Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Ryoko calmly stepped onto the field. Drake clearly recognized her, a barely noticeable smile flickering in his eyes.
"Ryoko Kuna, Gym Inspector of the Hoenn League. Please guide me~"
Her voice rang clearly. Ryoko presented her identification and introduced herself to Norman.
"Norman, Gym Leader of the Petalburg Gym. How will the Gym inspection be conducted?"
"Naturally, according to the rules of the Petalburg Gym~" Ryoko smiled sweetly and motioned for Norman to explain himself.
"Very well. The rules of the Petalburg Gym Challenge are as follows: a 3v3 rotation battle. Once all three Pokémon on one side are no longer able to battle, the match ends!"
"Alright, then let's begin." Ryoko nodded calmly. She had, of course, already known the rules, but asked again for the sake of the other Trainers present.
The referee had silently taken position and, after reciting the rules verbatim, Norman and Ryoko simultaneously sent out their first Pokémon.
Slakoth vs Sceptile.
"Slakoth hadn't even evolved once?" The crowd began to stir.
This Gym Leader was too weak, wasn't he? Sending out such a feeble-looking Pokémon?
"Is this a joke? Did this new Gym Leader get in through connections?"
"What can a Pokémon like that do besides eat and sleep?"
"Bro isn't weak, right? His Snorlax is way stronger than that Slakoth… why isn't he using Snorlax instead?" Mark also seemed confused and asked directly.
"Gym Leaders don't necessarily have to be that strong. And do you really think that Slakoth is weak?" Sato, for once, felt like explaining.
"This Slakoth…" Mark, seeing how Sato responded, looked over again carefully. "I-it-it…!"
"Mhm." Sato nodded. After all, Norman was a "genius" Trainer from his same generation; how could he actually be weak?
"Stop flaunting your stupidity. Didn't you notice that this Slakoth's level is way out of line?" Finally, someone else noticed something odd.
"Out of line how…? H-huh? MID ELITE?! This thing grew on steroids or something?!"
The initial mockery and disdain instantly vanished. The field fell silent; no one could quite believe it.
How could a Pokémon as notoriously lazy as Slakoth -barely more active than a Slaking- possibly reach the Mid Elite level?
…Even so, could such a sluggish Pokémon actually be useful in battle?
There were still plenty of skeptical looks from the crowd, but at least no one dared to speak out loud anymore.
What if… this Slakoth was really strong? Better to stay quiet than risk getting slapped in the face by reality again.
---
Up on stage, the referee still hadn't announced the match start. Only when the audience finally fell silent and Norman gave a subtle signal did the referee slowly raise his right hand.
"Battle Start!"
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
Norman stood quietly in place, not issuing any commands.
Seeing the aggressive Sceptile already closing in on the much shorter Slakoth, many of the onlookers instinctively squinted, afraid the next scene would be too brutal.
Swish Swish Swish!
The sound of Leaf Blade cutting through the air rang out in succession. Many people reflexively assumed Slakoth was about to be instantly KO'd by Sceptile, regardless of it having miraculously reached Mid Elite level.
"Slakoth, Blizzard!"
"Sla~koth~"
Norman's voice suddenly echoed across the arena. Slakoth's childlike but full-voiced response made the spectators who had closed their eyes instinctively feel that something was off.
Whoooosh～
Spectators sitting closest instinctively hugged their arms tight as a wave of intense cold swept over them, raising goosebumps on their skin.
"Sceptile got pushed back!!"
A loud shout instantly drew everyone's attention. They all looked toward the arena, and saw the less-than-one-meter-tall Slakoth suddenly perk up and unleash a Blizzard from its mouth.
Within the Blizzard, Sceptile was struggling in a half-kneeling stance, arms crossed in front of its body. Snow had already accumulated on various parts of its frame, and its whole body was still being steadily pushed backward.
But before long, the Blizzard faded away on its own. Slakoth returned to its usual lazy demeanor, swaying left and right slowly, completely lacking any trace of aggression.
If they hadn't witnessed it themselves, most of the crowd would have never believed that the "devastating" Blizzard had actually been unleashed by a Slakoth.
"Sceptile, Bullet Seed! Keep moving around the arena."
Ryoko didn't panic even though Sceptile had been hit by Blizzard. Instead, she quickly issued a new command.
"Sceptile!"
Sceptile struggled to its feet and began running around the arena, carefully aiming a Bullet Seed right at Slakoth.
Slakoth didn't appear to make any big movements. It simply raised its right foot slightly and spun lazily in place.
Bullet Seed missed!
This time, everyone clearly saw it.
Slakoth's motion was subtle, but it had effortlessly dodged Sceptile's attack.
Seeing Slakoth completely unharmed, the audience remembered Sceptile's first attack and realized that one must have missed too.
Slakoth's evasion skills… were kind of insane!
"Sato, did you know from the start that this Slakoth was so strong?" Mark asked again, eyes full of sparkling stars as he looked at Slakoth.
An unevolved Slakoth really was pretty cute, with its harmless, innocent expression.
"I had a hunch, but this is my first time seeing it in battle." Sato answered quickly while still focused on the match.
At that moment, the gym burst into renewed excitement. Sceptile's frostbite was gradually healing as it moved, and although its Bullet Seed didn't land a single hit, it had effectively stopped Slakoth from using another move.
Not that Slakoth could follow up attacks quickly to begin with.
"Sceptile, Leaf Storm!"
Sceptile was going all out. A sweeping Leaf Storm engulfed nearly the entire field as it surged powerfully toward Slakoth.
Clearly, the Bullet Seed had bought enough time, and Ryoko -after careful thought- had found a way to break the stalemate.
Slakoth's short-range evasion was beyond reason, so she went for a wide-area move instead. No way it could dodge that.
"Slakoth, Fire Blast!" Norman's command followed immediately.
Slakoth suddenly surged with energy again, opening its mouth wide and unleashing a Fire Blast no less powerful than the Blizzard before. It howled forward, colliding hard with the incoming Leaf Storm.
Boom!
The clash of moves triggered a violent explosion. Smoke and dust filled the air, completely obscuring the field from view.
"Sceptile, keep the same direction, Leaf Storm again!"
Ryoko's command rang out from across the arena. Norman instinctively clenched his fist: Slakoth's weakness had finally been found.