Hitmontop fell.
But although Combusken had defeated its opponent, it clearly could not fight any longer either.
Looking at it that way, although Xia You had won the first match, both sides had suffered heavy losses.
For both sides, especially Brawly, that was not an unacceptable outcome.
It was just...
Brawly's brow twitched repeatedly. He had a vague feeling that he might let Shinobu down today.
Just then, however, the man opposite him sighed as well and said apologetically, "Sorry. Although I wanted to battle you with Fighting-type Pokémon, my Combusken clearly can't fight anymore, and it's the only one I have. Please allow me to switch to a Pokémon of another type next."
Switch to a Pokémon of another type?
Brawly's heart stirred. He felt he had a chance of winning again.
He admitted that this Combusken was indeed somewhat stronger than his Hitmontop. Although losing to it was regrettable, there was nothing he could do.
But if he would be battling Pokémon of other types next, as long as he did not encounter one with an advantage over Fighting types, he still felt he had a very good chance of winning!
At that thought, Brawly nodded. "Of course. Although this is a Fighting-type Gym, challengers aren't required to use Fighting-type Pokémon. Go ahead and switch."
Xia You smiled.
Having challenged so many Gyms, he naturally knew the rules. He had only said that to give advance notice, so certain people would not complain that he had gone off script after losing the match.
Brawly recalled Hitmontop and took out another Poké Ball.
This would already be his fourth Pokémon to battle today. If he kept losing, he would probably be depressed for a long time.
But as a Gym Leader, he had to be mentally prepared for this.