A silver flash streaked through the air along with Walker's voice.
In the blink of an eye, the Pidgeot that had been falling was pulled back onto the battlefield.
Skarmory cast a cold glance at the opposing side, specifically at its own Trainer's son before returning to its Poké Ball.
As Walker's longtime partner, and also as Falkner's senior, it was equally dissatisfied with Falkner's performance just now.
That was not the conduct of a qualified Trainer.
"The Gym's Pidgeot has lost the ability to battle. The challenger's Pidgeot wins. Falkner, please send out your next Pokémon."
Walker spoke with a dark expression, his tone unusually stern.
Falkner, his face flushed red, recalled his Pidgeot.
That kind of elementary mistake, something even a child would be ashamed of, had actually happened to him. Even he found it hard to accept.
"Next, I choose you—Skarmory."
Falkner's voice had lost all the passion it had at the start of the match.
"This is…"
Silas narrowed his eyes.
If his guess was correct, the Skarmory before him was the offspring of Walker's Skarmory.
This was actually a very common occurrence.
Using the descendants of powerful Pokémon partners belonging to one's elders as the next generation of companions could be considered a form of inheritance, both for Trainers and Pokémon alike.
Moreover, since offspring born from powerful Pokémon often inherit high potential from their parents, the Pokémon world naturally has many forces that exist in family-based lineages.
A Gym like Violet City Gym, with its long history, was especially prone to this.
If I can't beat your near–Champion-level father, then I can at least beat you, a near–Elite-level Trainer, Silas thought silently.
"Pidgeot, use Agility."
With a wave of his hand, he issued the command.
"Pii—!"
Accompanied by a sharp cry, white light flickered repeatedly over Pidgeot's body, and its flying speed increased drastically in an instant.
Although Skarmory appears heavy, its hollow feathers allow it to soar through the sky with surprising ease.
However, inevitably, it is still slower than many other Flying-type Pokémon.
A Skarmory clad entirely in steel armor has an average flight speed of roughly 300 kilometers per hour.
Compared to Pidgeot, which can easily reach Mach 2, the difference was obvious—not snail-slow, but not much better than a turtle either.
Especially now that Pidgeot was boosted by Agility, Skarmory could only trail behind, eating its wake.
"Skarmory, wait for the right moment and use Taunt."
By now, Falkner had recovered from the frustration of his earlier losses. He steadied himself and issued his command.
Pure movement speed alone was useless—otherwise Pokémon battles would just be speed competitions.
When a Pokémon uses a move to attack, it inevitably enters a brief moment of stagnation.
Using moves while in full motion is reserved for only a small number of specially compatible techniques.
That moment was Skarmory's best chance to counterattack.
"Agility consumes a lot of stamina. Letting Skarmory wait patiently really isn't a bad choice.
Plus, Silas's Pidgeot used Double Team earlier to interfere with perception, that already consumed significant stamina.
Unfortunately…"
As the referee watching silently from the side, Walker shook his head slightly.
This was likely the difference between a practical battler and a theory-focused Trainer.
Not to mention that Silas was arguably one of the best examples of someone who combined both schools among his age group, solid theoretical grounding paired with combat experience far beyond his peers.
"Pidgeot, use Quick Attack."
Hearing Falkner's command, Silas's eyes flickered, and he immediately ordered Pidgeot to strike.
"Bang!"
The sound of flesh colliding with steel rang out as an afterimage streaked past Skarmory.
Quick Attack was one of the rare moves that could be used at full speed and it was a specialty of Pokémon like Pidgeot.
"Skarmory, use Iron Defense to tank it, then follow up with Metal Sound."
Falkner continued commanding with a serious expression.
He had, of course, anticipated this.
Skarmory staggered briefly in midair from the impact, but quickly regained balance thanks to its sturdy physique.
Upon hearing Falkner's order, metallic light rippled across its body.
Its already armor-like exterior became even harder.
Although Pidgeot continued slamming into Skarmory again and again at speeds Skarmory couldn't react to, Skarmory no longer paid that damage much heed.
"Skree—!"
