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Drip-drop, drip-drop—
As dark clouds gathered overhead, heavy raindrops began to fall rapidly, soon merging into a torrential downpour.
On the battlefield, Drowzee shook its body vigorously, flinging away the rainwater, then slowly pulled its fist back from Lapras' body.
"Lapras is unable to battle! Drowzee wins again!"
Standing on the side, Morty raised his hand to make the ruling after confirming that Lapras's eyes were spinning.
"Well done, Lapras. You've already done a great job. Come back and take a good rest."
Delia showed no frustration at Morty's announcement. Instead, she smiled gently, walked over to the fainted Lapras, stroked its slick, wet skin with care, and recalled it into its PokeBall.
"Rain Dance? You actually had Lapras use Rain Dance at the last moment? Looks like you weren't acting without a plan after all—you must have something in mind. Now that you're down to your last Pokémon, I'm curious—what exactly are you trying to do?"
Eusine, who was now also drenched in the heavy rain, extended his hand to catch a few drops before letting them fall away. He looked at Delia thoughtfully, furrowing his brows for a moment before his expression eased and a faint, amused smile appeared.
"I didn't think too much about it," Delia replied softly, stepping back to her original position. "I just wanted Lapras's strength to be passed on to its teammates! Now, I'll show you my final Pokémon! Go, Wartortle! It's your time to shine!"
Her expression slightly tense under pressure, Delia tossed her last PokeBall forward. A bright flash of light revealed Wartortle, its shell glistening with rain, standing on the battlefield with a determined face.
"Wartortle! Wartortle!"
When Eusine saw Delia's final Pokémon, he smiled faintly, as if he had already seen through Delia's plan.
"Oh, a Wartortle, huh? I see—you're planning to take advantage of the Rain Dance boost to power up your Water-type attacks. I'll admit, given the circumstances, that's about the best contribution Lapras could've made… But you should've noticed earlier—my Drowzee knows Thunder Punch! Sending out a Water-type Pokémon now isn't exactly the smartest choice."
Delia didn't respond to Eusine's taunt. She simply fixed her gaze calmly on the Drowzee across the field.
"Both sides ready—Drowzee versus Wartortle! Battle begin!" Morty announced.
"Wartortle! Use Aqua Jet!"
"Wartortle!"
As soon as Morty's voice fell, Delia gave her order. Bathed in the pounding rain, Wartortle let out a sharp cry. A surge of water enveloped its body, propelling it forward like a blue missile. In a flash, Wartortle closed the distance and slammed straight into Drowzee's body!
"Drowzee!"
The attack came so fast that it hit before Drowzee could even react. The impact drove Drowzee back several meters. It winced in pain, staring at the Wartortle before it, a flicker of surprise and tension flashing through its eyes.
"So fast! Hmph! Fight back, Drowzee—use Thunder Punch!"
It wasn't until Drowzee and Wartortle came to a stop that Eusine recovered from his shock. He immediately barked out his counter-command.
"Drow..!"
Hearing the command, Drowzee grabbed Wartortle with one hand, raising the other as crackling electricity surged around its fist.
But—
Crackle! Zap!
"Drowzee!!"
Drowzee suddenly shuddered. It had forgotten that in this heavy rain, its entire body was soaked—and since it wasn't an Electric-type Pokémon, the surging current from its own move backfired! Though it wasn't badly hurt, the shock was enough to interrupt its attack.
"Shake it off, Wartortle! Use Rapid Spin!"
"Wartortle!"
Delia's command came instantly. Wartortle withdrew into its shell and spun violently, breaking free from Drowzee's grasp. With a burst of momentum, it sent Drowzee flying through the rain, crashing to the ground in a splash.
"Wartortle! Follow up with Aqua Jet!"
"Wartortle!"
Seeing Drowzee down, Delia seized the moment.
Still spinning in midair, Wartortle's shell suddenly became wrapped in surging water again. As it spun, the water current extended outward like a whip, striking Drowzee just as it tried to get up.
Bam!
The blow hit cleanly—Drowzee let out a pained grunt and was hurled backward, crashing hard into the wall behind it before sliding down weakly.
"Pause! Let me check… hmm—Drowzee is unable to battle! Wartortle wins!"
Morty immediately rushed forward to check on Drowzee, then turned toward Delia, raising his arm to declare the result.
"Nice job, Wartortle!"
"Wartortle!"
Having finally taken down an opponent, Delia smiled with relief. Wartortle stopped spinning, dismissed the water swirling around its shell, and stood tall on the wet battlefield.
"Heh, not bad," Eusine said with a wry smile. "I actually thought I could let Drowzee finish the match for me, but I guess I was being too greedy. Come back, Drowzee. You did great—take a rest."
Turning to his fallen partner, Eusine recalled Drowzee into its PokeBall without any sign of disappointment.
"Well then, it's my turn to send out my second Pokémon. Though it's a bit embarrassing to admit, I only have two Pokémon with me right now—Drowzee was one of them, and the other is…"
His lips curved into an odd smile as he threw out another PokeBall.
With a flash of red light—
A red-and-white Electrode appeared on the battlefield!
Delia: "…"
Liam: "…"
Morty and Axu: "…"
"Hey! That's not fair! You call this a Ghost-type Gym?! Who would believe that?! Are you just trying to mess with me?! You saw I'm using Water-types, so you pulled out an Electric-type?!"
Delia's composure finally broke. Clenching her fists, she shouted furiously across the field.
Standing beside the battlefield, Liam frowned slightly. He agreed that Eusine was being a bit too much—but not because of the type advantage. What angered him was something else entirely.
This was supposed to be a 3-on-3 Gym battle. Yet from what Eusine had just said, he only had two Pokémon. That meant he had never even intended to take Delia seriously as an opponent—and that was what truly irritated Liam.
"Ahem… Um, Miss Delia," Morty interjected nervously, clearly feeling the tension in the air. "I can confirm what Eusine said—he really does only have these two Pokémon right now. That 'strongest Ghost-type' he mentioned earlier actually belongs to our master. It's usually kept at the Gym for teaching and isn't meant to be used in official battles… so, uh… hehe…"
Eusine's face turned slightly stiff at Morty's explanation, but he didn't deny it. Instead, he turned to Delia with a solemn expression.
"As Morty said, I only have these two Pokémon—but they represent my strength. If you can defeat my Electrode, I'll still award you the Gym Badge. That's my promise as a Gym Leader. My word is my bond."
Delia: "…"