Live Broadcast Battle!

After grabbing a few snacks from the grocery store, Galen returned home an hour later. Gwen usually buys ingredients to make food or microwavable foods only.

Once Galen was home, he saw that the television had already been set up. It was set up in the living room, so you'd it see once you walked through the front door. 

Both Gwen and Gavin were already watching a show on from it.

"Galen, come watch. This is a live battle in Pewter City." Gavin signaled Galen over hurriedly. 

Galen locked the door and moved toward the couch to sit and watch. Rattata was sitting on Gavin's lap and watching the show.

"Right now, they're interviewing some guy who lost to Brock four times already. Oh, wait, this will be his fifth time losing." Gwen's tone was strange. She wondered if she could beat these gym leaders, but was going to try anyway.

-News Broadcast

[What do you think it is? This will be your fifth time losing to Brock, how does that make you feel?] The interviewer asked bluntly.

[I don't know what to say, besides me needing to train harder. These gym leaders don't use the same Pokemon when they battle.]

[Jason, was it?]

[Yes.]

[Jason, I see a bunch of trainers specifically bringing grass and water Pokemon to combat Brock. Despite all of this, they still end up in a miserable state, why is that?]

[Honestly, I'm the last person you should be asking. I've caught and used water, grass, and ground types, but nothing seemed to work. If you don't have a strategy, then the battle with him is hopeless.]

The youth Jason, who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen sighed helplessly. He went on about how Brock uses [Rock Tomb] to slow the target, which made things troublesome.

Brock would always use either Omanyte or Kabuto.

From what Galen could understand, Brock had no issues using the old swift swim rain dance strategy. He would sometimes use a Sandstorm strategy to win, but this was rare.

'How troublesome.' Galen frowned.

This was different from the Brock he knew of; things were going to be a bit difficult it seemed. 

Afterward, the scene changed to a battle in the gym—where a trainer challenged Brock. 

[This is a live battle and it seems to be a higher-tier one. This trainer has already collected two gym badges.]

It was a battle of 3v3!

Gyms had measurement devices where the challenger would place his or her Pokémon. This device would measure their aptitude and tier for a fair and equal battle.

This was set up to test a trainer's battling skills, without either party having an overwhelming advantage. Unfortunately for trainers, these rules didn't apply when someone challenged the Elite Four.

The trainer led with a Sandslash, while Brock led with a Rhyhorn. Sandslash was ordered to charge at Rhyhorn and use Gyroball. Right then, Brock ordered Rhyhorn to use Rock Tomb to slow it down.

Multiple rocks slammed into Sandslash, nearly stopping it in its tracks. Sandslash kept rushing at Rhyhorn, but it was visibly slower after its speed drop. 

What happened next shocked the crowd and left Galen and them speechless.

Brock actually ordered Rhyhorn to use Blizzard!

Many people stood up in shock! This Gym leader was too shameless to be teaching a physical attacker such a powerful special attack.

At that moment, a storm kicked up in the gym. Temperatures plummeted and surged as Sandslash was about to be attacked with the full force of Blizzard!

"D-Dodge it!"

But it was too late for all that, the trainer had slipped from his shock. Blizzard on a Rhyhorn was simply unheard of but Brock had done it! 

SLASH!

Sandslash was swept up in the icy storm, it screamed in terror as its body was turned into a frozen statue!

Sandslash was thoroughly defeated.

Galen shook his head, the challenger didn't even have a strategy. Instead, he just rushed Rhyhorn thinking he could overcome it with force.

The battle continued, and the next Pokemon he sent out was a Gloom. Rhyhorn patiently and carefully dodged Gloom's grass attacks, which were equivalent to a defeat sentence if it were hit. 

While utilizing Protect for moves it couldn't dodge in time. Brock finally found an opening and used Rock Tomb.

Gloom couldn't dodge on time, and with a flash of light, its speed stat was lowered. The challenger was getting frustrated during the battle.

Eventually, after some time, Gloom was defeated by Rhyhorn.

"How in the world do you choke something like that?" Galen was lost for words—this guy was clearly impatient. He was beginning to wonder how this guy even won two badges.

The challenger sent out a Poliwhirl next and was able to take down the Rhyhorn at long last. Brock smiled before recalling Rhyhorn and sending out an Omanyte.

"Do you guys see that Pokémon? This Pokémon is also a rare fossil type like the Old Amber Gavin received." 

"Wow, it really does look ancient and outdated but intimidating at the same time. It looks like it's ready to jump on your face and suck your brains out." Gwen quoted before chuckling at the last line she stated.

"What kinda imagination do you have?" Gavin shook his head with a smile and said. 

Galen secretly agreed, now that he looked at it closely. This Pokémon looked like a certain alien that latched onto people's faces. 

The battle continued and Galen noticed a held item around Omanyte's body. He couldn't make out what type of Item it was though.

Poliwhirl first used Body Slam and assaulted Omanyte. Despite being not very effective, the trainer was looking to get a paralysis. 

However, Omanyte had used Bind, so it suddenly latched on to Poliwhirl. Afterward, it proceeded to squeeze Poliwhirl with its tendrils. The challenger quickly ordered Poliwhirl to shake it off.

