Chapter 149

Chuck, Clair, and Pryce—these three can definitely be called the three strongest Gym Leaders in Johto. It can basically be announced that Johto won this duel.

Gary: "Hmph, I only hate that I can't battle twice in a row. Otherwise, we Kanto wouldn't know how to lose!"

Whitney: "Having another episode? Gary. Win against Mr. Chuck first!"

【On the battlefield, Chuck knelt on both knees, quietly waiting for Gary to enter the field.】

【Suddenly, Chuck opened his eyes and stood up quickly. His opponent, and also his apprentice, Gary, had arrived.】

【Chuck used Machamp, while Gary called out all his Pokémon at once.】

【Alakazam, Exeggutor, Pidgeot, Rhydon, Gyarados, Exeggutor.】

【Gary chose to attack first. Rhydon slammed its drill horn fiercely at Machamp.】

【Machamp didn't resist at all, and the attack hit easily.】

【But Machamp's counterattack came quickly. It used its lower two hands to forcefully drag Rhydon's chin, while the upper two hands forcefully grabbed the opponent's drill horn.】

【Circle Throw.】

【Deliberately giving up the first attack, just to use Circle Throw. In this game of master and apprentice, Chuck had the upper hand.】

【Hitmonlee entered the field, using Mind Eye to see through all the opponent's skills. All of Rhydon's attacks failed.】

Whitney: "Ya, Gary, it looks like that guy who looks a lot like you is going to lose."

Bea: "Senior's battle style is still so simple."

Simple yet efficient.

Brawly: "No chance of winning. Gary is being suppressed and beaten, completely not knowing how to win."

【Deliberately taking Hitmonlee's attack, Rhydon seized the opportunity and hugged Hitmonlee's long legs tightly.】

【Stomp.】

【The skill hit successfully, but Chuck taught Gary another lesson.】

【Reversal.】

【Another technique similar to Circle Throw, turning the opponent's attack into energy for a counterattack.】

【Being hit by skills continuously, even though Gary's Rhydon was high-level, it couldn't hold on anymore. It began to show signs of fatigue.】

【After a moment of recollection, Gary's expression became firm.】

【Relying on the techniques taught by Chuck, at the last moment, Gary and Rhydon became one in mind and successfully defeated Chuck's Hitmontop.】

【After the match, Chuck was full of praise for Gary's performance, but he had a question: why did Gary only use Rhydon during the battle.】

【"Because of this."】

【Gary took a book out of his pocket—"The Mystery of the Earth."】

【That was a secret manual written by the former Viridian Gym Leader, who was also the head of Team Rocket. After becoming the Viridian Gym Leader, Gary hoped to study the true meaning of the secret manual.】

Lance: "Wait, the Viridian Gym Leader before was Giovanni? Does that mean four of Kanto's gyms are under Team Rocket?"

Giovanni: "Hehehe, whether Kanto is chaotic or not, we Team Rocket have the final say! How about it, Sabrina, Lt. Surge, Koga, do you want to join our Team Rocket? With your joining, the League will eventually fall to Team Rocket."

Lt. Surge: "Are you okay, Giovanni? I don't know you, don't drag me into the water."

Koga: "Stay away from me, I'm about to become an Elite Four member, I don't want to have any connection with you."

Sabrina: "Heh."

It's better to enjoy the shade under a big tree, they aren't stupid, how could they join Team Rocket.

What can Team Rocket give them?

Nothing at all.

【On the other side, because Blaine's physical condition was poor, his match was postponed to the next one, and the captain's battle between Erika and Pryce was staged in advance.】

Lorelei: "No wonder Erika became the Kanto captain."

Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Janine have intricate ties with Team Rocket, Blaine's physical condition is poor, and Gary is a newcomer who just took over as Gym Leader. In this way, there are only three people who can be chosen as captain.】

Erika: "Hey, don't talk nonsense, I became captain based on my strength!"

