Resign

Facing the fierce Gallade, Gliscor glanced at the Camerupt battling against Serperior not far away and used Sandstorm.

Gliscor, owned by Akihito, had the common ability Sand Veil. When a raging sandstorm obscured the sky on the field, Gliscor's figure disappeared from Gallade's view.

No matter how agile Gallade's movements were, it was futile to try and capture the hidden Gliscor in the swirling sand.

Rough sand particles pelted both Gliscor and Gallade, wearing down their stamina, but the Ground-type Camerupt and Gliscor were completely unaffected by the sandstorm.

Gallade calmly spread its psychic power, trying to locate the hidden Gliscor within the sandstorm, but it was unsuccessful. Gliscor seemed to have vanished into thin air.

As for the cold and aloof Serperior, it appeared utterly unconcerned about the sandstorm's effects, keeping its focus on the partially obscured Camerupt within the sandstorm.

Suddenly, its entire body was enveloped in a multitude of green leaves that rapidly spun around, shielding it from the swirling sand.

Then, it transformed its body into a piercing arrow, heading straight for Camerupt.

The move it used was Leaf Storm, and it didn't mind the potential drop in its Special Attack. Instead, it used the move defensively to shield itself from the sandstorm's impact.

While the sandstorm could affect Gallade's vision, it had no influence on Camerupt, which watched as Serperior charged straight toward it. Camerupt exhaled two scorching jets of flame from its nostrils, followed by a torrent of scorching heat directed at Serperior.

Camerupt had high Attack stats, but due to its cumbersome body its difficult to move, So it usually uses offensive moves instead of defense.

Of course, if it were within a Trick Room, the situation would be quite different.

The scorching heat rolled, and even the sand in its path was swept away by the high-temperature waves, illustrating Camerupt's formidable offensive power.

Seeing this, Serperior abruptly halted its movement, swiftly lashed its tail, and sent a surge of water columns from its tail, splitting the scorching waves into two. The collision of Aqua Tail and Heat Wave created a sizzling sound.

Serperior took advantage of the gap created by the Aqua Tail and instantly appeared in front of Camerupt. The blue Aqua Tail viciously struck Camerupt's head.

Camerupt had poor Defense and was weak to Water-type moves. Even though Serperior wasn't a strong physical attacker, taking a hit from this Water-type move would force Camerupt to leave the battlefield.

With Camerupt's defeat, it essentially meant that Akihito and Arata Sena's challenge was about to fail.

In the nick of time, a figure abruptly burst out of the sandstorm, slamming into Serperior with great force, and a pair of Guillotine claws struck Serperior's neck unexpectedly.

Serperior let out a pitiful cry and fell silent. The remaining water columns from the Aqua Tail move on its tail didn't hit Camerupt and scattered randomly. At that moment, the sandstorm roared and dissipated, leaving the field's air clear once more.

Without the sandstorm's cover, Yuga finally noticed that standing next to Camerupt was none other than Gliscor.

The Serperior was defeated by the Gliscor, who was much weaker than him, with a fatal Guillotine.

Not far away, Gallade, who was still looking for the Gliscor, was stunned when he looked at the Serperior who fell to the ground.

Why did the Serperior, who was stronger than itself, suddenly lose?

It turn out that Gliscor had concealed itself successfully by using Sand Veil and taking advantage of the sandstorm, confusing Gallade and, in turn, supporting Camerupt.

It initially observed the battle between the two Pokémon without making a sound, looking for an opportunity to support Camerupt.

Because it knew that there was a significant gap in strength between itself and Serperior, a direct confrontation wouldn't work, so it had to catch Serperior off guard.

Finally, when Serperior was fully focused on attacking Camerupt and couldn't be distracted by its surroundings, Gliscor took action.

Guillotine, the move it used, could guarantee a one-hit KO, but it was difficult to control, with an extremely low accuracy rate.

However, at the moment when Serperior was attacking Camerupt, it couldn't evade or defend itself, and that's when Gliscor took advantage of the situation.

Watching the defeated Serperior, Akihito took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, saying, "Thank goodness we succeeded; otherwise, we would have definitely lost this time."

Facing a Pokémon like Serperior, which was close to the level of a pseudo-Elite, was Yuga's limit in a Gym challenge. By defeating Serperior, their challenge could be considered a success.

As Gliscor dealt with Serperior, Arata Sena smiled and gave a thumbs-up to Akihito.

"Not bad at all; your thinking is quite agile."

Yuga returned Serperior to its Poké Ball, expressing great satisfaction with Akihito's performance.

Knowing that Gliscor couldn't defeat Gallade, it timely retreated and used the sandstorm to confuse Gallade while delaying it, then turned to support Camerupt.

This series of actions was very clever!

Hearing Yuga's praise, Akihito scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit shy.

Yuga's final Pokémon was still not a Grass-type but a Water-type, Milotic.

Since this was a double battle, strictly speaking, it counted as two Gym challenges. Therefore, it wasn't fair to favor one type over another; two non-Grass-type Pokémon had to be included.

This Milotic was naturally not as strong as the previous Serperior and even slightly weaker than Gallade. However, it had a type advantage against the highest-level Pokémon on the field at the moment—Camerupt.

Milotic was just an ordinary Green potential Milotic, not a Milotic Leader.

The Milotic Leader possessed a solid foundation of strength, currently slightly stronger than the previously encountered Serperior, and it could potentially advance to a pseudo-Elite level at any time.

