Since Natsui had arrived, Rudy had no choice but to postpone his lunch plans and prepare to take him directly to the battle field.
However, just before they left, Natsui suddenly heard upbeat music coming from somewhere inside the gym.
He looked towards a room to the side and, through the open door, saw a dozen different types of Pokémon twisting their bodies to the music, making strange movements as if they were dancing.
"What are they doing?"
Hearing Natsui's question, Rudy couldn't be bothered to explain, but his sister, as if showing off, took the initiative to answer, "They're dancing~"
"Dancing?"
Natsui was taken aback. He had originally thought they were undergoing some kind of special training, but he never expected them to be just dancing!
Although he could see they were very happy, the sight of these Pokémon performing human dance steps had an indescribably comical feel to it.
Mahri nodded vigorously, her face full of innocence. "Mhm, that's right. Every Pokémon in our gym is learning to dance. It's our specialty here!"
Perhaps because Mahri's explanation was too general, or perhaps the word 'specialty' made him sound unprofessional, Rudy felt a bit uncomfortable. Thus, although he didn't want to engage with Natsui, he felt compelled to add a few words.
"Hmph, the era of just teaching Pokémon moves is over! This is a unique training method I invented. While at first glance it may not seem related to Pokémon battles, it can be used to drastically improve a Pokémon's natural abilities!"
Drastically improve?
Hearing his words, Natsui carefully observed the Pokémon's movements but didn't notice anything particularly special.
In Natsui's opinion, dancing was likely another way to train their coordination and flexibility.
However, while he could understand making Hitmonchan, Electabuzz, and even Ninetales dance, what exactly could be trained by making Starmie and Golem do the same?
One had a body as hard as a gem, and the other was extremely bulky. Making them dance and bend their bodies seemed a bit much to ask!
But despite his confusion, Natsui didn't say anything more.
After all, everyone had their own unique training methods, and it was best not to interfere with others' ideas.
In the end, Rudy and Mahri didn't get to have their lunch as planned and had to make do with a piece of bread each to tide them over.
Leaving the gym, Natsui and Sabrina followed behind Rudy, surrounded by his large group of subordinates and Mahri. They walked along a coastal path and finally arrived at a cliff.
The cliff was rather desolate, with little vegetation.
From the various marks left on the ground, one could still see the indelible traces from centuries ago when the stone pillars were quarried.
For the safety of their descendants, those islanders had used local materials, practically carving away half a small mountain!
One could only imagine what a magnificent and grand-scale project it must have been at the time.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Natsui looked to the other side of the cliff.
There, he saw the peculiar spectacle formed by the dozens of giant stone pillars.
Below his feet was the incessant sound of rushing water. He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the sea surface, where he could see dozens of whirlpools of various sizes spinning simultaneously, madly sucking in the seawater.
It was easy to imagine that in the face of such a turbulent current, even strong swimmers or small boats would meet a disastrous end if they were accidentally caught, pulled in by the whirlpools to be smashed to pieces and dragged into the depths of the sea.
At that moment, Rudy pointed towards the middle of the stone pillars and announced loudly, "That is the battlefield for this match."
Natsui followed his finger and saw what looked like a small mountain that had been cleanly sliced flat, standing tall above the sea.
The cross-section of the mountain was about the size of a soccer field, and on its peak, a standard battle field had been drawn.
Just as Natsui had said before, it had been a long time since he'd had a formal battle. Looking at this field, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement, the long-lost thrill of battle flowing through his veins once more.
Seeing his silence, Rudy gave him another sideways glance and snorted coldly, "Next, we'll see how you get to the field. This can be considered the final test. However, it's not a mandatory challenge. If you really can't make it, that's fine. You can just ask to ride in my hot-air balloon, and it will take you over!"
As he spoke, he tilted his chin towards a clearing in the distance.
Natsui looked and saw a hot-air balloon with a basket, parked right there.
From the looks of it, the cliff was quite far from the battlefield—at least a 300-meter straight-line distance. Without a large flying Pokémon, getting there safely would indeed be dangerous.
At the very least, crossing by sea was completely out of the question. If a challenger had no other way to get to the other side, they would have to obediently take the hot-air balloon.
But doing so would inevitably weaken their presence and morale during the battle.
However, this was no challenge for Natsui.
He took a Poké Ball from his belt, released his Charizard, and, to Rudy's slightly disappointed gaze, mounted it.
Seeing this, Sabrina was about to step forward, but Rudy stopped her.
"My apologies, miss," Rudy said, shaking his head. "Only combatants are allowed to go there. Unrelated personnel cannot approach. You should stay here and watch the match with my sister and the others."
Left with no choice, Sabrina had to join Mahri and Rudy's subordinates in the hot-air balloon to watch the match from the air.
Charizard flapped its wings and soared high, carrying Natsui to the battlefield first. Rudy followed closely behind on his Pidgeot.
As he stood on the field, enduring the cold wind and listening to the crashing waves below, Natsui truly felt how dangerous this location was, for both the Pokémon and himself.
The two stood on opposite sides.
Rudy flicked his bangs and said in a relaxed tone, "Alright, now all you have to do is defeat me, and you'll get the Spike Shell Badge. So, which Pokémon do you plan to send out first?"
Actually, according to unwritten rules, the Gym Leader should be the one to send out the first Pokémon.
But the rule of the Pomelo Gym was to battle with Pokémon of the same type, so the challenger had to send out their Pokémon first, and Rudy would then send out a corresponding opponent based on its type.
Although this made the battles somewhat less interesting, it also prevented situations of type-based dominance.
Natsui didn't overthink it. Since Charizard was already out, he might as well let it take the field.
"Charizard, the first round is yours!"
"ROAR!"
Charizard landed on the ground, spread its wings, and let out a mighty roar at Rudy.
In response, Rudy also took out a Poké Ball and released his first Pokémon!
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