Chapter 47 Battle! Gym Leader Candice!
Regardless of whether it's a Z-Move or not, Link suspects he won't be able to actually use it without raising his Constitution to 15 or even higher.
Later, he lent the Divine Plan to Aru to see if she could use it, but the badge that had been shining brightly in his hands suddenly went darker than a black stone in Aru's hands.
It's safe to assume this item is bound to him; after all, it's a product of the simulator.
How to improve Constitution is a big problem, but in the simulator's shop, he saw a series of +2 attribute equipment similar to [Learning Crystal], planning to save up some money and gradually buy a set to use in rotation as needed.
After resting enough, Link, having further proven his worth as a Fire-type Trainer, resumed teaching.
He successfully earned over six thousand Poké Dollars that day; even if Poké Dollars' purchasing power in this world is roughly equivalent to Japanese Yen, that's over three hundred. He can take on more of these kinds of odd jobs in the future.
Later, A-Liu even invited him to go to Stark Mountain on Fire Island in a couple of days to witness firsthand the powerful wild Fire-type Pokémon…
A busy and surprising day came to an end, and tonight's assault team was wiped out again.
During the break, Link checked the information about Z-Moves with the Pokémon, which confirmed his guess. He also learned that if his psychic abilities improved, he wouldn't completely deplete his stamina.
The priority of emotion, energy, mental strength, and stamina was in descending order.
"I have another reason to train my psychic abilities. I'll do some emergency training after challenging the Snowpoint Gym."
"Fenne!"
Even Fennekin wanted to use the move that had left Litten speechless yesterday as soon as possible.
Early that morning, the two of them, one human and one fox, arrived at the Snowpoint Gym through the snow. After proving Link's abilities with the Rock Badge from the Hoenn region, they began their challenge against the Gym Leader.
*The image shows the lineup three years later.
Coincidentally, Candice, the 13-year-old Gym Leader of Snowpoint Gym, is similar to Roxanne, also a student from the Trainer Academy.
Dressed in a blue and white girls' uniform, she exudes energy and vitality, earning her the nickname "The Girl of Diamond Dust."
It sounds almost like the female disciple of a certain Aquarius Gold Saint…
"Challenge me, Candice? Sure! I'm waiting for a strong one.
"But I'm also very strong, you know?
"Whether it's Pokémon, fashion, or romance, whatever you do, you have to be strong!
"That's all for now, let me show you my aura, be prepared!"
"Go, Snover!"
"Litten, prepare for battle."
Yes, this is Link's first singles battle since arriving in this world... mainly because the Sinnoh region doesn't have the same prevalence of doubles battles as Hoenn, and there aren't any gym challenges with doubles modes.
Singles battles are different from doubles battles, which emphasize extreme teamwork; singles battles place more emphasis on teamwork, rotation, and the ability to predict and counter-predict.
In singles battles, the individual abilities of the Pokémon become more crucial, making it difficult to rely on tactical maneuvers like in doubles. Therefore, Link didn't attempt the highest difficulty level—his current training level isn't high enough to take on the gym leader's six main Pokémon single-handedly.
Both Pokémon entered the field, and as soon as they appeared, the Snover, which emerged from its Poké Ball, naturally activated the abundant cold energy within the gym, causing a light snowfall across the entire field.
Under snow, the defensive capabilities of Ice-type Pokémon are enhanced, and even the [Icy Rock] hanging around Snover's neck appears even harder.
"She's using the weather right away?" Link was somewhat surprised, not expecting Candice's level as a trainer to be much more reliable than Roxanne, who is a year older than her.
"Meow!"
Litten was unfazed. Although it was a male cat, its usual loud voice was unusually aggressive, and it issued a fierce threat.
Link won't translate what it said this time; he was more curious about how this classic game tactic would manifest in real life.
"Snover?!"
Snover's strength wasn't much greater than Litten's. As a Grass/Ice type, it was immediately intimidated by its opponent's aura.
Although Mega Abomasnow's strength was surprisingly outstanding, Abomasnow and Snover were truly indescribable, representing the epitome of Grass and Ice type weaknesses.
Slow and fragile, it could activate its weather ability but couldn't deal damage. One Fire-type move from its opponent couldn't even withstand two of its lives!
"Don't be afraid! Snover, show your spirit! Release 'Mist'!"
It's true that Snover is incredibly fragile, and the fact that the Gym Leader can't switch out in Gym battles amplifies this fatal flaw. But as long as it uses 'Mist' to conceal its form, it can use 'Water Pulse' to ambush the opponent's Fire-type Pokémon!
"Fake Out," Link said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Litten meowed again and made a gesture as if to spray fire at Snover.
The latter, about to release 'Mist,' subconsciously interrupted its move, pretending to dodge, only to find that its opponent hadn't released any fire at all...
In reality, 'Fake Out' isn't a rule-based move that would force Arceus to take a slap and stop for a turn; it doesn't even cause any damage.
Rather than a move, it's more like a sumo technique derived from what's called 'Cat Deception.'
※This is also why most cats in the game can learn 'Fake Out.'
In sumo wrestling, when both sides are highly focused and locked in a tense standoff, one side will initiate a move to attract the other's attention while simultaneously clapping their hands in front of them, disrupting their focus, causing them to make incorrect judgments, or even enter a momentary state of paralysis.
This tactic utilizes the frozen reaction of creatures when faced with sudden situations, and individuals with poor mental fortitude are more easily affected.
In other words, the essence of the "Fake Out" move is actually a feint.
However, in reality, it feels very stiff—it often loses its effectiveness when explained by a trainer, and powerful Pokémon can be trained to be completely immune.
"The effect is better than I expected, but..."
Link frowned. Litten's "Fake Out," combining its intimidation and battle instincts, was indeed effective, but this should indeed be integrated into the Pokémon's battle instincts and intuition, rather than a "move" that requires trainer prompting.
This also means that in many situations, the "Fake Out" will be directly immune to by the opponent, making it unreliable as a mindless skill that can be used to allocate tactical resources, and sometimes even creating opportunities for the opponent to attack.
"Ember."
Instead of choosing "Flame Fang," which is theoretically optimal but gives the opponent time to react during the charge, Link had Litten use "Ember," a weaker but faster attack.
Without the trainer needing to say a word, Litten, understanding perfectly, unleashed a laser-like beam of fire, accurately striking its opponent who had been tricked into openings by the feint.
"Snover is unable to battle," the referee announced mercilessly, as if he had witnessed this scene countless times before.
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(End of Chapter)