A grating, metal-scraping noise burst from Skarmory's sharp beak.
Even though all three Trainers had prepared ear protection in advance, they still frowned involuntarily.
The sound induced a deep, instinctive sense of nausea.
Pidgeot fared no better. Its Agility state gradually faded, and its expression tightened with discomfort.
"Now! Skarmory, use Rock Tomb!"
Seeing this, Falkner shouted excitedly.
"Skyaa—!"
Skarmory stopped using Metal Sound, and yellow-brown stone fragments began to gather in front of it.
"Tch. Just as I expected."
Silas chuckled instinctively.
Immobilize the opponent, then follow up with a super-effective attack, this routine was far too predictable.
If he were the one commanding, continuing with Taunt would have been the better choice.
Or even engaging in close combat.
"But still, I should thank you for it."
He felt completely at ease.
If not for this, Pidgeot might not have won so easily.
"Pidgeot, use Roost."
Under the stunned gazes of Falkner and Skarmory, the Pidgeot that had been struggling to maintain flight descended straight down and landed on the ground.
Every single fragment from Rock Tomb sailed harmlessly over Pidgeot's head.
"The advantage of Flying-type Pokémon lies in this," Silas said with a smile to Falkner.
"Unlike most Pokémon, which can only dodge forward, backward, left, right and at best upward, they can dodge downward.
And the space below is far greater than you think."
Falkner clenched his teeth.
Was this mockery of his status as the heir to Violet City Gym?
"But without the Flying type's attributes and mobility, let's see how you take Skarmory's attack!"
He snorted coldly.
"Skarmory, use Steel Wing!"
"Pidgeot, Double Team."
Because landing made movement far more restrictive, the number of Double Team clones dropped from nearly twenty to only seven or eight but it was still enough to confuse Skarmory.
After Skarmory destroyed four or five clones with Steel Wing without hitting the real body, Pidgeot, now fully recovered from Roost—casually flapped its wings and returned to the sky.
At this moment, Pidgeot's stamina could even be described as abundant.
The only good news for Falkner was that Agility had already worn off.
Pidgeot's speed was no longer as outrageous as before.
Although it was still extremely fast by Skarmory's standards, at the very least, it was now something Skarmory could react to.
"Pidgeot, Sunny Day."
Under Falkner's guarded stare, Silas seized the brief opening while Skarmory finished off the remaining clones and ordered Pidgeot to use the weather move he had been eagerly anticipating.
This had been one of his main training focuses during the two months following the tournament.
He had always believed that if his mastery of weather moves hadn't influenced his opponents' command decisions, he wouldn't have been forced to reveal all of his strength so early.
Perhaps, if that hadn't happened, he might have had even more hidden options when facing Shizuo, options that could have secured victory.
"Sunny Day?"
Falkner frowned unconsciously.
What was this supposed to accomplish?
Although research on the Steel type had not yet been officially published in the Pokémon world, as the descendant of a League upper-ranking member, Falkner already knew quite a bit about the soon-to-be-announced Steel type.
At the very least, he knew that Skarmory was a Steel/Flying-type, not a Normal/Flying-type as previously believed.
Naturally, the fact that Fire-type moves were super effective against Steel types was no secret to him.
However, as a Trainer who also used Pidgeot, Falkner was well aware of Pidgeot's inherent weakness.
Its limited move coverage.
This was one of the main reasons Pidgeot was not the top choice for many Flying-type Trainers.
Being able to learn only a small number of moves outside Flying- or Normal-type often left Pidgeot in awkward situations where its attacks barely scratched the opponent.
Is he planning to use Heat Wave to compress Skarmory's movement space?
Stopping Sunny Day is already too late—then I'll just use Dark Pulse to break through the heat currents.
In just a few breaths, Falkner considered multiple possibilities and finalized his counterstrategy.
He narrowed his eyes and looked up.
Silas and Falkner had begun their battle shortly after noon, and now it was the time of day when the sun was at its most scorching.
With Sunny Day further amplifying the sunlight, the temperature on the battlefield rose noticeably in a very short time.
