Battle of Petalburg

Wally had once told Norman that Baimu was a very powerful Trainer.

Because of that information, Norman had slightly raised the difficulty of the Gym challenge.

It seemed now...

He had still underestimated Baimu's abilities.

The Pokémon he had prepared might have been somewhat lower in level than that Aggron. When the level gap was too large, it was difficult to execute certain tactics unless the opponent was willing to provide an opportunity.

Judging from the previous battle, Baimu was clearly not that foolish.

The moment he realized Spinda could evade the move, he swiftly switched from a smaller-area attack to one with a wider range. Then, once the enemy had been weakened, he immediately delivered the final blow.

Aggron's coordination was quite good as well.

Norman's thoughts raced, but outwardly, he calmly recalled Spinda. "Thanks for your hard work, Spinda. My second Pokémon—Slakoth! I'm counting on you!"

Bang!

White light flashed.

A brownish-gray sloth with bleary eyes, lying prone on the ground, appeared on the field.

"Dig!"

Baimu had no intention of switching Pokémon. The instant Slakoth landed, he gave the command and registered it in his Pokédex.

"Roar!"

Aggron dug into the earth with both claws, its massive body vanishing underground in an instant and leaving behind only a pitch-black hole.

Seeing this, Norman shouted, "Use Water Pulse on the hole!"

"Slakoth~"

Slakoth swayed as it stood up, but its attack was not slow. A sky-blue sphere of water swiftly condensed in its palm and flew toward the hole Aggron had left behind.

The ground trembled faintly, as though something were moving beneath it.

Norman watched the ground, and every scene before his eyes seemed to slow countless times over.

As an outstanding Trainer, even if his Pokémon's strength fell short of its opponent's, the experience accumulated through