother.
"...Your brother's common sense is about as warped as yours. You two are birds of a feather." Kashiwagi sighed.