Theo and his group walked toward the gym, but just after turning a corner, they were drawn by loud cheers coming from the right.
The beach was packed with people, layer upon layer surrounding the shoreline. Following the crowd's gaze, they saw an open stretch of surf where a young man was riding the crest of the waves on a surfboard.
It was the Gym Leader of Dewford Town, Brawly.
Standing atop his board, Brawly moved with effortless grace. At times he crouched low to glide beneath smaller waves, and at others he leaped into the air to avoid crashing surf. The board beneath his feet seemed alive, moving in perfect harmony with the ocean.
Around him were more than a dozen trainees dressed in wetsuits, each one focused as they tried to imitate his movements.
Brawly shouted to a few who were struggling:
"Lower your center of gravity! Don't lock your knees! When the wave comes, go with it, don't fight it! That's it, just like that!"
From time to time, someone would lose balance and be knocked into the water with a splash, but no one complained. Instead, they laughed, climbed back onto their boards, and continued practicing.
The entire beach was filled with youthful energy.
Not far out at sea, a massive Hariyama stood firmly in the water, its body as large as a Snorlax. It swung its thick arms and slammed its palms against the ocean surface.
With a deep booming sound, the impact created a perfectly shaped wave that surged toward Brawly and his students.
It was generating training waves for them.
Despite its enormous size, Hariyama's movements were surprisingly precise. Every strike produced waves of just the right size, not too high and not too small, perfect for practicing balance without overwhelming the trainees. Clearly, it had long worked in sync with Brawly.
Even more impressive was what happened next.
From the distant sea, a massive wave began rolling in.
Brawly's eyes lit up, and he shouted:
"It's finally here! Hariyama, let's do this together!"
Hariyama immediately understood. With a powerful leap, it landed on a spare surfboard and steadied itself with remarkable agility.
The onlookers erupted in astonishment. No one expected such a bulky Pokémon to move so lightly.
Brawly and Hariyama each rode their boards straight toward the incoming wave. At the peak, they met.
In that instant, Brawly reached out, grabbed Hariyama's shoulder, and used the force of the wave to spin midair in a clean, fluid rotation. Then, both of them landed back onto their boards at the same time, continuing to glide side by side along the crest.
The entire sequence relied purely on skill and control, with no moves used at all. They had turned a roaring wave into their stage.
The crowd exploded into thunderous applause. Some people snapped photos nonstop, while others whistled and shouted:
"Gym Leader Brawly is amazing!"
"Hariyama is incredible too!"
Even Theo felt his heart stir at the sight. That was undeniably cool.
Just as he was immersed in the moment, the Larvesta beside him suddenly shot forward like a bolt of lightning. Its six little legs pumped rapidly as it dashed straight onto the beach.
It stopped near the edge of the surf and spat out a small burst of flame toward Brawly and Hariyama, as if announcing its arrival.
The Fire Vulpix and Ice Vulpix quickly followed, their tiny legs pattering across the sand. The bells hanging from their necks and tails rang brightly, drawing everyone's attention.
"What is that…?"
Someone recognized the Pokémon and shouted:
"That's a Larvesta! Gym Leader Brawly, a challenger is here!"
"And there are two Vulpix! One red and one white. Are they rare variants?"
"They're wearing bells and hats too, they're so cute!"
The crowd's attention instantly shifted to the three little ones. Even the trainees stopped practicing to look.
Brawly noticed the commotion and rode his surfboard back to shore. He wiped the water from his face and waved with a grin.
"Theo? I knew it would be you!"
He walked over in a few quick steps, his gaze sweeping over Larvesta, Fire-type Vulpix, and Ice-type Vulpix before settling on Theo.
"You're out pretty early. I was planning to finish training the students before heading back to the gym."
He scratched his head, smiling.
"I've watched your gym battles. Metagross, Milotic, and Tyrantrum are all incredibly strong."
There was a hint of pride in his tone.
"I never expected Dewford to produce a trainer like you. Honestly, when I saw your challenge reservation, I almost wanted to just hand you the badge."
