Challenging the Fuchsia Gym

After his Gym challenge, Liu Qing did not leave Celadon City right away. Instead, he entrusted Scyther and Arcanine to his mother, Mili, for treatment. As a top-class Pokémon Breeder, Mili gladly accepted and soon cleared up both Pokémon's lingering ailments. After another day of rest in Celadon City, he said goodbye to his mother and set out on his journey again.

A few days after leaving Celadon City, Liu Qing reached another city. Although it had no Gym, it hosted the famous P1 Fighting Tournament. Unfortunately, the tournament was only held once every three years. Ash had arrived in time for it, but Liu Qing was not so lucky.

With a disappointed sigh, he replenished his supplies in the city, then resumed his journey toward the Fuchsia Gym.

Unlike other Gyms, the Fuchsia Gym was not built in a city, but deep in a forest. Its Gym Leader, Koga, was also an expert with Poison-type Pokémon. According to Liu Qing's memories of his previous life, Koga would eventually become the Johto Region's Poison-type Elite Four member. So, after stocking up in the town closest to Fuchsia Forest, Liu Qing limited his Pokémon to a little routine training each day and avoided battles with other Pokémon Trainers entirely.

"Whew, finally found it." After following Scyther through the forest for nearly half a day, an old-fashioned mansion appeared before him. Just as he approached the house, however, Liu Qing abruptly stopped and reached out, catching a stone that flew from the woods to his right. The tremendous force left his wrist tingling. "Who's there?" he demanded, while Scyther also turned warily toward the direction the stone had come from.

"Hahaha! Not bad. Excellent reflexes." Amid the laughter, a man dressed as a ninja emerged from behind a tree. "I'm Koga, the Fuchsia Gym Leader. You're here to challenge the Gym, aren't you? What's your name?"

"I'm Liu Qing, from Goldenrod City," Liu Qing introduced himself.

"Hmm." Koga nodded without betraying any emotion. "Come along. You've passed my test. I accept your challenge."

"Test?" Liu Qing asked in confusion as he followed Koga into the Gym.

"That's right. Stamina, judgment, and perception—you possess all three qualities an excellent Pokémon Trainer needs. You're worthy of being my opponent." As he spoke, they arrived at the battlefield.

"This will be a three-on-three battle. I won't bore you with the rest of the rules. Here's my first Pokémon—Venomoth!" Koga released his first Pokémon as he spoke. "Now, Liu Qing, what will your first choice be?"

"Scyther, you're up first!" Liu Qing told the Scyther beside him.

"Scy!" With a low cry and a beat of the wings, Scyther flew into the air to face Venomoth.

"Aerial Ace!" "Supersonic!"

Liu Qing and Koga called out almost simultaneously.

Wrapped in bands of white light, Scyther appeared in front of Venomoth in an instant. At the same time, Venomoth's wings began vibrating at high speed, immediately releasing Supersonic.

Boom! Boom! Two thunderous crashes rang out. Scyther struck Venomoth into the opposite wall, but Supersonic confused Scyther, sending the Pokémon crashing into the ceiling. Scyther's body also flashed purple from time to time.

"Poisoned! There's Poison Powder around Venomoth!" Liu Qing's expression changed. Looking closely at Venomoth as the Pokémon used Fly again, he noticed faint purple powder appearing with every beat of the wings. Without concentrating, it was almost impossible to spot.

"Correct. Poison Powder constantly surrounds Venomoth," Koga said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "It seems your powers of observation still fall short. Never mind. Venomoth, Psybeam!"

"Come back, Scyther." After Psybeam struck and knocked Scyther out, Liu Qing recalled the Pokémon and took out a second Poké Ball. "Go, Exeggutor!"

"Venomoth, Supersonic!" Koga used the same tactic again.

"Hmph. Using Supersonic to carry Poison Powder lets you confuse and poison your opponent at the same time. No wonder you're a Trainer destined to become an Elite Four member." A closer look at Supersonic revealed the trick to Liu Qing, and a cold smile tugged at his lips. "Confusion!"

At Liu Qing's command, a dense, multicolored Rainbow Light enveloped Exeggutor. The Poison Powder and Venomoth also began glowing, and Venomoth's expression twisted in pain. Once Supersonic's effect faded, the Rainbow Light around Venomoth suddenly intensified. With a shriek, Venomoth lost the ability to battle and fell to the floor. Everything happened in an instant; Koga only reacted after Venomoth had already been knocked out.

"Haha, not bad. You've won the first round." After a brief pause, Koga burst into laughter. He recalled Venomoth and threw out his second Pokémon. "Come out, Crobat!"

"Exeggutor, use Confusion again!" Liu Qing attacked first.

"Dodge it and use Poison Fang!" Koga commanded with a sweep of his hand.

Whoosh! A dark blur flashed past. Crobat vanished from the original position and appeared above Exeggutor in an instant, sinking purple-glowing fangs into the leaves atop Exeggutor's head. Crobat then darted away and began circling Exeggutor at high speed. All three of Exeggutor's heads let out piercing cries of pain.

"Damn it, how can you be that fast?" Liu Qing had never expected Koga's Crobat to possess such speed. Exeggutor had barely had time to redirect Confusion into a defense before the bite landed. Crobat also withdrew immediately after making contact, giving Liu Qing no chance to counterattack. Fortunately, the blow had not badly poisoned Exeggutor, or things would have been grim.

"Crobat, Air Slash!" Koga's next command rang out. Crobat immediately beat all four wings, sending countless blue, crescent-shaped blades hurtling toward Exeggutor. If they all landed, Exeggutor would certainly be knocked out at once.

"Exeggutor, Confusion, full power!" At Liu Qing's command, the already panting Exeggutor erupted with a massive burst of Rainbow Light. It rapidly spread outward, freezing every Air Slash motionless in midair.

