After finishing the meal, since Aiden had promised to accept Nemona's battle invitation, he quickly found a nearby open space and prepared to begin the battle.
Unknowingly, it had already been over a month since he came to the Pokémon world.
During this time, not only had he grown stronger, but Nemona, who had seemed a bit inexperienced when they first met, had now raised her first fully evolved Pokémon.
Her growth rate was nothing short of impressive—she truly had the makings of a champion.
"Then, I'll temporarily take on the role of referee for this battle!"
Lacey, stepping in as the referee, stood in the middle of the battlefield, raising her hand with a smile as she looked at Aiden.
"Teacher Azure, what are the rules for this challenge?"
"Let's have an intense 3v3 battle!"
Nemona excitedly raised her hand.
"Teacher Azure, I want to see your full strength, so don't hold back like you would during a Gym Challenge, okay?"
With that statement, Aiden's initial plan to decline and instead do a quick 1v1 match to gauge her current command level changed. His eyebrows shot up.
"Alright, as you wish."
Since Nemona had said that, how could he refuse without seeming disrespectful?
Although he currently only had two Pokémon capable of fighting...
Bagon had just hatched and didn't have much combat ability yet;
And Miraidon? Just getting it out of its Poké Ball would be considered a success!
So strictly speaking, he only had Riolu and the newly evolved Sylveon as his usable fighters.
But that should be enough.
Even if Nemona won, it could count as passing the Gym Challenge early—he could just give her the badge later when she started her Victory Road Journey.
Though knowing Nemona's personality, she'd probably still want to challenge him again at the end, right?
"Alright, the match rules will be a 3v3 single battle!"
After Lacey nodded, the battle was about to begin.
As both trainers threw their Poké Balls, Sylveon and Pawmot appeared on the field one after another.
"Syl~"
When everyone saw the adorable Sylveon standing elegantly on the field, its four ribbons fluttering in the wind, Caitlin's heart was instantly captured by the little cutie.
"Aiden's Eevee evolved?"
"Mm-hmm, just the night before last—it evolved into Sylveon overnight."
Cynthia nodded.
"So, this battle is also a chance for Aiden and Sylveon to adapt to their new post-evolution battle style, right?"
"I see…"
Arven couldn't help but nod silently, his gaze toward Sylveon filled with admiration.
Having once aspired to become a Pokémon Breeder, he knew that Sylveon was a particularly unique evolution among Eevee's forms.
Only through forming a deep bond with its trainer could it display such beauty.
As expected of Big Brother Aiden!
"Nuzzle, Pawmot!"
After the battle began, Nemona spoke first, immediately commanding Pawmot to move forward.
"Paw!"
Pawmot's cheek pouches instantly charged with electricity, and it quickly dashed forward.
Nuzzle—a classic move passed down through the Electric Mouse family.
Unlike Electroweb, which can be easily dodged, Nuzzle requires the user to get close and discharge electricity from its cheek pouches, briefly paralyzing the opponent.
Thus, once within range, it was almost impossible to avoid being paralyzed.
Nemona starting with this move certainly showed she had learned the essence of our Sunshine Gym tactics…
Aiden mentally commented before swiftly issuing his command.
"Sylveon, use Quick Attack to dodge!"
Like most priority moves, Quick Attack worked by focusing all the user's energy into a sudden burst, allowing the Pokémon to rapidly close the distance.
However, due to this, the power of priority moves was generally quite low, relying solely on physical impact to deal damage.
But what if this move wasn't used for attack but instead focused solely on evasion?
The answer was simple—
The speed of escape would be too fast for the opponent to catch up!
Especially for Sylveon, which had always been timid and thus extremely agile from a young age.
After evolving, even though it no longer had the Run Away ability, Eevee seemed to have gained a bit more courage.
By using Quick Attack to focus on running, Sylveon, which originally wasn't very fast, actually outpaced Pawmot.
"Paw?!"
After running a few steps, Pawmot glanced at the nimble Sylveon and then looked down at its own stubby legs, decisively giving up on pursuing further.
The evolution pattern of the Pawmi line was quite unique.
In its Pawmi form, it walked on all fours and relied on electrical currents from its body to attack.
Only Pawmi that could stand on two legs could evolve into Pawmot.
And if trained further, strengthening both its arms and legs to a certain degree, it would eventually evolve into the mighty Pawmot.
"Pawmot, Charge!"
Since a direct breakthrough wasn't possible, Nemona quickly adjusted her strategy, commanding Pawmot to charge up on the spot while waiting for Sylveon's next move.
"Sylveon, Quick Attack again!"
Aiden seized the opportunity and decisively commanded.
"Pawmot, Quick Attack!"
It seemed Nemona had anticipated this. The moment Aiden spoke, she issued her command again, directly interrupting Pawmot's charging process.
At the same time, the zero-frame Quick Attack allowed it to dodge Sylveon's Return ball while closing the gap between them significantly.
"She instantly grasped Aiden's understanding of Quick Attack?"
Cynthia raised an eyebrow.
So this apprentice of the Sunshine Gym also had impressive talent in battles?
Moreover, she seemed to understand Aiden's tactics well.
As the opponent for Sylveon's first post-evolution battle, her strength was certainly sufficient.
"Amazing!"
Lacey, serving as the referee, didn't think too deeply. She only knew that Nemona could keep up with Teacher Azure's pace and even disrupt his tactics.
Nemona had indeed improved rapidly during the time they hadn't seen each other!
Among these factors, Teacher Azure's guidance must have played a significant role, right?
Seeing Pawmot attacking Sylveon again, Aiden smiled and quickly issued a command—
"Sylveon, Swift!"
Seemingly prepared, Sylveon acted immediately. Its four ribbons spread out, releasing countless star-shaped energy projectiles toward Pawmot.
"Swift?"
Caitlin frowned slightly.
The earlier Nuzzle and Quick Attack could be considered mutual probing.
But for two fully evolved Pokémon, such low-power moves were generally not very meaningful.
However, the density of this move… was it a bit off?
The continuous barrage of star-shaped energy made it incredibly difficult for Pawmot to resist, let alone continue using moves to attack.
The effect was surprisingly good.
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