"This battle will be mine!"
Just as Clair believed victory was within her grasp—
Red showed no sign of panic whatsoever.
It was as if Kingdra missing its big move didn't bother him in the slightest!
That instinctively made Clair feel uneasy.
She rubbed her shoulder, trying to reassure herself.
"Stay calm, Clair. As long as I fight steadily, victory will be mine!"
Just as she was calming herself down, Lance, hovering in midair, spoke with a hint of disappointment and helplessness:
"Sigh… Clair still needs more tempering."
"You were the one who changed the battlefield earlier, yet when your opponent did the same, you didn't even notice."
As the smoke dissipated, a battlefield riddled with damage appeared before both Clair and Red.
Seadra stood unharmed on the only intact patch of terrain.
"Now it's our turn to counterattack!"
"Seadra, use Iron—head—"
But the moment Clair issued the command, a chill ran down her spine.
Looking at the battered battlefield—dry and completely devoid of moisture—she finally realized what had happened.
"This is bad! This is bad!"
"Just like me… his target wasn't Seadra—it was the battlefield!"
After hearing Clair's command, Seadra charged forward once more.
But without the smooth, water-coated terrain it relied on—
how much of its signature speed remained?
The moment it dashed forward, the uneven ground halted its advance.
Its original high-speed glide now turned into awkward bouncing, like a spring hopping across the ground.
"Dragon Pulse."
Seeing Seadra struggling to move across the terrain, Red didn't hesitate to press the attack!
Under Kingdra's control, Dragon Pulse instantly locked onto Seadra's throat—the weak spot beneath its neck that wasn't covered by dragon scales.
At the critical moment, relying on its rich battle experience, Seadra fired a Water Gun midair, using the recoil to slightly shift its position.
It barely avoided a fatal hit.
But only barely—the Dragon Pulse still struck its body!
Though the power wasn't overwhelming, it still blasted Seadra backward a considerable distance.
Seadra shook its head and barely managed to get back on its feet.
"Seadra, be careful! Another attack is coming!"
Hearing Clair's warning, Seadra looked up—only to see another Dragon Pulse heading straight for its vulnerable throat!
Panicking, it leapt in a random direction to dodge.
But the moment it was airborne—
Kingdra seized the opportunity.
Another Dragon Pulse hit its throat dead on!
Sniper Ability activated!
Critical hit damage increased to 2.25×!
STAB bonus increased the power by another 1.5×!
And when landing a critical hit, the damage calculation ignores the opponent's defense boosts and the user's attack drops.
(Game mechanics, not a custom setting.)
Seadra was sent rolling across the ground, tumbling several times before finally stopping at Clair's feet.
It struggled to stand—
but after being struck twice by Dragon Pulse, it no longer had the strength.
Seadra collapsed, its eyes spiraling.
"Battle over! Seadra is unable to battle! The winner is Gym Leader Red!"
At some point, the referee had already returned and dutifully made the call.
Looking at her defeated Seadra, Clair felt as if her mind had exploded—her ears filled with a loud ringing.
She had lost.
And not just lost—she had been almost completely overwhelmed from start to finish!
Worse still, she had lost to a Gym Leader she had once looked down on—
and he hadn't even used his main team.
Just a Gym Pokémon.
At that moment, Red gave a light cough, drawing her attention.
What he wanted wasn't just to defeat Clair—
he wanted her to understand that Gym Leaders were far from weak.
And besides… if he ever lost to Mewtwo, Lance would be the only one he could rely on.
"See? Gym Leaders aren't all weak."
Clair recalled her initial thoughts about Red—and now, being comforted by him—
her face flushed slightly with embarrassment.
"Gym Leader Red is very strong… you defeated me with just a Gym Pokémon."
Seeing her somewhat at a loss, Red smiled and walked closer.
"Actually, my current strength is largely thanks to being a Gym Leader."
"Really?" Clair looked at him, puzzled.
"It's true. Because I'm a Gym Leader, I have to face different challengers using different Pokémon. Sometimes, I even have to deliberately hold back."
"So in my opinion, being a Gym Leader is one of the best ways to train a trainer's command ability."
Hearing this, Clair suddenly understood.
"No wonder your command ability is so strong!"
As Red spoke, her resistance toward the idea of being a Gym Leader completely disappeared—
and was even replaced by a faint sense of longing.
However, she didn't show it, only nodding seriously.
"Thank you for your guidance, Gym Leader Red."
As she spoke, Red had already taken out a badge and tossed it to her.
"Although you didn't defeat me, your strength is enough to earn the Weather Badge."
Looking at the badge in her hand—and Red standing under the sunlight, almost radiant—
Clair carefully stored it away and nodded earnestly.
"Thank you for the badge!"
Then she changed the topic:
"Gym Leader Red, although I lost in the preliminaries, this result doesn't affect my advancement to the main tournament. I hope we can battle again then!"
Seeing her expression, Red couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
"Trainers really are a group that never accepts defeat."
Whether it was Ash, Gary, Shinji, or now Clair and Zheng Xiong—
they were all the same.
Even after losing, they always wanted to win it back.
And Red himself was no different.
"Perhaps… that's the charm of being a trainer."
He had recently spoken with Zheng Xiong as well, who would likely advance too.
Red was already looking forward to letting Marshtomp have its rematch.
Clair left the battlefield with her dejected fans.
At that moment, Lance approached her and said:
"See? Being a Gym Leader isn't so bad—"
Before he could finish, Clair looked up at him.
"Cousin… do you think I could become a qualified Gym Leader?"
"Like Gym Leader Red…"
She lowered her head, fidgeting with her hands behind her back.
Lance's eyes lit up.
"Of course you can!"
"Then… Cousin, can I go intern at Gym Leader Red's Gym for a while?"
"Why?"
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