In the ruins, Crasher and Platinum stood on opposite sides.
In front of each of them stood a Prinplup.
Because Crasher only had one Pokémon left able to fight, they used a very entry-level 1v1 format for this match.
In other words, as long as one side runs out of fighting power, the battle ends immediately.
Crasher lightly tapped the Poké Ball in his hand, wearing a thoughtful look.
To be honest, he felt it was necessary to hold back a bit in this battle.
But how to hold back, and to what degree, that was an art.
He couldn't be sure what Platinum was really like.
After all, Platinum hadn't spent any money yet.
He didn't know whether she was the kind who only cared about winning and didn't fuss over details, or the battle maniac who would get angry if others held back for her.
After thinking it over, the safest approach was to hold back in a way that still looked like full strength.
You have to sandbag, but make it so the opponent can't tell you're sandbagging.
"Tricky...", Crasher muttered.
"Prinplup, if I tell you to start the match by using a boosting move straight away, will that seem fake?"
Prinplup: o((⊙﹏⊙))o
'I dunno!'
'I'm just a little Pokémon, why are you asking me?'
"So annoying...", Crasher whispered, "If this match doesn't act out well, maybe you'll have to scrimp and save for the next few months."
Prinplup: "???"
'Don't worry, I'm a top-tier actor!'
Seeing Prinplup pound its chest, Crasher felt confident.
The Trainer was willing, the participating Pokémon was willing, what could go wrong with the performance?
"Gym Leader Crasher, may we start the battle?"
Platinum patted her Prinplup's head and looked seriously at Crasher's Prinplup.
Before coming to this Gym, Platinum already knew the Pokémon usually challenged here were around levels 25–30.
And her Prinplup had only just started its journey and training; at most it had been two days.
Although Axel's breeding ability and her money helped sustain it, Prinplup clearly had strength but no finesse.
The problem was the opponent also had strength, and maybe also technique.
Knowing Axel was in a hurry to save the world, Platinum was very anxious.
She didn't want to be a drag, so she really wanted to win!
"All right, let's begin the match," Crasher's tone was full of confidence.
He'd already thought out a strategy.
'Isn't it just acting?'
'Eat my ten consecutive misses, Whirlpool!'
'Whirlpool has low accuracy, missing a lot would be reasonable, right?'
"Prinplup, use Whirlpool, trap the opponent hard so they can't escape your storm of attacks!"
Crasher waved his hand grandly and issued the order with great momentum.
Prinplup gave Crasher a look that said I got it, and gathered a violent stream of water in its mouth.
At the same time, its wings flapped, cleverly whipping up a vortex in front of it.
Under the vortex, the gathered water formed a water tornado.
Then... it fired it sharply above Prinplup.
Platinum: "???"
But the opponent is the Gym Leader, how could they waste a move like that?
She didn't have time to think further.
"Prinplup, quickly use Water Gun!"
"Pippip!"
The young lady's Prinplup let out a cutesy roar; the torrent in its mouth shot out instantly.
The next moment.
It hit Crasher's Prinplup directly.
BANG!
With a huge crash, Prinplup was blasted into a pile of rubble by the Water Gun.
When he got up, he looked at Crasher in confusion.
'Wait, the opponent is so strong, why did you tell me to sandbag?'
'Are you crazy, Trainer?'
Crasher was stunned too.
'What is going on with the other side?'
Wasn't this Trainer who had just started their journey? How could they have figured out Water Gun?
In such a short time, and a rookie Pokémon at that.
'Even using Move Tutors every day, you couldn't suddenly learn Water Gun, right?'
Crasher blinked and felt like his efforts were wasted.
This round... not only did he fail to sandbag, he also made the opponent think he was trash.
"Prinplup, now we go all out and fight!"
"ROAR!"
Crasher's Prinplup nodded vigorously, battle spirit soaring.
The next moment, another Water Gun slammed into him.
Crasher's Prinplup: "..."
'Buddy, can you give me a chance to fight back?'
'I definitely won't win, I just want to prove I'm not trash.'
Platinum: "Keep using Water Gun!"
———
A few minutes later, Crasher stood dumbly holding Prinplup in place.
In his hand were a black card and a bundle of "Leftovers" treasure.
Not far off, he could faintly hear the young lady and Axel whispering.
"I thought this Gym Leader would be really strong, didn't expect him to be this trash. Axel, I don't think I even need you, I wouldn't have lost that badly."
Before long, the comms were flooded with tags.
[Humiliated novice miss: @CrasherGymLeader, heard you got beaten with no chance to fight back?]
[Humiliated PvP bro: @CrasherGymLeader, heard the other side didn't even use their Glastrier, hahahahaha!]
[World-saving inspirational miss: pats Crasher, you lost great, but you're basically forum headline material! video.MP4]
Crasher opened one and a professional Sinnoh paparazzo's commentary blared out.
[Big news: Crasher's Gym was torn down by a Prinplup, and we captured footage of the Prinplup slaughtering Crasher, he had no chance to fight back!]
A clear tear dropped from Crasher's eye; the black card clattered to the ground.
'Damn it, you filmed nothing of that rampaging Pheromosa earlier, only filmed this Prinplup, huh?'
'If I'd known, I'd have had you film outside the Gym from the start, let that Pheromosa scare you to death.'
[Reputation-ruined Crasher: @everyone, warn everyone, if you meet those two, fight them outside the Gym!]
[Ambitious future Champion: Why fight outside? That'd be wild-battle rules.]
[Crasher: Don't ask, ask and you'll get your Gym torn down.]
[PvP bro: Don't ask, ask and there'll be a Glastrier.]
[Novice: Don't listen, they're all phantoms!]
[Miss: Novice, I won't let you talk about them like that! And Denzi, if you're not satisfied, fight me!]
[Volkner: ???]
[Ghost Gym Leader Melissa: You guys stop, I'll pay attention. Fighting outside the Gym? Ghosts are really good at wild battles!]
———
On the road to Hearthome City, Axel brushed the stray fuzz off his nose and wore a thoughtful expression.
From the recent battle, Axel saw that Platinum's Pokémon lacked staying power.
They'd challenged Gyms too fast; you couldn't expect every Gym Leader to sandbag like Crasher.
After taking the opponent's money and getting Garchomp's promise, Axel felt he should do something.
["Hey~"], Just as Axel thought about how to repay Platinum, Gardevoir's voice rang in his head.
["I sense a strange power on the north side of Hearthome City, want to check it out first?"]
Axel nodded, knowing Gardevoir's supreme trait had activated.
He nodded at once.
"Okay!"
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