"Please, Nidorina!"
After her Ivysaur was defeated by Gary's Nidorino, Leaf sent out her own power-focused Pokémon.
"Good thing Nidorino doesn't have Rivalry as its Ability!" Gary let out a sigh of relief. "But Nidorina's strength can't compare to Nidorino's!"
"That's not necessarily true!" Leaf revealed a confident smile, which made Gary raise his guard slightly. He wanted to see what Nidorina was capable of to make Leaf so confident.
"Nidorino/Nidorina, use Double Kick!" ×2
The two Pokémon followed their trainers' commands and swiftly twisted their bodies to unleash Double Kick. But to Gary's surprise, although Nidorino originally held the advantage in strength, it seemed to be losing out slightly in raw power against Nidorina.
"Could it be…" Gary's eyes lit up as he quickly guessed the reason. "Your Nidorina has a Hidden Ability—Hustle?!"
(Hustle: Attack increases to 1.5× its original value, physical move accuracy ×0.8.)
"Nidorina was a child I worked very hard to catch. She really made me worry back then!" Leaf replied. Nidorina's personality was just as energetic, nearly driving Leaf to a breakdown shortly after catching her. What kind of Pokémon was this lively and mischievous?
"You're pretty lucky~" Gary said helplessly. Pokémon with Hidden Abilities were rare. Some outstanding Hidden Ability genes could greatly enhance a Pokémon's battle power.
"But Nidorina is still lacking a bit!" Gary declared confidently. "Nidorino, use Horn Attack!"
Nidorino let out a savage roar. Its heavy footsteps made Leaf wary—Ivysaur had lost precisely because of Nidorino's strength.
"Use Dig to avoid the attack, then look for a chance to strike!"
Nidorina swiftly used her feet to dig neatly into the ground, successfully avoiding Nidorino's Horn Attack.
"Sorry, Leaf! I've been really looking forward to battling Red, so… Nidorino, listen carefully for the sound of digging underground. The moment Nidorina appears, use a full-power Drill Run!"
Drill Run was a Ground-type move that dealt double damage to Nidorina and had a high chance to land a critical hit. Gary intended to use this move to decisively defeat Leaf.
"This is bad! I miscalculated!" Leaf regretted it. Dig seemed like a good way to temporarily avoid Nidorino, but she hadn't expected Gary to conceal Drill Run deliberately.
As if hearing the movement underground, Nidorino focused intensely on the ground ahead, ready to strike the instant Nidorina surfaced.
"In that case, Nidorina, give it your all with Take Down!"
Sensing Nidorina's position, Nidorino charged like a mad beast, pushing off with its hind legs and spinning, its front poison horn sharpening dangerously.
To attack first, Nidorina leapt out of the hole with all her strength and aimed Take Down straight at Nidorino's head.
The double-effective damage made Nidorina cry out in pain. Nidorino was also struck by the 1.5× powered Take Down, but in order to win, it endured it stubbornly. After all, it didn't want to lose to the Nidorina before it.
The clash of strength ultimately ended in Nidorina's defeat. Not only had she taken double damage and a critical hit from Drill Run, she also suffered recoil from Take Down. The combined damage completely drained her stamina.
"Finish it with Double Kick!" Gary pressed the advantage, giving Leaf and Nidorina no chance to recover.
Bang!
After taking the damage from Double Kick, Nidorina's eyes turned into spirals as she collapsed to the ground.
"Nidorina is unable to battle. Therefore, the winner of this match is Gary!" Professor Oak looked at his beloved grandson with approval. If Gary didn't still have to battle Red, Professor Oak would have already run over to praise him.
"It looks like you won." Red walked over calmly, with the tall golden Pidgeot beside him.
"I didn't get a good look earlier during the battle. I didn't expect Pidgeot's size development to be this outrageous!" Gary looked up at Pidgeot in amazement, growing excited for the next battle.
"Don't you need to rest?" Red asked curiously, indicating that Pidgeot had mostly recovered and that he didn't want to take advantage of Gary.
Gary suddenly realized why a large group of spectators had gathered on his side earlier—Red's match had already ended.
"Sorry, Red… I couldn't beat Gary…" Leaf lowered her head guiltily.
"It's fine. To be honest, you and Ash aren't his match right now, so there's no need to blame yourself," Red said softly, offering a somewhat clumsy consolation.
"Doesn't this kid Red know how to comfort a girl?" Delia complained helplessly. When Red defeated Giselle earlier, Delia had personally witnessed Red and Pidgeot standing there, 'carefully' watching Giselle cry over her Golem. She could only sigh that Red truly didn't understand girls.
"Finally, I don't have to run back and forth anymore!" Professor Oak panted. The double battle had somehow turned into separate single matches, forcing him to keep track of both sides at once. Whenever one ended, he had to rush over to announce the result. It was exhausting for an old man.
"Sorry about that, Professor Oak," Red apologized, though not very sincerely, making Professor Oak feel oddly uncomfortable.
"Sorry to trouble you, Grandpa!" Gary said embarrassedly. "This is the final match!"
Noticing that all eyes were now on them, Leaf tactfully stepped back to find a place to rest. But as soon as she turned around, she saw Giselle, who had disappeared earlier, now sitting beside Delia, chatting and laughing.
(This girl!)
Leaf glared at the smiling Giselle. How could she not know what she was planning? She was clearly trying to get closer to Red by approaching Delia.
(Hmph! So sensitive.)
Giselle glanced at the approaching Leaf and reluctantly made room. She couldn't let such a small detail ruin the favorable impression she was building with Delia.
(These two kids are really adorable!)
Delia smiled at Leaf and Giselle, who appeared like friendly friends on the surface but secretly competed with each other. It felt as though she had gained two more daughters.
After resting briefly and regaining his composure, Gary directed Nidorino to attack.
"Nidorino, use Horn Attack!"
"Fly up high and use Air Slash. Nidorino's Ability is Poison Point—avoid close combat as much as possible!"
Pidgeot quickly soared into the sky, easily dodging Nidorino's attack, then flapped its wings to release countless sharp wind blades.
The razor-sharp blades struck every part of Nidorino's body mercilessly. The pain made Nidorino fearful, and it hesitated to attack Pidgeot directly.
"Nidorino, don't lose heart! You're a Pokémon I'm proud of. Don't lose confidence over a setback like this. I've always believed you can overcome difficulties!"
Seeing Nidorino's fear, Gary quickly encouraged it, helping it overcome its inner anxiety.
An excellent Pokémon Trainer not only needs a calm mind to analyze the battlefield but must also constantly pay attention to their Pokémon's emotional changes during battle. Clearly, Gary handled this exceptionally well, and Giselle, watching from the side, witnessed this as a valuable lesson.