At those words, Salamence sank to his knees. But he did not collapse on the field. Seeing him like that, I returned Salamence to his ball.
"Thank you. You were amazing. You worked so hard. Get some rest now."
With Salamence's ball back in my palm, the highest praise came naturally to my lips.
"Did he refuse to fall out of sheer stubbornness? He made me look terrible."
Although Kirlia said that, her unusual demeanor immediately told me she did not mean it.
"I never intended to cut corners in the first place, but I swear here and now, Yuto, I'll give this battle everything I have!"
"Yeah. I'm counting on you."
I put Salamence's ball in my ball pouch and reached for the ball of the next Pokémon I would send out.
"Challenger Yuto's Salamence has been knocked out, leaving both sides with the same number of Pokémon! And Champion Baina has withdrawn that incredibly powerful Gardevoir! It looks like a Pokémon switch! What Pokémon will we see next?!"
My next Pokémon was this one!
"Gyarados, I choose you!"
To the sound of a horn, Gyarados, a Pokémon renowned for its ferocity, emerged from the Poké Ball thrown onto the field.
Still, for all that talk of ferocity, I had raised my Gyarados from a Magikarp. Despite his fearsome looks, he had an adorable side, nuzzling up against me. But I would never say that to his face. His personality seemed at odds with his appearance-which was a problem in itself-and he was straightforward, or perhaps innocent. Whenever he heard words like "ferocious" or "vicious," he became terribly dejected. He was male, but dealing with him always felt exhausting.
Baina's Pokémon was-
"Dance on the gale, Mandibuzz!"
Mandibuzz this time?
"Champion Cynthia's sixth Pokémon is the Bone Vulture