Misty the mermaid (3)

After a closely matched battle, the victory ultimately went to Leaf (sorry, I was too lazy to write about their battle).

Misty recalled her Pokémon and approached Leaf.

"You've defeated me, you definitely deserve this badge!"

Misty took the Water Badge out of a box and handed it to Leaf.

Leaf, delighted, struck a pose while raising the badge.

"Bulbasaur! We got our second badge!"

Bulbasaur!

"Such excitement, next time it's my turn to battle!"

"No, it's mine!"

"It's mine!!"

"No, no, you're all trash. I'll be the one to battle!"

"Shut up 6arakin"

"No, you shut up LTG"

The players started fighting over who got to battle next, cursing at each other.

"Hmph! What a bunch of children," Blue mocked.

"..." Red looked at Blue with a speechless expression, aren't we all children though?

"Alright, I'm going to battle. Just wait for my result, Red!" Blue smiled at Red and walked toward the battlefield.

Misty eyed Blue, whose arrogance seemed to double that of the other players.

Though she didn't know his exact skill level, she could tell he was a formidable rookie.

But is he stronger than Red? Now I'm curious.

"Hey, let's just get to the match already, no need for all this useless talk," Blue smiled as he threw a Poké Ball.

Wartortle!

"What? He's sending out his ace Pokémon right from the start?" Brock and Leaf were surprised, unsure of what Blue was planning.

Misty's expression darkened as she glared at Blue.

Does he really believe he can sweep my entire team with just that Wartortle?

He's really underestimating me, huh? Alright then, I'll show him...

What it means to be a Gym Leader!

"Go, Horsea!"

A small seahorse with blue skin and red eyes appeared, looking very cute.

No one would believe that this little one will eventually evolve into a Dragon-type...

"Rapid Spin!"

Blue commanded, and Wartortle spun at high speed, diving into the water and turning the surface into a whirlpool.

"Horsea, get underwater!"

Horsea swam down, carefully watching Wartortle's every move.

"Keep using Rapid Spin!"

Wartortle continued spinning, making the whirlpool even stronger.

Seeing this, Misty felt uneasy and quickly decided to use a Dragon-type move.

"Horsea, use Twister!"

Horsea created a tornado, causing the water to spiral upward with it.

This time, Blue smiled.

"Return, Wartortle!"

???

What's going on?!

Everyone was shocked when they heard Blue's command, and then Blue threw out another Poké Ball, summoning Elekid.

"Thunder Shock!!" Blue quickly ordered, and Elekid fired an electric shock at Horsea.

Critical hit!

Horsea has fainted.

"..." Everyone fell silent, and Misty's face went from confusion to bright red.

That jerk is too crafty!

He's both arrogant and cunning, also genius!!!

She had originally thought he was overconfident, daring to send out his ace Pokémon right at the start.

Turns out, he tricked her, using his personality just to make her believe he was overly confident and would use just one Pokémon!

"This strategy was totally unexpected, that bully is really smart!"

"I thought he was only good at talking, but turns out he's also clever! I need to take notes!"

The players all looked at Blue in admiration, forgetting just how much he had belittled them earlier.

"What's the matter? Are you angry? If so, that just proves I'm stronger~" Blue taunted, provoking Misty.

Blue's trash talk was on another level, almost making Misty lose her composure, ready to settle things with her fists.

'Calm down, Misty, it's not worth it...'

Breathe in and breathe out, Misty took out another Poké Ball.

"Just wait, I'll show you!"

Misty summoned a Pokémon that shocked everyone.

"You're really that mad, aren't you? Not even giving me a chance to win?!" Blue looked at the Pokémon in front of him, sweating.

It was Lapras!

"Shut up! If I can't beat you, I don't deserve to have Lapras!"

Hearing this, Lapras looked worriedly at Misty, which calmed her down.

"Oh no! I won't abandon you, don't be sad like that."

"You're being careless! Thunder Shock!" Blue immediately ordered Elekid to attack while Lapras and Misty were off guard.

The attack hit Lapras but didn't do much damage (I won't say that Misty's Lapras is at level 40).

"Damn you! You're fighting dirty!!" Misty stomped in frustration and commanded Lapras.

"ICE BEAM!"

A blue energy ball formed in Lapras' mouth, and cold air spread throughout the gym.

"Is it getting too cold?" Lukas shivered, looking at the other players.

"Oceanlover's frozen solid!!" Birdup screamed, pointing at Oceanlover, who was stiff as a board with a runny nose.

"What is she doing?!" Brock stood up, worriedly watching the match.

"What's wrong, Brock?" Leaf asked, confused by Brock's tension.

"She should be using Pokémon at the same level or weaker than the trainer to give them a chance to win, not bring out an overpowered Pokémon and destroy them! That's against the rules!"

Lapras gathered all its energy, opened its eyes, and fired a powerful Ice Beam at Elekid.

"What?! Kamehameha?!" The players watched the Ice Beam, comparing it to a Dragon Ball move.

