The Gym referee sighed, then gathered his thoughts:
"Uh, this is a special rule at our Mahogany Gym. Anyone who wants to challenge the Gym Leader first has to pass the Gym Leader's... assessment. Yes, only after passing the assessment can you challenge him."
Heaven only knew how many brain cells the referee had burned through to come up with that absurd excuse.
"Is it really that much trouble?"
With even the Gym referee saying so, Eusine had no choice. Besides, it was far too cold inside the Gym, and he only wanted to finish his battle and leave as soon as possible.
He could only accept that he had to challenge Roy before officially battling Pryce.
Looking at Roy, who stood a head taller than him, Eusine thought nothing of it. In his eyes, Roy was merely an apprentice at the Mahogany Gym.
An apprentice's Pokémon were usually only between levels 40 and 60. There was no way Roy could beat him.
Roy looked at the Alakazam across from him. If he used Ancient Gengar, Misdreavus, or the others, they would defeat it in an instant.
But the task Pryce had assigned him this time was to defeat his opponent with Mega Froslass. The two Pokémon were ten levels apart—an entire tier. Roy felt the pressure too and dared not let his guard down.
Before the official battle began, Eusine urgently called for a pause, saying he wanted to start a livestream. He had expected another refusal, but, unusually, Pryce nodded in agreement.
The referee beside them, who had been about to refuse, did not even get a chance to blow his whistle.
Gym Challenges, especially those at the highest difficulty, had never allowed livestreaming before. But with Pryce, it was simply:
"Oh, get on with it. What's with