As the Gym Leader, Falkner was naturally the first to send out his Pokémon. And his first contestant was the very Hoothoot that had been standing on his shoulder.
"Hoothoot, the first battle is up to you!"
"Hoot hoot!"
Hoothoot flapped its wings and flew to the center of the field. At the same time, Falkner's apprentices all sat down in the spectator seats, their eyes focused on the match. Their serious expressions made the atmosphere a bit tense.
Glancing at them, Sabrina walked alone to the spectator seats on the other side and sat down gracefully, her expression relaxed, in stark contrast to them.
On the field, Natsui looked at Hoothoot, his mind pondering which Pokémon to use against it.
His finger slid over the Poké Balls one by one, and finally, it stopped on Gardevoir's.
"Come on out, Gardevoir!"
Once he had decided, Natsui didn't hesitate and threw the Poké Ball directly.
As the blue light faded, Gardevoir's beautiful figure appeared before Hoothoot.
"Gardevoir…" Falkner crossed his arms and studied it carefully. "This is not a Pokémon from our continent. It's indeed a rare sight."
"Can't be helped," Natsui shrugged. "That's just regional differences. In fact, Kanto and Johto Pokémon are also rarely seen in other regions."
In terms of typing, the two Pokémon had no advantage over each other. But as a Normal/Flying-type Pokémon, Hoothoot could also use many Psychic-type moves. It was precisely because of this that Natsui had chosen Gardevoir for this battle.
"Begin!"
As the referee gave the order, the match officially started.
However, after just a few exchanges, Natsui's brow slowly furrowed.
It wasn't that Gardevoir was performing poorly and at a disadvantage. On the contrary, it was performing too well.
From start to finish, Gardevoir completely suppressed Hoothoot, leaving it with no way to fight back.
Whether it was the Flying-type Peck, or the Psychic-type moves like Confusion, Hypnosis, and Reflect, all were easily neutralized by Gardevoir, who then calmly counterattacked.
It was clear that although this Hoothoot was well-raised, as a first-stage Pokémon, its strength was far from matching that of the third-stage Gardevoir.
And this made Natsui suddenly realize a problem.
This is too easy…
To be honest, after the trials of the Indigo League and the Orange League, using his champion lineup to fight the ordinary Pokémon of a gym was indeed a bit of an overkill.
Although every Gym Leader had a few strong Pokémon, to accommodate new trainers and not make the gym impossible to pass, they usually only sent out slightly weaker Pokémon to defend the gym.
This might still be a challenge for other trainers, resulting in a tough battle. But for Natsui, it was no challenge at all.
A one-sided battle not only gave Natsui no experience but also failed to train his Pokémon.
At this point, he either had to use his new Pokémon to challenge the gym, or find a way to increase the difficulty of the battle.
In the end, when Hoothoot fainted, it had barely managed to inflict any substantial damage on Gardevoir throughout the entire match.
A commotion arose among Falkner's apprentices. They whispered to each other, clearly not expecting Hoothoot to be defeated so badly.
They had, of course, seen Natsui's matches before, but it was only when they were truly facing this champion that they realized they had still underestimated his strength.
Falkner shook his head helplessly. "Your Gardevoir is very strong. The difference in skill between the two Pokémon is obvious. Hoothoot's loss was not unjust."
Hearing his words, Natsui's face showed no signs of happiness.
Although he had won, he also sighed. "Actually, this was my oversight. I wasted an opportunity to become stronger through battle."
Falkner raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Why do you say that?"
Looking at Falkner seriously, Natsui suggested, "To make the battle more intense, Mr. Falkner, could you please send out your ace Pokémon?"
"It seems my Pokémon are being looked down upon," Falkner said with a wry smile. "But are you sure you want to do that? That would be against the League's original intention."
Seeing that Natsui was unwavering, Falkner finally nodded.
"That's fine too. For you, this is indeed a bit too simple. Since you're the one asking, I'll have to bring out some of my best."
As he spoke, Natsui noticed that Falkner had recalled Hoothoot and put all three of his Poké Balls back on his belt. Then, he took out two new Poké Balls.
These two Poké Balls looked ordinary, but from Falkner's expression, it was clear they held a different meaning for him.
Staring at Natsui, Falkner said slowly, "To be honest, I also want to have a real match with you, to see what level the champion of the Indigo League is really at. So now, let me show you the true power of bird Pokémon that dance magnificently in the sky."
With that, Falkner threw his second Poké Ball into the air.
"Come on out, Staraptor!"
In a dazzling blue light, a rather handsome and ferocious-looking bird Pokémon appeared in the sky.
Staraptor…
Natsui looked up at this Pokémon. Its size was that of a medium to large bird Pokémon, and it looked very strong and sturdy.
As the final evolution of Starly and Staravia, Staraptor had a fierce personality, with sharp and determined eyes, sharp claws and a sharp beak, and its tail feathers were spread out like a fan. And what was most impressive about it was the crown-like crest of feathers on its head, which looked quite punk-rock.
This was the first time Natsui had seen it in person. He couldn't help but take out his Pokédex and point it at it.
Pokédex: Beep. Staraptor, the Predator Pokémon. A Normal/Flying type. This is a Pokémon that lives alone after leaving its flock. It is very particular about the shape of its crest. Its muscles are very developed, and it has strong wings, allowing it to easily fly while carrying small Pokémon. Its fierce personality makes it bravely challenge even opponents larger than itself, and it will not stop attacking even if it is seriously injured.
Natsui felt a completely different presence from Staraptor than from Hoothoot.
This must be Falkner's trump card.
It really does feel different.
He thought for a moment, then recalled Gardevoir to let it rest, and also threw out his second Poké Ball.
"It's up to you next! Go, Jolteon!"
For Natsui, with Falkner changing his Pokémon, it was as if he had skipped the 'first playthrough' and was now fighting the 'new game plus' of the gym battle. He naturally didn't dare to be careless in the slightest and had to seize the initiative from the very beginning.
------------------------
Support my projects and get immediate access to hundreds of chapters of Bleach, Naruto, Pokémon, and more! ✨ Key Benefit: Your favorite novels, with my quality, and always up-to-date.
Featured Novels (with hundreds of chapters available NOW!):
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem (1050 caps)
Goddess Training Manual (800 caps)
I Have Caught a Pokémon (700 caps)
Bleach Getting Stronger (330 caps)
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha (300 caps)
And many more!
Why subscribe?
🔥 Immediate Access: Read my new chapters before anyone else.
📚 Huge Library: Access my complete catalog instantly.
⭐️ High Quality: Enjoy the novels with a professional and well-crafted text written by me.