The challenge at the Spikemuth Gym went more smoothly than expected.
Even though almost the entire town and the fans there for the concert were all one-sidedly cheering for Nie Zi, and the band on stage continuously played melodies familiar to Nie Zi and his Pokémon, they still couldn't secure the final victory.
Of course.
This isn't to say that Nie Zi lacks strength, after all, he can defeat Kawu without Gigantification, advancing to the semifinals of the Champion Cup, which in other regions would be solidly at the Four Heavenly Kings Level.
He mainly doesn't adjust the strength of his appearing Pokémon as flexibly as Bea, selecting them strictly according to badge count.
Plus, he specializes in raising Evil Attribute Pokémon, which theoretically counter superpower users...
As everyone knows.
Superpower users never rely on theory, but on practice.
Isn't it reasonable for me as a physical-type superpower user to study Fighting Attribute moves?
Reasonable!
In this Gym Battle, Hypno fully showcased its "three-reign veteran" heritage, first taking down Skuntank with True Qi Fist, then in a bout against Obstagoon with Absorption Fist, the latter's [Blocking] couldn't [block][block] its exclusive moves in alternation, not succeeding in taking down the former.
Both actually ended up in mutual destruction.
Especially when this guy and Obstagoon collided and wrestled, not only were the audience inside and outside of the venue stunned, but even the accompanying band was shocked, stopping the drums, guitars, and bass, with ellipses appearing over their heads.
Baimu seemed to have mixed feelings about Nie Zi.
Understandable.
After all, Hypno's fists even when viewed as pixelated are intimidating, saying they're the size of sandbags isn't an exaggeration.
And with it taking out two main Pokémon, Nie Zi's remaining Scrafty and Malamar also lost to Slowking and Galarian Rapidash.
Though the latter had just joined the team recently, its base strength was far superior to Galarian Slowbro and Orbeetle, despite Malamar's elusive movements, leaping with the power of [Playful] to take it down with the acceleration from charging back and forth in the arena.
The simulator's effects were even flashier than reality, appearing like the E-skill of Hecarim from League of Legends, with a trail of rainbow gas behind.
But it indeed looked quite powerful.
[You defeated Spikemuth Gym Leader Nie Zi and obtained the Spikemuth Badge]
This battle by the superpower user gained him quite a few fans, but Baimu wasn't showing much interest in him, his eyes entirely on the pixelated version of Mary suddenly appearing beside Nie Zi.
"I don't even know how old the little girl is now."
He thought she shouldn't be like Ash Ketchum, eternally ten years old. Chronologically speaking, it's the third year of the superpower user's journey in the simulator, Ash should be in the Sinnoh Region.
One must know that Mary is one of gf's rare goodies, some Pokémon might not be very cute or handsome, but younger girls are all adorably cute.
However, before he could take another look, the superpower user left Spikemuth Town, preparing to head north on Route 9 to Circhester Town where the seventh Gym is located.
Yet the climate in the Galar Region is very changeable; the first half is green, with birds chirping and flowers blooming, while the latter half suddenly becomes extremely cold, with intertwined waterways, towering snow rocks, and a vast expanse of floating ice.
[You have arrived at Circhester Bay, where the ice and cold wind make you shiver]
The superpower user's face showed an expression of awkward pain from being ambushed by the cold wind, but fortunately, his long-time traveling prepared him to put on a cotton jacket, which improved things greatly.
The accompanying Galarian Slowbro had a runny nose from the cold, its already not-so-smart eyes becoming even duller.
The superpower user had no choice but to recall it into the ball.
Luckily, Circhester Bay had a boat, so there was no need to find a way to surf across like in the game. Honestly, Baimu was a bit curious if there were no boat, whether the superpower user would choose to detour, or fly over using superpower.
Hmm...
Perhaps flying isn't impossible?
Baimu pondered whether the superpower user would ride the Galarian Rapidash or fly with Orbeetle, or even be carried by Hypno when he arrived at his destination.
[You have arrived at Circhester Town, an ancient and peaceful atmosphere comes at you with the icy snowflakes, buildings of stones are lined up, full of a special charm]
On his way to the Circhester Arena, the superpower user found a large open-air hot spring pool in the center of the town called "Heroic Spring," unfortunately, it was now only accessible for Pokémon to bathe in.
[You passed through Heroic Spring, challenging the Circhester Gym]
Circhester Town, like Inheritance Town, shares an arena and Gym with dual-attribute Gym Leaders, who are mother and son.
But they don't seem very close, and after "separation," Ma Gu avoids Mei Rong even more... at least on the surface.
This has led Mei Rong to be ruthless to challengers in competitions, earning the Gym Challenge the reputation of a Ghost Gate.
Furthermore.
She is the only Gym Leader who has never lost to Raihan.
If calculated by stacking boxes, Raihan is considered by the officials to be able to become the Champion in other regions, wouldn't Mei Rong's strength be above the Champion?
It's not that simple.
But these entries alone are enough to prove Mei Rong's formidable strength.
And when the Gym Battle kicked off, the struggling superpower user further proved this point.