On a bright, sunny afternoon, Gary carried Eevee-chan in his arms as he and Reggie arrived beside the open area at the Pokémon Center.
"How are your preparations coming along?" Gary asked with a smile.
"No problems at all. Bring it on!" Reggie nodded and answered mildly.
As a preliminary bout before challenging the Battle Frontier, Reggie naturally hoped to get off to a good start.
But with solid ground beneath his feet, Gary was invincible~!
"Now, let me explain the rules." Gary calmly raised a finger. "The match will be divided into Single Battles and a Double Battle.
"Two Single Battles, followed by a Double Battle where we each choose two out of four.
"Once all your Pokémon are unable to battle, you lose."
"All right, understood." Reggie's expression grew grave. The battle rules were actually this complicated. This would be more intense than he had imagined~
"Then let's begin the first Single Battle." Gary beckoned with a finger.
"I look forward to our match." Reggie nodded in greeting.
"Then, for my first Pokémon, Eevee-chan, you're up." Gary clapped his hands.
"Vee!" Eevee leaped onto the field, then lowered into a crouch and gave a wary growl.
"A Normal-type, and a ground-based Pokémon." After analyzing the situation, Reggie took out a Poké Ball. "Then, Staraptor, I choose you!"
"Star!" A majestic eagle Pokémon with a slanted fringe atop its head appeared.
"I see." Gary raised an eyebrow.
He was planning to play it safe with an aerial advantage, then catch his opponent off guard and finish things with Close Combat.
"Staraptor, Aerial Ace!" Reggie ordered.
Snap! White light swept over its wings, and Staraptor abruptly accelerated. Then it slammed hard into a wall...
Watching Eevee sit behind the barrier of Protect as though no one else were there, Reggie's