"The gym leader is in the lead again."
The receptionist was delighted. She didn't have a good impression of that spiky-haired guy; he always acted arrogantly, as if he were the second most important person in the world.
And now, with Dylan's Gloom gaining the upper hand, that spiky-haired guy's face turned blue—haha! Even his cheerleaders were silent.
"The gym leader is really good at using status conditions."
Abi blinked her bright eyes. Despite the type disadvantage, Gloom was suppressing Golbat.
After all, Golbat was both confused and paralyzed. The challenger would have to switch Pokémon; otherwise, how could Golbat fight?
On the battlefield:
"Come back, Golbat."
Gary gritted his teeth and withdrew Golbat.
A bad start.
Though he didn't want to do this, Gary knew that continuing the fight with Golbat was pointless.
Today, he was determined to prove himself as an indomitable Gary!
"Switching Pokémon? A wise choice, Gary. You've grown. Acting impulsively in battle is the worst thing you can do."
Dylan nodded approvingly.
He still remembered when Gary's Wartortle was poisoned, and Gary stubbornly refused to switch it out.
Gary's face darkened upon hearing this. He knew Dylan was indirectly saying he was too irrational in his first challenge.
"Don't get too cocky, Dylan!"
Gary still refused to admit defeat. As the indomitable Gary, he would never back down!
"Show me the second Pokémon you've specially prepared."
Dylan chuckled, motioning for Gary to send out his second Pokémon.
Gary hesitated. He had indeed prepared carefully for Dylan's Pokémon, focusing on countering Poison-types for the first time in his life. He even sacrificed sleep for half a month!
But the problem was, he had only prepared for Poison-types...
Looking at the Gloom on the other side, with an unknown liquid dripping from its mouth, Gary felt a headache coming on.
This thing isn't just Poison-type!
"Darn it, if only I had learned Protect..." Gary gritted his teeth.
"Gary?"
Dylan couldn't hear what Gary was muttering and just looked at him curiously.
"Kadabra!"
Gary finally sent out his trump card, not before giving it a few kisses for good luck.
Dylan's eyelids twitched at this scene, wondering where Gary had picked up this habit.
With a flash of white light, a yellow humanoid Pokémon with a fox-like face and a spoon in its right hand appeared before Gary.
This was Kadabra, evolved from Abra.
"Oh? Gary, is this Kadabra's ability Magic Guard?"
Dylan raised an eyebrow, surprised. Gary had really put in the effort to defeat him.
Golbat was one thing; finding one in a cave was easy. But Kadabra was rare, especially since Abra's Teleport made it hard to catch.
"Hmph! Of course! Catching an Abra was a piece of cake for me!"
A lie.
In reality, Gary had nearly lost his mind trying to catch a Abra. But in the end, he succeeded, and it even had the Magic Guard ability!
It was worth the effort!
Naturally, this didn't stop Gary from raising his chin proudly, enjoying Dylan's surprised look.
"Well done, Gary. It seems you've really prepared to face Poison-types."
Dylan nodded, pleased.
That was his goal!
To make these cute challengers suffer from Poison, so they'd remember its hardships and learn to counter it.
"???"
Seeing Dylan's expression like 'You've finally grown up,' Gary was baffled, feeling something was off.
'Kadabra, Psychic-type, Psi Pokémon
Ability: Magic Guard
Moves: Confusion, Kinesis, Disable, Teleport, Psybeam, Reflect, Psycho Cut, Guard Split (Inherited)
Info: Possesses strong psychic power. The greater the crisis, the stronger its abilities.'
"Abi, what's this Magic Guard ability?"
The receptionist, curious about Dylan's mention of Magic Guard, looked at her Pokédex entry for Kadabra.
"Magic Guard prevents damage from anything other than direct attacks. Since the gym leader mainly uses Poison..."
Abi explained.
"So Magic Guard is really specific, because while Kadabra can still be poisoned, the damage from poison is nullified by Magic Guard."
"Oh? You're quite knowledgeable."
Selene looked at Abi in surprise.
She wouldn't have known this if an elite trainer hadn't casually mentioned it during an interview.
Magic Guard negates indirect damage, leading many to think it prevents poisoning entirely.
But in reality, it still gets poisoned, and toxic damage accumulates! Only this damage is negated by Magic Guard.
If hit by moves like Skill Swap or Worry Seed, the toxic damage would immediately take effect.
"I just like doing research." Abi blushed.
"But Dylan uses Poison-types?" Selene noted another point, her expression curious.
On the battlefield:
"Kadabra, Confusion!"
Gary was serious. Kadabra was his trump card against Dylan, and this was a 2v2 battle.
Kadabra's eyes glowed blue as invisible psychic energy spread out.
Gloom was enveloped in a blue aura, lifted by Confusion. But as Gloom struggled, the control wavered.
"Stay calm, Gloom. Use Sweet Scent."
Dylan was calm.
Gloom swayed its flower, releasing pink and yellow scents towards Kadabra.
"Kadabra, dodge!" Gary shouted.
Kadabra's eyes flashed blue, teleporting away from the Sweet Scent, releasing Gloom from Confusion.
Kadabra reappeared behind Gloom.
"Kadabra, Psybeam!"
Kadabra raised its spoon, firing beams of psychic energy at Gloom.
Great!
Gary was excited. As long as he avoided those annoying moves, Psychic beats Poison!
"Moonblast."
Gloom quickly turned, a shimmering moon rising behind it, beautiful moonlight falling.
A pink energy ball formed before Gloom, pushed towards the Psybeam.
Boom!
Moonblast clashed with Psybeam, but to Gary's shock, Moonblast shattered Psybeam and hit Kadabra hard.
A loud bang followed as Kadabra cried out, thrown back by Moonblast.
"How is this possible..."
Gary was stunned, staring at the comical-looking Gloom in disbelief. How could his Kadabra lose in a direct clash?
"Gary, perhaps you misunderstood."
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"Or do you have a bias against my Pokémon?"
"Though I like using special tactics, do you think my Pokémon are weak in direct combat?"
Dylan smiled.
"My Pokémon are strong in direct battles too."
Joking aside, Gary's Kadabra was only around level 20, while Gloom was level 32.
Moonblast was also stronger than Psybeam, so it was no surprise.
Gary's face turned pale. He felt nauseous.
Are you out of your mind?
If your Pokémon are strong, why use those annoying tactics and then say I'm biased?
Gary felt dizzy.