Chapter 7: This Guy is So Disgusting

"Recover."

Mareanie chirped softly as a gentle white light began to envelop its body.

The Normal-type move Recover can restore a significant amount of the user's stamina.

"You...!"

Gary couldn't hold back any longer, glaring at Dylan. This guy was really outrageous!

First, he poisoned Wartortle, and now he's using Recover? Who taught him to battle like this?

"Mr. Gary, is something wrong?" Dylan feigned surprise as he looked at Gary.

"..."

Gary's face darkened, and he remained silent. As much as he felt disgusted, Dylan hadn't broken any battle rules.

Both Toxic and Recover were legitimate moves, and there was no rule against using them.

But it still grossed him out. Recover restored a large amount of stamina, which meant that Wartortle had to defeat Mareanie in a short time.

Otherwise...

Wartortle did have the Aqua Ringmove to gradually recover, but the poison from Toxic became more severe with each passing moment. The longer the battle dragged on, the more dangerous it became.

In the later stages, a single hit from the poison could severely injure Wartortle, or even knock it out at full health.

But what should he do now? Gary's face grew darker and darker. Even with his usually proud intellect, he couldn't think of a way out of this situation.

The atmosphere suddenly became eerily quiet.

The previously lively cheerleaders in the audience also fell silent, each one more quiet than the last.

They weren't completely clueless about battles, and they could tell that Gary was in a bad mood.

"Mr. Gary, aren't you going to command Wartortle? The first round of Toxic has already passed."

Dylan kindly reminded Gary, his tone still gentle.

Look at you, sweating all over. "..." Gary gritted his teeth. This guy!

"Wartortle, use Bite!"

Switch out Wartortle? No way! Gary refused to believe that his beloved Wartortle could lose to this ugly Mareanie.

Wartortle, reenergized, lunged at Mareanie, who had just finished using Recover.

"So many openings."

Seeing Wartortle charging in, Dylan chuckled softly.

"Venoshock."

Mareanie raised its two tentacles, and a sinister purple glow appeared.

"Wait! Wartortle!"

Gary's expression changed drastically.

Venoshock was a Poison-type move that normally wasn't too powerful. However, if the opponent was poisoned, the move's power doubled! A massive amount of dark purple venom shot out like a water cannon. When Wartortle heard Gary's voice, it tried to halt its charge.

But Venoshock came too quickly; there was no time to dodge.

Boom! The Venoshock struck Wartortle directly, covering it in thick, sticky poison. Wartortle cried out in pain as it was thrown to the ground.

The venom slowly dripped from Wartortle's body, remnants of the Venoshock attack.

The doubled power of Venoshock dealt significant damage to Wartortle.

Gary ground his teeth. The situation was now completely against him. A poisoned Wartortle was no match for Mareanie.

No matter how unwilling he was, there was no changing this outcome.

"Another Venoshock."

Dylan calmly ordered.

Mareanie raised its tentacles again, and that eerie dark purple energy reappeared.

"Wartortle, dodge and use Aqua Ring." Gary tried to make one last effort.

"Challenger, you're a bit naive."

"?"

Gary didn't understand.

Dylan shook his head. The newly debuted Gary was not only arrogant but also immature, far less composed than the more experienced Gary in the future.

Venoshock surged toward Wartortle. Normally, Mareanie's straightforward attack would be easy for Wartortle to dodge.

But the situation was far from normal now.

As soon as Wartortle tried to move, its body suddenly flashed with a dark purple light. The poison marks appeared all over its body again.

The second wave of Toxic had arrived!

"Wartortle!"

Gary's expression changed drastically.

Due to the sudden surge of poison, Wartortle's movements froze, and it winced in pain as the poison wreaked havoc inside its body.

Boom! Venoshock hit Wartortle squarely. The pain from both inside and outside overwhelmed Wartortle, and it was sent flying by the powerful attack, crashing hard onto the ground.

The terrifying poisonous light continued to flicker on Wartortle's body.

When the second wave of poison finally subsided, Wartortle had already fainted.

"Wartortle is unable to battle. Mareanie wins."

The referee stepped forward, examined Wartortle, and then raised the small flag.

"Yay!!"

The receptionist girl jumped up excitedly. The gym leader won! This was the first time since she started working here that she saw the gym leader defeat a challenger's Pokémon... or at least one Pokémon!

In stark contrast to the receptionist's excitement, the cheerleaders in the audience looked deflated, like wilted eggplants.

"..."

Gary, his face grim, recalled Wartortle. He actually lost...

"Looks like I underestimated you. But I'm going to get serious now!"

Gary took a deep breath to steady his emotions, then spoke seriously to Dylan.

"I'm looking forward to it," Dylan replied with a smile, making a gesture for Gary to send out his next Pokémon.

"I have to watch out for that Toxic. Damn it, I didn't bring any Poison-type Pokémon with me. Water, Poison..."

Gary thought for a moment, then took out another Poké Ball. He brought it to his lips and gently kissed it. He then seemed to think that wasn't enough, so he kissed it again.

Seeing this, Dylan's mouth twitched slightly. This guy was too much.

"Go!"

Gary threw the Poké Ball with a serious expression.

I have to win! A flash of white light revealed a Pokémon wearing a skull helmet standing before Gary.

It stood on two legs, gripping a bone club in its right hand, with a white skull 'mask' on its head. It was Cubone.

'Beep~ Cubone, Ground-type, Lonely Pokémon

Ability: Rock Head Moves: Bonemerang, Stomp, Toss, Revenge, Headbutt, Tail Whip, False Swipe, Double-Edge (Egg Move)

Description: It wears the skull of its deceased mother on its head. Its cries echo within the skull, creating a sorrowful melody.'

A Ground-type Cubone, but isn't this a disadvantage against Mareanie?

The receptionist girl tilted her head in confusion. Water beats Ground, though Ground also beats Poison.

"Quite confident, aren't you?"

Dylan raised an eyebrow when he saw Cubone. Gary clearly intended to sweep with Cubone and turn the battle around.

But what a shame.

Dylan glanced at the stern-faced Gary, his eyes filled with amusement.

This young master is about to get a good taste of poison.

(Chapter End)