But clearing the challenge won't be that easy.
Watching Red and Pupitar rampage across the battlefield, Agatha silently thought to herself.
After all, the League's trainers weren't fools.
The earlier Pokémon existed mainly to wear down the challenger's stamina and identify weaknesses.
The final three Pokémon were the League's true trump cards.
Bang!
A Level 41 Vaporeon was sent flying by Pupitar and knocked out.
The League trainers exchanged glances and released their first ace.
A Politoed swaggered onto the battlefield with an arrogant gait, looking down on Pupitar with obvious disdain.
As a kingly Pokémon, Politoed looked down on any Pokémon of lower level than itself.
And this Politoed was Level 45.
A full eight levels higher than Pupitar.
"Using Politoed to steal the weather?"
"The League trainers aren't completely stupid."
However, looking at the Politoed hopping onto the field, Red thought:
Unfortunately, my Pupitar isn't afraid of Water.
The moment Politoed entered the field, it was stabbed by Stealth Rock and suffered minor damage.
The damage wasn't significant.
The insult, however, was enormous.
Politoed instantly glared furiously toward the barely visible Pupitar.
(You little thief! How dare you use traps against the great Politoed? The rain shall wash away everything you possess!)
Looking at the somewhat chuunibyou Politoed, Red felt helpless.
At that moment, Politoed activated its Ability.
Dark clouds rapidly gathered overhead.
Then Pupitar glanced at Red.
The meaning was obvious.
Should I take the weather back?
As one of Songzao Gym's main Pokémon, how could Pupitar possibly lose a weather war to a mere Politoed?
Yet Red shook his head.
"No need."
"Opponents of this level aren't easy to find normally."
"Let's use it to test your armor's resistance against special attacks."
Pupitar nodded and relinquished control over the weather.
As the rain scattered the sandstorm, Politoed's face filled with pride.
Its expression practically screamed:
Your sandstorm is nothing before my rain!
Yet what surprised Politoed was that despite standing under the rain—
Despite being a Rock/Ground-type Pokémon—
Pupitar appeared completely unaffected.
Not the slightest trace of fear.
Politoed froze.
Meanwhile, Pupitar was thinking:
(This is Rain Dance?)
(Even Big Sis Castform's pee stream is probably stronger than this!)
Recalling its training sessions at the Gym—
Those terrifying storms that resembled natural disasters, where it felt as though it were battling against heaven and earth itself—
Compared to those experiences, this so-called rain felt like a gentle spring breeze.
At best, it was giving it a bath.
Unfortunately, Politoed knew none of this.
Politoed slammed its palms together.
A massive torrent of water surged toward Pupitar.
Hydro Pump!
Moreover, as it fired the attack, raindrops from the sky merged into the stream, further amplifying its power.
(Politoed: Four-times effective damage + Rain boost + STAB. Let's see how you survive this!)
Watching from the sidelines, Lt. Surge was so excited he looked ready to jump onto the battlefield and command Politoed personally.
The roaring torrent crashed forward like a tidal wave.
Pupitar disappeared beneath the flood.
The spectators all leaned forward eagerly.
They wanted to know whether Pupitar could withstand Politoed's Hydro Pump.
Everyone stared expectantly at Red.
At the same time, Red clearly heard Pupitar's thoughts from within the torrent.
"Flashy but hollow."
"It only pursues appearances."
"The power isn't concentrated at all."
"It lacks any real destructive force."
"What?!"
"Don't tell me even Politoed's Hydro Pump can't break Pupitar's defense?"
"That's ridiculous!"
"Since when does a quadruple-effective attack stop working?"
"Pupitar must already be knocked out! Red is just bluffing!"
Lt. Surge immediately jumped up and shouted.
The spectators all looked toward Red.
Red merely smiled.
"Pupitar."
"Surf."
With his command—
A massive wave suddenly materialized amidst the rain.
Riding atop the wave, Pupitar burst free from Hydro Pump's range.
Looking at the stunned Politoed below, Red smiled.
"Have you ever seen a palm strike descending from heaven?"
Standing atop the crest of the wave, Pupitar leapt into the air.
Then it unleashed the legendary Normal-type ultimate move.
"GIGA IMPACT!"
Gravity + Speed + Hardness + Weight = Intercontinental Missile.
Looking up at Pupitar hurtling downward like a hypersonic projectile, Politoed immediately crouched.
It used the strongest defensive move in the Pokémon world.
Protect!
Just when Politoed thought it had survived—
The Surf that Pupitar had abandoned crashed directly into it.
Normally, such damage would've been negligible.
But now—
It became the final straw.
After blocking Surf, Protect dissipated.
And at that exact moment—
Pupitar arrived.
With unstoppable momentum, it slammed directly into Politoed.
The tremendous weight caused Politoed's eyes to bulge outward.
The impact resembled a meteor colliding with the earth.
A massive crater appeared in the battlefield.
Pupitar casually bounced out of the pit.
Thanks to its absurdly durable armor, it remained completely unharmed.
As for Politoed...
A staff member raised a flag.
"Politoed is unable to battle!"
"The winner is Red!"
Seeing the result, even the League staff responsible for designing the challenge fell silent.
"What exactly are we supposed to hit that monster with?"
"How are we supposed to deal even a little damage?"
Backstage, the League trainers sank into a deathly silence.
Because up until now, Pupitar had only used:
One Dragon DanceTackleA stronger version of Tackle
And that was basically it.
They couldn't think of a suitable counter.
After extensive discussion, they finally came up with a plan.
A Chandelure was sent out.
If we can't beat it, we'll weaken it.
The strategy was simple.
The moment Chandelure entered battle, it would use Will-O-Wisp.
As long as it inflicted a burn, the mission would be considered successful.
Furthermore, Chandelure was a Ghost-type.
It was immune to Pupitar's famous Tackle strategy.
It seemed like the perfect counter.
Unfortunately—
Because Pupitar had relied so heavily on Tackle throughout the challenge—
The League staff had forgotten something important.
Pupitar was still a Rock-type Pokémon.
The instant Chandelure appeared—
A hailstorm of rocks swallowed it.
Pupitar lounged lazily on a sand-made recliner, watching Chandelure struggle within the barrage.
(Before evolving, I lived off Rock Slide.)
(If I can't even beat a Fire-type, what have I been doing with my life?)
Occasionally Chandelure managed to launch a Will-O-Wisp.
But the moment the sandstorm resumed, it completely lost track of Pupitar's location.
Without a trainer actively commanding it—
And while suffering from Sandstorm and Stealth Rock damage—
The Level 48 Chandelure was eventually worn down and defeated in the most frustrating manner imaginable.
"Chandelure is unable to battle!"
"Red and Pupitar win!"
Watching Chandelure go down, the League trainers nearly wanted to smash their heads into a wall.
"FUCK!"
"How did we forget basic type matchups?!"
"This is my fault!"
"I was so focused on tactical counters that I forgot the most fundamental thing..."
"Enough."
"Send out the final ace."
"If Red and Pupitar can beat that Pokémon too, we have nothing left to say."
From a dim tunnel emerged a muscular Pokémon whose face seemed permanently consumed by rage.
A Primeape.
And not just any Primeape.
A Level 50 Primeape.
The final gatekeeper of the entire challenge.
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