Chapter 1070: Gym Leader Ramos and the Coumarine Gym

Umbreon is a Pokémon skilled in defense and support. It couldn't match Decidueye in terms of offense and agility, and soon fell under Decidueye's Spirit Shackle.

Unable to counter the control effects of Spirit Shackle, Umbreon was quickly incapacitated.

After recalling the unconscious Umbreon, Gary, with a serious expression, said to Ash, "We can't fight separately anymore; only by cooperating well do we have a chance to win."

Ash nodded firmly and replied, "Alright, I understand!"

Gary's last Pokémon is his starter Pokémon, Blastoise.

**Blastoise**

Type: Water

Ability: Torrent

Gender: Male

Potential: Indigo

Level: 61

Skills: Tackle, Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble, Rapid Spin, Water Pulse, Water Tail, Hydro Cannon, Iron Defense, Rain Dance, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Gyro Ball, Surf, Waterfall, Mirror Coat, Water Oath, Ice Punch, Dragon Pulse, Cannon.

Another Pokémon with Indigo potential, but it's not surprising given that Professor Oak is one of the most famous Pokémon professors in the world. It's normal for his grandson to have a starter Pokémon with Indigo potential.

However, seeing this Pseudo-Elite Level Blastoise, Yuga realized that Ash and Gary were indeed talented trainers.

Previously, watching the anime, it seemed that Ash never won a championship, so his strength felt somewhat unreal, even though his abilities appeared average.

But now, seeing Ash's Pseudo-Elite-level Snorlax and Pseudo-Elite-level Blastoise, and after meeting many trainers in the Pokémon world, Yuga understood that Ash and Gary had made remarkable progress, especially since they were only in their third year of travel.

As soon as Blastoise appeared, under Gary's command, it used its twin cannons to bombard Decidueye in the sky with Hydro Pump.

All the Spirit Shackle fired by Decidueye were blocked by this onslaught.

In terms of output, Umbreon couldn't compare to Blastoise. Faced with Blastoise's Hydro Pump, Decidueye became flustered, as it hadn't yet reached Pseudo-Elite-level.

Blastoise, having forced Decidueye back, charged in front of Snorlax and used Iron Defense to block Abomasnow's Ice Punch.

Water-type Pokémon resist Ice-type moves, and with Blastoise's good defense and Iron Defense boost, Abomasnow's Ice Punch didn't cause much damage.

Taking advantage of this, Snorlax used Belly Drum, a move that sacrifices half of its HP for a significant increase in attack power, making it a desperate move.

Once Belly Drum ended, Snorlax, as if fueled by a stimulant, wildly used Giga Impact against Abomasnow. Even though Abomasnow was huge, Snorlax's impact sent it flying.

Unfortunately, Gary and Ash didn't know Abomasnow's talent for super recovery. Despite Abomasnow nearly losing its ability to fight from Snorlax's impact, its wounds healed completely in an instant.

Seeing this, Ash and Gary were wide-eyed.

How could they continue fighting?

Seeing Abomasnow stand up again, Snorlax used Giga Impact once more.

While Abomasnow's massive size gave it great attack power and recovery ability, it sacrificed speed. Hence, it couldn't avoid any Pokémon's attacks due to its size and speed limitations.

Abomasnow was knocked back again but healed almost instantly.

Although Snorlax's attack power, boosted by Belly Drum, surpassed Abomasnow's, the saying "a single burst of energy is followed by exhaustion" proved true. After two Giga Impacts, Snorlax's stamina was exhausted.

In this situation, Ash and Gary were doomed to lose.

However, Yuga chose not to continue the attack with Abomasnow and Decidueye but instead decided to end the battle.

Looking at the badge Yuga handed over, Ash asked in confusion, "Didn't I lose the match?"

Yuga shook his head and said, "My Abomasnow is special, as you saw. It has the ability to heal wounds instantly. Without this ability, it would have already been down. Decidueye alone couldn't win against the combined forces of Snorlax and Blastoise."

