"Congratulations, Ash! You've finally earned your 8th Gym Badge!"
After watching the intense battle, Rex walked over to Ash and congratulated him.
"Now it's your turn, Rex!" Ash bumped fists with Rex and said with a smile.
"Yes, yes! I think your battle with Juan will be amazing too!" May said excitedly.
"Rex, let's schedule your Gym match for tomorrow morning. It's getting late, and my Pokémon need some rest and recovery," Juan suggested, approaching Rex.
"No problem at all. Watching your and Ash's incredible battle today was already very satisfying," Rex agreed readily, feeling hungry himself. He had no objections to Juan's arrangement, as one more day wouldn't make a difference to him.
Afterward, they all enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together at Juan's invitation. Later, they bid farewell and headed to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy treated Ash's Pokémon, and they decided to stay the night.
The next morning, after breakfast, they headed straight to the Sootopolis Gym. Ash and his friends were eager to see Rex's battle with Juan and didn't want to wait any longer.
Upon arriving at the gym and exchanging some pleasantries with Juan, Rex finally began his eighth Gym Challenge.
The battle rules remained the same as the previous day: the first round was a double battle. However, Juan's chosen Pokémon for the double battle were Whiscash and Luvdisc, showing his intent to switch things up rather than using the same lineup against Rex.
Upon seeing his opponent's Pokémon, Rex released his own: Swellow and Lapras.
Rex chose Lapras because it had recently learned the move Safeguard, which could effectively defend against Luvdisc's Sweet Kiss. Additionally, Rex was curious to see how Lapras would perform in battle after their training.
He sent out Swellow to gain the upper hand in the first round. His Swellow, like Juan's Milotic, could use recovery moves and wasn't afraid of a war of attrition.
"I didn't expect Rex to send out Swellow right from the start!" Ash remarked, surprised by Rex's choice.
"Lapras, you better do well!" Max shouted excitedly from the stands upon seeing Lapras. He had been training with Lapras and felt like he was participating in the battle himself.
"Calm down, Max!" May said, slightly annoyed by her brother's excitement.
"Lapras, use Safeguard!"
"Swellow, Tailwind!"
Ignoring the chatter from the audience, Rex focused on boosting his Pokémon's stats.
"Luvdisc, use Sweet Kiss!"
"Whiscash, Hyper Beam!"
Juan wasn't going to let Rex's Pokémon power up without interference. Luvdisc aimed Sweet Kiss at Swellow while Whiscash fired a Hyper Beam at Lapras.
Swellow easily dodged Luvdisc's Sweet Kiss with a flap of its wings and countered Whiscash's Hyper Beam with its own Hyper Beam, shielding Lapras from the attack. By this time, Lapras had successfully set up Safeguard.
"Whiscash, use Rain Dance!"
"Luvdisc, use Water Gun!"
Juan's commands brought a dark cloud over the battlefield, and it began to rain. Luvdisc's Swift Swim ability activated, boosting its speed significantly. It darted around, firing Water Guns at Swellow like bullets.
However, Swellow, under the effect of Tailwind, was even faster than the boosted Luvdisc, easily dodging the Water Guns.
Meanwhile, Whiscash, having completed Rain Dance, dove underwater, aiming to ambush Lapras.
"Lapras, use Ice Beam to freeze the area around you!"
Following Rex's command, Lapras quickly froze the area, jumping onto the ice.
"Whiscash, use Rock Smash to break through the ice!"
The ice wasn't thick enough to stop Whiscash, who smashed through it with Rock Smash, heading straight for Lapras.
Under Rex's direction, Lapras froze the hole beneath Whiscash with another Ice Beam, but it still took a significant hit from Rock Smash, suffering considerable damage.
"Swellow, use Double Team, then Aerial Ace!"
On the ice, Whiscash moved slowly, unable to dodge Swellow's swift Aerial Ace. Swellow struck hard, followed by Lapras hitting Whiscash with another Ice Beam, freezing it solid.
Swellow then fired a Hyper Beam from the air, shattering the ice around Whiscash and knocking it out.
With Whiscash down, Luvdisc's attacks were largely ineffective against Lapras under Safeguard. Juan was in a difficult position but couldn't afford to do nothing.
"Luvdisc, keep using Water Gun!"
As Whiscash fainted, the rain clouds began to dissipate. If Luvdisc didn't defeat Swellow quickly, it would be in a very disadvantageous position.
However, hitting Swellow, boosted by Tailwind, proved impossible for Luvdisc. Eventually, Swellow found an opening as the rain stopped, striking Luvdisc with Aerial Ace and knocking it out.
Rex's seeming easy victory over Juan in this round was due to his Pokémon countering Juan's effectively. Otherwise, a tough battle would have been unavoidable.
"Great strategy, Rex! You won this round beautifully," Juan remarked, impressed.
"Yeah, Lapras, you were awesome!" Max shouted to Lapras, who smiled back. Despite the pain from Whiscash's attack, the victory made it happy.
"Rex's command style is entirely different from yours, Ash. He has a clear strategy and can control the entire battlefield. You're more of an improviser, winning by unexpected tactics," Brock observed thoughtfully.
"I don't care about styles. Pokémon battles are all about enjoying the fight!" Ash declared loudly, expressing his views on battling.
Both styles had their merits. Rex's approach ensured consistent performance, while Ash's adaptive style meant his battles were unpredictable and exciting until the very end.
After the battlefield was reset, Rex and Juan's second round began.
Juan's third Pokémon was Kingdra, a different choice from his previous lineup, likely adding difficulty for Rex due to his excellent performance in the first round.
Rex sent out Machop, not expecting it to win but hoping the battle pressure would push it to evolve into Machoke.