After arriving at the Sootopolis Gym, Juan led everyone to the battlefield, with his butler serving as the referee.
Since the Sootopolis Gym is a Water-type gym, the battlefield was a water-themed area with only a few circular floating platforms to stand on.
Initially, Rex intended to go first for this Gym challenge. However, he couldn't refuse Ash's persistent request, so Ash was given the first opportunity.
As the final Gym, the Sootopolis Gym employed a 5v5 Pokémon battle format. The match began with a double battle, followed by single battles using the remaining Pokémon until one side's Pokémon were all unable to battle. This setup truly tested a trainer's skills.
In the first round of the double battle, if all the Pokémon of either the challenger or the Gym Leader were unable to battle, they moved on to the second round of single battles. During this time, the Gym Leader could not switch Pokémon, but the challenger could.
This meant that as long as the challenger didn't lose two Pokémon simultaneously, they could keep sending in Pokémon until they defeated both of the opponent's Pokémon.
Of course, if the challenger lost too many Pokémon in the first round, they would be at a disadvantage in the second round, making it hard to win the match.
With the butler announcing the rules, Ash and Juan's Gym battle officially began.
Juan, as the Gym Leader, sent out his two Pokémon first: Sealeo and Seaking.
Ash sent out his partner Pikachu and the recently captured Snorunt. Pikachu, being an Electric-type Pokémon, was expected, but using the newly captured Snorunt in a Gym challenge was bold and characteristic of Ash.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
Ash's command was logical; Electric-type moves could deal significant damage to the Water-type Sealeo and Seaking.
"Seaking, use Horn Drill!" Juan countered unexpectedly with an attack move.
What happened next was remarkable. Seaking used its rapidly spinning horn to catch Pikachu's Thunderbolt and reflected it back towards Snorunt.
The bewildered Snorunt was hit by Pikachu's attack, completely unprepared for this turn of events.
"What a magnificent counter! Is this a technique from the Contest Spectaculars?" May wondered aloud from the audience.
"Yes, Mr. Juan is a highly skilled Contest Coordinator," Brock confirmed.
On the battlefield, Ash was sweating. He hadn't anticipated such a defense against Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Determined, he had Pikachu use Thunder on Sealeo instead.
But Seaking, using its Horn Drill, intercepted Pikachu's Thunder again and redirected it towards Snorunt.
Fortunately, Pikachu stepped in front of Snorunt to block the attack, preventing Snorunt from losing its battle capability immediately.
Though Pikachu is an Electric-type Pokémon, the Thunder move still caused it some damage, putting Ash at a disadvantage.
"Sealeo, use Blizzard!" Juan commanded without hesitation.
Sealeo unleashed a Blizzard, causing the temperature in the battlefield to plummet. Snorunt, being an Ice-type Pokémon, seemed unaffected and even delighted.
"Snorunt, use Icy Wind!" Ash suddenly ordered.
The collision of Icy Wind and Blizzard in mid-air created a large ice block that stopped the Blizzard.
Juan instructed Sealeo and Seaking to use Hyper Beam and Aurora Beam, shattering the ice block into flying shards.
Ash commanded Pikachu and Snorunt to use the ice shards to close in on Sealeo and Seaking, aiming for a close-range attack.
Rex shook his head at this strategy, predicting it would backfire with their Pokémon exposed.
As expected, Juan had Sealeo and Seaking focus their attacks on Snorunt. Unable to dodge in mid-air, Snorunt was hit and knocked out.
Pikachu, sensing danger, retreated quickly instead of advancing.
"Come out, Corphish!" Ash called out his third Pokémon.
Seaking, under Juan's command, charged at Corphish's platform with a Horn Attack. Corphish swiftly used its claws to grab Seaking's horn and tossed it into the air.
When Juan had Seaking use Horn Drill, Corphish was caught and spun around, getting dizzy before being thrown into the water.
Pikachu seized the opportunity to strike Seaking with Iron Tail, knocking it out.
Juan had no choice but to continue with just Sealeo, as Gym Leaders couldn't switch Pokémon.
Sealeo repeatedly used Ice Ball attacks on Pikachu and Corphish, each one getting stronger.
By the fifth Ice Ball, its size was enormous, and if it hit, both Pikachu and Corphish would be knocked out.
Encouraged by Ash, Pikachu unleashed an exceptionally powerful Thunderbolt, shattering the giant Ice Ball and harming Sealeo with the ice fragments.
Corphish then used Crabhammer on Sealeo, smashing it into the wall and knocking it out, ending the first round.
After the butler announced the end of the first round, the battlefield was changed. The new field had larger land areas and some water pools, designed to be fairer to challengers.
With the new field ready, the second round began. Ash sent out Grovyle, while Juan chose Luvdisc.
Ash had Grovyle use Bullet Seed on Luvdisc, but it dodged nimbly and countered with Water Pulse.
Grovyle quickly jumped around the terrain to avoid the attack and then used Leaf Blade to strike Luvdisc.
Luvdisc dodged and used Sweet Kiss, confusing Grovyle, causing it to hit rocks in its disoriented state.
Seeing Grovyle's condition, Ash tried to recall it, but Luvdisc hit it with a powerful Water Gun, knocking it out.
Now, both Ash and Juan had two Pokémon unable to battle.
(End of Chapter)