Ash didn't take the badge from Yuga's hand but instead murmured, "That still counts as a loss."

Yuga continued, "Our match has long exceeded the level of an ordinary Gym battle. This badge is truly earned."

At this moment, Gary nudged Ash with his elbow and gave him a look, and Ash finally accepted the badge.

When Gary saw Yuga hand him a badge as well, he asked in surprise, "I get one too?"

Yuga smiled and said, "It's rare to have a gym battle, so let's keep it as a memento."

Gary nodded and accepted the badge with a sense of compliance.

When May and the others woke up, Yuga's match had already ended. A disappointed Max complained about Ash not waking him up in time for the exciting battle he missed.

On that morning, Yuga flew to the Kalos region, leaving the Gym matters entirely to Brandon.

The Research team still needed to stay at the Gym for a while longer and required Brandon's supervision, but since Ash and his group were about to continue their journey, there was no need to worry too much.

For this trip to Kalos, Yuga brought along both Eternal Floette and Aegislash. He had previously promised to find Aegislash's former owner's tomb, but hadn't had the chance to do so. This time, he hoped to find it in Kalos.

Yuga's friend who had previously sold Aegislash to Okamoto had already contacted Yuga through Okamoto, and provided clues about Aegislash's tomb. Yuga hoped this trip would be fruitful.

Although Aegislash had not fully recovered to its prime, it was now at the level of a typical Master-class Pokémon, making it an excellent bodyguard for Yuga's trip to Kalos.

The main purpose of Yuga's trip to Kalos was to assist in the secret investigation of Lysandre and, if possible, to capture AZ.

The Hoenn Alliance had already coordinated with the Kalos Alliance, which agreed to fully cooperate with Yuga's mission.

Since it was a secret investigation, the Hoenn Alliance had provided Yuga with a pretext: he was visiting the Kalos Grass-type Gym for exchange purposes.

Given Yuga's current status as a Hall of Fame trainer, appearing in Kalos without a proper reason could easily raise suspicions.

Therefore, Yuga's first destination was the city of Coumarine, where he would visit the Gym Leader, Mr. Ramos.

Two days later, Yuga arrived at Coumarine City Airport as scheduled. As soon as he exited the airport, he saw Mr. Ramos waiting outside.

Mr. Ramos, who had come riding on a Gogoat, was easily spotted by Yuga. He also quickly noticed Yuga.

"So, you're the Gym Leader Shimizu, quite young indeed," Mr. Ramos said with a smile as he approached Yuga on his Gogoat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry for the trouble," Yuga greeted Mr. Ramos politely.

"Let's head to the Gym together. Would you like to ride on my Gogoat?" Mr. Ramos offered, indicating a smaller Gogoat behind him.

"Then I'll gratefully accept," Yuga replied.

At Mr. Ramos's gesture, the smaller Gogoat lay down to let Yuga mount.

Thus, the two rode slowly towards the Coumarine Gym.

Coumarine City is known for its abundance of Grass-type Pokémon, with extensive greenery throughout the city and many people walking around with Grass-type Pokémon, much like Venderturf Town.

However, unlike Verdanturf Town, Coumarine City is neither a tourist destination nor an agricultural city, which is a significant difference.

As they traveled, Mr. Ramos complained, "The League doesn't consider my age; I'm still tasked with managing these things."

Yuga smiled and replied, "You're just taking on more responsibilities because of your skills."

The two chatted as they slowly left the city.

Yuga soon learned that the Coumarine Gym was not located within the city but on a mountain outside. The large tree he had seen from afar was actually the site of the Gym.

Coumarine City was situated at the base of Mount Coumarine, with the Gym perched atop the mountain.

Although Mount Coumarine was not steep or high, Yuga felt it was more like a gentle slope as he rode Gogoat along the grassy path.

