"Come on, challenger!"
"Makuhita, use Whirlwind!"
Noticing that Skarmory was positioned too far from Makuhita, Brawly decided it was time to force a switch.
Makuhita inhaled deeply and exhaled a powerful gust of wind toward Steven's position.
Without any long-range attacks to interrupt the technique, Skarmory had no choice but to be blown back by Whirlwind.
Aron tumbled out of its Poké Ball, looking completely disoriented.
Whirlwind is a move that interferes with Poké Balls, forcing them to automatically recall the active Pokémon while simultaneously releasing another one from the trainer's party.
Since Steven was carrying two Poké Balls, the one containing Aron was automatically opened.
Moves like Dragon Tail and Roar function similarly to Whirlwind, creating the same forced-switch effect.
Meanwhile, moves such as Volt Switch and U-turn allow the user to return to their Poké Ball while switching out voluntarily.
By the way, in official battles, arbitrary switching isn't permitted.
Free substitution doesn't mean trainers can swap Pokémon whenever they want without any restrictions.
Otherwise, matches would devolve into endless switching with no actual combat.
In official matches, switching is only allowed after completing at least one turn of battle. In the wild, however, there are no such rules.
This was a Gym battle—a type of official match. Breaking the rules would damage Steven's standing with the Gym Leader, and even if he won, he wouldn't be eligible to receive the Knuckle Badge.
"Aron, use Harden!" Steven immediately ordered Aron to boost its defense.
Real-world Pokémon battles differ from the games—stat-boosting moves wear off after some time passes.
However, they don't disappear simply because a Pokémon returns to its Poké Ball.
Aron already had one stage of defense increase from earlier, and this would be its second boost.
"Vital Throw!"
"Maku!"
Makuhita shuffled forward, raising its palms as it charged toward Aron.
Makuhita's movement speed was quite slow, so Aron finished using Harden just as the Fighting-type gradually closed the distance.
"Iron Head!"
The metallic crest on Aron's head turned dark gray as it "rushed" toward Makuhita.
Bang!
Makuhita's palm struck Aron's Iron Head, creating a heavy, dull impact.
Makuhita only needed to step back once to regain its balance, while Aron was pushed backward several meters.
It was fortunate that Aron had raised its defense twice—the four-times-effective Vital Throw had much of its power negated by Iron Head's collision.
"Rock Tomb!"
Aron reacted cleverly. With a stomp of its feet, several rocks suddenly erupted around Makuhita, trapping it in a ring.
"Break through with Force Palm!"
Steven seized this opportunity to recall Aron to its Poké Ball, then threw Skarmory's Poké Ball as close to Makuhita's position as possible.
Crack!
"Yo!"
Makuhita shattered the rocks with Force Palm just as Skarmory materialized from its Poké Ball.
"Wing Attack!" Steven caught the returning Poké Ball with one hand and quickly issued his command.
"Force Palm again!"
Makuhita drew its palms back in a charging stance.
Skarmory dove from above, spreading its steel wings wide.
"Makihi!"
Makuhita suddenly thrust its palms forward, catching Skarmory's wings mid-dive.
The force of Skarmory's descent pressed against Makuhita, causing its feet to slide backward involuntarily.
Beads of sweat formed on Makuhita's face from the strain.
"Fold your wings and use Peck!"
"Roll to dodge—what?!"
Brawly was about to command Makuhita to disengage from the struggle when he heard Steven's order and couldn't help but react in surprise.
Skarmory immediately folded its wings, eliminating Makuhita's resistance point.
The moment Makuhita lost its balance, white light gathered at Skarmory's beak.
Makuhita took Peck directly to the head!
The attack knocked it to the ground!
A super-effective strike hitting Makuhita square in the head dealt considerable damage.
"Spin around and use Wing Attack!"
Skarmory ascended, then rotated 180 degrees and dove toward the grounded Makuhita.
"Endure!"
Makuhita's round body struggled to stand up quickly—its low speed was one of its greatest weaknesses.
With no other option, Brawly ordered Makuhita to use Endure.
A fully-evolved Pokémon like Skarmory naturally has higher base stats than Pokémon still in their early evolutionary stages.
This is an inherent advantage.
Just as any Pokémon can train to reach legendary levels of strength, legendary Pokémon compete based on their innate capabilities.
If you compared a Pikachu and a Dragonite, both at legendary strength, setting aside type advantages—
Dragonite would still be slightly stronger than Pikachu. This is the advantage of Dragonite's naturally superior base stats.
Boom!
Skarmory's Wing Attack sent Makuhita flying, but thanks to Endure, Makuhita clung to consciousness with just a sliver of health remaining.
"Again?!" Steven had already anticipated Brawly's strategy.
After all, he'd just narrowly avoided it moments ago.
"Skarmory, use Agility and retreat!"
"Reversal!"
The fallen Makuhita roared as power erupted from deep within its body.
Energy began radiating outward from Makuhita's center in all directions.
Realizing Skarmory wouldn't escape this time, Steven quickly aimed a Poké Ball beam and shouted:
"Steel Wing to defend!"
Skarmory glanced back at the expanding energy wave, then turned and crossed its steel wings protectively over its body.
The released power of Reversal spread out in all directions, dispersing its force and significantly reducing its concentrated impact.
The red recall beam was a fraction too slow—Skarmory was engulfed by Reversal first.
The spreading energy repelled the red light.
"That's all I can do," Brawly sighed with resignation.
As a Fighting-type specialist, one must showcase their full strength. This desperate battle tactic actually concentrates power into a single devastating point, generating tremendous explosive force.
As the energy dissipated, Skarmory remained conscious, though it looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Steven quickly recalled Skarmory to its Poké Ball.
"You both fought excellently. Please rest well," Steven said, smiling at the two Poké Balls in his hand.
"I'm thoroughly impressed by this battle. I accept my defeat."
Brawly approached at that moment, wearing a hearty smile on his face.
"Just luck," Steven replied modestly.
"Hey! Don't call it luck. You understand your Pokémon's abilities exceptionally well, which allowed you to counter my attacks multiple times during battle."
"Furthermore, your Pokémon trust you completely."
Brawly stood with his hands on his hips, a slight grin on his face.
"When facing that overwhelming Focus Punch, your Aron chose to trust your judgment completely. That's the greatest proof of your bond."
He then produced a fist-shaped badge and a disc, extending them toward Steven.
"This is proof of defeating the Dewford Gym—the Knuckle Badge! And as a bonus, here's TM08: Bulk Up!"
Steven accepted both items, returning the smile. "Thank you!"
The first step toward becoming Champion—the Knuckle Badge!