Challenging the Pewter Gym

A few days later, having spent a full week in Viridian Forest, Liu Qing finally stood upon a rocky mountain with the scenery of Pewter City spread out below, unable to help feeling a wave of emotion as he recalled the eventful life of the past week.

"Mom, I've arrived in Pewter City!" At the Pewter City Pokémon Center, the moment he handed his six Poké Balls over to Nurse Joy, Liu Qing immediately made a call home to report that he was safe.

"Liu Qing, it's been a whole week, and only now do you call to contact Mom. Mom was worried sick! Look at you, you've lost so much weight. You must have suffered, right?" Mili's concerned voice came through the phone.

"Mom, didn't I go out on a journey? Walking through a forest and all naturally takes time, plus didn't you have Chansey look after me? What else is there to worry about!" Liu Qing laughed. "Oh right, Mom, this is a once-in-a-lifetime scene I managed to capture. I'm sending it to you to see right now." With that, Liu Qing transmitted the footage recorded by his camera.

"Fine, let Mom take a close look at this once-in-a-lifetime scene you mentioned." Mili was clearly interested in what Liu Qing had said. After a moment, she finally spoke. "Alright, transmission complete! Mom'll wait for your good news about successfully challenging the Pewter Gym!"

"Yeah, Mom, don't worry. Tomorrow I'll go get the Pewter Badge to show you!" Liu Qing said with confidence. Indeed, thinking of his training results over the past week, although it was still a long way from his expectations, it had left him very satisfied. Even if the Pewter Gym Leader had been replaced by Brock's father, Brock, he still had the confidence to win!

Early the next morning, after receiving his six Poké Balls back from Nurse Joy, Liu Qing arrived at the Pewter Gym.

"Is anyone here? I'm Liu Qing from Goldenrod City, here to take part in a Gym challenge!" Pushing open the front doors, the interior of the Gym was pitch black, and Liu Qing couldn't help shouting out.

"Oh? So it's a challenger!" Accompanied by the voice of a middle-aged man, the entire Gym lit up, and Brock, who looked very much like Brock, was sitting cross-legged on a rock meditating.

"I am Pewter City Gym Leader Brock. This is your first time participating in a Gym battle, right? Gym battles are different from roadside matches..." After Brock finished a bunch of nonsense, he finally announced, "The match is limited to three Pokémon, understood?"

"Understood, let's begin!"

"Snap!" Following a snap of Brock's fingers, the rock battle field shifted inward from both sides.

"Then, the match begins. Go, Graveler!" Brock leaped down from the rock in a flash, threw a Poké Ball, and shouted loudly.

"I didn't expect it to actually be Geodude's evolution. Then, go, Exeggcute!" Liu Qing also released his Pokémon.

"So you're using a Grass-type Pokémon. You do have the advantage in terms of attributes, but wanting to defeat me won't be that easy. Let the attacks begin now, Graveler, Tackle!"

Shaped just like a massive boulder, Graveler immediately came charging fiercely toward Exeggcute.

"Head-on combat! Bullet Seed!"

Exeggcute's six heads instantly unleashed a barrage of Bullet Seeds together, driving Graveler back with formidable firepower and following up to press the advantage with a second wave of attacks.

"Hmph, my Graveler won't just sit there taking hits. Rollout!"

Graveler suddenly curled its body into a ball, rolling rapidly as it charged toward Exeggcute and batted away every single Bullet Seed!

"Such incredible power!" Watching Graveler's Rollout move, Liu Qing couldn't help praising it silently, though praising the opponent didn't mean he wouldn't launch a counterattack.

"Exeggcute, Confusion!"

"You think I'll give you the chance to grab Graveler?" Brock said coldly. Sure enough, he watched as Graveler's speed suddenly burst to double its previous rate, its trajectory also becoming erratic. Trying to catch Graveler with Confusion indeed would be very difficult, but was Liu Qing's goal really to catch Graveler?

Following a "Boom!", Graveler slammed directly into Exeggcute, sending Exeggcute flying-and Graveler as well, because at that very moment, its body was already glowing with a faint multicolored light!

"How is that possible!?" Brock said in shock.

