Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Gym Battle - I
Victor took this as a chance to approach Aeron for a short interview, which everyone eagerly listened to.
"Aeron, how do you feel after performing with Gym Leader Jason?"
"Great."
Victor waited for the boy to say a few more words but awkwardly smiled when Aeron looked at him with clear eyes. So, he moved on to the following questions.
"Do you think you will win?" He asked.
"Yes."
"It's good you are not overconfident...Hmm?" Victor replied, thinking the boy would say no and be humble about it, but he didn't get the response he expected. The crowd was surprised as well.
The commentator had a sly grin within his mind as he pushed for another question without letting it show on his face.
"But aren't you a new trainer who has been on your journey for almost three months? People train for twice that long before they start the Gym Circuit. What makes you so think you can win with only three months under your belt? Why are you so confident?"
"And why shouldn't I be confident?" Aeron looked at Victor, tilting his head as if he didn't understand what the man said or asked.
"Ahem!" Victor was shocked at the look the boy had given him but immediately spoke up. "Because you are a new trainer who..."
"And?" Aeron asked again; this time, he added. "Why should I not be confident when my Pokemon trained their hardest for this battle? If I, as a trainer, can't be confident in them, who will be...because when you think about it, no one else is." He pointed at the crowd and then at Victor; neither of the two had any confidence in his Pokémon winning this fight.
"And what if you lose?"
"Then I lose." Aeron shrugged. "Who hasn't lost?"
"Cynthia Shirona."
"And why should I care about her? When you woke up today, did you care if some commentator in Sinnoh Region gave a better show than you?" The boy shrugged as he said those words.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The whole crowd went silent when they heard those words. The boy before them sounded arrogant, but they knew he was talking logic. Who didn't lose? Even the current Elite 4 had once lost to his rival when he was a Champion.
Why did it matter if he won or lost? Why compare himself to someone else when his journey was different from others?
"I want to win," Aeron spoke as he looked Victor in the eye. "But it does not mean I am afraid to lose. Of course, my Pokémon would feel sad, and then I would have to give them a pep talk, but the most important fact is, when my Pokemon and I walk out of this Gym, we will be stronger than when we entered...regardless if we win or lose."
He gave Victor and the audience one last smile.
"Thank you so much."
With those words left hanging in the air, Aeron walked away toward his side of the field and quietly stood as he waited for the Gym Leader.
"Aeron! You got this!"
"Sea! Horsea!"
"Preee!"
Aeron didn't need to look behind to know who those voices belonged to. They had explicitly chosen those seats to ensure he would hear their cheers.
The silent crowd once again became rowdy as they looked at the Gym Leader walking back into the field. Unlike before, he now had an aura of authority around him; he was now a Gym Leader, not a singer.
"I commend your courage to challenge a Gym at such a young age," Jason told the challenger before him. "I like your confidence."
"Thank you for your kind words," Aeron replied with a calm smile, and The Gym Leader nodded in appreciation.
It was a common occurrence for young trainers who had just started their journey to come to challenge his gym. His job as a Gym Leader was to test the trainers, not battle them, but even then, the young trainers could never meet his standards. But he could not refuse these challenges, and thus he made sure to be very harsh with trainers who had just set out for their journey.
At first, he thought Aeron would be just as arrogant as other trainers, but the boy was here to win, knowing he could lose. It was a great mindset to have for someone so young.
"But don't expect this to be easy since this is a [Tier 1] Gym, and I won't go easy on you either," Jason said while taking out a Pokeball. Even though his Gym was [Tier 1] and he used weak Pokémon, it did not mean he was an easy opponent.
"I hope so as well."
As the two got ready, the referee came forward with a red and green flag. Four Hypno teleported to each corner of the battlefield and put up Psychic Barriers, making sure the aftermaths of the [Moves] won't reach the audience.
"This is an Official Gym Battle between Greenwich Town Gym Leader Jason Raige and the challenger, Aeron Duskborn. This will be a standard 3v3 battle where the Gym Leader cannot make a substitution, but the challenger can if his Pokémon has been on the field for more than three minutes or has won a round." He pointed the red flag at Gym Leader and the green at Aeron. "Any questions?"
"What about abilities that let you switch? For example: [Ally Switch]. Would that be illegal?" asked Aeron. He did not shy away from asking questions. He was here to learn, even though they might be little things.
