Combusken, using the recoil from the strike on Graveler, did a backflip and landed outside the smoke, observing cautiously.
Soon, the smoke cleared, and Graveler's eyes turned into swirls.
"Graveler is unable to battle, battle cannot continue, challenger Tetsuya Tamaki wins!" The referee immediately raised the flag and declared the result.
Brock picked up the Poke Ball and recalled Graveler, giving a wry smile.
"A very excellent Combusken, extremely fast, extremely strong, high Fire power, and very smooth transitions between Fighting-type moves. It's super effective against Graveler."
Brock thought to himself, initially he thought Tetsuya's command for Combusken to keep up was a joke.
After all, once Graveler's Rollout speed increased, normal Pokemon simply couldn't keep up, let alone after using Rock Polish.
But his upbringing taught him not to underestimate the opponent Trainer's commands. The opponent wasn't an idiot and wouldn't do such useless work.
If Combusken could keep up, then Graveler definitely couldn't dodge. Instead of commanding a dodge, it was better to use Endure to counterattack.
However, the opponent's speed was ridiculously fast. Graveler didn't even have time to use a move before being kicked away by Low Sweep.
Then it took a beating with no suspense at all.
Thinking this, Brock didn't slow down his movements and quickly took out a second Poke Ball.
"Does the challenger need to switch Pokemon?" The referee also asked Tetsuya accordingly.
Tetsuya shook his head, indicating he didn't need to, so the referee signaled Brock to release his second Pokemon.
Brock threw the Poke Ball, "My second Pokemon is this one, go Dugtrio."
"Heat Wave, greet the opponent." Tetsuya seized the opportunity to have Combusken wear down the opponent.
"Grumble~" As soon as Dugtrio came out and got ready for battle, it was hit by the incoming Heat Wave and let out a painful cry.
Tetsuya looked at the opponent's state and evaluated it.
"Stronger than Graveler, but only slightly stronger. Looks like Pidgeot won't be needed."
Tetsuya wasn't surprised. After all, using Pokemon of similar strength in a Gym Battle made sense.
The previous Graveler was probably around Level 29, and this Dugtrio was likely around Level 35. Overall, they were on par with Tetsuya's two Pokemon.
However, these two Pokemon only had Elite Level Potential, which was too far behind Combusken.
That's why the current situation occurred. Otherwise, a normal Trainer coming for a Gym Battle wouldn't have it this easy.
"Moreover, Combusken is getting stronger and stronger," Tetsuya smiled at the corner of his mouth.
Brock had no idea what Tetsuya was thinking at this moment, only marveling at Combusken's excellence.
"Dig, approach the opponent from underground." Brock issued the command to Dugtrio.
Dugtrio's body sank and disappeared underground.
"Maintain Agility, be wary of the ground." Tetsuya gave the command. Without moves like Earthquake, Combusken currently had no way to deal with an opponent using Dig.
However, the longer the time dragged on, the better it was for him.
Brock frowned, looking at the rapidly moving Combusken. What was the point of the opponent doing such useless work? One should know that Dugtrio was currently waiting in ambush and still had the intention to attack.
Simply evading like Combusken not only consumed stamina, but if the time was too long, it would also be considered losing the will to fight and be judged as a loss.
Brock observed carefully for a while and suddenly noticed something was wrong.
How is this Combusken getting faster and faster, and putting in more effort?
No, the stamina consumption hasn't changed that much.
This is, the Hidden Ability Speed Boost?!
Brock immediately realized something was wrong. Although simply evading for too long would be considered losing the will to fight and be judged as a loss, using an Ability like Speed Boost to accelerate wouldn't be considered simple evasion.
Only when it reached its limit and could no longer accelerate would the referee intervene, but that would take too long. Before that, Dugtrio would instead be judged as a loss for not attacking for a long time.
"Arena Trap!" Brock immediately commanded the underground Dugtrio to attack, trying to slow down Combusken.
However, Brock's command was already late. Combusken's speed at this moment, under the double boost of the Speed Boost Ability and the Agility move, was already far beyond what Dugtrio could react to.
The previous second, a pile of swirling sand was still lingering under Combusken's feet, but the next second, Combusken had already broken free and run to a distance, only taking a little damage.
Dugtrio simply couldn't restrain the already sped-up Combusken.
"Tsk." Brock was a bit helpless. His chances of winning had suddenly decreased too much.
He still suffered from the lack of information, but identifying the enemy's Ability was something a Trainer should do. He could only say he hadn't done enough.
Moreover, the criteria for awarding the Boulder Badge in a Gym Battle was based on the Trainer and Pokemon's strength and synergy, not simply winning.
Tetsuya had already met the conditions for the Pewter Gym to award the Boulder Badge.
It was just that Brock was unwilling to give up so easily.
Brock issued a struggling command: "Dugtrio, Sucker Punch, then use Tri Attack."
"Counter, continuous Fire Punch to stop him." Tetsuya had the upper hand and was also preparing for a quick victory.
Dugtrio turned into a blur and rapidly approached Combusken. A Sucker Punch move hit Combusken's body.
Combusken endured it and used Counter, hitting Dugtrio's body hard.
Just as Dugtrio was about to use Tri Attack, it was interrupted by Combusken's Counter.
Enduring the intense pain, Dugtrio continued to use Tri Attack, wanting to restrict Combusken.
Combusken flashed, moving behind Dugtrio at a speed it couldn't even see, dodging Dugtrio's Tri Attack.
Flames condensed on its claws, and it forcefully struck Dugtrio's body exposed above ground, alternating hands.
"Diglett~" Dugtrio let out a cry of agony.
"Don't give up, Dugtrio, use your last Reversal!" Brock shouted.
Dugtrio used its last bit of stamina to unleash Reversal, charging towards Combusken.
By this time, Combusken had calmly used its speed to retreat to a distance, continuously dodging Dugtrio's attacks.
"Diglett~" Dugtrio struggled to hit Combusken, but it couldn't. Soon, it ran out of stamina, its eyes turned into swirls, and it collapsed on the field.
"Dugtrio is unable to battle, battle incapacitated! The challenger, Tetsuya Tamaki, wins!" The referee immediately raised the flag and announced the result.
Brock helplessly recalled Dugtrio.
Although Brock knew the battle was likely going to be tough the moment he identified the Speed Boost Ability, ending the battle so quickly still left him a bit dissatisfied.
Tetsuya also recalled Combusken.
The two walked outside the field and shook hands.
"Congratulations, you've won. The Boulder Badge will be issued to you at the service desk in front of the Gym. You can pick it up with your ID card after the information is entered."
Brock congratulated Tetsuya with a smile.
Although losing the match was frustrating, there were wins and losses against challengers every day, and Brock had long known how to face them.
Besides, this Trainer was very strong, so losing was not surprising.
I can get to know him, Brock thought.
Seeking investments, collections, recommendations, and monthly passes!!!
Asking for everything!!
Thanks to Yue Long for the 100 Qidian Coin reward.
Thanks to Book Friend 20210406211530991 for the 100 Qidian Coin reward.
Thanks to Jörmungandr_Dust for the 100 Qidian Coin reward.
PS: Updates will be changed to one chapter at 10 AM and one at 5 PM every day, because updating at midnight is annoying, and I have OCD that makes me check what I've posted at the exact time, so I can't stay up late.
Sometimes there will be three chapters, the third chapter will be posted at 9 PM.
(To make up for the mistake, I'll add an extra update at 5 PM tonight)
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