Ilima

Not long after Wallace and Lusia left, Caroline and her daughter, May, returned to Verdanturf Gym. It was their first time exploring the town, and they had bought plenty of things. With the town prospering, the variety of goods and specialties had increased.

As for Max, he didn't go out shopping with his mother and sister. He preferred staying in the new Ecopark, playing with the Pokémon rather than touring around Verdanturf Town.

During lunch, keen-eyed individuals noticed that Max seemed a bit unhappy. Yuga, puzzled, asked, "What's wrong with Max? Did the Pokémon bully you while playing?"

Max replied in a subdued tone, "No."

May, with a slightly disdainful tone, said, "If nothing's wrong, why are you pouting? You can't even enjoy your food properly; that's serious for someone who loves eating."

Max did seem a bit unhappy. He retorted to his sister, "Mind your own business!"

May immediately complained to their mother, "Mom, look at Max. He's upset and taking it out on me."

Caroline gave Max a stern look and said, "Apologize to your sister!"

Defiantly, Max didn't speak. He ate a few more mouthfuls of food, then finally lifted his head and asked Yuga, "Yuga, who's stronger, you or my dad?"

Yuga's hand, with food on the chopsticks, paused in midair. He didn't know how to respond for a moment. "Uh... this... I don't really know, honestly."

He hadn't fought Mr. Norman before, and he had only seen Mr. Norman's battle stance in videos. Yuga truly didn't know who was stronger.

Of course, he didn't think he'd lose to Mr. Norman now.

"Max! That's quite rude!" Caroline was a bit angry.

Yuga quickly waved his hand to assure Aunt Caroline that everything was fine, and she swallowed back the scolding words.

"I think my dad is definitely a bit stronger." Max glanced at his mother and then, cautiously, at Yuga. Not sensing any anger from Yuga, he stammered, "Actually, my dad is just a little... bit stronger than Yuga."

He even extended his pinky finger and gestured towards Yuga, indicating it was just a tiny bit.

Yuga was at a loss: this kid is afraid of hurting my feelings.

"What happened? Who asked you this today?" Yuga put down his chopsticks, smiling as he inquired.

Max pouted but remained silent.

As it turns out, Max met a new friend, Ayagiri, at the gym today. Ayagiri was Ayashi's younger sister.

Among Anya and Akihito's four siblings, Ayashi was the oldest, followed by the twin brothers Anrin and Anmu. Little Ayagiri was the youngest, slightly older than six-year-old Max.

The Trainer School in Verdanturf Town was currently on summer vacation. Therefore, the four kids weren't attending school, but the three boys were mischievous and had run off to play early in the day. Only the quiet Ayagiri stayed at the gym.

Yesterday, Yuga didn't have a chance to introduce May and Max to the four kids at the gym. However, Ayagiri and Max got along quite well. Despite becoming good friends shortly after meeting, they disagreed when discussing the people they admired the most.

In Ayagiri's eyes, there was no one in the world more powerful than their gym leader. The gym leader was her lifelong idol, as described by the beautiful and handsome person from their gym.

But in Max's mind, his dad was the most powerful. He heard from the gym apprentices that his dad was the strongest gym trainer after the Elite Four. Since Yuga wasn't one of the Elite Four, Max was convinced that his dad must be stronger than Yuga.

The two kids argued about this matter, and their disagreement eventually led to an unhappy separation. Max was upset because he quarreled with his new friend.

Caroline didn't know the reason for the dispute, so she tried to explain to her son, "Max, your dad's strength and Yuga's strength are different. Your dad represents his generation's strength, while Yuga represents his generation's strength. You can't compare them directly. Just like in school, the best student in your sister's class may not be the best in yours."

Caroline didn't want to undermine Mr. Norman's image as a father in her son's mind, nor could she convincingly claim that her husband was definitely stronger than Yuga. Hence, she had to use a roundabout way to explain to her son.

Perhaps Caroline was used to spinning tales for her son. When she spoke these words, she did so calmly, without a racing heart or flushed face.