"Hehe, what I was waiting for was precisely this opportunity. Exeggcute, Nature Power!" Seeing his plan succeed, Liu Qing immediately shouted.

"Don't even think about it! Graveler, Stone Edge!" Brock yelled.

"Too late!" As if confirming Liu Qing's words, a green glow then welled up from Exeggcute's body, overriding Confusion as it pressed down right along with Graveler.

Following a deafening crash, the entire field shook violently, and dust filled the air.

"Exeggcute, Bullet Seed!" Liu Qing didn't think a single move would finish off Graveler, so of course he wanted to press the advantage. Hearing a succession of impact sounds, Exeggcute jumped out of the dust and returned to Liu Qing's side, panting slightly.

Once the dust cleared, Graveler had lost its ability to battle and fallen into a heavily collapsed, massive pit.

"Return, Graveler." Brock recalled Graveler, cast a deep look at Liu Qing, and said, "It seems I underestimated you. Come out, Rhydon!"

"Return, Exeggcute!" Liu Qing had no intention of handing the opponent free experience. He recalled Exeggcute, which had consumed a fair bit of stamina, and tossed out a Poké Ball once more. "Come out, Scyther!"

With the appearance of both parties' Pokémon, the match started up again.

"It looks like you want to win through speed, but my Rhydon won't be afraid of you!" Brock smiled, as if he had guessed Liu Qing's intentions.

"Hehe, Leader, that's not necessarily true. Scyther, show your speed, Brick Break!" Knowing Brock was trying to rattle his focus-and not caring anyway-Liu Qing simply admitted it.

Instantly, Scyther transformed into a green blur, flying swiftly before Rhydon and slashing a Brick Break right across Rhydon's face.

"Brace yourself, Rhydon! Stone Edge!" At that moment, Brock shouted loudly.

"So he's relying on Rhydon's superb defense to take the opponent's blow first, and then counterattacking with this wide-area move. As long as the opponent gets hit, their speed is bound to drop, and by then Rhydon's formidable attack power can be displayed to the fullest!" Liu Qing quickly analyzed Brock's plan.

Though it sounded slow, the changes on the field happened in a flash. Scyther's strike chopped into Rhydon, drawing a miserable shriek and forcing Rhydon back a step, but the rapidly swirling Stone Edges immediately launched around its body as well, knocking Scyther away as it closed in.

"Rhydon, rush in, Arm Thrust!"

"In your dreams, Scyther, Swords Dance!"

Scyther, which had been caught off guard by the Stone Edge, immediately spun rapidly, batting away every single Stone Edge before ascending swiftly into the air just in time to dodge the Arm Thrust. The rumbling explosions on the field and the scattering stone chips made it clear just how powerful that Arm Thrust was.

"Ha, the chance is here, Brick Break!" Seeing that Scyther had completed Swords Dance to boost its attack by two stages, while Rhydon's speed had dropped from using Arm Thrust, Liu Qing immediately dashed from the air toward Rhydon.

"Rhydon, use Stone Edge again!" Brock hadn't expected Scyther to use Swords Dance at the critical moment to bat away the Stone Edge, making his plan fall through. He hurriedly shouted out his command.

"Aerial Ace!"

Following Liu Qing's order, Scyther-already moving at a high velocity-was suddenly wreathed in several white light trails. Its speed surged once more as it appeared before Rhydon like Teleport, the remaining momentum of a Brick Break hacking fiercely down upon the exact same spot. Rhydon let out a miserable howl and crashed to the ground with a loud thud, losing its ability to battle.

"With Swords Dance boosting attack, coupled with the acceleration of Aerial Ace, this Brick Break gained an attack power surpassing Focus Punch, and delivered with double the striking force, it really did take down Rhydon in one blow!" Seeing Rhydon go down, Liu Qing let out a light sigh of relief. After encouraging the panting Scyther, he recalled it into its Poké Ball.

"To think someone participating in a Gym battle for the first time would possess such strong strength. In that case, I have no choice but to pull out my final resort." Having had two Pokémon defeated in rapid succession while his opponent remained completely undamaged, Brock had no choice but to get serious as he threw his final Poké Ball. "Come out, Steelix!"