Bruno: "Actually, thinking about it carefully, Erika, Brock, and Misty are really difficult."

The nearby Gym Leaders are all Team Rocket. In a situation of isolation and helplessness, the three of them can still persist in justice, which is really admirable."

【Bellossom vs. Swinub.】

As soon as Swinub appeared, everyone raised their spirits to the highest level. They knew very well that this Swinub was a freak among freaks.

If Swinub is sent out, Erika basically has no chance.

【"In addition to teaching at Celadon University, I also teach tea ceremony and archery at home, and of course, flower arrangement."】

【Erika closed her eyes and felt the dance of Bellossom with her heart. "The most important thing about flower arrangement is natural and unintentional. Too artificial flower arrangement will hurt the beauty of the flowers."】

【"The most important thing is natural and unintentional."】

【Erika repeated it again.】

【At this time, petals all over the sky surrounded Erika. It turned out that when no one noticed, Erika's attack had already begun.】

【"Pokémon battle is the same principle, quiet, beautiful..."】

【"Come on, bloom."】

【Accompanied by Erika's voice, all the petals in the field bloomed.】

【The moment the petals bloomed, Swinub couldn't help but rush towards the petals.】

Misty: "What's wrong with Swinub? Why does it want to rush towards the flowers all over the sky?"

Pryce: "It's Swinub's characteristic. After smelling a good smell, it will rush towards the place where the smell is emitted regardless of the consequences."

Ash: "Is Erika that strong?"

It's completely different from the Erika in his memory.

Erika: "Hehehe, now you know how I became captain? So what if it's a god-level Swinub? I'll kill it all the same!"

【Seizing the opportunity, without giving the opponent any chance to react, Erika immediately switched Pokémon. Jumpluff entered the field, Stun Spore.】

【Just when Erika thought victory was in her grasp, Swinub attacked.】

135: Giant Aura Sphere, that's what a Super True Newcomer is like!

【Powder Snow.】

【Snow so fine that it couldn't be seen by the naked eye directly stopped Jumpluff.】

Lorelei: "Wait, just such a small drop of snow, the power is so great?"

Glacia: "It's really getting more and more outrageous. Pryce, is the power of your Swinub's Blizzard also so strong?"

Pryce: "I don't have a Swinub, and I will never capture a Swinub in the future!"

Blaine: "Shh, don't mention Swinub and Piloswine, that will remind Pryce of past pain."

Professor Oak: "It's been so long, Pryce, you still haven't let go?"

Pryce: "What Swinub, Piloswine, I don't know them at all!"

【The power of Swinub's Powder Snow indeed exceeded Erika's expectations, but Erika had already prepared countermeasures.】

【Synthesis.】

【It is currently noon, the time of day when the sun is most abundant, and Bellossom had danced a dance before leaving the field. This dance was used to summon the sun.】

【In just an instant, Jumpluff recovered as before.】

【"Behind this wall of Petal Dance, they can protect themselves, and when attacked, they can quickly recover their stamina. No matter how many times they are attacked, they can recover."】

【"Because we are at a disadvantage in terms of attributes, we can only fight a war of attrition."】

Misty: "Miss Erika's tactics are truly admirable."

If she were to think about it, she couldn't think of such complex tactics even if she broke her head.

Lorelei: "Erika is indeed unexpectedly strong, but can she really beat Pryce?"

If the opponent were someone else, Lorelei would unconditionally support Erika in front of Erika's Wall of Sighs. But now her opponent is Pryce, a terrifying enemy that even Black Ash must be fully prepared to deal with.

Will Pryce really let Erika succeed?

The answer is naturally no.

【The Wall of Sighs that Erika was proud of began to shatter after only one second, and the petals flying all over the sky shattered instantly.】

【Jumpluff, who had just recovered its stamina, lost its ability to battle directly.】

Lance: "Wait, what exactly happened?"

Steven: "What about the absolute defense? It didn't even last for a second?"