Bang!!
Blastoise's Rapid Spin slashed out a blade of water that struck Gengar. The pain forced Gengar to close its eyes. The two Pokémon fell to the ground together, and a burst of mist exploded out, covering the figures of both.
"Is it over?" Ash looked at the mist nervously.
The mist soon dissipated, revealing both Pokémon still standing. Neither Blastoise nor Gengar had fallen. The two sides were five meters apart, facing each other, fighting spirit burning in their eyes.
However, Blastoise's face looked bad, its color slightly purple. The signs of poisoning were too obvious to miss.
"You are young and formidable. I didn't expect you to hold on this far, but your Blastoise is nearly finished," Agatha commented.
"Really? My Blastoise is far from its limit," Gary said.
"Oh! Then let me see the limit of your Blastoise. Gengar, use Thunderbolt!" Agatha ordered.
"What?!" Ash, who was watching the battle, was shocked. She had been holding back Thunderbolt this whole time, only using it now.
"Hydro Pump!" Gary immediately fired back.
Blastoise fired Hydro Pump, but only one blast hit Gengar—the other missed entirely.
Is it because of the poisoning... Gary guessed in his heart.
In reality, poisoning didn't just drain a Pokémon's stamina—it also caused symptoms like dizziness and nausea, which greatly affected its movements.
"Blastoise!" Blastoise screamed in pain as golden lightning surged across its entire body, struck by Thunderbolt.
"Gengar!" Gengar, who had been knocked back by Hydro Pump, also stood up, looking at Blastoise now kneeling on the ground with a smug smile.
"You haven't fallen yet." Agatha was also quite surprised. She had thought Thunderbolt alone would be enough to defeat Blastoise.
"Blastoise, don't give up! We have no limits!" Ash shouted.
"Blastoise!!"
Hearing Gary's call, Blastoise stood back up, a blue aura swirling around its body. Terrifying water energy filled the air, thickening it with vapor.
"Is this... Torrent?!" Agatha looked on with suspicion. She had seen fierce Torrents before, but never one this powerful.
"Oh, it's Torrent!" Ash also recognized it. Although he had a Squirtle himself, he had never once seen it trigger Torrent.
Scott pushed up his sunglasses in surprise and exclaimed, "What a terrifying Torrent. This Blastoise really is something else."
"Blastoise, Waterfall!" Gary ordered immediately.
Blastoise was more than ready. A massive surge of water-blue energy, streaked with white light, burst from its body.
Swoosh!!
A blue blur streaked across the field as Blastoise slammed into Gengar with overwhelming force.
Bang!!
"What speed!" Agatha, caught off guard, hurriedly ordered, "Gengar, use Thunderbolt!"
"Gengar!" Gengar endured the pain, sparks crackling across its entire body.
"Finish it, Hydro Cannon!!" Gary shouted.
"Blastoise!" Blastoise's shoulder cannons gathered a tremendous amount of water energy, and a massive blue water column, like a laser cannon, burst forward.
"Gengar!!" Gengar also gave it everything it had, firing a Thunderbolt that collided directly with the Hydro Cannon.
Bang!!!
The Hydro Cannon tore straight through the Thunderbolt and slammed into Gengar, bursting into a massive cloud of mist. The shockwave spread outward, nearly covering half the field before finally settling.
"...!" Agatha stood frozen, utterly stunned. She hadn't expected Blastoise to unleash such a devastating Hydro Cannon. Even at full strength, her Gengar might not have been able to withstand it.
When everything finally settled, she saw a gaping hole in the wall—Gengar's figure had completely vanished.
"What?! The wall's been blown through!" Ash was dumbfounded. This kind of terrifying attack was something he'd rarely ever witnessed.
"Huh? Where's Gengar?" Scott asked, confused. He couldn't determine Gengar's condition. As the referee, how was he supposed to make a call?
"I lost." Agatha spoke up first, admitting defeat on her own.
Scott was quite taken aback. He hadn't expected Agatha to concede so readily.
Since Agatha had already admitted defeat, Scott announced, "Gengar has lost its ability to battle. Blastoise wins! The winner of this match is Gary!"
[Ding! Mission completed. Rewards have been distributed to the space backpack.]
"Blastoise, come here, open your mouth." As soon as Scott finished his announcement, Gary rushed over to Blastoise and pulled out an antidote to treat the poisoning.
After that, the group followed Agatha behind the wall and found Gengar lying on the ground, its eyes rolling in circles.
Seeing Gengar's defeat with her own eyes, Scott looked at Gary deeply, lost in thought.
"Come back, old friend." Agatha took out her Poké Ball and recalled Gengar.
Since all their Pokémon were injured, the four of them headed to the Pokémon Center together for treatment.
"Gary, you are very strong. Viridian Gym is in your hands now," Agatha said, generously handing over the key to Viridian Gym.
Gary accepted the key and replied politely, "Ms. Agatha, you're too kind. It was only a one-on-one match. In a full battle, I wouldn't stand a chance against you."
Although he had won, Gary wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could truly beat Agatha. The real reason he'd won was because of EX Torrent. Without it, the outcome could easily have gone the other way.
"Haha, I'm old now, and you're still young," Agatha said with a smile.
Agatha was nearing retirement. She had long since given up raising new Pokémon, and there was little room left for her strength to grow. Even if Gengar still had potential to improve, the process would simply take too long.
It would take at least ten to twenty years for a Pokémon with Champion-level potential to reach that level through natural growth.
Agatha's Gengar was currently level 70. It took roughly two years to gain a single level, meaning it would take at least another decade to climb from level 70 to level 80. Agatha wasn't even sure she'd live long enough to see that day.
"Let's go. I'll take you to register."
Agatha then led Gary to the Pokémon Center to register him as the temporary Gym Leader. As a Gym Leader, he needed to follow the rules of Gym battles and decide what type of Pokémon his Gym would specialize in.
Gary wasn't surprised by the requirement and chose the Rock type. After all, the rest of his Pokémon were all well above standard Gym levels—only his revived fossil Pokémon from ancient times remained suitable.
Once his registration as temporary Gym Leader was complete, everyone made their way back to Viridian Gym.
"Gary, I'll leave this place in your hands. Here's the maintenance department's phone number—if anything in the Gym breaks, just give them a call."
Agatha didn't seem to want to linger any longer. She returned briefly, packed up her belongings, handed Gary the maintenance contact number, and quietly slipped away.