"Get away, Crobat!" Koga had not expected Liu Qing to come up with this method of countering Crobat's speed and hurriedly shouted a warning.

"Can you really escape?" Liu Qing sneered inwardly as he watched Crobat dart about. Sure enough, within moments, the multicolored light of Confusion filled the entire battlefield. With nowhere left to flee, Crobat was caught in midair, and all the psychic power filling the space converged on Crobat's body.

"This is bad! Crobat, break free!" Seeing Crobat trapped and writhing in pain, Koga immediately shouted in alarm. At his command, Crobat began struggling desperately.

"Exeggutor's stamina is running low, and its Inner Focus is almost exhausted too." Watching the fading light of Confusion and the panting Exeggutor, Liu Qing shouted, "Nature Power!"

A green light flashed over Exeggutor's body. Then a triangular mass of yellow energy appeared in front of Exeggutor and hurtled toward Crobat, who had just broken free of Confusion.

Boom! With a thunderous crash, the triangular energy drove Crobat all the way into the ceiling. Crobat shrieked, became encased in ice, and fell to the floor.

"Come back, Crobat!" Koga recalled Crobat, then threw another Poké Ball, releasing Ekans. Looking at Liu Qing, he said, "I never expected your Exeggutor to have such powerful Inner Focus. That caught me off guard. There's still the third round. If you win, this badge is yours." As he spoke, he took out the Heart-shaped Pink Badge.

"Yes. I'll definitely win the third round," Liu Qing replied confidently. He recalled Exeggutor, then took out Haunter's Poké Ball and threw it. "Come out, Haunter! This last round is yours."

Once the white light faded, Haunter appeared on the battlefield, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop five degrees in an instant.

"Haunter, strike first with Shadow Ball!" Liu Qing commanded before Koga could act.

"Crunch!" Koga ordered calmly as he watched the Shadow Ball hurtle toward Ekans.

Hiss! The coiled Ekans snapped forward, biting down precisely on the Shadow Ball. The entire sphere instantly dispersed into black smoke, while Ekans merely swayed back slightly.

That's a coiled striking stance. Still until the moment of attack, then one Horn Drill! Shock surged through Liu Qing, and he shouted again, "Haunter, Confusion! Let's see how Ekans blocks that!"

"Glare!" Koga called out again. Ekans's eyes immediately turned blood-red and fixed Haunter with a fierce stare, freezing Haunter in place. Thanks to Haunter's long life and powerful Inner Focus, the Pokémon quickly recovered, but that was enough time for Koga to respond. Ekans's coiled body sprang off the floor, launching like a cannonball toward Haunter with another Crunch.

"Oh no! Haunter, dodge!" Liu Qing cried in alarm.

Crackle! Just as Haunter tried to evade, a burst of yellow sparks erupted, causing a momentary hesitation. In that instant, Ekans bit down on Haunter, who let out a string of agonized cries. "Damn it! That hurts! That hurts! You stinking snake, let go! Let go! If I hadn't carelessly fallen for your trick, how could I have been paralyzed?"

"Interesting. Another Pokémon that can talk." Koga smiled faintly and seized the opportunity. "Ekans, Sludge Bomb!"

"Haunter, aim both hands at the snake's mouth and use Dark Pulse!" Koga's command made Liu Qing anxious, but then he spotted Haunter's two claws braced against Ekans. His eyes lit up, and he immediately gave the order.

Boom! True to a Pokémon who had lived for countless years, Haunter unleashed the move with incredible speed. Just as Sludge Bomb shot from Ekans's mouth, Dark Pulse erupted from both of Haunter's hands. The two forces exploded between Ekans's mouth and Haunter's body, blasting both Pokémon away.

"Haunter, hide!" In the instant of the explosion, Liu Qing thought of a way to deal with Ekans and immediately shouted. Koga reacted just as quickly. Ekans swiftly adjusted in midair, landed, and coiled up, raising the head and constantly scanning the surroundings.

"Ekans, don't get impatient. Calm down and search." Unable to find Haunter, Ekans began growing restless. But Koga was a true ninja, well versed in the essence of patience, and promptly issued the command. Hearing him, Ekans calmed down and continued moving the head back and forth to guard against a surprise attack from Haunter.

Hehe. As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Haunter gives off no body heat. Ekans will never find Haunter by sensing warmth. Liu Qing laughed inwardly. Glancing at Ekans's position from the corner of his eye, he smiled faintly. "Haunter, Encore, Hypnosis, Confusion!"

"Hmph, finally showing yourself! Ekans, Glare!" Koga sneered.

Unfortunately, Koga's smile soon froze on his face. A pair of ghostly claws suddenly flew from Ekans's shadow and covered both eyes completely. After a burst of red light, they released Ekans's eyes and instantly returned to Haunter, who slowly emerged from the shadow with a wicked grin. Haunter clearly held a grudge. Once Ekans fell asleep, Haunter's eyes blazed with an intimidating Rainbow Light, and Ekans was hurled violently away, then lifted and slammed down again. Only after several more slams did Haunter's anger subside. By then, Ekans was unable to battle.

"Gahahahaha!" Clearly delighted at having taken revenge, Haunter let out a chilling laugh before Liu Qing, his eyebrows twitching, recalled the Pokémon into the Poké Ball.

"Come back, Ekans. You did very well." After recalling Ekans, Koga walked over to Liu Qing and handed him the pink badge. "That battle was full of surprises. This badge is yours now."

"Thank you." Liu Qing accepted the badge with a smile. After bidding Koga farewell and leaving the Gym, he first gave Scyther an Antidote to ease the poisoning, then immediately set off for Fuchsia City.