Chapter 25: Fuchsia Gym - Elite-Level Strength
"Is the Fuchsia Gym really hidden in this forest?" Lillie asked, somewhat dejectedly.
Four days after leaving Town, Ryan and his companions arrived in Fuchsia City, only to be told that the Fuchsia Gym wasn't in the city proper, but deep in the surrounding forest. The Gym Leader, Koga, was training there and was reportedly quite formidable.
Ryan smirked. "None of the Gym Leaders are pushovers—well, except maybe the Cerulean Gym." In the anime, Koga's performance wasn't particularly impressive, even losing to a Charmander once. But in the manga, Koga was definitely Elite Four material, with tremendous potential for growth.
Ryan remembered that the Fuchsia Gym was supposed to be near a deep ravine, but after searching the forest extensively without success, he had no choice but to send out Charizard to carry him and Lillie through the sky.
However, during their flight, Charizard nearly crashed them into a tree. Flying with passengers was clearly a specialized skill. He made a mental note to find a Fly TM later—as a field move in the games, it should help with aerial navigation. Having arranged for Charizard's flight training, Ryan switched to Mewtwo. Mewtwo's psychic abilities allowed them to float effortlessly through the air. After an extensive aerial search, they finally located the Fuchsia Gym—a sprawling traditional Japanese compound.
Landing in the courtyard, a girl dressed as a kunoichi emerged and said, "Who are you? Why did you enter without permission?"
"Hello, I'm Ryan from Pallet Town. I'm here to challenge the Fuchsia Gym. This is my traveling companion, Lillie," Ryan said respectfully.
"Hello, I'm Lillie," Lillie said politely. "We approached from the sky, so we couldn't exactly knock. Sorry about that."
"From the sky?" The girl looked bewildered, but knowing Ryan was a challenger, she straightened up. "You'll have to get past me first. I'm Janine. Only if you defeat me can you face the Gym Leader. Go, Venonat!"
Looking at the Venonat that appeared before them, Ryan said, "Alright, but don't take it too hard. Come on, Greninja—let's have a proper ninja battle."
Greninja materialized on the battlefield, looked at the opposing Venonat, and turned to Ryan with a questioning croak. The opponent seemed rather... underwhelming.
Ryan nodded and said, "Yeah, take it easy."
"Wow, what an amazing ninja frog! That's a Greninja, right? Hey, want to trade your Greninja for my Venonat?" Janine said excitedly.
"Absolutely not! Are we battling or not?" Ryan said with a frown. Lillie, watching from the sidelines, was speechless. Who suggests trading Pokémon immediately after meeting? Besides, that Venonat looked so low-level—how could she be so confident someone would trade a clearly superior Pokémon?
"Really? What a shame. I'll attack first then—Venonat, Sleep Powder!" Janine said disappointedly, but launched into battle.
"Water Shuriken," Ryan commanded.
Venonat released sleep powder from its fur, but the amount was pitifully small—no wonder Ash's Bulbasaur could blow it away with a single Gust. Greninja flicked the shuriken-shaped marks on its thighs and launched five Water Shurikens from different angles, instantly knocking out Venonat.
"Ah! My Venonat!" Janine cried out, hugging her fallen Pokémon, then glared resentfully at Ryan and Greninja.
"Uh, I guess it was a critical hit," Ryan said awkwardly. "Greninja, maybe you overdid it."
"Gre-ninja (How was I supposed to know?)" Greninja looked equally perplexed.
A smoke bomb suddenly exploded on the field. When the smoke cleared, a man in traditional ninja garb appeared. "Greetings. I am Koga, Leader of the Fuchsia Gym. My daughter has caused you trouble."
He briefly scolded Janine before turning to Ryan. "You must be Ryan from Pallet Town. The League has high expectations for your abilities, so this challenge will be at an elevated difficulty. One-on-one battle, winner takes all. I'll be using my Crobat."
"Then I'll stick with Greninja," Ryan replied.