After thinking carefully, Max found his mother's words reasonable. He instantly brightened up, sweeping away his previous gloominess. "Mom's right. After finishing my meal, I should apologize to Ayagiri!"

And so, Caroline indirectly resolved the friendship crisis between the two kids.

After lunch, Beidou informed Yuga that a challenger had arrived to challenge the gym. Yuga agreed and went to the gym with Beidou.

During this period, Beidou had been handling the challengers at the gym, but Yuga was the true gym leader. He couldn't let Beidou keep handling all of them, especially now that the storm had passed. Yuga decided it was time to resume accepting challenges.

Upon seeing Yuga, the challenger politely bowed and greeted, "Hello, Gym Leader Shimizu. I'm Ilima. Please guide me today."

Yuga nodded and then said, "You don't seem to be from the Hoenn region."

Ilima smiled and admitted, "Indeed, I'm not. My hometown is in the Alola region, but I'm currently studying at the Trainer High School in the Kalos region."

Indeed, this Ilima was the one Yuga remembered! Yuga silently thought, but why did he say he's studying in the Kalos region? And how did he end up here in Hoenn?

Although Yuga had doubts, he didn't ask directly, and Ilima didn't provide further explanation.

In reality, Yuga was unaware that Ilima had come from the Trainer High School in the Kalos region to engage in an exchange program with the one in Rustboro City. However, as Rustboro City was currently in the process of reconstruction, the exchange between the schools had been put on hold, leading Ilima to temporarily stay in Hoenn.

Previously, Ilima had visited Verdanturf Town, but his visit was rejected by the Verdanturf Gym. That's why he left Verdanturf Town temporarily and challenged three other gyms in the Hoenn region. After earning badges from those three gyms, he returned for another challenge.

"Shall we begin the challenge?" Yuga nodded at Ilima to indicate they should start.

The challenger Ilima's battle against the Verdanturf Gym Leader Yuga officially began. The rules of the match were set as a 3-on-3 battle, allowing the challengers to switch their Pokémon freely. If all three Pokémon from either side were defeated, the match would end. Now, the first Pokémon was being sent out by the gym trainer.

After both parties took their positions on the battlefield, Beidou announced the rules of the match. Yuga then released his first Pokémon for the battle - Florges.

Florges wasn't a Grass-type Pokémon, but it had similar characteristics and abilities to one.

This Florges was not Yuga's main Pokémon; it had evolved from the Flabebe that had been given to him by Lysandre.

The Flabebe resided in the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark, but their reproduction was slow. Until now, their numbers hadn't increased much, and even the final evolution, Florges, only had about four or five.

Fortunately, being of the same species as Yuga's main Florges, these Pokémon were most affected and had impressive individual strength.

Seeing Yuga send out Florges, Ilima was somewhat surprised. He had investigated Yuga's records and knew that one of Yuga's commonly used Pokémon was Florges.

Could this be the one? But it doesn't look that powerful!

However, Ilima didn't dare to take it lightly. He chose his first Pokémon to enter the field, a Normal-type Furfrou.

This wasn't the first time Yuga had encountered Furfrou. Ilima's Furfrou was elegantly dressed, exuding a regal and proud La Reinely demeanor.

Although Furfrou liked to be beautifully trimmed, and coming in various styles, the classic variant was limited to nine form: Heart Trim, Diamond Trim, Star Trim, Debutante Trim, Matron Trim, Dandy Trim, La Reine Trim, Kabuki Trim, and Pharaoh Trim.

With Beidou's command of "Battle begin!" resonating, both sides' Pokémon immediately sprang into action.

Florges used a conservative move, employing the gym's signature Grass Terrain, which not only helped it recover health but also amplified the power of Grass-type moves.

On the other hand, Furfrou used Captivate.

Despite Ilima's Furfrou appearing in a La Reine Trim, it was just merely a disguise. In reality, this was a male Furfrou dressed as a female.

The male Furfrou flirtatiously winked at Florges, displaying a myriad of affectionate moves, launching pink hearts that pelted Florges.