He paused, then added seriously:
"But the League has rules. Gym badges must be earned through battle. No exceptions. It wouldn't be fair to others otherwise."
He gestured toward Hariyama.
"So for your challenge, let my Hariyama spar with you."
Then his eyes shifted toward the Metagross behind Theo.
"Are you planning to use Metagross? After watching your battle at Norman's gym, my Hariyama has been itching to test itself against it."
Before Theo could respond, Larvesta suddenly sprang between the two of them.
Its five antennae stood straight up, each tip flickering with tiny flames. It chattered loudly, its small eyes locked onto Brawly.
The meaning was obvious.
Why are you only talking about Metagross? What about me?
Brawly froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Ah, my mistake! Looks like today's star is you, Larvesta."
He crouched down and gently bumped his fist against Larvesta's head.
"Then Hariyama won't hold back. You'd better be careful."
Larvesta turned its head proudly, lifting its chin as it walked to the side and took up a battle stance, clearly urging them to start immediately.
At Brawly's call, Hariyama stepped out of the sea, shaking off water droplets. Its massive body stood like a moving wall.
Theo's gaze fell on it, and its information panel appeared in his mind:
[Pokémon: Hariyama]
Type: Fighting
Category: Arm Thrust Pokémon
Ability: Thick Fat, reducing damage from Fire and Ice moves
Moves: Arm Thrust, Force Palm, Bulk Up, Focus Punch, Brick Break, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Rock Slide, Surf, Drain Punch…
Theo understood immediately.
No wonder Brawly had warned Larvesta to be careful. With Thick Fat, Hariyama could greatly reduce the damage from Fire type attacks.
However, Theo was not worried about Larvesta at all.
You have to know that the advanced energy orb, move learning machines, and vitamins that Theo obtained from the draw had almost all been used on Milotic, Larvesta, Metagross, and Tyrantrum. The strength of these four was far beyond that of ordinary Pokémon.
On the sandy beach, as Larvesta faced the massive Hariyama, it showed not the slightest trace of fear. In its perception, although Hariyama's body was enormous, the energy within it was clearly weaker than its own. With that in mind, what was there to be afraid of?
Feeling the gazes of the surrounding audience, and glancing at the Fire Vulpix and Ice Vulpix cheering for it, the flames around Larvesta burned even brighter. Just now Brawly had praised Metagross, and it was not convinced. This was the perfect chance to show everyone who the real star was.
A gym trainee acting as the referee raised their hand and called out:
"Are both sides ready? Countdown begins!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"The battle begins!"
Brawly took the initiative and issued the first command:
"Hariyama, use Surf to force it back, then follow up with Rock Slide!"
Hariyama immediately moved. Its massive arms slammed into the sand with a thunderous boom, and a giant wave nearly three meters tall surged up out of nowhere, rushing toward Larvesta with overwhelming force.
At the same time, dozens of fist-sized rocks materialized in the air beside it, hovering ominously, clearly waiting to launch the second wave of attack once Larvesta was pushed back.
Brawly had not been exaggerating earlier. He had indeed studied Theo's previous gym battles. Every move he chose was aimed directly at Larvesta's type weaknesses.
But Theo was not worried in the slightest.
Larvesta's training over these past days had not been for nothing. After all, it wanted to become Tyrantrum's big brother. How could it possibly fear mere Rock-type attacks?
Sure enough, as Larvesta looked at the oncoming wave, there was no panic in its eyes.
It took a deep breath. Its abdomen slowly swelled, and a brilliant red glow radiated from its body. Then it opened its mouth wide, unleashing a scorching gale infused with blazing heat.
It was the Fire-type move Heat Wave.
The moment the Heat Wave collided with the massive wave, a sharp sizzling sound filled the air. Thick white steam erupted upward, covering most of the battlefield.
Hariyama excelled in close combat. Its Surf was more of a utility move to create waves rather than a powerful Water-type attack. How could it possibly withstand Larvesta's full-powered Heat Wave?
In just moments, the towering wave was reduced to mere wisps of vapor. Even the surrounding steam was heated to a near boiling intensity.
