Chapter 192
When they reached the battlefield, a Gym match was already underway.
A young Trainer was challenging Gardenia.
Unfortunately, Mike had barely watched for a few minutes before the challenger lost.
Their Piplup was defeated by Roserade’s Magical Leaf.
Gardenia patted the disappointed Trainer on the shoulder and offered a few words of encouragement.
Then a staff member hurried over and whispered something into her ear.
Gardenia looked toward the spectator area and immediately approached Mike and Lucian.
"Hello. Elite Four Lucian, Researcher Mike."
She greeted both of them politely.
"Hello, Gardenia."
Lucian gave a small nod.
"Good to see you again."
Gardenia smiled brightly while Mike looked surprised.
"Gym Leader Gardenia, hello. You know who I am?"
"Of course! I’m one of The Wide World of Pokémon’s biggest fans, especially the Grass-type episode! I’ve watched that one more times than I can count."
The moment Gardenia started talking about Grass-types, the words poured out of her almost without pause.
Mike could immediately tell that her love for Grass Pokémon was completely genuine.
She looked almost exactly as he remembered: short orange hair cut around her ears with black accents toward the ends, bright amber-orange eyes, and an energetic outdoorsy style.
A short green cape rested across her shoulders and was fastened at the chest by black cords forming an X.
Beneath it she wore a fitted black long-sleeved top that exposed part of her midriff, orange-yellow work shorts with rough-cut edges, a wide black belt, and green lace-up boots.
Then Gardenia looked at Mike with barely contained anticipation.
"Um... Mr Mike, could I see your Snivy?"
Mike paused.
"Of course. And just call me Mike. I’m still not used to people addressing me so formally."
He released Snivy.
The elegant Grass-type appeared in front of them.
Gardenia’s eyes practically lit up.
She immediately crouched as though intending to hug her.
Snivy extended a Vine Whip and gently but firmly stopped her from getting any closer.
"Sni."
Snivy shook her head.
Gardenia froze, then reluctantly gave up on the idea of hugging her.
Instead, she began examining Snivy with intense interest.
"Mike, you’ve raised her incredibly well."
Gardenia’s appreciation was obvious.
Whether it was Snivy’s appearance, the strength and flexibility of her Vine Whips, or her calm temperament, everything about her was excellent.
Mike smiled proudly.
"Of course!"
Gardenia stood again.
"By the way, you came here for a Gym challenge, right?"
Mike nodded.
"Elite Four Lucian told me this year’s Gym evaluation is going to be conducted through your challenge."
Gardenia’s expression became more serious.
"But if I remember correctly, you’re still technically a rookie Trainer. So far, you’ve only earned the Coal Badge from Oreburgh Gym."
She hesitated.
"For the Gym evaluation, I’ll be using my full strength. You might—"
Gardenia didn’t finish the sentence.
She didn’t need to.
Mike understood perfectly well what she meant.
He shook his head.
"It’s fine. I’d actually like to see how large the gap still is between me and a genuinely powerful Trainer."
Gardenia’s eyes brightened.
"Good! That’s the kind of straightforward answer I like."
She clenched one fist enthusiastically.
"I understand. Give me a little time to prepare. I’ll call you over once I’m ready."
Mike nodded.
Gardenia left to speak with the staff.
One of the employees disappeared briefly, then returned carrying several Poké Balls and handed them to her.
Gardenia moved to her position on the battlefield and waved toward Mike.
"Mike! I’m ready!"
Mike nodded and began walking down toward the field.
"Good luck." Lucian called after him.
Mike raised one hand in an OK gesture and continued forward.
...
Eterna Gym’s battlefield looked exactly like something designed for Grass-type battles.
Trees grew directly from the arena.
Shrubs and flowers covered parts of the field, filling the air with the rich scent of vegetation.
Mike glanced upward.
The sky above the open battlefield was bright and clear.
"Sunny weather today." He said it quietly to himself.
Gardenia stood confidently at the center of the green battlefield, one hand resting on her hip.
A light breeze stirred her short orange hair and lifted the edge of her green cape.
The moment Mike stepped into position, her eyes lit up.
"I’m Gardenia, Leader of Eterna Gym! Grass-type Pokémon are my specialty! I like my battles direct and straightforward, so come at me with everything you’ve got!"
Mike couldn’t help but grin.
Her enthusiasm was contagious.
In the spectator area, Lucian pulled out his phone and started a group video call, pointing the camera toward the battlefield.
Several regular members of the chat joined almost immediately.
[Zayne_Ishikawa: Huh? Is this a battle?]
"Yeah. Mike is challenging the Grass-type Gym."
Lucian answered calmly.
[Gholdengo Is Number One: With Mike’s Beedrill, a Grass Gym shouldn’t be especially difficult, should it?]
"So I turned the challenge into the official Gym evaluation."
Lucian said it as casually as though he had merely changed lunch plans!
[Mad Silence: ...F.]
[Juice Bro: As expected, IDontWantOvertime really knows how to get things done.]
[night_watcher: Where did that Garchomp come from—holy hell, it looks angry...]
[ReallyWantIceCream: Roar.jpg...]
The moment Garchomp appeared in the video, Lucian pressed his lips together and wisely said nothing.
The others in the group fell silent as well.
Sinnoh’s Champion had joined the call!
...
On the battlefield, the referee began announcing the rules.
"Today’s match format will be determined by the number of Pokémon available to the challenger. Since the challenger does not currently have six eligible Pokémon, this battle will use a three-on-three format."
"During the match, the challenger may freely switch Pokémon."
The referee raised one arm.
