"Senior Terrance!"
A boy wearing a green short-sleeved shirt, brown shorts, and a worn-out straw hat brightened up instantly upon seeing Terrance.
He took out a box, carefully took out the gray Badge, the sign of Pewter Gym's acknowledgement, and looked at Terrance with hopeful eyes.
"I've completed the challenge you gave me."
Troy's heart was tense. For the past two months, he had trained day and night with his Weedle, devising strategies to win, pouring all his energy into it.
All of this effort was for one thing: to earn Terrance's recognition, to obtain the opportunity to become stronger that Terrance had spoken of.
Coming from poverty, Troy knew how rare this opportunity was. So during these two months, even if he couldn't eat or sleep well, he made sure to give his Pokémon the best possible environment to grow.
Thinking carefully, if Terrance is acquainted with a Gym Leader, then he himself must be an incredibly capable Trainer.
Troy looked forward to the chance to become stronger that Terrance had spoken of. Only by becoming stronger could he make the people in his village proud of him.
"Congratulations."
A faint smile crossed Terrance's calm face as he said, "It seems you've worked very hard these past two months. Defeating a Graveler with a Beedrill… that's beyond my expectations."
Terrance had asked Brock to request Mr. Flint to test Troy against the standard required to qualify for the regional league. In other words, although Troy only earned the gray Badge, over these two months, he and his Beedrill had reached the threshold level of a regional league, which is equivalent to the lower end of Trainers who have collected all eight Badges.
For a rookie with no resources, starting out with just a Weedle, Terrance knew exactly how difficult that was.
"Battle."
Terrance didn't waste any more words. Though Troy had met his requirements, Terrance still needed to see for himself what Troy was capable of. He wanted to see his skills that had earned him Pewter Gym's recognition.
A Poké Ball shot out, and Terrance's Carbink appeared on the field, silently watching Troy.
Seeing the Pokémon that looked like a rock studded with blue gems, Troy was momentarily stunned.
"It's Carbink, a Rock and Fairy type. Its Ability is Clear Body, and it specializes in defensive moves," Terrance said, giving Troy plenty of information.
"Thank you, I'll remember that!" Troy nodded and released his Weedle, which had already evolved into a Beedrill.
According to the League's network records, Terrance, as a Bug-type Gym Leader, naturally had experience raising Beedrill as well.
His method of training Beedrill focused on moves like Swords Dance, Twineedle, and Fury Attack, centering the training around coordination techniques.
The final result of that training was similar to Ash's Counter Shield technique.
A coordination technique that turned offense into defense, known as an absolute defense. Combined with Swords Dance, Beedrill continuously strengthens itself to its limit within an impenetrable defensive circle, while using attacks to defend.
First, it would face challengers with its defensive abilities. If the opponent couldn't break through that defense, what awaited them was the ferocious assault of a fully powered-up Beedrill.
Every Pokémon, depending on its nature, Ability, and move set, could be trained in countless different ways. A Trainer's duty was to find the most suitable training path for each Pokémon. Terrance couldn't guess how Troy had trained his Beedrill, which was why a battle was the best way to test the results of his training.
Beedrill, with its slender legs, large and thick white stingers on its hands, and two pairs of intricately patterned wings on its back, flew out with imposing presence, its gaze locked firmly onto Carbink.
Good expression.
From Beedrill's expression, Terrance could tell that this Beedrill had been trained to possess an aura of fearless determination. It seemed that Troy's training method was very different from his own.
"Beedrill, catch this!!"
Before the battle even began, Troy threw out a small piece of fruit. Beedrill caught it and immediately used Bug Bite to absorb the fruit's essence.
"That is…" Terrance was startled for a moment, but he kept his doubts to himself.
"Are you ready? Then I'll begin the attack."
As the cautious Troy gave a firm nod, Terrance issued his first command.
"Carbink, Stealth Rock."
"Beedrill, Focus Energy!"
After the simple exchange of commands, nothing seemed to change on the battlefield. Terrance had given the order to set up Stealth Rock, while Troy took advantage of the brief opening to have Beedrill quickly use Focus Energy.
Stealth Rock… What kind of move is that?
Although Troy always tried to fill his mind with knowledge, his experience was still too limited. Seeing Carbink use a move that caused no visible change, his expression grew tense.
"But Beedrill has finished using Focus Energy. Now it's our turn to strike back."
"Beedrill, Pin Missile!!"
Taking a step forward, Troy shouted loudly. Beedrill immediately spun its twin stingers, gathering a green sphere of energy before launching five glowing needles wrapped in emerald light.
Facing the attack, Terrance said calmly, "Harden."
As the shimmering light of Harden enveloped Carbink's body, the five Pin Missiles struck one after another in rapid succession, landing solidly on Carbink.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
As five sounds rang out, Troy's face lit up with excitement, but before his joy could last, he saw Carbink still in the same place after the smoke cleared, its body bearing only a few minor scratches.
"Impossible…" Troy froze in disbelief. With that same move, he had defeated Mr. Flint's Graveler!
"Gravity," Terrance ordered next. In the blink of an eye, a powerful force pressed down on Beedrill. Hovering in midair, Beedrill's eyes shrank and it suddenly crashed to the ground.
"Then use Rock Throw." As Beedrill fell, Terrance issued his final command. Countless Stealth Rocks plummeted from above at incredible speed. Their falling paths were too fast to track. The combination of Stealth Rock and Rock Throw completely crushed Beedrill. Under the Gravity environment, there was nowhere for it to escape, and within just a single breath, Beedrill lost its ability to fight.
Losing so easily left Troy standing there, frozen in place.
"As a rookie, your performance just now was quite impressive." Terrance paid no attention to the boy's dazed expression and instead calmly described the training method Troy had painstakingly developed: "The move Bug Bite can absorb the special power contained in a Berry. By borrowing the strength of a Lansat Berry, Beedrill can rapidly complete Focus Energy, raising its ability to target an opponent's weak point to the peak. Then, combined with the Sniper Ability and multi-hit Pin Missile, it delivers maximum damage. That's your strategy, isn't it? Even a Rock-type Pokémon known for its high defense wouldn't fare well after taking five critical hits from Sniper Ability and enhanced Focus Energy…"
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