"Impressive!" Brawly's eyes flashed with surprise before he immediately shouted, "Now! Hariyama, Rock Slide!"
Hariyama swung its massive arms in rapid succession, and the floating rocks shot forward like a barrage, slicing through the steam with piercing whistling sounds.
"Larvesta, watch out!" Theo called out at the perfect moment.
But Larvesta had already anticipated this. The five antennae around its head simultaneously fired out thin beams of flame, each one precisely striking a rock.
A series of crisp explosions rang out as every single rock was shattered into fragments.
"This level of strength…" Brawly raised an eyebrow. At that moment, he finally understood why Theo had not chosen Metagross, which had a type advantage, and instead sent out Larvesta as his main battler.
The livestream audience completely erupted:
"This is insane! That control is unreal!"
"Good thing it didn't wear the hat, or it would have been burned to ashes!"
"Larvesta is absolutely dominating!"
Larvesta proudly lifted its head and glanced toward Metagross, as if showing off its performance.
Seeing this, Brawly decisively changed tactics.
"Hariyama, close the distance! Use Rock Slide at point blank range!"
With Thick Fat reducing Fire-type damage, as long as Hariyama got close, it could maximize the power of Rock Slide while avoiding being suppressed by long-range attacks.
Hariyama immediately charged forward, its massive body pounding across the sand, leaving deep footprints with every step. The rocks around it reformed, this time tightly following behind as it rushed straight toward Larvesta, clearly intending to unleash them at close range.
"Now's the time!" Theo finally gave his command.
"Larvesta, charge in! Show them the results of your special training!"
"Woo!" Fire Vulpix cried out excitedly, its tail flames spinning wildly. It had seen Larvesta practice this move many times, and every time it had been thrilling to watch.
Ice Vulpix wagged its tail as well, the bells jingling brightly like a war drum cheering Larvesta on.
"Lar!" Larvesta cried out, its voice filled with excitement.
A crimson fireball rapidly formed in its mouth. At first it was only the size of a fist, but in an instant it expanded and reshaped into a clear "大" character.
It was the signature Fire-type move, Fire Blast.
However, the fiery "大" did not shoot out immediately. Instead, it slowly floated toward Hariyama.
Seeing this, Brawly frowned, puzzled.
"That's too slow… Hariyama, dodge it!"
Hariyama was just about to sidestep when suddenly, Larvesta's six legs glowed bright red, and the flames around its body surged explosively.
In the next instant, it shot forward like a streak of red lightning, diving straight into the Fire Blast!
"What?!" Brawly exclaimed in shock.
The flames of Fire Blast suddenly contracted, all of their heat and energy condensing into Larvesta's body.
At the center of the blazing inferno, Larvesta transformed into something like a meteor, propelled forward with a roaring force as it hurtled directly toward Hariyama.
This was a move Larvesta had developed on its own after watching training footage of Arcanine using Flare Blitz.
During these days in Dewford, aside from teaching Fire Vulpix new moves, Larvesta had been conducting its own training.
Flare Blitz was something it had learned through studying videos, relying on its exceptional mastery of Fire-type energy. However, since it had only recently grasped it, the power alone was not enough.
So Larvesta combined its more familiar moves, Fire Blast and Flame Charge, using them as a foundation to enhance Flare Blitz.
By infusing the energy of Fire Blast into Flame Charge and merging it with its newly learned Flare Blitz, the three moves fused into one devastating attack.
A blazing "Flame Meteor Impact".
Hariyama had no time to react. All it saw was a flash of red before an overwhelming wave of heat slammed into it.
Instinctively, it raised its arms to defend, but the fiery meteor crashed directly into its chest with a deafening boom.
BOOM!
The tremendous impact sent Hariyama's massive body sliding backward, its feet carving deep trenches into the sand until it finally slammed into a distant rock formation.
Dust and sand billowed into the air, completely obscuring its figure.
Fire Vulpix barked excitedly, unable to contain its joy, while Ice Vulpix wagged its tail, the bells ringing nonstop as it cheered for Larvesta.
(End of Chapter)