"In case of such abilities, it's allowed." The referee explained before asking once again. "Any more questions?"
"What if my Pokémon survives three minutes, and then I substitute; can I substitute again if the new Pokémon wins the round?"
"Yes."
"Any more questions?"
Aeron thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Thank you so much."
"Alright." The referee pointed the red flag at Jason. "Gym Leader, please choose your Pokémon."
"Go, Beedrill."
"Buzz..." The Poison Bee Pokémon looked at Aeron as it was ready for battle.
Aeron looked at the most common Kanto Bug type but also a rather strong one. The Bug-types were generally weak, but due to their lower requirements for growth, they evolved very fast. Thus, most new trainers who had their Pokémon in their first evolution stage would suffer a loss from these Bug types. However, it did not mean Bug-types were weak; it all depended on the trainer, and Jason's Beedrill would be tough to beat by young trainers.
Having decided which Pokémon he would start with, Aeron threw a Luxury Ball in the air.
"Growlithe, I choose you!"
"Woof!"
The orange puppy appeared before the crowd, running in circles while wagging its tail. It immediately won the crowd with its cuteness. Jenny Clan protected the Growlithe line, and only they were seen to have these Pokémon. While few trainers did have a Growlithe, it was very rare.
When the orange puppy saw the opponent, it immediately went into battle mode; its previous playfulness was gone.
"WOOOH!"
The crowd gushed at how cute Growlithe looked with a serious face, and Aeron could not shake his head. And while the crowd was fawning over the orange puppy, Beedrill winced as it felt a sharp decrease in strength.
[Ability: Intimidate]
"Are you both ready?" The referee asked one last time, and when both trainers nodded, he added. "Let the battle begin."
"Beedrill, [Agility]."
"Growlithe, [Agility] as well, then [Flame Charge]."
Both Pokémon were enveloped in purple light, but Aeron immediately noticed one difference. Beedrill had completed its [Agility] faster than Growlithe's. Although every Pokemon used in a [Tier 1] Gym Battle would have its moves at Beginner-stage, Beedrill had trained its [Moves] better than Growlithe's.
However, it did not mean the orange puppy was weak. When it was done using [Agility], Fire-type Energy covered its body as it shot out toward Beedrill.
'Fast.'
The crowd was shocked at the speed at which Growlithe charged toward Beedrill; in a way, it had also surprised Jason. Even with the boost from [Agility], that speed did not belong to a young Pokémon.
"Beedrill, dodge and [Toxic Spikes]."
"Buzz..." The Poison Bee Pokémon followed its trainer's command and easily dodged the straightforward [Flame Charge]. Its eye shone in venomous glow as it released [Toxic Spikes] on the whole battlefield and...
"Beedrill, dodge!"
"Buzz...?"
"Woof!"
The orange puppy, covered in Fire-type Energy, slammed its body into the Poison Bee Pokémon, who was caught off guard.
"[Ember]."
As the Bug-type squirmed in pain from the previous Fire-type Attack, Growlithe opened its mouth and shot shards of fire at it.
Boom
[Ember] caused a small blast, and the Beedrill shot out of it.
"Woof!" The orange puppy looked at the Bug-type, who was burned all over and was trying its best to stand up. Two full-power Fire-type moves had made it suffer.
"Good job Growlithe!"
"Growlithe, you got this!"
"Woof!" The orange puppy happily barked toward the two girls cheering for it.
Aeron's lips curved into a smile as he saw the results of their training.
'Your task is to run from that rock to that tree and keep doing it till you are tired. And when you turn around, do it in one fluid motion..'
It was Aeron's first command to Growlithe, and the orange puppy had trained how to turn around at sudden notice. As soon as the Beedrill dodged, without waiting for Aeron to command it, Growlithe twisted its paws and shot for the Bug-type Pokemon.
As for its exceptional speed? Growlithe had spent the whole month under the influence of max gravity, and even though the orange puppy got used to it towards the end of the month, once out of the gravity field, its speed was insane. It really made Aeron wonder why other trainers did not use this training method on their Pokémon.
"[Flame Charge], once again." Although the opponent struggled to get up, it still wasn't unconscious, and Aeron did not want to let it recover as well.
"[Poison Jab]."