Unfortunately, what came next would end the battle. The challenger ordered his Poliwhirl to use Liquidation.

Brock didn't command Omanyte to dodge, instead, it seemed he wanted this to happen. Omanyte was slammed by a liquidation and blown back—as a water force dyed the battlefield.

Omanyte landed on its back and started struggling like a bug that couldn't get its footing.

While this was going on, its body lit up and flashed several times. This indicated that there was a stat change going on with Omanyte.

"Uh, oh! This battle might be over." Galen shook his head.

This Omanyte actually had its hidden ability, Weak Armor! Galen finally recognized the item attached to Omanyte's body as well. 

It was an Absorb Bulb!

This item would raise the special attack of a Pokémon if they were hit with a water-type move. The Absorb Bulb flew into Omanyte's mouth and was consumed by it.

Brock handed down the order almost immediately, and Omanyte reacted. With blinding speed, it appeared beside Poliwhirl and used Ancient power.

Poliwhirl was ordered to dodge, but Omanyte was just too fast. In a flash, Poilwhirl was pummeled and beaten before being defeated!

The crowd was once again in an uproar. Some were even questioning if this was a rock-type gym.

Galen was amazed at the real-life Pokémon battle and seeing them fight. 

"We need to watch things like this often and learn battle strategies for the future. There are plenty of tournaments and interviews with Master level trainers, who give tips."

Galen knew this was the only way to improve their understanding of battles. As of now, they weren't that informed about type weaknesses, either. 

"We were definitely going to do that. This is the only way to improve, and that's by observing a taking notes." Gavin agreed wholeheartedly. He seemed fired up to learn anyway, as he was drawn into the gym battle. 

Gwen nodded and agreed as well. The duo turned the channel and found a tournament battle taking place, but it was a Great Cup tourney.

Galen left the living room and did what he needed to do by helping Magikarp. He also fed the other two Pokémon.

"Hmm, should I give Magikarp the Exp. Candies?" Galen thought about it and decided otherwise.

There was no rush to boost its level since Magikarp at any level had no combat power. He could only wait and see what would happen; perhaps he would land a better Pokémon later.

This didn't mean he was replacing Magikarp, though. 

"Here you go, I also want to feed you all of these to help your condition." Galen decided to give Magikarp all of the [Health Mochi] to boost its base health and condition. 

Magikarp gladly accepted them as Galen could tell it loved them from its eyes. Next, he sat down on a chair and evaluated the Water Gem.

The Water Gem wasn't a one-time use, it could be used multiple times. However, in battle, it could only be used once before going on cooldown.

This gem would power up one water-type attack before losing its use for two hours. In that time, it would need to recharge itself before being used again. 

Galen nodded and put the gem away before going back into the house. 

The day went by fairly quickly, and all Galen and his siblings did was watch tournaments and eat snacks. Most of the tournaments were reruns, but they were still valuable for knowledge.

The next day rolled around and the first thing Galen did was head toward the docks. 

'Sign into the South Sea!' He thought. Galen rubbed his hands together in hopes of getting something amazing.

[Ding! Signing in the South Sea!]

[Congratulations, Host, you've received One Damp Rock!]

[Congratulations, Host, you've received One Waterstone!]

[Congratulations, Host, you've received Three Big Pearls!]

[Congratulations, Host, you've received Ten Shellder Candies!]

[Congratulations, Host, you've received One Low-Grade Egg Incubator!] 

[Congratulations, Host, you've received (Exclusive Pokéblock Guide Volume One)!]

The rewards were quite good and made a lot of sense to Galen. It had been raining a lot in this area, so a Damp Rock made sense.

"Shellder Candies?" Was this because he had Shellder or was it because this was the sea? 

Galen wished it was some Magikarp candies, but still, Shellder candies were valuable. These were special tailor-made supplements for a specific Pokémon.

"These candies aren't sold in stores. This was yet another item controlled by the Pokémon Alliance." These candies could boost the aptitude of the specific Pokémon in question. 

Chefs and Pharmacists were paid hefty amounts of money to make these tailor-made candies. Some candy recipes for certain Pokémon had been lost over the ages. Most of the lost recipes were for Legendary and Pseudo Legendary Pokémon.

Exclusive Pokémon candies strengthen every stat, which was the Individual values. This was because these candies were 'exclusive' for the 'individual Pokémon'.

"I guess it's Shellder's fortunate day, it isn't a bad Pokémon." Honestly, it wasn't a good Pokémon until it evolved into a Cloyster, but it would do for now. 

Galen had the funds, so perhaps, allowing it to evolve early was the best course of action. This was mainly for the Pewter City Gym Leader later. 

At this moment, Galen glimpsed at his sign-in record, though he already knew the results.

-South Sea

-Sign Ins: 3 / 6

-Cooldown Time: 23h / 54m / 15s /

He had always made sure to sign in on time. Galen would come early and wait for the countdown to hit zero to sign in. This allowed for accurate time every day, like clocking into your job—so to speak. 

"Alright, let's head home and tend to the Pokémon." Galen nodded and turned to leave.

Right then, Galen saw two figures walking down the boardwalk. Instantly, he recognized the two individuals in question.

Red and Green!