"Squawk!"
A large bird with a wide wingspan and a gorgeous tail plume descended from the sky.
Pidgeot, the Bird Pokémon, the final evolution of Pidgey.
Pidgeot's presence was also the reason Rong Fei could parachute in from the sky. With Pidgeot's speed and keen eyesight, even if a parachute failed to open, it could still ensure the jumper landed safely.
However, Rong Fei encountered a problem during the landing. At this moment, Pidgeot was somewhat disdainfully pulling its Trainer out of the muddy pond.
"Meow~ Meow~ (The opponent doesn't seem very smart; should be easy to deal with.)"
"Take it seriously. Don't get yourself hurt."
"Meow~ (Relax, relax. But it's so filthy here… feels like I'll get quite dirty.)"
While Nekomi was still complaining about how unclean the battlefield was, the opposing side had already wiped his face roughly with a towel and stepped on a command post surrounded by stones.
Judging purely by the surroundings, the place looked more like a kids' playground than an official Gym Battle Arena.
That was also one of Rong Fei's complaints about his father—it was far too informal.
He was still half-covered in mud, but seeing the challenger already in position, he didn't waste time changing clothes and went straight into battle prep mode.
The uncle who had brought Rowan over was also the referee for this match. Once both sides were confirmed to be ready, he moved closer to the field.
"Next, we will begin the Gym Battle between Rookie Trainer Rowan and substitute Gym Leader Rong Fei of the Lanxiang Gym. There is no time limit. Each side may use up to three Pokémon. Only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokémon mid-battle."
"One special battle system (Mega Evolution, Dynamax, Z-Move, or Terastallization) is allowed."
"The winner will be determined when one side has all three of their Pokémon rendered unable to battle. According to League challenge rules, the Gym will send out their Pokémon first. Challenger, please prepare!"
The referee for Gym matches is typically provided by the Gym itself and is there purely to ensure rules are followed.
Here, a "rookie" is defined as a Trainer who has just registered and holds no badges—so even if Rowan's Pokémon were in their final evolutions, he would still be considered a rookie.
"Just a challenger who relies on type advantage… Today, I'll show you that even gathered intel can be wrong. My first Pokémon is this—go, Pidgeot!"
The Pidgeot beside Rong Fei flew into the field, and from Rong Fei's words, Rowan couldn't help but sense a subtle undercurrent of prejudice.
He didn't really care about that kind of thing. The world was too big—there would always be people who, for no reason at all, just couldn't get along with strangers. If he had to take every such encounter to heart, that would be way too exhausting.
Nekomi didn't wait for any new order either; she simply walked to the opposite side of the battlefield on her own.
After all, Rowan only had her as his one and only Pokémon—there were no backups. If she couldn't win, then the match would just be over.
However, Rowan's silence seemed to lead Rong Fei to some misunderstandings.
"What, don't know how to respond when facing a type disadvantage? You rookies really have no idea how to deal with unexpected situations…"
"Close the distance and grab it. Use Thunder Punch."
Teaching was also part of a Gym Battle. When facing a Trainer who didn't even understand type matchups, some Gym Leaders would take the time to patiently explain the reasoning.
But according to negative reviews online, this particular Gym Leader had probably been lectured by his parents too much as a kid—he talked way too much during battles.
While he was still going on in his self-opinionated lecture mode, Nekomi had already taken action.
"Gain altitude and create distance! Then use Hurricane!"
Seeing that Rowan didn't respond and directly issued an attack order, Rong Fei also switched back to battle mode, intending to use Pidgeot's flying advantage to kite the opponent.
But to Pidgeot, Nekomi had already disappeared.
Pidgeot's exceptional eyesight could spot a Magikarp flopping in water from a thousand meters up.
Nekomi's sudden disappearance triggered alarm—it realized something was off, and immediately followed its Trainer's command to ascend rapidly, continuing to scan for the opponent's location in the process.
But it had only flapped its wings twice when a crackling sound reached its ears.
"Meow!"
The moment it heard the sound, Pidgeot tried to dodge to the side, but Nekomi was just a bit faster—her lightning-charged fist slammed into Pidgeot's body.
The electric current passed through its outer feathers and into its body. Pidgeot instantly stiffened, its wings frozen midair. It dropped straight down, and during its fall, it also took a solid combo of punches from Nekomi.
"Pidgeot is unable to battle!"
"Thunder Punch… Looks like your Meowscarada came well-prepared. You're up next, Gliscor!"
Pidgeot being taken out in one hit caught Rong Fei off guard and disrupted his original strategy.
Nevertheless, he sent out another Pokémon—his starter, Gliscor.
A Pokémon that looked like a cross between a scorpion and a bat.
Back then, he had been obsessed with Flying types. Although his father disapproved, he eventually gave in and got him a Ground + Flying type Gligar as his Starter Pokémon.
Unlike Pidgeot, Gliscor wasn't flying in mid-air—instead, it was standing on the ground using its tail for support.
This kind of Pokémon, though it had bat-like wings, didn't have true flying capabilities. It could only glide by using existing wind currents.
However, thanks to its Ground Type, there was no need to worry about being countered by Thunder Punch.
"You talk about disliking others who prepare type counters in advance, yet you're no different. Your Gliscor also isn't quite like the one I remember."
"You'll know what's different once you try. Gliscor, use Fury Cutter!"
Gliscor used its tail to spring off the ground into the air, spreading its wings and riding a breeze as it glided swiftly toward Nekomi.
"Magical Leaf—knock it out of the sky!"
A large number of strange leaves materialized around Nekomi and shot out toward Gliscor in the air. Due to its characteristics, Magical Leaf was almost impossible to dodge—in the games, it was considered a sure-hit move.
But as the Magical Leaf flew toward Gliscor, it seemingly did nothing, yet its body automatically dodged, letting the Magical Leaf brush right past.
However, this caused a shift in Gliscor's flight trajectory. Its attack completely missed Nekomi and instead struck the soil beside her.
"Don't stop—keep using the Fury Cutter!"
Gliscor had just used its tail as a weapon in the attack. Even though it missed, it used the recoil to soar into the air again, building up for the next wave of offense.
Fury Cutter, being a Bug-type move, is super effective against both Grass-type and Dark-type Pokémon, and its power increases with successive consecutive hits. It is considered the type that ordinary Meowscarada dislikes the most.
But in Rowan's eyes, the most troublesome thing about this Gliscor wasn't its Bug-type attacks—it was how its lightweight frame made it highly-sensitive to air currents.
Rowan had a hunch just now that Gliscor had used the breeze stirred up by Magical Leaf to dodge what should have been a guaranteed hit.
"No wonder your Gliscor is smaller than I remembered… Nekomi! Let it come closer!"
"You figured it out? You guessed right. Because your Pokémon is strong, every move it uses causes a major shift in air currents."
"That's exactly what my Gliscor used to evade your attacks."
"No matter how powerful an attack is, it's useless if it can't hit! Even if you go with physical attacks, the wind generated from the swing will only help Gliscor!"
"Be patient, wait until Gliscor gets a little closer… Now! Triple Axel!"
"?!"