"Whew…"
Falkner subconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Skarmory, prepare Whirlwind."
He had already assumed a defensive stance.
"Pidgeot, Sand Attack."
Silas's command completely exceeded Falkner's expectations.
Instead of taking advantage of Sunny Day, he directly switched to the disruptive move Sand Attack.
Caught off guard, Skarmory's eyes were instantly filled with sand blown in by Pidgeot.
"Skree—!"
Skarmory let out an extremely uncomfortable cry.
"Calm down, Skarmory!"
Falkner shouted.
As a Trainer, he immediately noticed that Skarmory's condition was off.
Even if Sand Attack had hit its eyes, Skarmory's temperament shouldn't have become this irritable.
"He understands his Pokémon well enough—his experience is just lacking."
Watching his still-immature son, Walker nodded quietly. At least there were redeeming qualities.
He then glanced up at the blazing sun.
The only question was when Falkner would finally realize it, Silas had been setting this up from the very beginning.
"Now—use Air Slash."
Silas's commands came one after another without pause.
Before Skarmory could clear the sand from its eyes, white blades of compressed air slashed toward it as Pidgeot beat its wings.
"Air Slash?"
A spark of realization flashed through Falkner's mind at the sight of that move—but unfortunately, it was already too late.
With its condition steadily deteriorating, Skarmory quickly fell under Pidgeot's relentless assault.
"Skarmory has lost the ability to battle.
Pidgeot wins. All three of Violet City Gym trainer Falkner's Pokémon have lost the ability to battle. The winner of this Gym Challenge is Silas!"
Looking at Skarmory with spiraling eyes, Walker decisively announced the result.
"It's the temperature!"
After racking his brain, Falkner finally realized the truth.
The reason Skarmory's condition had declined so rapidly was entirely due to the extreme heat of the environment, which caused its body temperature to rise sharply.
Every single movement consumed four or five times more stamina than usual, if not more.
That was also why it became so irritable after being hit by Sand Attack.
It was similar to how people naturally become more agitated during the summer heat.
This was mainly due to Skarmory's entirely metallic body structure, which caused its temperature to change far more rapidly under abnormal environmental conditions than Pidgeot's flesh-and-blood body.
"Mm. If Silas's Pidgeot also knew Rain Dance, the rapid shift from extreme heat to cold would've damaged your Skarmory even more. And Hail would be even worse."
Walker offered a bit of guidance as he looked at his son.
None of this would ever be written in textbooks, it already went beyond the moves themselves.
It relied far more on a Trainer's understanding of Pokémon as living beings.
Falkner glanced at his father and said nothing.
Walker wasn't upset. Instead, he turned toward Silas.
"Congratulations on defeating Violet City Gym. This is the Zephyr Badge."
As he spoke, he took out a U-shaped badge patterned with stripes resembling wings and handed it to Silas.
"Thank you, sir."
Silas accepted it with both hands and placed it into his Badge Case.
This was already the second tier of his case—representing Johto as the second region of his journey.
"Falkner, take Silas to the treatment room to heal his Pokémon. Silas, come to the reception room afterward. I have something to discuss with you."
With the badge delivered, Falkner's father smoothly moved on to the second matter.
"Alright."
Silas nodded without hesitation.
On the way to the treatment room, Falkner couldn't suppress his doubts and began questioning Silas.
He didn't believe his commands had been fundamentally flawed.
Nor did he think the strength gap between their Pokémon was as large as the outcome suggested.
Yet the result was undeniable.
"It's probably still an experience issue," Silas thought for a moment and gave a vague answer.
Falkner was clearly dissatisfied.
"I suggest you ask my father," Silas continued.
"When it comes to battle planning—especially aerial Pokémon, he's absolutely one of the top experts."
Falkner neither agreed nor disagreed.
After finishing the treatment, Silas soon arrived at the reception room as instructed.
The moment he stepped inside, Walker asked a question that caught him off guard.
"Do you know Dark Cave?"
"The abandoned underground tunnel?"
Silas asked instinctively, well-versed in Johto's geography.
"Yes, that one."
Walker nodded.
....
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