According to the Pokémon League's Gym challenge rules, for the eighth Badge's Gym battle, the Gym Trainer would send out five Elite-level Pokémon.
The battles involving those five Elite-level Pokémon would be divided into two stages, with the battlefield changing midway through.
The opening match would be a two-on-two Double Battle held on a water arena;
once both Pokémon on one side had lost their ability to battle, the first round would end, and the field would switch to a mixed land-and-water arena, where the victor would be decided through one-on-one battles.
Throughout the entire match, only the challenger could freely switch Pokémon. Once the Gym side sent out a Pokémon, it could not be replaced.
At present, aside from Alolan Golem, who could not be easily exposed, Xinhai had five Elite-level Pokémon: Blaziken, Gardevoir, Eevee, Krookodile, and Mightyena.
The troubling part was that none of those five Pokémon were Water type. On the contrary, Blaziken and Krookodile were heavily countered by Water types.
And his opponent was Wallace—the current Sootopolis Gym Leader, a Pokémon Contest Master, a top-tier Coordinator, and Hoenn's future Champion.
Wallace's tactical style treated battle as art. He focused on steady attrition and battlefield control rather than rash assaults, and excelled at maneuvering and wearing opponents down.
His team was generally composed entirely of Water types, with a core strategy built around Rain to boost damage output. Every member emphasized durability and special defense.
Thinking of this, Xinhai slowly opened his eyes and let his gaze fall on the cover of the travel guide on the coffee table—the white dome of Sootopolis Gym gleamed like a Pearl beneath the sunlight.
"For the first round's Double Battle, Eevee and Gardevoir will go," he said softly, tapping the tabletop with one finger. "Neither of them is weak to