Altaria vs Gallade's Battle of Fundamentals

If these four could take Terrance's words to heart, reflect on them, and truly grasp their meaning, not only collecting Badges, but even achieving excellent results at the Ever Grande Conference would become quite easy.

Unfortunately, most Trainers are not great at reflection and simply follow in the footsteps of those before them.

The quick defeat of Shuppet was within Terrance's expectations, unless Shuppet could, like Mismagius, completely conceal its energy, emit no fluctuations, and possess numerous undetectable illusion skills to disrupt opponents.

But while hiding its physical form is easy, concealing energy fluctuations is far more challenging. Mismagius's meticulous control over energy is closely tied to its illusion skills. This level of finesse was far beyond the challenger's Shuppet. Thus, while Gallade might encounter some difficulties against Mismagius, defeating Shuppet required almost no effort at all.

Terrance's words left the four people in both contemplation and confusion. Aida and Lucy Joy glanced at him with newfound respect, surprised that he would share such important insights with strangers.

Unless they are high-level professional Trainers, very few Trainers would delve into areas such as move concepts or type advantages.

"Thank you, I've gained a lot," the girl Trainer in short skirt was the first to respond.

Although she still didn't fully understand about Foresight and Miracle Eye, she immediately thought of a countermeasure for Ground-type Pokémon. "I can't remember where I read this, but Ground-type Pokémon could ignore Electric-type moves because their bodies channel the electricity into the ground in a special way. If we make a Ground-type Pokémon float, Electric-type moves should still have some effect… Is that what Gym Leader Terrance is hinting at? He mentioned there are two simple methods—what's the other one?" she wondered to herself.

Terrance watched the four with a smile. While their fundamentals were indeed poor, as long as they weren't so clueless as to be unaware of basic type matchups, there was still hope for them. At least, having basic knowledge sets them apart from Trainers who lacked it entirely.

"I'd like to ask a favor of you all," Terrance said.

"What is it?" The four were taken aback.

"Could you spread the word that Rogge Gym has switched Gym Trainers? Let more Trainers know," Terrance said with a smile.

The four exchanged glances. But after receiving Terrance's guidance just now, they felt they had no room to refuse…..

"Oh, by the way," Terrance added, "since I've only recently taken over this Gym, you might not know much about me yet. Could you please stay for another ten minutes to watch a practice battle?"

"The practice battle will be based on the original style of Rogge Gym. Gallade will battle one of my other Pokémon," Terrance said.

"No problem!" This request didn't even require hesitation. Watching a strong Trainer in action was something nearly every Trainer dreamed of.

Aida and Lucy Joy stood on the side, observing Terrance's actions, unsure of his intentions.

The group cleared the battle arena, leaving the space entirely to Terrance.

"Although Rogge Gym didn't specify it during every battle, its core philosophy revolves around Pokémon fundamentals. Anyone who cared enough should be able to find this information before challenging the Gym," Terrance said.

"Next, my two Pokémon will showcase a practice battle featuring two moves."

Terrance tossed out Altaria's Poké Ball and a combination of azure feathers and snowy-white wings appeared before everyone. This elegant and noble-looking Pokémon instantly captivated the four Trainers. Whether it was Altaria or Gallade, they were both highly valuable Pokémon.

Gallade locked eyes with Altaria, its fighting spirit ignited. Unfortunately, this battle was just a basic practice, and wouldn't allow them to fight to their hearts' content.

After giving a few instructions, Terrance strictly limited the moves the two Pokémon could use, then stepped off the arena. He left the space entirely to them, setting the stage for a silent, command-free battle where the Pokémon would showcase the fundamentals they had honed in their daily training.

With that, Terrance, Aida, Lucy Joy, and Kuraki, along with the four challengers, became spectators. At Terrance's signal to begin, Altaria made the first move, diving down from the sky. Forming a massive, bluish-purple energy claw, radiating with astonishing energy, Altaria swung it towards Gallade!

Meanwhile, Gallade's gaze was more serious than ever as it cleared its mind and smoothly raised its arm. A white light enveloped the blade at its elbow, reflecting dazzling flashes of light, as if they were the trajectory of light. It made an upward motion, and collided with Dragon Claw. A massive energy surge erupted instantly, leaving everyone momentarily stunned with a ringing in their ears.

"What immense power…" The four challengers' pupils shrank. They could tell that even the residual shockwaves from this clash could severely injure their own Pokémon.

However, this wasn't the most shocking thing for the four of them. What they couldn't accept the most was that, after such a high-intensity collision, Altaria was able to quickly condense another energy claw with its other paw and swung it out ruthlessly. Gallade responded in kind, swinging the blade on its left elbow with no awkwardness whatsoever. The two lights clashed again, and the consecutive explosions and the ultra-high-frequency clashes began to make the four challengers doubt the battles they had experienced before.

This was a battle between Dragon Claw and Slash.

Altaria, as if rolling through a sea of clouds, swooped down from the sky, exuding the pressure of a superior being. Its bluish-purple energy claws resembled a massive blunt weapon, giving the feeling of brimming with immense weight.

Gallade, like a proud swordsman, seemed to be holding swords in both hands, the blades shining brightly. Each Slash was clean and decisive, flowing naturally as if it were second nature. Gallade's battle awareness had reached the peak. As its body flashed, it dodged the Dragon Claw and counterattacked Altaria.

One step, two steps, three steps...

A Slash, its trajectory unpredictable, was instantly unleashed. Like an eel, it slithered through the gaps in the Dragon Claw. As the Slash landed, Altaria forcefully took the hit, and the dull thud against its body made all four challengers shudder simultaneously. They could tell that Gallade hadn't held back its power—this Slash was far more ruthless than what it had used in their own battles. Yet, even after being hit by this attack, Altaria forced itself to endure the pain, using the opportunity to strike back with another Dragon Claw.

Boom!

The space trembled, and everyone looked on as although Gallade managed to block the Dragon Claw, the force of the attack pushed it back to the edge of the arena. Yet the battle was far from over. Both Altaria and Gallade still radiated a powerful aura, pushing the battle between Dragon Claw and Slash to its peak.

Minutes passed, and the four challengers had already lost count of how many times the two Pokémon had used their moves...

Dozens of times, perhaps?

But that no longer mattered. With each clash of their moves, they could see different variations between Dragon Claw and Slash. The two Pokémon's left and right limbs exchanged blows, their attacks coming and going in a blur. The immense energy fluctuations from their clash couldn't be blocked. Each collision was like a mountain collapsing, the fast-paced battle leaving the four challengers nearly breathless.

This intense, fast-paced battle also plunged the four challengers into deep thought. How could they not feel the solid fundamentals of Gallade and Altaria after witnessing this battle?

Without such solid fundamentals, it would have been impossible for them to engage in such high-frequency exchanges for dozens of rounds. If it were their own Pokémon, even if they could block one attack, they would definitely not be able to keep up with the rapid arrival of the opponent's next move!

"Altaria has undergone a specific training regimen," Terrance suddenly said from beside the challengers. "Each day, it practiced swinging Dragon Claw thirty times with each limb. It kept this up for half a year before moving on to more advanced training."

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