As soon as Growlithe reached close to Beedrill, Jason gave his command. It was at a perfect moment when Growlithe could not stop or dodge.
"Buzz..." The Poison Bee Pokémon buzzed in anger as it put all its strength into one final attack before it clashed head-on with Growlithe.
"Wuuuu." The orange puppy sent the Beedrill flying, but a sharp piercing wound was on its back. It winced in pain but did not give in, staring at the Beedrill that was not getting up.
"Beedrill is unable to battle; Growlithe is the winner." The referee raised the green flag representing Aeron and then spoke to the Gym Leader. "Please choose your next Pokémon; you have thirty seconds."
[The challenger Aeron Duskborn has surprisingly won the first battle]
"WOOOOH!"
The crowd cheered in surprise as they watched the cute doggo take out the Beedrill. None were expecting such an outcome...at least not so soon.
"You guys have trained well," Jason called back his Beedrill, genuinely praising the boy and his Pokémon. "I was surprised at the speed of this young Growlithe. It must have trained hard to achieve these results."
"Woof!" The orange puppy happily wagged its tail as it accepted the compliment causing the crowd and the Gym Leader to laugh.
Jason took out another Pokeball as he spoke. "Most trainer's come to fight me with Fire-type Pokémon just to abuse their type advantage without any real training. Using Type-advantage is great, but it means nothing when you can't land a hit." His eyes looked at the orange puppy. "You both have done great so far."
He threw the Pokeball in the air and called his next Pokemon.
"Pinsir, take the field."
"Sir!" The Stag Beetle Pokémon roared in challenge as it stared down at the opponent.
"Woof!" Growlithe barked back and got ready for battle; however, Pinsir did not lose its strength this time.
'Hyper Cutter.' Aeron thought of the Pinsir line's ability to prevent the user's attack from being lowered.
"Begin!" The referee gave the signal, and commands were issued.
"Pinsir, be careful of the little guy; it's fast and has good control over its movements," Jason warned his Pokémon, and the Bug-type nodded.
"[Flame Charge]."
"Dodge with [Quick Attack]."
Growlithe once again enveloped its body in fire and charged at its opponent. However, Pinsir was enveloped in white light as it dodged the [Flame Charge] before Jason commanded it to use [Harden].
Aeron frowned as he saw what Jason was trying to achieve. Growlithe was poisoned from the previous [Poison Jab], and the [Toxic Spiked] spread around the field made it worse. But he had his own plan as well.
"[Agility] and then [Flame Charge]."
"[Swords Dance]." Jason asked his Pokémon to power up as they waited for the Growlithe's [Flame Charge]. But as soon as the orange puppy finished [Agility] Aeron changed the command.
"Abort [Flame Charge], use [Ember]."
"Tsk." Jason clicked his tongue when he saw Aeron not fall for it. If the young challenger kept pushing for head-on combat like every other inexperienced trainer, he could have fought a long game where Pinsir would doge and wait for Growlithe to suffer from poison.
Was it underhanded? Yes. But his job as Gym Leader was to test how a trainer would go about fighting in such scenarios.
"Woof!"
Growlithe cancelled his [Flame Charge] and shot out [Ember].
"Run around Pinsir and harass it with your speed while using [Ember]." Aeron gave the next command, and the orange puppy started running around the Bug-type while shooting [Ember] from different angles.
Pinsir was generally faster than the Growlithe species, but the orange puppy's speed was buffed by two [Agility] and three [Flame Charges]. It easily out speed the Pinsir and thus harassed it with [Ember].
Even though the Bug-type dodged most of the fire shards coming its way, it did not come out unscathed. Its body was covered in burn marks even though only a few [Ember] had landed on it. When it tried to close in with [Quick Attack], Aeron would command Growlithe to use [Flame Charge] to get away.
"Wo..of..." Growlithe shot another [Ember], but this one was easily dodged.
Both Pokemon were huffing for breath, not because they were tired but because Growlithe was taking serious damage from poison while Pinsir had taken some hits from the orange puppy's [Ember]. But the Bug-type was holding out despite the damage; it had better Defence and Special Defence than a Beedrill.
Aeron frowned as he looked at Growlithe, who was badly poisoned. "Alright, come back..."
"Woof!" The orange puppy looked at its trainer and shook its head. It wanted to finish this fight and win it for the team. Despite being in pain, its face was filled with determination.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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