So much time had passed, it was no surprise if Flygon had already finished absorbing the power of the Mystical Fruit. The only question was—had it awakened a second Ability?
A red beam of light flashed.
Flygon's figure appeared in front of Nathan.
"Flyy"
It was still that gentle voice. If it weren't for the fact that Flygon had no gender differences, Nathan might've thought it was a female.
He reached out and patted Flygon's head. With a thought, Nathan opened up its status panel.
[Name: Flygon] – chapter 81
[Ability: Levitate (Floats above the ground, immune to Ground-type attacks); Sand Rush]
[Type: Ground + Dragon]
[Description: Flygon, the evolved form of Vibrava. Known as the "Desert Pokémon," it gets its name from the haunting song carried by the sandstorms stirred by its wings.]
[Level: 44 (Gym Stage: 41–50)]
[Moves: Dragon Claw, Supersonic, Bug Buzz, Dragon Dance, Dragon Breath, Stomp, Sandstorm...]
Seeing the newly awakened second Ability on the panel, Nathan's eyes widened—and then lit up with a delighted grin. "Nice! Haha, it really is Sand Rush!"
Sand Rush increases speed in a sandstorm.
Nathan had already been preparing a complete sandstorm battle strategy tailored for Flygon, to counter all kinds of Pokémon types. With Sand Rush, Flygon would be like a fish in water in such tactics—completely in its element.
Just imagining it made him excited. Once Flygon learned more moves, a combo of Sandstorm to obscure vision, plus Sand Attack and Sand Tomb...
Combined with Flygon's natural speed, it could trap opponents in the storm, blind them, and immobilize them completely—rendering them unable to fight back and unable to even spot Flygon's silhouette.
Flygon was already fast, but with Sand Rush, its speed would reach terrifying levels.
"If only there was a fruit that could change Abilities," Nathan muttered a little greedily.
If such a thing existed, he'd love to swap Flygon's Levitate for Sand Force. Levitate could nullify Ground-type moves, but honestly, Flygon could fly—it didn't really need that Ability to dodge most Ground-type attacks.
Sand Force, on the other hand, boosts the power of Ground-type moves in a sandstorm.
But alas, that was just a fantasy.
Even so, Nathan was already thrilled to have Sand Rush.
"Alright, time to challenge the Gym. I'll be counting on you this time."
Nathan smiled as he hugged Flygon's head.
"Flyy"
Flygon nodded, squinting its eyes as if to say, Leave it to me.
After packing up his documents and shutting down his laptop, Nathan slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the hotel. He hailed a cab and headed straight for the North City Gym.
The architecture of the North City Gym matched its environment perfectly.
It was dazzling white. From afar, the building looked like a giant snowflake. Unfortunately, despite its appearance, it wasn't a Gym that specialized in Ice-types—it focused on Fire-types.
Nathan stepped inside.
As with most Gym challenges, an attendant quickly approached him.
After confirming Nathan's purpose, the attendant led him deeper inside.
Eventually, they arrived at the battle arena. The attendant asked him to wait a moment and left.
A few minutes later, two figures entered.
One was the same attendant, and the other—the Gym Leader, Luke Thomas.
He was a middle-aged man with a rugged beard.
The moment he approached, Luke burst out in hearty laughter. "No wonder you looked familiar—it's you, Trainer Nathan Vesper!"
"You know me?" Nathan asked, surprised.
"Of course I do," Luke nodded with a smile. "I watched your performance in the Trial Tournament. I don't usually bother with those—it's just a bunch of newbies. But your appearance caught me off guard. I've gotta say, the way you've trained your Volcarona is impressive. You've fully tapped into its potential."
"As a trainer, it's our duty to help our Pokémon grow in every possible way—including developing their natural talent," Nathan replied with a calm smile.
"Easier said than done," Luke laughed, shaking his head. "But anyway, let's not get into all that now. Since you're here to challenge the Gym, which strength level will you be using?"
"Gym-level," Nathan replied instantly.
