"You—are you today's challengers?!"
Atop a raised platform carved entirely from dark gray stone, the Pewter Gym Leader Brock stood above Red and Luffy, looking down at them as he spoke. With his spiky hair and dark complexion, he gave off an imposing presence even from such a height.
After fighting their way through the gym—overcoming challenge after challenge and earning Luffy more than 500 additional experience points—the two of them had finally arrived before the Pewter Gym Leader himself.
Facing Brock's question, Red stepped forward without hesitation and replied firmly,"That's right! Please accept our challenge!"
As long as they could obtain their first Gym Badge, there was a chance they'd receive additional rewards from the system. Red had long been itching to get started.
Beside him, Luffy rolled his wrists, warming up.
After fighting Geodude after Geodude all the way here, he was already getting a little bored.
He couldn't help but wonder—would this Gym Leader finally bring a pleasant surprise?
Red's response seemed to flip an invisible "Confirm Challenge" switch. Brock's expression instantly hardened, his dark complexion lending him a level of intimidation that far exceeded what his age suggested.
"Hmph. You know you're going to lose, yet you still dare to challenge me?""Your courage is commendable!"
His voice suddenly rose in volume.
All the Gym Trainers who had been defeated by Red and Luffy had now gathered in the spectator areas on both sides of the arena.
A beam of spotlight shone down from nowhere, illuminating Brock at center stage.
Majestic music swelled, intertwining with the cheers of the audience.
With a deep rumble, the ground at the center of the Rock-type Gym split apart, opening to both sides and revealing a proper Pokémon battle arena.
Brock stood proudly, confidence written all over his face."I am the Rock-type Gym Leader. I possess a will as unyielding as stone—and naturally, so do my Pokémon!"
"Hard as bedrock, unwavering and unbreakable!" "Come on! Let me see what you're really made of!"
With that, he strode forward toward the Trainer's position on the battlefield.
"Tch… putting on quite the show. They really know how to make it look impressive," Red muttered inwardly as he watched the rocky gym transform into a full-fledged battle arena.
He quickly led the wide-eyed, dazzled Luffy to the opposite side.
Honestly, all these flashy system effects had completely captivated Luffy.
The battle was about to begin!
"Then my first Pokémon—go, Geodude!"
The moment Red took his position, Brock swiftly pulled a Poké Ball from his waist and released a Geodude.
This Geodude was noticeably larger than the ones used by the other Gym Trainers—and it clearly looked stronger as well.
The level floating above its head made that perfectly clear.
[LV: 12 | HP: 38/38]
"Level 12 Geodude? That's a shame… it doesn't look like it'll be enough to entertain us," Red murmured softly.
Then he turned to the side and said,"Go, Luffy! Take care of it!"
"Alright!" Luffy grinned.
The moment Luffy stepped onto the battlefield, a massive invisible domain expanded outward, instantly enveloping Brock, Red, Luffy, and Geodude.
At the same time, Brock's eyes sharpened—
"Huh?!"
As if he had just noticed something terribly wrong, his small eyes suddenly widened as he stared at Luffy in disbelief.
Due to the system's influence, even with his heightened awareness, Brock would never perceive Luffy as anything other than a Pokémon.
But as an outstanding Gym Leader, he instantly sensed the overwhelming, domineering aura radiating from Luffy.
"How is this possible…" "How can a rookie Trainer have such a powerful Pokémon?!"
Shock and disbelief flooded Brock's face.
Meanwhile, Red had already issued his command.
"Luffy, same as always! Use Shave!"
As the saying goes—master one move, and it'll carry you everywhere.
Against the clumsy Geodude, Shave was a perfect hard counter!
Even if this Geodude belonged to the Gym Leader!
Whoosh!
Like a violent gust of wind, Luffy's figure blurred across the battlefield at lightning speed.
Luffy's sudden offensive snapped Brock out of his shock, forcing him to refocus on the battle.
"What!? Is that Quick Attack?!"
When Trainers in the game world gained intelligence, they also gained combat experience befitting their roles.
Before Luffy could even reach Geodude's blind spot, Brock instantly made the optimal judgment and shouted,"Geodude, use Defense Curl, then Rollout!"
