Gu Yan vs. Brawly

Having just finished challenging a huge wave, Brawly was feeling a little tired. Zeno hurriedly handed him one of their energy drinks. Brawly was a straightforward, easygoing person, so he did not stand on ceremony with Zeno.

"Brawly, you were way too cool!"

"Haha, I am pretty cool, but I had to fall countless times and suffer plenty of injuries to look this carefree now."

"I'd be happy if I could be half as good as you, Brawly."

"Actually, I wouldn't recommend putting too much effort into surfing. It is, after all, an extreme sport with a lot of risks. It is fine as a hobby, though. You can use it to relieve stress and work out your muscles."

"Mm, thanks for the advice, Brawly."

"You two aren't locals, are you? I don't think I've ever seen you around before." Brawly had lived here since childhood and knew the small town of Dewford well.

"That's right. We came to Granite Cave to take care of something. Once the port at Petalburg City reopens, we'll be leaving."

"I see."

"Brawly, can I get your contact information? If there's anything I don't understand later, I'd like to ask you about it."

"No problem."

After exchanging contact information, Brawly even invited them to visit Dewford Gym. Although Zeno would not be competing in the Hoenn League tournament, he was still interested in Gyms. Besides, he could take the chance to scout out Brawly's strength for Xiao Hai.

As expected of a Fighting-type Gym Leader, Brawly's Gym looked more like a fully equipped fitness center. The Gym apprentices all placed great emphasis on muscle training, and the Pokémon they mainly used were Makuhita, Machop, Meditite, and the like.

"Brawly, your Gym looks more like a gym."

"That's right. Dewford Town is too remote, and not many people come to challenge us. Of course we need some side businesses. How else are we supposed to support such a large group?"

"Sounds pretty good."

"By the way, Zeno, are you interested in challenging Dewford Gym?" Brawly was rather troubled by this. Whenever the inspectors came around, Dewford Gym could barely pass its evaluation. He would love nothing more than to hand out a few more Badges.

"Me? I only have one Pokémon right now, so I'll pass. Besides, I'm not planning to collect Badges."

"It's fine. I'll decide which Pokémon to use based on your strength."

"No, I refuse." Brawly specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon. Sending out his Carvanha against him would just be asking for a beating.

"All right, I won't force you. You can look around the Gym, and you're welcome to try out all the facilities here." Brawly found Zeno rather amusing, as if he would actually bully him.

"Oh, right, Brawly. I may not battle you, but my senior brother is really strong. Do you want to trade a few moves with him?"

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

In truth, Zeno did not know exactly how strong his senior brother was. But their teacher had said he was an outstanding Trainer, and Zeno did not think their teacher would shamelessly brag about his own student. His senior brother must have had some real skill.

Gu Yan had no idea why he had suddenly been dragged into this. He looked at Zeno with a puzzled expression.

"Senior Brother, please! I've never seen how strong you are. This is the perfect chance, so give Brawly a try!" Zeno looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah! Eldest Senior Brother, you've been at Littleroot Research Lab for so long, and I've never seen it either. I want to watch too!" Seeing that he still had not agreed, Sapphire immediately chimed in alongside Zeno.

Faced with the eager looks from his junior brother and junior sister, Gu Yan truly did not know how to refuse. He could only agree helplessly.

"Great! Then let's follow the Gym battle rules and have a three-on-three match!" Brawly was excited when Gu Yan finally agreed. Though the young man before him looked a little younger than he was, he did not seem like an ordinary Trainer.

"No need. Let's use normal battle rules."

Gu Yan did not want to take advantage of Brawly. Gym battles did not allow the Gym Leader to switch Pokémon. If they really fought that way, Gu Yan felt Brawly would be at too much of a disadvantage.

"All right. Can Zeno be the referee, or should I call over one of the Gym's referees?"

"No problem!"

Zeno was quite professional. He had learned refereeing too, and he even had a proper-looking flag in his bag. The moment Sapphire saw it, she remembered how she had once used a leaf as a flag.

"Junior Brother, if you had a flag, why didn't you let me use it back then?" Sapphire slowly walked behind Zeno and spoke in a sinister tone.

"Well, um, listen to my expla... explanation." Zeno had been too eager to watch their battle and had not thought about it at all.

"Hmph, then you're responsible for pulling an extra month's worth of food for Aron!"

"Aron!" Aron chimed in from the side.

"All right!"

Sapphire had not expected him to be so easily extorted. She had only been saying it casually. Hearing him agree, the two of them immediately smiled in satisfaction.

"The Pokémon battle between contestant Gu Yan and contestant Brawly will now begin! Both sides may use three Pokémon, and both may switch Pokémon at any time. The battle will continue until one side's Pokémon have all lost their ability to battle or that side concedes. Please send out your Pokémon!"

"Go, Tropius!"

"Let's go, Hitmonchan!"

Gu Yan's Tropius usually seemed quite gentle, but it had an imposing presence in battle. Zeno only had a vague impression of Hitmonchan. It seemed to be one of Tyrogue's evolutions, and he vaguely remembered that Tyrogue had three possible evolutionary paths.

"Tropius, use Sunny Day."

"A weather strategy? Interesting. Hitmonchan, go straight in with Ice Punch."

Seeing that move, Zeno could not help worrying for Tropius. Although Hitmonchan did not get same-type attack bonus, how was Tropius supposed to take quadruple damage? Worse still, this Hitmonchan's Ability might be Iron Fist.

"Don't be afraid, Tropius. Take off and dodge. Keep Sunny Day going."

Gu Yan remained calm, and Tropius trusted him completely. Holding up a ball of Fire-type energy, it rapidly soared into the air, narrowly evading Hitmonchan's attack. Sunny Day was successfully activated, and the battlefield suddenly grew hotter.

"Tropius, fire off Air Slash repeatedly."

"Hitmonchan, use Brick Break and scatter those wind blades."

Brawly truly deserved to be a Gym Leader. His response was extremely seasoned, and Hitmonchan scattered nearly all of the Air Slashes. However, boosted by Sunny Day, Tropius's speed left Hitmonchan struggling to keep up.

"It got faster. Chlorophyll?"

For the rest of the battle, Brawly changed his approach. He defended while looking for chances to close in on Tropius. After several exchanges, both sides had lost some stamina.

Brawly kept waiting, waiting for Tropius's Sunny Day to end so he could deliver the finishing blow.