"Gym-level?" Luke Thomas nodded, then turned to the attendant. "Get into position as referee."
Then, he pulled out a Poké Ball. "Alright, I'll use this one. Come on out—Typhlosion!"
"Roar!"
A mighty cry rang out as a towering figure nearly two meters tall appeared in front of Nathan.
Typhlosion—the final evolution of Cyndaquil.
One of the starter Pokémon.
A pure Fire-type.
Seeing this, Nathan smirked and tossed out a Poké Ball of his own.
"Time to battle—Flygon!"
"Flyy!"
..
"Typhlosion, go on the offensive—Defense Curl! Then use Flame Wheel!"
As soon as the battle started, Luke Thomas gave his command without hesitation.
With a roar, Typhlosion curled its massive body into a ball. The move Defense Curl raised its physical defense.
Right after, flames surged around its body in a blazing aura. Typhlosion shot forward like a fireball, launching itself straight at Flygon.
"Flygon, dodge! Then use Sandstorm!"
Nathan gave his command calmly.
"Flyy "
Flygon's speed was already quite high. At Nathan's order, it took flight without hesitation, soaring upward and allowing the attack to miss.
Then, with another cry, it beat its wings fiercely—stirring up a wild wind and sandstorm that quickly engulfed the entire battlefield.
Both Pokémon were swallowed up in the sand.
But Flygon, born in desert storms, remained unaffected.
Typhlosion, however, began to squint and growl in discomfort—the wind and sand stung its eyes and battered its body, dealing damage over time.
"Typhlosion, locate Flygon and use Flamethrower!" Luke Thomas shouted.
"Roar!"
Despite the storm, Typhlosion could still roughly make out Flygon's location and roared as it unleashed a searing stream of fire.
"Use Sand Attack to block it—then disappear into the storm!"
Nathan's calm voice rang out again, unwavering.
"Flyy "
Flygon's wings stirred up a fierce blast of sand like a miniature tornado, intercepting the incoming flames and snuffing them out mid-air.
Immediately after, Flygon flitted away like a mirage, vanishing into the sandstorm—its form barely a blur before disappearing completely.
Only the occasional flicker of motion betrayed its presence.
Then—nothing. No sound. No shape. Nothing to trace.
"A sandstorm strategy, huh?"
Luke frowned.
Flygon was practically born for this kind of battle. Even wild ones naturally stirred up sandstorms as they flew. Its advantage in this environment was overwhelming.
And worse—Sandstorm deals chip damage over time.
Ordinary Pokémon could tough it out, but Typhlosion, being a pure Fire-type, was especially weak to such harsh conditions. The damage it took was effectively doubled.
If this dragged on, Flygon wouldn't even need to attack. Just maintaining the storm would eventually wear Typhlosion down.
Luke realized he needed a solution—fast.
While he was still thinking, Nathan's next command rang out.
"Sand Attack! Mud-Slap! Then Dragon Breath!"
"Flyy!"
Flygon's voice echoed, and Typhlosion tensed up—but in this disorienting environment, it was all in vain.
A shadow flashed in front of it, and a wave of sand surged like a tidal wave, engulfing it completely and blinding its vision even more.
Then came a whistling sound as clumps of mud hurled through the air, smacking Typhlosion in the face—further ruining its visibility.
"Flyy!"
Flygon reappeared behind Typhlosion, unleashing a powerful Dragon Breath that slammed into its back.
The blast made Typhlosion cry out in pain.
"Flygon, keep attacking! Right now, Typhlosion is just a sitting duck!"
Nathan grinned, his voice raised.
A slow-moving, pure Fire-type like Typhlosion stood no chance against a high-speed sandstorm specialist like Flygon.
Unless there was a massive gap in power, it was completely one-sided.
"Sha!"
Flygon responded with a cry, then launched a barrage of attacks from all directions.
Dragon Roar.
Dragon Breath.
Dragon Claw.
At this point, Flygon's strongest moves were Dragon-type rather than Ground-type.
Most of its powerful offensive options were already leaning toward its Dragon heritage.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.