"Roar!" As the white light dissipated, a Steelix roughly ten meters in length appeared on the field, letting out a heaven-shaking roar. Liu Qing even felt a wave of pressure wash over him, enough to make one quail in fear.

This Steelix was incredible. Just this aura alone was enough to make an ordinary challenger lose confidence, and the mottled scars on its body spoke of countless battles. Liu Qing couldn't help praising it in his heart, yet it failed to shake his confidence; instead, it only further stirred his fighting spirit.

"Challenger, have you figured out what Pokémon to use?" At that moment, Brock asked from across the field, arms crossed.

"Steelix, Steel and Ground types, physical defense is far too high-we can only rely on special attacks to strike it, but only Fire and Water-type special attacks deal super-effective damage." Recalling Steelix's information, Liu Qing quickly made his decision and released his third Pokémon-Bagon!

"Oh? So it's a Bagon from the Hoenn Region. A truly rare Pokémon!" Brock arched an eyebrow and said, "Still, this is the end of the line. Steelix, Double-Edge!"

"Roar!" At Brock's command, Steelix roared, yellow light erupting over its body as it charged straight toward Bagon, who looked like nothing more than a tiny speck in its eyes.

"Such a powerful aura!" Even though the move wasn't aimed at Liu Qing, the sheer shockwave still made him feel a sense of oppression. He hastily commanded, "Bagon, jump up and meet it head-on!"

"You're planning to meet it head-on?" Watching Bagon charge toward Steelix in obedience to Liu Qing's orders, Brock asked in astonishment.

"No way!" Liu Qing sneered. The instant Steelix and Bagon were about to collide, he shouted, "Spin!"

Instantly, Bagon spun rapidly in midair, brushing past Steelix's body and flying past with hair's-breadth clearance.

"Nice one!" The moment he saw Steelix earlier, Liu Qing had recalled the scene of Ash challenging the first Gym in Sinnoh and encountering Onix in the world of his past life, subconsciously replaying that exact moment here!

"Bagon, Zen Headbutt!" Having evaded Steelix's terrifying strike, Liu Qing certainly wasn't going to let the opportunity to attack slip by. Hearing the command, Bagon immediately stopped spinning, its forehead glowing with a blue light screen as it slammed into Steelix's body.

"Boom!" Having missed its target and taken the additional force of Bagon's strike, Steelix's massive torso plunged straight into the battlefield, causing the entire area to cave in.

"To think you could dodge a Serpent's Body Slam like that. Still, that's as far as it goes. Steelix, Iron Tail!" Although surprised by Liu Qing's quick thinking, Brock was an experienced veteran. At this moment, Bagon had no footing in midair and was practically a sitting duck-how could he pass up the chance to counter? What's more, a single hit would probably force Bagon out of the battle altogether.

"Oh no, it's the Rock Head Ability!" Liu Qing had originally thought that even if Steelix's collision didn't deal massive damage, it would at least suffer a moment of dizziness, buying a time difference to let Bagon drop back to the ground and prepare a counterattack. He never imagined that at Brock's command, Steelix's giant tail would take on the color of steel and chop straight down toward Bagon's head.

"Are we going to lose? No, I don't believe it!" Watching the steel tail draw closer, Liu Qing quickly ran through Bagon's moves in his mind. A surge of joy welled up in him, and he hurriedly shouted, "Bagon, Hydro Pump!"

That's right, Hydro Pump-because Bagon hadn't mastered this Hydro Pump move yet, using it would subject it to recoil, rendering its body unstable and causing it to miss the target. But let's not forget, the current opponent was the unimaginably massive Steelix! Furthermore, he could use the recoil to escape the range of the Iron Tail.

Sure enough, Bagon in midair took a sharp intake of breath and unleashed a fierce blast of Hydro Pump right toward the incoming steel tail. The recoil instantly flipped it over, sending it tumbling through the air before it landed heavily upon a rock. As for the Hydro Pump, it naturally missed the steel tail, striking Steelix squarely on the head instead. Steelix let out a miserable shriek, and under Brock's orders, decisively burrowed underground.