I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 694 - 694: Defeating Naranja Academy Students

"Pipa, you may send out your Pokémon," Dendra said."Okay."

Pipa nodded and sent out her first Pokémon.

"Passimian, you're up!"

A white lemur-like Pokémon appeared on the field.

[Lv. 35 Passimian ♂ / Elite-tier potential]

Passimian was a Pokémon unique to the Alola Region. It lived in troops, had strong teamwork instincts, and could normally use the Receiver Ability to copy the ability of a fallen ally. But since Pipa had sent it out first, that clearly wasn't the case here.

That meant this Passimian most likely had its Hidden Ability: Defiant.

The battle began.

"Passimian, attack! Use Rock Smash!" Pipa ordered.

Passimian rushed straight at Pawniard, clearly planning to use its type advantage to overpower it in close combat.

"Use Dig."

At Gary's command, Pawniard immediately burrowed underground, causing Passimian to lose its target.

"Be careful," Pipa warned.

Passimian had no way to attack underground targets. She could only stay alert and wait for Pawniard to come back up.

Bang!

Passimian still lacked battle experience. Pawniard suddenly burst out of the ground from the side slope, swung its sharp blade, and slashed Passimian, knocking it backward.

"Stealth Rock," Gary ordered.

"Douli!"

Pawniard struck the ground and scattered Stealth Rock across the field.

"Rock Smash!" Pipa ordered again, seizing the opening.

Passimian rushed in and punched Pawniard hard. Fortunately, Pawniard crossed its arms in time and blocked most of the impact. Otherwise, the damage would have been much worse, even if Rock Smash itself wasn't a particularly high-power move.

"Good. Don't let Pawniard go underground again. Close Combat!"

Pipa had already realized that Dig was troublesome. She wanted to keep up the pressure and deny Pawniard any room to breathe.

Gary remained calm.

"Protect, then Shadow Claw."

"Douli!"

Pawniard instantly raised a Protect barrier and blocked Passimian's Close Combat. The moment the attack was stopped, it followed up with Shadow Claw, slashing across Passimian's waist and knocking it to the ground.

Passimian hit the dirt hard.

But it got back up quickly.

Seeing this, many of the students in the stands felt a little uneasy. Pipa was one of the stronger students among them. If even she was only on par with a first-tier Pokémon, then that meant most of them really were only at the level of League preliminaries.

"Swords Dance, then Stone Edge."

Pawniard took the chance to perform a sharp, mysterious battle dance, boosting its physical attack.

"Passimian, get up quickly! Use Fling!" Pipa shouted in a hurry.

Passimian immediately pulled out a golden bead from its held-item pouch. Wrapped in dark energy, the Nugget was hurled forward with force.

Clang!

The Nugget slammed into Pawniard and knocked it to the ground.

"Now! Close Combat!" Pipa shouted right away.

Passimian rushed forward.

Pawniard was just starting to push itself back up. Even if it stood, there wouldn't be enough time to counter.

"Come back."

At that moment, Gary raised his Poké Ball and recalled Pawniard.

"Chiik?!"

Passimian froze in frustration. It had finally found a chance to win, only for Gary to take Pawniard back.

Gary looked at Pipa and reminded her, "We never said switching wasn't allowed. Changing Pokémon is part of battle strategy too."

"I understand."

Pipa nodded. She didn't seem particularly bothered by it.

"Breloom, your turn."

"Douli!"

Breloom, which had been standing at Gary's side, strode onto the field with a bouncing step. As a Fighting-type specialist, Pipa naturally paid attention to it at once.

"This is my first time seeing a Shiny Breloom," she said.

She liked Fighting-types, so seeing a differently colored Breloom naturally caught her interest.

But a battle was still a battle.

"Passimian, Rock Smash!"

Passimian dashed toward Breloom again.

Gary didn't care in the slightest.

Compared to Breloom, Passimian was far too slow.

"Mach Punch."

Whoosh!

Breloom turned into a green blur. Its claw flashed white, and it struck before Passimian could react.

"What—?!"

Bang!

Passimian was sent flying backward. It crashed to the ground and couldn't get back up.

"Passimian is unable to battle! Breloom wins!" Dendra announced.

Some students in the stands were visibly shaken.

"What? A second-tier Pokémon can one-shot one of Pipa's Pokémon too?"

"Passimian was already injured by Pawniard before, so it's not that strange."

"That makes sense... I guess."

If a third-tier Pokémon had done it, maybe they could have accepted it more easily. But seeing a second-tier Pokémon do the same was much harder to swallow.

"You're strong," Pipa said. Even through the mask, the excitement in her voice was obvious. "Battling an opponent like this is actually interesting."

"Lucario, let's go! You've got a good opponent today!"

She threw out her second Poké Ball.

[Lv. 40 Lucario / Elite-tier potential]

A handsome, humanoid jackal-like Pokémon appeared on the field.

The moment it landed—

Clack!

The Stealth Rock laid down by Pawniard activated. Sharp stones shot up from the ground beneath Lucario's feet and struck it.

"Lucario!"

Gary raised an eyebrow slightly.

He hadn't expected Pipa to have a Lucario too. It was a rare Pokémon, and he himself had wanted to raise one in the past, but never happened to encounter one.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Pipa ordered immediately.

Her style was direct and aggressive. She wanted to secure the first move every time.

Lucario quickly gathered an Aura Sphere and hurled it forward. The attack curved automatically toward Breloom.

"Take it head-on with Dynamic Punch," Gary said.

"Douli!"

Breloom's right fist lit up with white fighting energy. Instead of dodging, it punched Aura Sphere out of the air and smashed it straight into the ground, where it exploded.

"Lucario, Rock Smash!"

Pipa attacked again the moment Breloom dealt with Aura Sphere.

Lucario had already charged in while Breloom was occupied. It was now only three meters away and immediately swung its paw down.

"Drain Punch."

Gary's tone remained calm.

Just as Lucario's paw was about to land, Breloom's arm moved like a whip. Its fist, glowing with golden energy, met Lucario's strike head-on.

Bang!!

The moment their attacks clashed, Lucario was knocked backward.

"What a fast punch!"

Pipa was genuinely shocked. She hadn't expected Breloom to throw a counterpunch that quickly at such close range.

That was Breloom's real advantage.

Its arms looked short, but they could suddenly extend forward, and its punching speed was terrifyingly fast.