As they continued, Yuga and Mr. Ramos entered a large pasture, with numerous Gogoats and Skiddos grazing leisurely. Sunflora basked in the sun, and other Grass-type Pokémon like Oddish, Cottonee, Gloom, and Exeggutor were also present.

"What a large pasture!" Yuga exclaimed. The only pasture he had seen to rival it was Grandpa Howard's Miltank Ranch.

However, the Pokémon raised at the two pastures were different. Grandpa Howard's ranch specialized in Miltanks, while this pasture, although primarily raising Gogoats and Skiddos, it also housed many other Grass-type Pokémon.

Hearing Yuga's praise, Ramos proudly said, "What do you think? My pasture is quite nice, isn't it? It took me a lot of effort to manage it."

Yuga was surprised and asked, "This pasture belongs to you, Mr. Ramos?"

"Of course," Ramos said, pointing to the vast grasslands around them. "Over there, there, and over there—all mine."

Looking around at the expanse, Yuga could only marvel at how wealthy Gym Leaders were—Mr. Ramos and Grandpa Howard both.

Of course, Grandpa Howard no longer served as a Gym Leader and had entrusted the Miltank Ranch to Whitney while focusing on the ranch himself.

Seeing the groups of Gogoats, Yuga thought it would be great to introduce a batch to the Ecological Park, and perhaps another batch to Verdanturf Town.

However, he worried that Verdanturf Town's climate might not be suitable for large-scale breeding of Gogoats and Skiddos, given the differences in climate between Coumarine City and Venderturf Town.

Yuga felt that he was becoming more accustomed to his role as a Grass-type Gym Leader, always looking for ways to benefit Verdanturf Town.

The Coumarine Gym was quite far from the city center, with a long path extending from the base to the summit. Yuga followed Mr. Ramos and rode for quite a while before reaching their destination.

Upon arrival, Yuga found that the Coumarine Gym was built on a gigantic ancient tree, which was much larger than he had initially imagined.

While it wasn't as large as the Nimora Chesto Berry tree in Fortree City, it was still impressive.

At the Gym, Yuga took a brief tour with Mr. Ramos. The Gym's rooms, battle arenas, flower gardens, and vegetable patches were all built within the ancient tree, creating a natural ambiance.

Eternal Floette, who had been quiet by Yuga's side, became lively upon arrival, seemingly enjoying the environment, and quickly disappeared into the flowers. Yuga knew it would behave responsibly and didn't restrict its movements.

Compared to the natural Coumarine Gym, Yuga suddenly felt that his own Venderturf Gym was not as much like a Grass-type Gym.

Seeing Eternal Floette vanish into the flowers, Mr. Ramos asked in amazement, "Is that the legendary Eternal Floette?"

Yuga nodded and replied, "Yes, it is."

Mr. Ramos smiled, "I never expected to see it. It seems that living long isn't always a bad thing; at least, you get to see things others don't."

Yuga thought, "I get it—living long means seeing more."

After the praise, Mr. Ramos added, "Let's go inside and talk."

Yuga nodded and followed Mr. Ramos into a study, where a young Gym apprentice served them tea.

Ramos picked up his tea cup, gave it a gentle blow, and asked Yuga, "Do you have any plans for this mission?"

Yuga didn't immediately answer but instead asked Mr. Ramos, "What arrangements does the Kalos League have?"

Ramos replied seriously, "Although the Kalos League has agreed to investigate Lysandre, there isn't concrete evidence yet, so many people are opposed. You know Lysandre's status; his social connections are complex, involving many interests. Any action against him will affect many people's interests, so even the League must be cautious."

Yuga sighed, "I understand."

Because he understood, he complied with the League's instructions to come to Kalos. Otherwise, he would generally leave such complex matters to the League, as he preferred not to involve himself in overly complicated issues.

"I'm ready to cooperate at any time. If you have plans, let me know," Ramos said, noticing Yuga's serious expression.

"I will, thank you, Mr. Ramos! But before that, I need to meet someone. I'll discuss the details after that."

(End of Chapter)