As the Ice Beam approached Elekid, Blue gave a command just in time.

A strong blast covered the battlefield, freezing the water and spreading across the floor, with Lukas unlucky enough to become a frozen statue of art.

When the icy smoke cleared, everyone, especially Misty, was shocked.

In front of her wasn't Elekid, but a stuffed doll!

"Substitute?!" Brock excitedly recognized the Substitute, which then disappeared, revealing Elekid.

This move is considered very useful, sacrificing part of the Pokémon's health to create a substitute that is immune to all effects except weather, and it's great for protecting against one-hit KOs.

Blue sighed in relief and then commanded Elekid.

"Thunder Punch!"

Elekid leaped up, its fist crackling with lightning, and struck Lapras in the face.

Critical hit!

This Thunder Punch had a 10% chance to paralyze, and Lapras was hit with that 10%!

'Two critical hits... could that Elekid be equipped with a Scope Lens?' (Scope Lens is an item that increases critical hit rate.)

I hate rich kids!

"Lapras, use Life Dew!"

Although Misty gave the command, Lapras was paralyzed and couldn't act.

"Weakling! Thunder Punch!" Blue ordered, and Elekid continued its assault.

Critical hit!

Alright, you're hitting criticals like it's a game, is that Thunder Punch or Black Flash?

Lapras, despite having tons of HP and stats over 500, was still getting beaten up by this Elekid...

Though injured, Lapras endured and stared down Elekid.

"Can you still fight?" Misty asked worriedly, and Lapras nodded.

Even though she had a strong Pokémon, Misty didn't have much experience, partly because she was still young and partly because this was her parents' Pokémon, so she couldn't utilize Lapras' full strength.

But a Gym Leader is still a Gym Leader, they're strong for a reason.

"Water Pulse!"

Luckily, this time Lapras was able to move and fired a pulse of water at Elekid.

Elekid blocked it but got hit by Lapras's attack.

Suddenly, Elekid felt dizzy, and Blue noticed its confused expression, realizing that it was affected by the confusion status.

"Damn it! Thun—"

"Not a chance! Body Slam!"

Lapras slammed into Elekid, sending it flying into the wall with a hard impact.

Elekid has fainted!

The damage from a level 40 Pokémon is truly overwhelming...

Blue recalled Elekid and sent out Wartortle.

"Wartortle! It's time to show why 'War' is in your name!!"

Wartortle!

"Brick Break!"

Wartortle jumped up and slammed into Lapras.

Since Brick Break is a Fighting-type move and Lapras is part Ice-type, the attack was super effective!

Lapras was left with just a sliver of health!

"Don't give up! Use Freeze-Dry!"

"Brick Break!"

Both attacks were launched simultaneously, resulting in an explosion (I'm too lazy to describe, so let's just say there was an explosion for now).

The explosion blew away the ice statue of Lukas, and somehow it flew right into Yuna's head (Yuna: Huh?).

"Yuna?!" Lily was shocked to see Yuna knocked out cold while Lukas remained frozen.

"My underwear!!" Bob cried, watching in horror as his underwear flew at high speed and hit some random male player in the face.

As everything started to settle down, the icy smoke cleared, and both Pokémon were still standing.

Wartortle's face was full of pain, with part of its arm frozen solid (plot armor).

...But ice is weaker against Fighting-type moves.

Lapras collapsed and floated on the water, unconscious.

"Lapras is unable to battle, Wartortle wins!"

"Trainer Blue has defeated the Gym Leader!"

Blue let out a sigh of relief, his face full of satisfaction, then turned to look at Red.

Misty was disheartened, even after bringing out such a strong Pokémon like Lapras, she still lost. She realized she had a long way to go...

She took out the badge and handed it to Blue.

Blue snatched it without a word and walked off.

"What an arrogant person..."

Saying that, Misty looked at the remaining trainers, waiting for the next one to step up.

...But she didn't expect Red to walk up so quickly, not giving the other trainers a chance.

Red's eyes were full of determination, as if he couldn't wait any longer.

Seeing Red's eyes, she smiled.

"Looking sharp, Red. Show me what you've got!"

*****

Sorry, I've been lazy these past few days, so I haven't released a new chapter.

Also, Ishowspeed just came to my country, and he got scammed by two drivers right on stream. It's unbelievable (they lied about the ride costing around $100), and in the end, they only took $40.59 (around 1 million VND, which is half of my parents' monthly salary).

Of course, after that, they were fined $405.93 (serves them right, I hope they go to jail for disgracing my country like that).

Oh, and by the way, flood have wiped out an entire village in my country. Many families have been devastated and lost everything. (And that flood struck the village at night while they were sound asleep. I really can't imagine the moment they woke up only to realize that death had been beside them all along without them knowing.)

The village had only 153 inhabitants: 87 survived, 52 died, and 14 went missing.

If possible, please press F for those who were lost. I know it won't change anything, but I want you all to let them know that you are mourning for them too, not just the people of my country.