Chapter 8: How Do I Beat This Gym?

"Cubone, charge in and use Bonemerang!"

Gary's usually confident and proud expression was now filled with seriousness. This gym battle was a 2-on-2, which meant that Cubone was his last hope.

He couldn't afford to lose here!

Rota Gym was known as one of the weakest gyms around!

He was Gary Oak, grandson of the renowned Professor Oak. How could he lose to a gym like this?

No way! Absolutely not! He had to win!

He had just been too careless earlier. If it weren't for the Toxic, his Wartortle would never have lost.

Now, he had to stay fully focused!

Cubone let out a low growl, gripping its bone tightly as it charged toward Mareanie.

But it wasn't just charging straight ahead. Instead, it kept zigzagging to confuse Mareanie's vision.

Hmm, although Dylan thought Cubone's speed made this tactic a bit unnecessary, it showed that Gary didn't just train his Pokémon mindlessly.

But unfortunately, it wasn't going to help much. This zigzagging only made it take longer for Cubone to reach Mareanie.

"Mareanie, use Toxic Spikes," Dylan ordered with a faint smile.

Mareanie raised its two tentacles, and deep purple Poison-type energy gathered between them, forming a round sphere.

"Cubone, stop it!"

Gary frowned slightly. Toxic Spikes?

Poison-type trainers were indeed rare, which meant that most people didn't really understand Poison-type Pokémon's techniques and strategies.

That's why, when Dylan received a Mareanie from his father, he immediately decided to make Poison-types the signature of his early gym battles.

According to the knowledge in Dylan's memory, there were only a handful of Poison-type specialists in the entire Pokémon series, including games, manga, and anime.

There was Koga, the Elite Four member (and later Gym Leader) from the first and second generations, followed by his successor Janine, Roxie from the fifth generation, Plumeria from Team Skull in the seventh generation, Klara from the eighth generation, and Atticus from Team Star in the ninth generation.

And that's it!

Among these Poison-type specialists, the only one who could truly be considered a master was Koga, as he was an Elite Four-level trainer. The others were just minor players.

Unless you count Agatha from the Elite Four, who was officially a Ghost-type specialist, but she had considerable knowledge of Poison-types as well.

So, it made sense that the general public knew very little about Poison-types. Since Poison wasn't a mainstream type, few people took the time to learn about it in depth.

As for Toxic Spikes, Gary had only seen it mentioned in move reference books. He vaguely remembered it being a move that controlled the battlefield by affecting the environment?

But regardless, stopping the opponent from using a move was always the right choice.

"Too late," Dylan chuckled softly.

Just as Cubone reached Mareanie, Mareanie lifted its tentacles and launched the purple sphere into the air.

The Poison-type move, Toxic Spikes!

Boom~

The sphere exploded like a firework, scattering a suspicious-looking purple fluid all over the battlefield.

As the Toxic Spikes settled into the battlefield, the ground seemed to emit an eerie purple glow for a moment before returning to normal, as if nothing had happened.

But was it really nothing?

Gary knew it couldn't be that simple. A sense of foreboding rose in his heart, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

The good news was that Cubone finally reached Mareanie.

"Cubone!"

Cubone let out a low growl, swinging its bone at Mareanie, striking it directly on the head.

The Ground-type move, Bonemerang.

Mareanie let out a sharp cry of pain as the Ground-type move dealt significant damage.

One hit, two hits, three hits.

Cubone swung its bone three times in quick succession, knocking Mareanie to the ground and leaving it severely weakened.

Seeing this, the cheerleaders in the audience screamed in excitement, cheering loudly for Gary.

"Don't let it get away! Use Stomp!"

Gary's expression lit up with joy, and he immediately had Cubone go in for the chase.

Cubone let out another low growl and stepped toward Mareanie, but just as it took that step—

A chilling, eerie purple light suddenly enveloped Cubone's entire body, and the intense pain from the poison caused Cubone to double over in agony.

The first wave of Toxic Spikes had activated!

"What?" Gary's eyes widened.

"Mareanie, use Pin Missile," Dylan ordered calmly, unsurprised.

Mareanie struggled to lift itself up, its tentacles glowing with white energy as it fired a barrage of Pin Missiles.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Pin Missiles struck the helpless, poisoned Cubone, and explosions echoed through the battlefield.

"Cubone!" Gary's expression changed, realizing he was in trouble!

The explosions from the Pin Missiles kicked up a thick cloud of dust, obscuring Cubone from view.

But Dylan wasn't concerned. Cubone had high physical defense, and Pin Missile wasn't a move that countered Cubone, so the damage was limited.

Still, no need to rush. They could take their time.

"Mareanie, use Recover."

Mareanie stood up, its body glowing with a bright white light once again.

With Recover, the injuries from Bonemerang quickly faded from Mareanie's body.

In no time, Mareanie had regained its normal condition.

"…"

Gary watched in frustration as Mareanie recovered, his face darkening.

As the dust settled, Cubone's figure reappeared. Despite the damage from the Toxic Spikes and Pin Missile, Cubone's stamina was still decent.

"Cubone, are you okay?"

But Gary was still worried, as the way Cubone had reacted to the Toxic Spikes looked too much like it had been poisoned.

But now, it didn't seem to be poisoned?

Cubone responded with a low growl, indicating it wasn't seriously hurt.

"Good! This time, we'll finish it off in one go!"

Gary was relieved. As long as Cubone wasn't poisoned, they still had a chance to win!

"Cubone! Use Bonemerang!"

Cubone gripped its bone tightly, charging toward Mareanie with renewed determination.

Mareanie tilted its head slightly, standing still as it watched Cubone approach.

What's this? It's not even trying to dodge?

Gary hesitated.

"Mr. Gary, don't you understand Toxic Spikes?" Dylan couldn't help but speak up, his tone gentle.

"?"

"Toxic Spikes doesn't just activate once; it keeps triggering unless you remove it."

Dylan explained to Gary.

"!!" Gary's eyes widened in shock.

And just then, as Cubone's right foot hit the ground near Mareanie, that familiar, eerie purple light once again enveloped its entire body, and the intense pain from the Toxic Spikes struck again.

Cubone froze in its tracks, letting out a pained cry.

With Cubone paralyzed by the Toxic Spikes, it was left defenseless right in front of Mareanie.

"Are you kidding me!" Gary's mind was buzzing, his composure finally cracking.

How am I supposed to beat this gym?!

(Chapter End)