"It blocked it!"
"How strong is that Litwick!"
"To think that a Litwick can be trained to this level!"
Seeing that scene, the challengers were very surprised. This was completely different from what they had imagined before!
It was difficult to imagine that a Litwick could be so strong!
"Was it rejected?"
"If I remember correctly, Litwick's Ability is Flash Fire, right?"
"It seems that Ethan has already completely entered the role of Gym Leader. What a Gym Leader must do is, through the Gym evaluation, select and guide the challengers."
"From the looks of it, Ethan is already doing quite well. He can perfectly pass the evaluation of the first Gym battle."
Seeing that, Alex showed a smile and gave Ethan a thumbs-up.
Under normal conditions, even if Houndoom's Fire-type move were ten times stronger, it would not be able to injure Litwick.
Now then, since Litwick had retreated, that could only mean that it had done so on purpose: it was acting.
Indeed, if Litwick directly showed its Ability Flash Fire, there would no longer be any need to continue the Gym evaluation.
Thinking of that, Alex directed his gaze toward the examiners in the stands and saw that they were also smiling and nodding slightly.
"Houndoom, use Flamethrower again!"
Seeing that Litwick had only been pushed back, but had not suffered any serious injury, Owen gave the order again.
"With only Flamethrower, you won't be able to defeat my Litwick."
"Block it, and then we'll also use Flamethrower!" Ethan said, with an attitude that showed he did not attach any importance to that attack.
Next, Litwick was seen resisting the attack of the move Flamethrower just like before.
With the reinforcement of sunny weather, Houndoom's move Flamethrower had indeed become stronger. But the degree of increase was very limited, completely unable to satisfy Ethan's requirements.
Because of that, Litwick continued as before: it only retreated a little, without receiving damage that was too serious.
Immediately afterward, Litwick also used the move Flamethrower.
It could be seen that, at the moment Litwick launched the move Flamethrower, the Fire-type energy in the air immediately erupted.
At the same time, Houndoom also used the move Flamethrower.
Both flames met in the air and, immediately afterward, canceled each other out in the middle of the sky, ending in a total draw!
"Litwick's Flamethrower is also very strong!"
Once again, the challengers outside the field opened their mouths in astonishment.
"Sunny weather... That Litwick is making use of the power of sunny weather!"
The female student analyzed the cause and showed a thoughtful expression.
At the same time, in the stands...
"Ethan is truly doing very well. First, he made Litwick suppress its own strength until it matched that of the opponent. Then, he took advantage of sunny weather to launch a powerful Flamethrower."
"If the challenger cannot find the key point and battle by taking advantage of sunny weather... then it will be very difficult for him to obtain victory in this battle."
"On the other hand, if Houndoom manages to battle by using sunny weather well and makes the power of its Flamethrower increase a little more, then it will be able to directly suppress Litwick's Flamethrower."
"And that is precisely the key to passing the evaluation! With a Flamethrower strengthened once again, it could crush Litwick in a single blow."
One of the examiners smiled as he spoke. As for the rhythm of the Gym battle, Ethan was really doing well.
A Gym Leader, starting from the core of the evaluation, must establish a standard. When the challenger meets that standard, the Gym Leader must appropriately loosen up and let them surpass it. That is the true core of Gym battles!
"However, the difficulty of this Gym battle is even higher than that of Ironvale City's water battle."
Another examiner commented. Becoming familiar with water battles might perhaps be relatively easy, but becoming familiar with sunny weather was not something so simple.
"That is not a problem. According to the presentation of the Gym application, a Solar Farm has already been built in the town. Inside, one can directly experience sunny weather, and also train there."
At that moment, the chief examiner, Damian Carter, spoke, making the other examiners nod.
In that way, the doubt they had raised was resolved.
If those challengers could take advantage of that to become familiar with battling under sunny weather, it would also be of great benefit to them.
Whether they wanted to form a sunny-weather team on their own, or in the future faced an opponent with a sunny-weather team, or had to enter some special Secret Kingdoms, all that experience would be extremely valuable.
While the examiners were talking, the battle on the field continued.
After realizing that Fire-type moves did not represent a great threat to Litwick, Owen began to use Dark-type moves to battle.
Seeing that, Ethan shook his head. It seemed that this Owen had not understood the content of the evaluation at all.
Now, he had already set out the test for Owen: as long as he managed to make Houndoom deepen its understanding of sunny weather a little more, he would have passed the evaluation.
But if he wanted to obtain victory using Dark-type moves that countered Litwick, then Ethan was very sorry.
If they were going to battle head-on, his Houndoom probably could not withstand even a single move!
And indeed, that was how it was. After internally reaching the conclusion that Owen had failed the evaluation, Litwick unleashed its full power and, relying on the move Inferno reinforced by sunny weather, quickly defeated Houndoom.
Alex reacted immediately, looked at the field, and waved the flag while announcing: "Houndoom loses the ability to battle!"
"I lost..."
Seeing that, Owen opened his mouth.
Finally, he let out a helpless sigh.
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand why that Litwick was so strong!
If he had known what Litwick's true strength was, he would never have decided to face it in such a direct way.
"It seems that the Gym's evaluation criteria really revolve around sunny weather."
"Owen wanted to force his way through using Dark-type moves; he completely took the wrong path."
"That Litwick's real strength is probably already close to the professional level!"
"Training a Litwick to a level close to professional... this temporary Leader's training ability is impressive!"
The two remaining challengers looked at each other, clearly reading in each other's eyes what the other was thinking.
However, what exactly was the true evaluation of the Solaria Town Gym?
If it was aimed at Fire-type Trainers, then without a doubt it consisted of battling while relying on sunny weather.
But the two of them were not Fire-type Trainers, so, in their case, what exactly would the evaluation be?
"I'll go next."
The chubby student looked at the girl, gritted his teeth, and went up onto the stage.
"So the next one is you?"
"My next Pokémon will still be Litwick. Bring out your Pokémon!"
Ethan smiled slightly. He felt that in the first round he had done quite well; next, he only had to keep working hard and control the process well. Passing the evaluation should not be a problem.
(End of chapter)