Thinking about Sabrina, she was only about the same age as himself, yet she had legitimately become the Leader of Saffron Gym. Although her father had undoubtedly stepped aside and protected her to make it possible, under Sabrina's leadership, Saffron Gym had become one of the foremost Gyms in the Kanto Region.
"…Are you here to challenge the Saffron Gym?"
"…challenge the Saffron Gym?"
"…Saffron Gym?"
"…Mhmhm~"
The childish voice of a little girl echoed through the corridors of Saffron Gym, followed by bursts of giggling that sounded rather unsettling…
Naturally, Tetsuya knew these were all Sabrina's tricks. He then replied in a loud, assertive voice, "I'm Tetsuya from Ecruteak City in the Johto Region. I've come to challenge the Saffron Gym."
"Oh~? Come on in, hurry in! Just keep walking forward. But if you lose… you have to stay here and… play, with me…"
It was still the same childish voice. Anyone unfamiliar with the situation would have thought the Gym Leader of Saffron Gym was just a little girl.
"What if you lose?" Tetsuya asked.
"Mhahahaha[1]~¹ Then I'll give you the Marsh Badge."
The little girl's voice came back in a spoiled, playful tone.
"But I don't want that Badge."
Tetsuya continued walking forward as he spoke. With the [Shadow Contract] and his psychic powers, he had no fear of Sabrina's little mind games.
"…Eh? You're quite interesting. If you don't want the Badge, then what do you want from challenging the Gym?"
"I only want a guide about how to use psychic powers," Tetsuya replied.
"...Mhahahaha~!"
The little girl's laughter was filled with mockery.
"What are you laughing at?"
By then, Tetsuya had already reached the entrance to the Gym's battlefield.
"…Without the capacity, what use would a guide on how to use them be? Do you think just anyone can have psychic powers!?"
Tetsuya pushed the door open. Sabrina was sitting at one end of the battlefield, holding a doll in her hands. The doll wore a broad grin, while Sabrina herself remained completely expressionless.
"Whether I have psychic powers or not is none of your concern. The only question is whether you dare accept a bet like this."
Tetsuya's gaze was unwavering, causing Sabrina to pause for a moment.
Sabrina stood up and finally spoke in her own voice.
"…What arrogance! A one-on-one battle. Let's begin."
With that, Sabrina threw a Poké Ball, and an Abra appeared on the battlefield. Its eyes were half-closed, looking as though it had not fully woken up.
The court of Saffron Gym was covered with sharp rocks, each one as keen as a blade. Clearly, these were all part of Sabrina's attack tactics. On this battlefield, Sabrina utilized every possible advantage. Without absolute power, taking the Marsh Badge from her would be extremely difficult.
"Golurk."
Facing Sabrina, Tetsuya did not dare hold anything back. He could not begin to guess how powerful this Abra's psychic abilities might be, but he knew Sabrina's psychic capacities very well. She could channel her own psychic power into Abra, making its power impossible to underestimate.
Although Houndoom's Dark-type granted it "Immunity" to psychic moves, reality was far more complicated than that. Psychic powers excelled at controlling objects. Even flowers and leaves could become deadly weapons, and those certainly were not things that Dark-type Pokémon could simply ignore.
"Golurk, Shadow Punch."
Ghost-type moves were highly effective against Psychic-type Pokémon. Although this Abra would undoubtedly be unable to battle after taking even a single hit from Golurk, and almost any move would have sufficed, using a move that specifically countered Abra would naturally be even more intimidating.
Golurk's fists became shrouded in Ghost-type energy as it charged toward Abra on foot. This time, it did not immediately ignite its rocket propulsion. Tetsuya mainly wanted to see just how capable Sabrina truly was right now.
Sabrina never spoke during battles. Psychic-type Pokémon could receive signals transmitted through psychic powers, and Sabrina had already established a psychic connection with this Abra. Throughout the battle, the two advanced and retreated as one.
At the same moment, deep blue light shone from both Sabrina's and Abra's eyes. Confusion halted Golurk's advance, and the tremendous force held it firmly in place, preventing it from moving forward even an inch!
Seeing how easily Golurk had been stopped, Sabrina immediately felt victory was within her grasp. She used Confusion once more, causing twenty or thirty rocks as sharp as blades scattered across the battlefield to become wrapped in blue light and float into the air.
'How incredible…'
Tetsuya could not help but admire them inwardly. At present, his own psychic powers were only capable of controlling that many trees, yet these rocks weighed at least twice as much as trees.
Sabrina truly was beyond ordinary human limits!
Even Psychic-type Pokémon could not compare with her. At that moment, an evil thought suddenly arose in Tetsuya's mind. Kill her, let Gengar absorb Sabrina's vitality, and the increase to its psychic power would undoubtedly be revolutionary. His own psychic powers would certainly grow significantly as well.
However, this was Saffron Gym, and Sabrina was an officially recognized Gym Leader of the Indigo League. So it remained nothing more than a passing thought.
In an instant, all twenty or thirty rocks shot toward Golurk from every direction.
"Smash them."
Tetsuya spoke coldly. He thought it was time to "show" Sabrina his true strength. Golurk's power was not something she should underestimate.
What followed became Golurk's own personal performance. Its fists danced continuously as it seamlessly combined Shadow Punch, Dynamic Punch, Focus Punch, Drain Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, and Mega Punch with its Iron Fist Ability. Every single rock was shattered with a single punch.
Golurk remained standing in place, yet it had smashed every last rock to pieces!
"…!!!"
At that moment, Sabrina rose from her seat. She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but no words came out. A moment later, she quietly sat back down.
Those rocks had always been Abra's means of attack. They were incredibly hard, and every time they were used, they had proven unstoppable. Never before had any Pokémon dared confront them head-on.
Yet now, twenty or thirty rocks had all been smashed apart by Golurk. Such overwhelming raw power was enough to make even Sabrina rise to her feet.
"High Horsepower!"
This time, Golurk did not charge on foot. It retracted both of its legs into its body, then ignited its rocket propulsion and launched itself forward with tremendous force, heading straight for Abra.
Sabrina and Abra continued using Confusion, their powerful psychokinetic force restraining Golurk. This time, however, it was nothing like before. Golurk's rocket-powered impulse was powerful enough to conquer the glacier waterfalls itself.
Now it depended on whether Sabrina's psychic powers had strength comparable to the waterfall's torrent.
Sure enough, sweat began pouring down Sabrina's face, and even Abra's features started twitching. Both of them had already exerted every ounce of their power, yet Golurk continued advancing little by little.
"Swing Shadow Punch!"
Tetsuya needed to break this deadlock. Shadow Punch had exactly that kind of destructive force.
Golurk swung both fists, unleashing the power of Shadow Punch!
•.
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¹. Laughs, "sounds", and the like are things I pull straight from character quotes in the games or manga.
[1] Laughs, "sounds", and the like are things I pull straight from character quotes in the games or manga.