Florges tried to evade, but the numerous pink hearts blocked all its escape routes. Hit by the pink hearts, Florges fell under the sway of Captivate. Its Special Attack was reduced, and even its consciousness was influenced by the opponent.

Unfortunately, this Florges didn't inherit the move Camuflage. If it had, under the Grass Terrain, Camuflage would have changed its type from Fairy to Grass.

The effect of Florges Flower Veil ability is Grass-type Pokémon couldn't be affected by status conditions and its stats couldn't be lowered.

Although Camuflage was an unpopular move, it was still extremely useful at crucial moments.

After Florges succumbed to the Captivate, Furfrou immediately initiated a second attack. Using its tail, which shone with a metallic gleam, Furfrou dealt a hard blow to Florges.

Because the misunderstanding that Yuga's Florges was his main Pokémon, the Furfrou that was sent by Ilima was indeed powerful. Coupled with the Steel-type move, Iron Tail, which countered Florges's Fairy-type, Florges took a heavy hit, and it snapped out of the confusion.

Darn it, I got hit by a scumbag! One second, it seduce her, and the next second, it turned as cold as iron.

Florges wailed in pain, hurling gusts of petal storms with all her might.

Despite a significant decrease in her Special Attack power due to the Captivate, Petal Dance, an ultimate Grass-type move and strengthened by the Grass Terrain, its power cannot be underestimated.

The beautiful petals acted like razor-sharp blades, shredding Furfrou's queenly appearance into a mess, leaving Furfrou looking bedraggled, her blue and white fur scattered all around.

During this time, the Grass Terrain was slowly healing Florges. Without this, the blow from the Iron Tail would left Florges in bad a state.

As the first round of Petal Dance ended, the second round followed immediately. Furfrou's Fur Coat ability (reducing physical damage from opponents by half) did not affect the Special Attack-based Petal Dance.

Helpless, under Ilima's direction, Furfrou used Hyper Voice.

This Furfrou indeed had some skills. Although Hyper Voice wasn't as powerful as Petal Dance, the sonic waves it generated spread out in concentric circles from Furfrou's center, dispersing most of Florges's petals.

After using Captivate, Iron Tail, and Hyper Voice in quick succession, the fourth move Furfrou used was Last Resort.

Unlike other moves with side effects upon use, Last Resort required a prerequisite condition in a battle: using three different moves before you can use it.

Furfrou's momentum suddenly halted, and she turned into lightning, striking Florges. Unable to dodge, Florges was knocked to the ground.

The Grass Terrain's healing was relatively weak, and the previous damage from Iron Tail hadn't fully recovered. Now, with this further blow, Florges was incapacitated, losing its fighting ability.

Florges had good Special Defense but weak Physical Defense. Coupled with the fact that its level was lower than Furfrou's, it couldn't withstand the two attacks from Furfrou.

Considering Furfrou's strength, Yuga sent out his second Pokémon, Leafeon.

Leafeon had been a long-time resident in Yuga's Ecopark and was much stronger than Florges.

As Leafeon entered the field, the Grass Terrain left by Florges had just disappeared. Leafeon immediately used Sunny Day. Furfrou wanted to sneak attack while it was using Sunny Sky, But Leafeon speed was very fast, its evaded Furfrou's attempt to strike easyly.

When Furfrou attempted to strike Leafeon with Foul Play, it was a close-range move. As Furfrou was very close to Leafeon, the latter easily dodged the attack. Leafeon countered with Leaf Blade, a sharp yellow-green tail strike right to Furfrou's forehead.

This blow knocked Furfrou down, leaving its dazed with the stars in it eyes, unable to get up.

Leafeon didn't let the opportunity for another attack slip away. Raising its tail again, it aimed another blow at Furfrou's forehead.

However, Ilima reacted quickly, commanding Furfrou to use Cotton Guard.

Although Furfrou was a bit disoriented at the moment, it was highly sensitive to its trainer's voice. Subconsciously following its trainer's orders, soft, white cotton emerged from Furfrou, deflecting Leafeon's Leaf Blade without any effect.

Cotton Guard was a nemesis for physical, close combat moves.