"Keep going." Before Lin Hao had finished speaking, Steven had already turned the car onto the southbound fork.
Violet City lay southeast of Dewford Town, a forty-minute drive away. The greenery thickened along the road, and the air grew increasingly humid.
May scrolled through the Gym information on her phone. "Violet City Gym, Water-type. The Gym Leader, Chuck, specializes in using water currents to cut off opponents' movement routes."
"What's his battle style?" Steven asked.
"Attrition." May swiped to the next page. "His main Pokémon is Hariyama. Wait... why would a Water-type Gym..." She trailed off.
"Water and Fighting," Lin Hao finished for her.
"Right. His Hariyama is both Water-type and Fighting-type, and excels at close-quarters grappling."
Steven added, "Chuck and Yue Shan trained under the same master. His grounding in martial arts is solid."
"Do you know every Gym Leader in Hoenn?" May asked.
"A Champion's duty."
They arrived in Violet City, which was more than three times the size of Dewford Town. Canals crisscrossed its streets, and its brightly colored buildings had a Southeast Asian flair.
The Gym stood beside an artificial lake in the city center. Inside, the battlefield consisted of floating platforms half-submerged in water.
Lin Hao entered the Gym and found someone already inside. A young man with a high ponytail stood across the floating platform, wearing a tight blue outfit and nonslip boots. He was bent over, feeding fruit to a Lotad.
Hearing footsteps, he straightened. "A challenger?"
"Yes."
"You're the third today." Chuck wiped his hands and sized Lin Hao up. His gaze lingered on Pikachu for a moment before moving away.
"One-on-one, floating-platform rules. A Pokémon falling into the water doesn't count as a loss, but if its platform breaks, it loses immediately."
"Understood."
Chuck recalled Lotad into its ball and took