Pokémon Court

"Disappeared?"

Tatsuya exclaimed in shock.

"Blastoise—"

The Blastoise that had knocked down struggled to stand, looking around in panic.

"Was that Teleport?" Lucy Joy said in surprise.

"Without a doubt... that's the move Teleport. To vanish and reappear in that manner, only Teleport could accomplish it," Aida gave Gallade a surprised look, his heart far from calm.

What is going on?

During Gallade's Teleport, whether it was locking on the target or the execution of the Slash, it was much more fluent than before—this defied logic!

"It's standing up." Terrance blinked in surprise but quickly recognized that Blastoise was at its limit.

As an ordinary Trainer's Pokémon, endurance at this level was already commendable. But it was over.

"What are you going to do next to defend?" Terrance asked. "Gallade, continue the attack!"

The moment he spoke, Blastoise's expression twisted into a ferocious grimace. Tatsuya's mind instantly went on high alert. Never before had a battle made him feel so tense!

Facing Gallade, whose next attack could come in any form, Tatsuya's mind went blank. Withdraw? Iron Defense? No—when combined with Teleport, Gallade's Slash became an even deadlier move. The previous strike had already left Blastoise visibly wounded. If it were hit again, it wouldn't stand a chance.

Using Withdraw or Iron Defense would be like turning Blastoise into a sitting duck.

Blastoise, use Protect!

As Gallade's figure began to fade, Tatsuya roared the next command. Protect—it was the only move that could withstand Gallade's attack!

"Second strike," Terrance muttered under his breath.

In less than 0.01 seconds, Gallade reappeared out of thin air before Blastoise. Their eyes locked, and time seemed to stand still. As Blastoise formed the Protect move, within this seemingly frozen moment, it caught a glimpse of the blinding light radiating from Gallade's elbow blade.

Boom!!

No one could describe how fast this Slash was, because as soon as Gallade appeared, the dazzling white light had already spread as its elbow blade swung over. The Slash was as fast as lightning, truly resembling a streak of white light, instantly striking Blastoise's body.

In the silence that followed, the stillness of the battlefield erupted with a loud crash, and everything came to an end.

Bang!

Blastoise was sent flying, its resolve shattered. It could no longer stand up and fight, nor could it respond to its Trainer's calls.

The pale-skinned young man accompanying Tatsuya stepped back, his face full of shock. The speed of this combo... had it already surpassed the speed at which "Protect" move could form?

It was... simply unbelievable.

"Come back, Blastoise. You did great."

Tatsuya recalled Blastoise into its Poké Ball and heaved a sigh, forcing himself to calm down.

"There's no way that's possible. If that kind of speed is combined with the destructive power of Slash, this Gallade is practically invincible. There must be some way to counter it. Gym tests fundamentals, right? Fundamentals… then using the simplest method, I should be able to find a way to counter it, right? Plus, Gallade using Teleport like that? It definitely shouldn't be able to use this combo too many times. Hmm... It must be like that!"

"Graveler, you're up!"

Tatsuya sent out a new Pokémon.

Terrance stroked his chin. Was the opponent planning to counter based on type?

If it's the current Gallade, that could indeed be tough. The effectiveness of Slash would be significantly reduced.

"But..."

A glint flashed in Terrance's eyes as he was about to give an order, but a voice deep in his heart quickly stopped him.

This wasn't an ordinary battle fought to pursue victory; rather, as a Gym Trainer, he is here to test the challenger's performance in battle.

One instance of recklessness was enough.

Terrance put aside his impulsive thoughts and calmed down. Then, he directed Gallade to engage Graveler in a prolonged back-and-forth, feigning fatigue from repeated uses of Teleport.

In the end, Gallade only "barely" managed to defeat the opponent.

"So exhausting... With this Graveler's defense, Gallade could've easily taken it down by targeting the same spot with more than two consecutive strikes in an instant. But no, I had to drag things out like this. Being a Gym Trainer really isn't easy."

Gallade wasn't truly fatigued from a few uses of Teleport. Its Slash, when combined with Teleport, could deliver up to four consecutive strikes: one from each hand at the moment of reappearance, followed immediately by a second set of dual slashes. If all four hits landed on the same spot, Graveler wouldn't just lose its ability to battle. Even if it's a Rock/Ground type, it would sustain severe injuries, which would require days of recovery.

"I… lost?" Tatsuya remained dazed even after the match concluded.

"What a shame, Tatsuya. You were so close to defeating Gallade," the pale-skinned young man said as he approached.

"Yeah… what a shame," Tatsuya said, unwilling to accept the result. "If I get another chance to challenge, I'll definitely figure out a way to counter its attacks!"

But then, both of them remembered simultaneously that this was a 2-on-2 battle, and they fell silent again. However, the biggest reason why Tatsuya was caught off guard was because it was the first time he had seen Gallade's fighting style. If there is a next time, perhaps he wouldn't be as miserable as the first time.

"Hello, Gym Leader. I'm Simon. Although I haven't been able to reserve a Gym challenge yet, I really hope to have a battle with you. I'll keep applying, so please look out for my request," the pale-skinned young man suddenly said to Terrance.

This Gym was intriguing, and now he was even more eager to challenge it.

"And me! I'll be back again. Next time, I'm definitely earning that Gym Badge," Tatsuya declared firmly.

"Simon, is it? Very well, I welcome both of you to challenge. I'll be waiting for you at Rogge Gym," Terrance replied.

The two Trainers, having lost the Gym challenge, were preparing to leave, reflect on their experiences, and return stronger. But just as they turned to go, Simon suddenly remembered something and turned back.

"Mr. Gym Leader, I remember that Rogge Gym is a Normal-Type Gym. But Gallade is Psychic and Fighting-Type. Is the Gym's theme to use Normal-Type moves?"

He was referring to Slash.

"No, that's just my personal choice. Normal-Type Pokémon? I have those too. You'll see them when you challenge me," Terrance replied.

"I see," Simon said, thanking him. He had gleaned a useful piece of information—his opponent would use Normal-Type Pokémon, which meant he could prepare accordingly.

After the two left, Lucy Joy and Aida approached Terrance.

They didn't say anything, but Terrance could already guess what they were thinking. With Tatsuya's strength, he could definitely be allowed to pass. His fundamentals were solid, and there was no need for the Gym to set such an excessively high standard for him. If Terrance was prepared to do that, he would only be making things difficult for himself.

Without waiting for them to speak—or perhaps they weren't planning to—Terrance began talking to himself.

"It seems that Tatsuya has a very good grasp of the basic Pokémon training. However, there are still some minor flaws. I've already given him subtle hints during the battle. Hopefully, he'll show improvement next time…"

Terrance chuckled. He would never admit that he intentionally defeated Tatsuya because he didn't want to lose his first battle.

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