South of the city, surrounded by layered mountain ranges, Peter arrived on foot at an artificially carved cave entrance.
From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary mountain cave…
But in truth, this was the uniquely styled Oreburgh Gym.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Peter called out from outside.
The interior was pitch-black and eerily quiet—no sign of anyone at all.
"That dummy… doesn't he know Roark's a miner?"
From behind a massive boulder nearby, Whitney pouted.
"In the daytime, unless you make an appointment, he's always digging at the Oreburgh Mine."
Beside her, Mary rolled her eyes.
"So the reason you insisted on going to the coal pit earlier was to help Peter find the Gym Leader?"
Whitney nodded.
"Yeah! Otherwise he'd have to make another trip."
"???" Mary's blood pressure spiked.
"So you were totally fine with your best friend coming back covered head to toe in coal dust?!"
Seeing Mary's furious expression, Whitney replied weakly,
"Didn't you say… you were the guide dog…?"
"???" Mary stared at her in disbelief.
"I—!!!"
"Sorry, sorry! I kinda… took it literally~"
Mary: #%…&*￥%
-----
At the Gym entrance, seeing no one around, Peter was about to leave when a cheerful voice called out from behind him.
"You here to challenge the Gym?"
Peter turned around to see a young man in mining gear, a shovel slung over his shoulder.
"Uh… yeah."
"Sorry about that," the man said with a grin.
"I usually help out at the mines, so I'm a bit late. Come on in!"
Roark pulled out a key and opened the massive stone door.
Peter followed him into the "cave."
Inside was a huge battlefield scattered with rocky terrain—clearly a classic Rock-type arena.
Roark glanced at the Buneary and Smoliv in Peter's arms.
"Judging by you, you're still a rookie Trainer, right? Gym rules are 3v3. Can you handle that?"
Peter froze, then scratched his head awkwardly.
"I… only have two Pokémon for now."
"Hm?" Roark glanced at the weathered Poké Ball at Peter's waist.
"Then you'll probably need to build up more experience before—"
"Well, uh…" Peter cut in, lifting his head with a confident smile.
"Would 2v3 be okay?"
In the corner of the Gym, Mary muttered softly,
"Why doesn't he just use Miltank for the Gym battle?"
Whitney tilted her head, eyes fixed on the boy in the arena, a sweet smile forming.
"You wouldn't understand…"
Thunk.
Mary flicked Whitney on the forehead.
"Keep bullying me and I'm leaving you here alone! Hmph!"
"Ow—hey, that hurt!"
Whitney clutched her head, looking pitiful, but didn't argue—only turned her gaze back to the battlefield.
"It is possible," Roark said slowly,
"But in that case, earning the badge will be extremely difficult."
Peter smiled.
"I have faith in my partners."
"…Alright." Roark nodded.
…
A moment later, both sides took their positions at the edge of the field.
At Roark's signal, the referee hurried in from outside.
"Match rules: 2v3! Only the challenger may freely switch Pokémon!
When all Pokémon on one side lose the ability to battle, the match ends!
Now—Peter from Goldenrod City challenges Oreburgh Gym Leader Roark!
Challenger moves first—battle begin!"
"Buneary, ready!"
"Go, Geodude!"
[Geodude lv20 (Intermediate)]
Seeing the level, Peter knew Roark was clearly taking his rookie status into account.
Without hesitation, Peter waved his hand.
"Buneary—Charm!"
The referee's flag fluttered.
Roark raised an eyebrow.
"Defense Curl, then Rollout!"
Charm-based debuffs were almost impossible to dodge at low levels, so Roark opted for an aggressive combo instead.
Geodude curled up and began rolling forward with momentum—
"Hide behind the rocks," Peter said calmly.
Buneary leapt behind a boulder. Forced to change direction, Geodude's Rollout chain was broken.
Peter smiled slightly.
After all, having raised Miltank for so long, he knew Rollout inside and out.
"Again—Charm!"
"Mi-chuu~!"
Pink hearts floated out.
Geodude's attack dropped again.
Roark sighed.
"Geodude—Stealth Rock!"
Stealth Rock scattered sharp stones across Peter's side of the field.
After two Charms, Geodude's Attack had dropped by four stages—it was basically neutered as an attacker, reduced to utility duty.
Peter's eyes gleamed.
Honestly… Gym Leaders not being allowed to switch Pokémon is way too exploitable for someone like me.
A physical attacker crippled by Charm twice was effectively done for, and none of Geodude's moves posed any threat to Smoliv in the backline.
If Peter were Roark, he'd already want to forfeit.
"Self-Destruct is learned at… level 24, right?" Peter murmured.
In official matches, he rarely checked opponents' skill lists with the system—
If his goal was to become a Normal-type Master, then top-tier opponents would always have complete move pools anyway.
"…Better wait a bit longer."
To ensure victory, he needed to stay extra—
—or rather, extremely—safe.
"Buneary, Copycat!"
The little rabbit focused—and Stealth Rock appeared on Roark's side of the field as well.
"Geodude, Bulldoze!"
Bulldoze slammed into the ground, sending vibrations toward Buneary and lowering her Speed.
"So you're trying to slow me down to ensure Rollout connects…"
Peter nodded.
"Not bad."
From Roark's perspective, unable to switch Pokémon, this strategy might have chipped away at Buneary's HP over time.
But—
Peter's lips curled upward.
"Ignore it. Rain Dance."
Geodude stomped again, but with its Attack heavily reduced, the damage was negligible.
Roark wiped sweat from his forehead.
This feels awful…
He had the HP advantage.
He had more Pokémon.
Yet something felt deeply wrong.
Drizzle began to fall across the open arena.
"Geodude—Defense Curl, then Rollout!" Roark pressed on.
"Come back, Buneary."
Peter recalled her and immediately threw his second Poké Ball.
"Smoliv—Growth!"
"…What?!"
Under Stealth Rock and Rollout pressure, Smoliv still stood her ground.
Relying on her outstanding defenses, she endured the assault.
Green light surged around her—both Attack and Special Attack rose sharply.
Peter grinned, speaking the words that once spelled doom for countless opponents in his previous life:
"Then now—
the sweep equation is complete."
…
The rain fell harder.
And the Gym battle…
had just crossed the point of no return.
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