"Gym Leader?!"
The moment those words were spoken—
Both the audience and Clair froze for a second.
Clair hadn't expected that—
She would run into a Gym Leader during the preliminaries.
Even her fan club fell silent.
A few people quietly lowered their glow sticks.
After all—
While the title of Gym Leader might not mean much to the upper ranks of the League—
To ordinary Trainers—
A Gym Leader was already the highest level they could realistically encounter.
"Wait… a Gym Leader? Can Clair even win?"
"Hard to say… Gym Leaders are strong, but Clair is Champion Lance's cousin…"
"Yeah, that's true…"
"And so what if he's a Gym Leader? Haven't we all beaten Gym Leaders before?"
"Good point!"
Although deep down—
They all knew Gym Leaders were much stronger than what they usually showed—
Facing someone they had beaten before still made people underestimate them.
"Go, Clair!"
"Defeat that Gym Leader!"
"Clair will win!"
Hearing the cheers—
Clair snapped out of her brief shock.
Growing up around Lance—
She understood Gym Leaders far better than her blindly confident fans.
But even so—
There was still a hint of disdain in her eyes.
Because—
Red looked far too young.
"He looks like someone who just got his first Pokémon…"
"If not for relying on Gym resources, how could someone like him become a Gym Leader?"
And in her view—
Being a Gym Leader wasn't even that great a position.
Of course—
She only dared think that privately.
Red looked at her and said:
"By the way—you haven't challenged the Mossdeep Gym yet."
"How about we treat this match as a Gym Battle?"
"If you win—not only do you advance—"
"You'll also receive the Weather Badge from my Gym."
Clair instinctively wanted to refuse.
She had no interest in the League Conference—
So Gym Badges meant nothing to her.
But then—
A thought struck her.
"If I defeat a Gym Leader…"
"Wouldn't that convince my cousin to stop forcing me to become one?"
She looked at Red.
"I accept your proposal."
Red smiled slightly.
"Good."
Clair took a deep breath and raised her Poké Ball.
"Go—my partner!"
She sent out her ace—
A well-trained Seadra.
[Pokémon: Seadra ♂]
[Level: 33]
[Ability: Poison Point (30% chance to poison on contact)]
[Talent: High]
[Moves: Hydro Pump, Iron Head, Surf, Toxic, Dragon Pulse, Waterfall, Dragon Dance…]
[Description: A well-trained Seadra specializing in close combat.]
A robust Seadra appeared on the battlefield.
Red shook his head slightly.
"A physical-attacker Seadra…"
"No matter how you look at it, that's not a good choice."
Most Seadra focused on special attack.
Clair's was a rare physical build.
But—
That didn't mean Kingdra couldn't go physical.
After all—
Kingdra had equal Attack and Special Attack stats—
And could learn Dragon Dance, one of the strongest boosting moves.
It wasn't completely unviable.
The real problem was—
At the Seadra stage—
Its Attack stat was only 65.
Even with Poison Point—
It was like a strong man wielding a small dagger.
Powerful—
But inefficient.
"Now I see why Lance said her talent is limited."
At that moment—
Clair noticed Red still hadn't sent out a Pokémon.
"Gym Leader Red, are you going to send out your Pokémon?"
Red pushed aside his thoughts and nodded.
Without hesitation—
He sent out the Pokémon he had prepared—
Kingdra.
The audience erupted.
"Wait—that's Seadra's evolution—Kingdra!"
"This is bad for Clair!"
"Isn't that just bullying at this point?!"
Unlike the indignant crowd—
Clair showed no panic.
Instead—
She grew visibly angry.
Clenching her teeth, she said:
"So this is how little you think of me?"
"You're actually using a standard Gym Pokémon against me?"
With her experience—
She could tell at a glance—
Red's Kingdra had barely undergone rigorous training.
It was practically a blank slate—
A typical Gym Pokémon.
With her higher level and better training—
She didn't think she was at a disadvantage at all.
Instead—
She felt insulted.
Even Lance, watching from above, was stunned.
"…Is this kid going to throw the match?"
"If he loses to Clair, how am I supposed to convince her to become a Gym Leader?"
But at this point—
All he could do was trust Red—
The young man praised by both Agatha and Professor Oak.
Looking at the furious Clair—
Red remained calm.
"I said this is a Gym Battle."
"So naturally—I'll use a Gym Pokémon."
"Isn't that right?"
Clair swore to herself—
She would make this arrogant Gym Leader pay.
She would crush him completely—
And wipe that calm expression off his face.
"Battle—begin!"
The referee, uninterested in their tension, simply gave the signal.
All he wanted—
Was to finish the match and clock out.
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