was this mentioned in the weather forecast?

[Two trainers, only one winner, Let's get reaaaaaadyyyy to ruuuuuuuumble!!!]

The referee once again made his appearance. Holding the red and blue flags, he stood at the edge of the battlefield and raised his arms, pointing the coloured banners towards the two trainers.

"The battle will be a three-on-three; both trainers are allowed to switch between party members, and the winner will be decided when all three pokemon of either trainer are unable to battle!

Ready?" he asked, looking at the frail man.

"Yes," the soft whisper seemed to drain him of a lot of energy. Many began to speculate if he had escaped the hospital just to attend.

But the referee paid him no extra mind, instead looking towards Garry, "Ready?"

The latter nodded confidently, "as ready as I'll ever be!" he replied.

"Then let the match—BEGIN!"

Whoosh, the flags flapped furiously as they descended, signalling the beginning of yet another match.

Garry Smirked and pulled out a pokeball, "let's start off strong," he said loudly before throwing the red and white ball into the air.

BOOM!

A small bubble of light exploded, and a 2-meter-tall Blastoise came down with a hard stomp. Its shell reflected the light shining on it, giving it a metal-like hue. Two cannon's stuck out from either side of its shoulders twenty centimetres in diameter.

Blastoise looked at the frail old man with a grin and waited for its opponent with excitement.

The man only coughed twice as his face paled further before shakily pulling out a Pokeball of his own. With a gentle throw, almost as if the ball had simply slipped out of his hand, it landed on the ground.

With a pop, a Toxicroak came out and swayed slightly as if about to be carried away by the wind.

Croak! Croaaaak!

A muffled croaking echoed out from the hunched purple bipedal frog. The sack below its chin bulged slightly as the liquid within began to churn vigorously. The claws extending from the top of its hands turned a crimson red, a fatal edge refracting the incoming light.

Garry stared at those claws with some wariness. He instinctively felt he should stay as far away as possible from those things. He remembered reading the Pokedex entry for that pokemon.

(The toxin made in its poison sacs is pumped to the knuckle claws through tubes down its arms. Said toxin is so vile that even a scratch could prove fatal.)

"What a nasty pokemon," he mumbled before staring at Blastoise, 'heh! Luckily, Blastoise's shell is able to block its attacks entirely."

The pale-faced man thought the same, yet he was nonetheless confident in his choice. He stared directly at the uncovered areas, such as arms, legs and head, with intense focus.

[And there we have it, Blastoise versus Toxicroak, an interesting matchup. Toxicroak has the undisputed advantage in speed and flexibility, with its lethal attacks that could end the fight in an instant. Comparatively, Blastoise has impressive defence and long-range attacks that can punch holes through solid steel using those cannons. I wonder who will be the victor?] as he finished, he turned towards Elesa, who was looking at the battlefield pensively.

Noticing her co-host's gaze, she nodded gently, {I agree with your analysis, but we must not forget, Blastoise is also a powerful physical attacker. Skull bash is a very dangerous move when executed properly.}

James agreed with a hum, [predictions? I would say Blastoise has the advantage due to its defensive capabilities. landing a clean hit would be hard for Toxicroak.] James said with a confident smile.

Yet that was wiped the moment he heard Elesa's response, {I would have to give this to Toxicroak, it's speed and flexibility are too high, it would only need to touch Blastoise once, and it would be over.} her words astounded the audience. The way they looked at the pale-faced man changed dramatically.

Naturally, the contestants couldn't hear their words as the barrier had already been erected. But both understood their advantages and disadvantages respectively.

"Toxicroak use smog-cough-cough"

Croak! Pshhhhh

The sac underneath Toxicroak's head budged momentarily before compressing quickly as it opened its mouth. A foul black-coloured gas instantly seeped out in large puffs, quickly spreading out. everywhere the gas passed, the grass would wilt and corrode before dissolving into the earth beneath.

Garry watched the cloud of deadly gas approach with a calm expression. This wasn't his first time dealing with poison types. He had suffered at their hands and learned to deal with them appropriately.

"Blastoise use rain dance!"

BLAST!

With a roar from the massive turtle, clouds began to churn above the battlefield, dark grey and rumbling with thunder. Large drops of water began to fall soon after, descending on the looming mass of black death below.

the audience gasped in shock at what they were seeing. The rain had actually managed to 'erase' the cloud of toxic gas entirely. James was confused as he tried to commentate and ended up looking towards Elesa for help.

{For those who are confused, as a raindrop falls through the atmosphere, it can attract tens to hundreds of tiny aerosol particles to its surface before hitting the ground. The process by which droplets and aerosols attract is called coagulation, a natural phenomenon that can act to clear the air of pollutants like soot, sulfates, and toxic gases. That is why we often have dozens of Pokémon use rain dance several days a week in major cities} Elesa's words managed to enlighten the audience as they cast their eyes upon the young boy with a grin on his face.

"Blastoise, use ice beam on the ground!"

BLAST- OISE!

With a roar, it retracted into its shell and began to spin in place. Large beams of ice shot out from its cannons as it spun, covering the entire field in ice within seconds.

Yet its actions confused the crowd, forcing them to look towards the commentator stand for an explanation.

[I think I understand, although the rain seemingly eliminated the toxic gas, it actually only trapped it within the water, so although we can't see it, the earth has been polluted. If a Pokémon were to stand on it, they would be severely poisoned. By freezing the ground, it eliminates the threat entirely.]

Whoosh, the crowd burst into applause for Garry, cheers and yells of impressed observes being thrown down towards the barrier.

Although they couldn't hear the commentators, the contestants could still hear the muffled cheers of the audience. Garry looked around him with a puzzled expression which only added to his cute charm in the eyes of the audience.

In truth, Garry didn't think he didn't anything special. He only devised this strategy after suffering several losses at the hands of Koga. If he had to say which gym leader gave him the most trouble, it would have been him, with Erika being a close second.