"Lopun—!"
A flash of purple light spread across Lopunny's face. She groaned softly, her body stiffening as pain surged through her nerves, her focus momentarily shattered.
"Perfect timing! Energy Ball!"
The barely-upright Roserade immediately condensed a vivid green sphere of energy. Lopunny, caught mid-reaction, was struck head-on.
BOOOOM—!
Smoke billowed. Lopunny was blasted backward, flipping once before landing in front of Peter.
"That just now…" Peter's brows knit tightly as he stared at Roserade, still battered but standing.
"Poison? No—bad poison?! When did that happen?!"
Then realization struck.
"…Floral scent?!"
Gardenia clapped lightly, smiling.
"Bingo~ Correct answer! Didn't expect you to notice so quickly—your observation skills are impressive."
Peter didn't feel impressed at all.
If Lopunny continued like this, the best-case scenario was a mutual knockout with Roserade.
But if that happened—
The Jumpluff in the back would be completely uncontested.
"Lopunny…" Peter clenched his fist.
Right now, all he could do was trust the Pokémon standing on the field.
"Lopun!"
Lopunny nodded firmly.
She could feel her Trainer's tension. Her eyes hardened with resolve.
Neither of them noticed that, at that very moment, the Mega Stone Peter had quietly equipped on Lopunny earlier gave off a faint, almost imperceptible shimmer.
…
Gardenia didn't hesitate.
"If you're still standing, then—Giga Drain!"
Giga Drain — Grass-type Special Attack, power 75. Restores half the damage dealt.
Peter's eyes lit up.
"Bounce! Dodge it—and use Encore midair!"
"…What?!"
Gardenia froze.
She had only intended to recover some HP, never expecting this kind of response.
Giga Drain failed to latch onto its target, while Encore landed cleanly.
"Well then," Peter lowered the brim of his cap, a confident smile tugging at his lips,
"this battle is mine."
"Lopunny—Baton Pass!"
"Lopun~!"
A radiant baton of light was tossed high into the air.
Lopunny dissolved into red light and returned to her Poké Ball.
The next instant, the third Poké Ball at Peter's waist burst open.
Indeedee appeared on the field, catching the glowing baton midair.
Baton Pass — A switching move that transfers all stat boosts to the next Pokémon!
"Indeedee—use…
S T O R E D P O W E R !!!"
"What?!"
Gardenia's heart lurched as she shouted, "Roserade—quick! Giga Drain!!"
Blue and red flowers bloomed violently in Roserade's hands as massive suction wrapped around Indeedee. Fine strands of green energy began tearing at her body—
But it was too late.
An overwhelming torrent of psychic light exploded outward from Indeedee, the psychic wave reaching Roserade in an instant.
KABOOOOOM—!
The battlefield cratered.
A deafening shockwave echoed through the entire Gym, the sheer force whipping Gardenia's hair wildly into disarray.
"Rosa—!"
Giga Drain was forcibly interrupted.
Roserade collapsed on the spot, completely defeated.
[Ding! Three-tier leap victory achieved!
Universal Talent Points ×30 obtained!]
…
Gardenia stood there in stunned silence before finally snapping back to reality.
"…That power—unbelievable. So this is a Baton Pass strategy?"
She stared at Indeedee in disbelief.
"But this Pokémon… it's only Beginner-tier?! And yet its movements are this fast?!"
Indeedee looked barely past her juvenile stage.
In all of Gardenia's years as a Gym Leader, she had never seen such an absurd Beginner-tier Pokémon.
Peter only smiled.
What Gardenia didn't know was that Indeedee hadn't just inherited three stacks of Bulk Up—
She had also inherited three stages of Speed from Lopunny's acceleration.
And for safety, Peter had used Encore to lock Roserade's action.
Moves like Giga Drain required binding first, draining later, making their activation time noticeably longer.
With triple Speed boosts stacked on top—
The outcome was inevitable.
….
As for the damage?
Peter had never doubted it.
Stored Power was the ultimate answer to Baton Pass strategies.
Base power: 20
Each stat boost: +20 power
With +3 Attack, +3 Special Attack, +3 Speed, that was:
➡ 200 base power
Then multiply:
STAB (150%)+250% Special Attack2× super-effective vs Poison
Final output—
👉 Approximately 1500 effective power.
If Indeedee weren't underleveled, hadn't only partially mastered Psychic Terrain, and if Roserade's level hadn't been so high—
Peter would've swept the entire Gym outright instead of softening targets first.
"…Whew."
Gardenia laughed, finally relaxing.
"That was a beautiful Baton Pass setup. Honestly—you dazzled me."
She recalled Roserade and took out her final Poké Ball.
"Then this is my last one. Jumpluff, I'm counting on you again!"
"Indeedee—Stored Power!"
Peter showed no mercy.
Indeedee had already stepped onto Toxic Spikes upon entry.
A drawn-out battle was completely unacceptable.
Psychic energy surged again.
Without Sunny Day or Tailwind, Jumpluff's evasive advantage vanished.
Forced into a corner, Gardenia called out:
"Protect!"
BOOM—!
Stored Power slammed into the center of the shimmering barrier, sending Jumpluff flying backward, barely holding on.
Peter's smile deepened.
Even without type advantage, that attack still carried 750 power.
And that was from a max-talent, 140 Special Attack, Baton-Passed Indeedee.
"Again—Stored Power!"
"Acrobatics! Dodge!"
"Stored Power!"
A terrifying psychic wave tore through the air and struck Jumpluff squarely mid-flight.
"Pluff—!"
Jumpluff was blasted away, crashing helplessly to the ground.
As the saying goes—
All fear comes from insufficient firepower.
Even with nearly a 20-level advantage, Jumpluff stood no chance against a fully unleashed Indeedee.
….
[Ding! Over-tier battle victory!
Universal Talent Points ×10 obtained!
Indeedee's mastery over Psychic energy has improved…]
Peter glanced over the system message.
After this round of experience, Indeedee's energy control had clearly improved.
Future leveling would be noticeably faster.
"Jumpluff is unable to battle.
All Gym Leader Pokémon are unable to battle.
The winner of this Gym Battle is the challenger—Peter!"
The referee's announcement finally rang out.
"Indeedee~!"
She cheered and jumped straight into Peter's arms, overjoyed.
Her very first official appearance—and such a decisive victory.
This battle meant everything to her growth.
"…Wow."
Gardenia walked over, placing a green, clover-shaped Badge in her palm.
"That was rough—really rough. I didn't win a single matchup. I walked straight into your calculations…"
She smiled warmly.
"Here. The Forest Badge is yours~"
"Thank you."
Peter stopped the recording on his phone and accepted the Badge.
At the same moment, the system chimed again.
[Ding! Main Quest 'Sinnoh Gym Challenger — Eterna Gym' completed!
Based on performance, Master Points ×10 obtained!
Rewards acquired:
TM — Sunny Day
TM — Giga Drain
Held Item — Big Root]
[Big Root:
When held, HP-draining moves recover 30% more HP.]
Peter's eyes gleamed.
Looks like Gym rewards are tied to Gym typing.
He immediately assigned Sunny Day to Lopunny, completing his weather framework.
Giga Drain and Big Root were perfect for Dolliv.
With the right matchup, Dolliv could easily become a sustain-based bruiser.
"Oh, right," Peter looked up.
"Gardenia—about that Intermediate Pokéblock recipe?"
"…Ah, that."
She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"You might need to make a trip to Eterna Forest."
"…That place," she admitted quietly,
"I really don't dare to go there myself—so I'll have to ask you."
--------------
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