"Battle begin!"
Gardenia and Mike threw their Poké Balls at the same time.
Red light flashed across both sides of the field.
Gardenia’s first Pokémon appeared wrapped in two crossed purple petals.
Cherrim.
Across from it, Mike’s enormous Beedrill slowly rose into the air.
His expression remained cold.
Crimson eyes locked onto Cherrim as he raised his spear-like stingers and aimed them forward.
Bright sunlight poured down from overhead.
Under the intense sun, Cherrim’s body began to change.
Its closed purple form opened, revealing a bright yellow head surrounded by five pink petal-like sections resembling hair, with two berry-like ornaments nestled among them.
A skirt of pink petals spread around its lower body.
Cherrim smiled brightly at Beedrill.
Its Ability, Flower Gift, activated under the clear sunlight, increasing the Attack and Special Defense of Cherrim and its allies.
Mike didn’t hesitate.
"Beedrill, Agility."
"Solar Beam!"
Under the harsh sunlight, Cherrim gathered the attack without needing to spend time charging.
A brilliant beam of solar energy erupted straight toward Beedrill.
Beedrill blurred.
His body flickered rapidly through the air as he accelerated, skimming along the very edge of Solar Beam instead of retreating from it.
Gardenia’s eyes widened.
"What?!"
Beedrill raced alongside the blazing beam until he reached Cherrim, his stinger rose high above his body.
"Fury Cutter!"
Beedrill slashed downward and the strike sent Cherrim flying.
"Flower Shield!"
While still airborne, Cherrim surrounded itself with blooming flowers, using them to reinforce its defenses.
Mike’s next command came immediately.
"Stay on it! Fell Stinger!"
Beedrill vanished in another burst of speed.
Before Cherrim had even properly touched the ground, he appeared directly in front of it.
Both spear-like stingers thrust forward.
The Bug-type attack struck super effectively.
Cherrim was launched into the air again with a cry of pain.
It hit the ground and lost consciousness.
At the same time, Beedrill’s presence surged dramatically.
Mike blinked.
"Did Sniper trigger?"
Beedrill remained proudly suspended in the air while his momentum and offensive pressure continued climbing.
Gardenia recalled Cherrim.
She stared at Mike and Beedrill across the field, then swallowed.
’Is he really a rookie Trainer?!’
She hadn’t even settled into the battle yet!
Mike had spotted the first opening and immediately used it to wipe out one of her Pokémon.
...
"Go, Torterra!"
Gardenia threw her second Poké Ball.
A massive Torterra appeared on the battlefield with a heavy thud.
Mike stared.
’Gardenia has a Torterra?’
Gardenia clenched her fist.
"From here on, I’m attacking head-on!"
She pointed toward Beedrill.
"Torterra, use Leech Seed!"
Numerous seeds launched from the large tree growing on Torterra’s back and scattered toward Beedrill.
Mike’s voice turned sharp.
"Cut every one of them down!"
Gardenia’s eyes widened again.
Beedrill’s stingers began thrusting at incredible speed.
Every seed approaching him was stabbed out of the air before it could make contact.
Beedrill withdrew his stingers and remained expressionless.
Compared with the barrage of Shadow Balls Gengar regularly threw at him during training, these were fewer in number and carried less force.
"Fury Cutter!"
Beedrill rushed toward Torterra and began slashing repeatedly with his stingers.
After the boost he had gained from defeating Cherrim with Fell Stinger, Beedrill’s offensive power had risen dramatically.
Every hit made Torterra cry out in pain.
"Iron Defense!"
A metallic sheen spread across Torterra’s body.
Combined with the defensive reinforcement it had already received from Flower Shield, the damage from Beedrill’s attacks dropped considerably.
Even so, Beedrill refused to disengage.
He circled Torterra through the air, continuously striking with Fury Cutter.
With each successful hit, Fury Cutter grew stronger.
"Rock Blast!"
Fragments of stone appeared around Torterra and shot toward Beedrill.
Beedrill finally broke off his attack and began weaving between the projectiles.
Mike immediately changed his command.
"Knock them all down!"
Beedrill stopped retreating as he turned directly into the barrage.
Both of his stingers began moving.
Stone after stone was struck aside, split, or knocked from the air before reaching him.
"X-Scissor!"
Beedrill crossed his stingers and rushed toward Torterra.
"Zen Headbutt!"
Torterra roared.
Psychic power gathered around its head as it watched Beedrill approach, waited for the right moment, and then slammed forward.
X-Scissor and Zen Headbutt collided.
A violent explosion erupted between them.
Beedrill was thrown backward from the smoke, tumbling through the air several times before quickly stabilizing himself and hovering once more.
When the smoke cleared, Torterra remained standing.
But it was badly injured.
Gardenia immediately pressed the attack.
"Rock Blast!"
Another barrage of stones formed and shot toward Beedrill.
Mike raised his finger.
His voice rang across the battlefield.
"Put your determination to protect me into those spears and pierce straight through the enemy! Beedrill—Fell Stinger!"
Beedrill’s presence suddenly became completely focused.
He brought both stingers together and launched himself directly at Torterra.
The incoming rocks smashed against his body one after another.
Beedrill didn’t slow down.
He ignored every impact and continued forward.
Then both stingers struck Torterra directly in the head.
Torterra’s legs buckled, its enormous body collapsed to the ground.
It had lost consciousness.
Beedrill’s presence surged once again!
This time it climbed all the way to its peak.
"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Beedrill released a piercing cry as his aura exploded outward, shattering the remaining pieces of stone scattered around him.