After finally smoothing things over—
Red collapsed into his chair.
"…That was terrifying."
"Good thing I had Ninetales."
Xiaowen gave him a meaningful look.
Red replied confidently:
"There are no strict rules in the Pokémon world!"
"In ancient times, even humans marrying Pokémon wasn't unheard of!"
Ninetales' eyes lit up.
"Master… so you like married women + furry types?"
"I said it's just an example!"
Back to the battle
Gary used a sacrifice strategy:
Elekid + Eevee wore Pikachu downScyther finished it with Quick Attack
Then—
his ace appeared:
Blastoise (Lv. 33)
It immediately used Rain Dance, seizing weather control—
a textbook Songzao Gym style.
Without Pikachu—
Blastoise dominated.
It defeated two of Ash's Pokémon in a row.
Ash sent out Bulbasaur—
forcing Gary to switch to Scyther.
But—
Gary underestimated Ash's reverse-type combat ability.
Bulbasaur turned the tables and defeated Scyther.
After a long battle—
both sides were down to one Pokémon:
Gary: Half-health BlastoiseAsh: Critically injured Charmeleon
Most spectators thought it was over.
But Red and Gary knew—
this was just beginning.
"Charmeleon—Flamethrower!"
Thanks to Blaze, its firepower surged.
Blastoise countered—
fire and water collided—
steam filled the battlefield.
"Be careful!"
But it was too late—
Charmeleon used the fog to close in—
and blasted Blastoise's weak abdomen.
"Damn it!"
Gary cursed.
"Nice! That's it, Charmeleon!"
Ash cheered.
Then—
Evolution!
Light burst forth.
Charmeleon's body expanded—
wings spread wide—
Charizard was born!
The crowd erupted.
"Evolution mid-battle?!"
"This is like a TV drama!"
"Go Charizard!"
"Blastoise, don't lose!"
But—
Blastoise had already aimed.
At point-blank range—
one Water Gun was enough.
Charizard couldn't dodge.
Gary wins.
Red sighed.
"That battle was…"
If Charmeleon hadn't evolved—
continuous pressure might've secured victory.
But evolution—
interrupted the momentum.
It gave Blastoise time to reposition.
"Ash, you're shameless! You moved during evolution!"
"There's no rule against moving."
"A win is a win, loser."
Ash nearly exploded.
"Again! I'm not convinced!"
Red waved them off.
"Enough. No time for another 6v6."
"Save it for the League Conference."
They glared at each other.
"Then we'll settle it there!"
At that moment—
two figures entered the Gym.
A red cape fluttered.
"Long time no see, Gym Leader Red."
"I hope you remember our agreement."
Lance had arrived—
with Clair beside him.
Clair stepped forward shyly.
"…Hello, Gym Leader Red. I'm here… for my internship."
[Ding! New Mission: The Insecure Dragon Girl]
Objective: Train Clair into a qualified Gym Leader
Reward: Dragon Nest (Pseudo)
Dragon-type growth +20%Periodic Dragon resources
Red's eyes lit up.
"Welcome."
"I've been waiting for you."
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