A sleek Crobat appeared on the field. Ryan quickly assessed it—fortunately, it was a high-quality specimen in the mid-50s level range, not too far above his team's capabilities. These days, Greninja and the others had barely reached level 50, but their leveling had slowed considerably since then.
He had over 20,000 fame points stored. Once he reached 30,000, he could activate the enhancement that granted quadruple experience, allowing for faster leveling again.
"Since this is a decisive match, let's go all out," Ryan said, forming hand seals. Greninja was instantly enveloped in a torrent of water, transforming into its Bond Phenomenon form- bond-Greninja.
"Then we'll strike first," Ryan declared, clasping his hands behind his back before swinging them forward. Greninja immediately manifested five massive Water Shurikens on its back, spinning them rapidly and launching a barrage of aquatic projectiles at Crobat from multiple angles.
"Use Dig to evade!" Koga commanded. "What a fascinating evolution method! It makes me want to capture a Greninja myself. Could you tell me where you found yours?"
"I caught it while fishing in the Alola region, but it was originally a Froakie from the Kalos region. Gym Leader Koga, if you're interested in catching one, the Kalos region would be your best bet." As he spoke, Ryan suddenly leaped upward, and Greninja used Acrobatics to launch itself skyward as well.
Crobat emerged from underground just as Greninja descended from above, wielding a massive Water Shuriken and slamming it down onto Crobat's head. Crobat shrieked in pain, its eyes flashing with malevolent energy as it used Hypnosis to paralyze Greninja.
Feeling the paralysis effect through their bond, Ryan knew he had to end this quickly. This wasn't just a simple status condition like in the games—if his instincts were correct, the next attack would involve poison. The combination of paralysis and poison would gradually wear Greninja down.
He formed another hand seal, and multiple Greninja appeared across the battlefield using Double Team. Koga frowned and commanded, "Crobat, clear the field with Pin Missile!"
Ryan chuckled, forming a different seal and placing his hand on his forehead. Suddenly, a powerful psychic force enveloped Crobat, battering it relentlessly with Psychic. After unleashing his supernatural attack, he changed hand seals again, and when Pin Missile swept the field, all the Greninja copies vanished.
"Above you—Thunder Fang!" Gym Leader Koga called out calmly, spotting Greninja's shadow in the sky.
Ryan gestured, and Greninja dove down with Thunder Fang crackling around its mouth. Crobat bit into Greninja's body with electrified fangs, but Greninja endured the attack. Just as it was about to counterattack, an electric surge interrupted Greninja's movement. Ryan felt deeply frustrated—if he had used Hydro Pump instead, the battle would have been over.
"Hmm, no significant damage? Use Toxic," Koga observed curiously.
"Toxic Spikes," Ryan commanded, struggling with the paralysis affecting their bond.
Greninja attempted to use Toxic Spikes, but another electric discharge caused the attack to fail. The potent poison from Crobat's Toxic drenched Greninja from head to toe, creating exactly the situation Ryan had feared most. Feeling their connection stabilize momentarily, Ryan charged forward with Greninja using Aqua Jet, sending Crobat flying—but Greninja immediately succumbed to paralysis again.
"Finishing move—Poison Fang!" Koga shouted.
"Final attack—Hydro Pump!" Ryan called out.
Poison Fang bit deep into Greninja while Greninja's Hydro Pump blasted Crobat backward with tremendous force. The two Pokémon locked eyes for a moment before collapsing simultaneously.
Both trainers recalled their Pokémon, the battle ending in a draw.
"Impressive," Koga said, approaching Ryan. "Your bond with Greninja transcends typical trainer-Pokémon relationships. You've earned this—the Soul Badge." He handed Ryan the distinctive pink badge. "That transformation ability... I've never seen anything like it. You two have great potential."
Ryan accepted the badge gratefully. "Thank you, Gym Leader Koga. That was an incredible battle."
As they prepared to leave the hidden gym, Ryan couldn't help but reflect on how much stronger the Gym Leaders were compared to their anime portrayals. This was definitely going to make his journey more challenging—and more exciting.
(End of Chapter)
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