"Damn it! How dare you bully me! Onix, use Slam!"
Perhaps Shirō's ridicule made the little girl feel utterly humiliated. Her face turned bright red as she threw a Poké Ball.
A flash of white light burst forth. After the light faded, a massive Onix appeared behind Ash and the others, its body glinting strangely as it lunged forward with tremendous force.
"Hitmonlee, intercept it."
Facing the charging Onix, Ash and Sabrina remained completely unmoved, as if they hadn't even noticed the attack. Only Shirō turned around and called out his ace.
"Hah!"
Hitmonlee lifted its leg and kicked into the air. Instantly, a sharp air blade shot out from the strike and slashed directly into Onix.
"Boom!"
"Roar!"
After being struck by the air blade, Onix let out a painful roar and collapsed.
Hitmonlee was currently at quasi-Champion peak strength, while the opponent's Onix was only at mid-Elite level. The difference in power was enormous. The battle ended almost instantly.
"Ah! Onix!"
Seeing her Onix defeated in a single blow, the little girl ran over and hugged it anxiously. However, compared to the enormous body of Onix, the girl looked tiny.
"Hah?"
Hitmonlee tilted its head strangely as it looked at the defeated Onix. Upon closer inspection, it realized that its opponent only had high-level strength—it wasn't even a serious opponent.
"Master… this girl's Onix is a little strange. There's a shiny layer on its body, like it's been polished with something," Shirō said after observing the Pokémon carefully.
"That's wax," Ash replied after sniffing the faint scent in the air. "She coated the Onix with wax. Wax is waterproof, so it reduces its weakness to Water-type moves. According to League regulations, using this kind of external modification is grounds for gym disqualification."
"What? Wax?"
Shirō's eyes widened. It was the first time he had seen someone use an external substance to cover up a Pokémon's elemental weakness.
Once something like this was discovered, the trainer's reputation would be completely ruined. Even though it seemed like a small trick, the consequences were extremely serious.
"Ah—!"
The girl had just returned Onix to its Poké Ball when she heard Ash's words. The moment she realized she could be disqualified from the Gym, her whole body stiffened.
"He's right."
A calm female voice suddenly sounded nearby.
"Mika, apologize to them immediately. And you even ordered your Pokémon to attack trainers directly. Do you realize how shameful that is?"
"Y-Yes!"
The little girl named Mika immediately bowed stiffly.
"I'm sorry! I was wrong. I shouldn't have ordered Onix to attack you."
"It's fine," Shirō replied quickly. "Just don't do it again."
Ash and the others also shook their heads. There was no need to pursue the matter against a child. If it had been an adult, the situation would have been different.
The woman who had just spoken walked closer.
She wore a pure white dress, and a Magnemite rested on her shoulder. Her long brown hair flowed down to her waist, with small braids tied on both sides. She looked elegant yet imposing.
"You're the Gym Leader here, right? Jasmine," Ash said after observing her for a moment.
He could sense the opponent's strength immediately. She was a late-stage quasi-Champion trainer, and she appeared to be around twenty years old—about four years older than him.
"Yes, I'm the Gym Leader here, Jasmine," she replied with a polite nod. "This girl is my apprentice, named Mika. She's still a trainee trainer of the Gym. I sincerely apologize. I didn't expect her to do something like this while I was away."
Although the mistake was clearly her apprentice's fault, Jasmine still apologized.
The reason was simple.
She couldn't sense Ash's trainer level at all.
That alone was enough to make her cautious.
What shocked her even more was Shirō and Sabrina. She couldn't perceive their levels either.
Sabrina had already broken through earlier. Not only had her psychic power reached quasi-Champion peak, but her Alakazam had also reached the same level.
Combined with the battle techniques Ash personally taught her—and the abilities she had mastered herself—her Alakazam was far from an ordinary Pokémon.
After all, Sabrina was someone Ash considered part of his own circle. Naturally, he never held back when teaching her.
"It's fine. Judging from the condition of the battlefield, it seems no challengers have come here these past few days except us," Ash said calmly.
Looking around the arena, the ground showed almost no signs of damage—aside from the marks left by Onix when it collapsed earlier.
"Yes… fortunately that's the case. Otherwise, it would've been really troublesome."
Jasmine nodded in relief after hearing Ash's words. If this matter had been reported to the Pokémon League, it definitely wouldn't have been easy to resolve.
"To express my apology, please come to my home. Let me properly entertain you."
Soon after, Jasmine brought Ash and the others to her residence.
As expected of a Gym Leader, Jasmine's home was extremely spacious. It looked more like a luxurious villa than an ordinary house, clearly belonging to a wealthy family.
"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. Mika caused you quite a bit of trouble. Please have some tea."
Jasmine carried a tray with both hands and gently placed it on the table in the living room. On the tray were five cups of tea along with several snacks. She spoke politely to Ash and the others sitting on the sofa.
"Miss Jasmine, may I ask something?" Shirō said with some confusion.
"Why is your Gym temporarily closed? Did something happen?"
Jasmine sighed after hearing the question.
"It's not that I want to close the Gym…"
She leaned back slightly, her expression clearly showing fatigue.
"But right now, both physically and mentally, I don't have the extra energy to conduct Gym battles with challengers."
It was obvious that Jasmine was extremely tired. Even though she was trying to remain composed, the exhaustion on her face couldn't be hidden.
(End of Chapter)
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