"Luffy—attack!"
"Hah!" "Gum-Gum…"
The commands fell simultaneously.
Both Pokémon acted at once.
But just as Luffy's fully extended, power-charged fist snapped back and hurtled toward Geodude—
Geodude's body suddenly rounded as it retracted its limbs, dropped low, and began rolling sideways at high speed!
Boom!
CRASH!!!
Luffy's punch slammed into the ground instead, smashing a deep crater into the rocky floor and sending spiderweb-like cracks radiating outward.
"Huh!?"
Both Luffy and Red froze, staring in mild surprise at the Geodude that had narrowly dodged the attack using Rollout.
Red's eyes flickered with interest.
"Using Defense Curl to increase Rollout's speed for mobility…?"
"That actually patches up Geodude's biggest weakness."
He murmured thoughtfully,"As expected of a Gym Leader. He reacted and issued commands in an instant… Looks like becoming a truly good Trainer isn't as simple as I thought."
Even discounting the possibility that Brock had secretly watched earlier battles—
That reaction had clearly been a preemptive command, predicting Luffy's attack.
This was what solid, above-average command ability looked like.
However—
"It's a pity. No matter how brilliant the command, it can't make up for a massive gap in strength."
Red's thoughts raced, and he immediately shouted, "To your right, Luffy! Chase it down and finish it!"
"Got it!" Luffy replied loudly.
In truth, Red didn't even need to tell him—Luffy's Observation Haki had already sensed the unusual movement coming from his right.
He kicked off again, turning into a blur of wind and shadow as he gave chase.
"Shave!"
This time, Brock didn't issue any new command.
Perhaps even the Gym Leader himself didn't know how a Level 12 Geodude was supposed to deal with Luffy anymore. All he could do was let Geodude keep rolling and try to drain Luffy's stamina.
But how could Geodude's Rollout ever compare to Luffy?
In the blink of an eye, Luffy used Shave's extreme speed to cut off Geodude's path, planting himself directly in front of it, fists raised and ready.
Seeing this, Brock clenched his teeth, abandoning any futile struggle as he shouted unwillingly,
"Geodude! Use Rollout and Tackle!"
Who fights a Gym like this?!
This is straight-up dimensional suppression!
Feeling Brock's frustration, Geodude turned that emotion into power. Using a raised stone as leverage, it launched its entire body into the air and slammed straight toward Luffy!
The sequence was smooth and textbook—perfectly showcasing a Gym Pokémon's combat fundamentals.
Unfortunately for it, its opponents were Red and Luffy.
"Gum-Gum…"
"Rocket!!!"
After missing once earlier, Luffy didn't take any chances this time—he unleashed a two-handed attack with a much wider range, meeting Geodude head-on.
BOOM!!!
"Geo—!"
With a thunderous impact, Geodude let out a pained cry and was sent flying uncontrollably by Luffy's Gum-Gum Rocket, smashing hard into a rocky hill in the distance.
"Geodude!" Brock shouted anxiously, quickly tossing a Poké Ball and recalling it.
Then he turned his grave gaze toward Red.
"I never imagined you'd have such a powerful Pokémon…"
"But I won't give up that easily!"
"Next—it's your turn! Go, Onix!!!"
Brock skillfully hurled his last Poké Ball.
A flash of red light erupted.
In an instant, a colossal rock serpent—its body formed entirely from dark gray stone and nearly scraping the ceiling—appeared at the center of the battlefield.
"WOAH!!! That's awesome!!!"
Seeing such a massive, cool Pokémon for the first time, Luffy's eyes instantly turned into sparkling stars, drool nearly dripping as he cheered excitedly.
"ROOOAAAR!!!"
The moment it appeared, Onix let out an intimidating roar, its cold gaze locked firmly onto Luffy.
From inside the Poké Ball, it had witnessed Geodude's defeat firsthand.
Now, it would avenge its fallen comrade!
...
...
One minute later.
[Congratulations! You have successfully challenged the Pewter Gym and gained 236 experience points.]
[Command Evaluation: Average.][Additional Reward Obtained: +47 Experience]
(End of Chapter)