Moreover, the Milotic Leader's wife, Gyarados, and neighbor, Greninja, both recently advanced to the pseudo-Elite level in a sparring match. Yuga had been thrilled about this for quite some time.

If the Milotic Leader decided to join the battle, Akihito and Arata Sena would have no choice but to admit defeat. If they could defeat the Milotic Leader, Yuga wouldn't have to worry about their performance in the League Conference at all, and defeating Astrid would be a breeze.

The Milotic Leader had strength far exceeding its level.

Of course, the skill levels of participants in each League Conference varied greatly, and if they encountered a dark horse, there would be little they could do.

For example, in the previous match at the Sinnoh League Conference, formidable trainers like Cynthia, Flint, and Volkner had all made appearances. It was almost the highest level of competition among participants in recent years.

Against opponents of this caliber, Akihito and Arata Sena's skills would only lead to them falling behind.

As the beautiful Milotic entered the field, it uncoiled its long body and fixed its gaze directly on the opposing Camerupt.

The arrival of a Water-type Pokémon was bad news for both Gliscor and Camerupt.

So, Gliscor and Camerupt immediately focused their attacks on Milotic. Gliscor used Stone Edge, and Camerupt unleashed Earth Power, both targeting Milotic.

Seeing this, Gallade swiftly moved in front of Milotic and used Wide Guard, blocking the Stone Edge and Earth Power attacks.

As the Wide Guard barrier dissipated, Milotic surged forward with waves of water, charging at Camerupt and Gliscor.

Camerupt used Protect just in time to block Milotic's Surf, but without a defensive move, Gliscor tried to jump to avoid the attack. Unfortunately, Gliscor didn't manage to dodge and was engulfed by the water.

By the time the tide receded, Gliscor had fainted. After the previous battle against Gallade, Gliscor had already sustained significant damage, making it unable to withstand Milotic's Surf.

Akihito's final Pokémon was his starter Pokémon, Breloom, and it was his most powerful Pokémon.

As Breloom opened its mouth and shot seed bombs towards Milotic, it also quickly dashed forward to close the distance.

The bullet-like seeds hadn't reached Milotic when Gallade swiftly swung its arms, sending out razor-sharp Psycho Cut that sliced the seeds in half.

Gallade was now facing Breloom, both being Fighting-type Pokémon.

Camerupt unleashed its powerful attack, Eruption. Smoke billowed from one of its volcanoes while a torrent of flames spewed from the other, attempting to engulf Breloom, which was blocking the path to Milotic.

Milotic reacted promptly, using Hydro Pump to intercept the torrent of flames. The clash of water and fire created countless billowing steam clouds, thickening the air on the field.

However, despite the Water-type advantage, Milotic was still at a disadvantage compared to Camerupt, which was higher in level. The overflowing torrent of flames headed towards Gallade, which tried to dodge but ended up with its right leg burned. In its panic, Gallade was struck across the waist by Breloom's Iron Tail and was sent flying.

With injuries to both its leg and waist, Gallade struggled for a moment. Feeling intense pain all over its body, it ultimately couldn't get back up and watched helplessly as Breloom's large fist descended upon it, causing it to lose consciousness.

Milotic, distracted by Camerupt, couldn't come to Gallade's aid and found itself in a disadvantageous one-on-two situation. While dealing with Camerupt, it momentarily neglected its surroundings, allowing Breloom to land a devastating Thunder Punch.

Upon contact with Milotic's body, Breloom's ability, Effect Spore, was triggered. Milotic fell into a sleep state.

Milotic's ability was Marvel Scale, so while it was in a sleep state, its body emitted a golden glow, boosting its defense.

Seeing this, Yuga had Milotic use Sleep Talk. Milotic raised its fan-like tail, and a metallic shimmer passed over it, sending the nearby Breloom flying.

However, Milotic wasn't skilled in physical attacks, and its Iron Tail didn't deal much damage. Although Breloom was injured, it was still in decent shape.

Watching the sleeping Milotic, Yuga had no choice but to keep it using Sleep Talk.

The first time, Milotic used Coil, further increasing its defense.

Breloom attempted to punch it, but Milotic didn't react much. Camerupt used Earth Power, and although Milotic was left with low health, it managed to stay on its feet.

The second time, Milotic used Hypnosis. Both opposing male Pokémon were caught off guard and became drowsy, making them unable to attack.

Afterwards, Milotic woke up, and its boosted defense returned to normal. However, it used the move Recover, which restored a significant portion of its health, despite being at low health.

Of course, Milotic eventually succumbed to its opponents.

With its defense back to normal, it couldn't withstand the simultaneous attacks from Breloom and Camerupt. Breloom's Effect Spore ability didn't trigger continuously.

While Recover allowed Milotic to heal, like Morning Sun or Roost, it required some time and couldn't be completed instantly.

Recalling Milotic, Yuga received two badges from Beidou and handed them to Akihito and Arata Sena.

"Congratulations to both of you. This is proof of your successful challenge at the Verdanturf Gym."

Arata Sena replied, "Thank you, Gym Leader!"

Akihito echoed, "Thank you, Gym Leader!"

Both of them expressed their gratitude and carefully stored the badges in the box Yuga had given them before they set out on their journey.

These boxes were made uniformly by the Pokémon League and distributed to various gyms. They were given to trainers challenging a gym for the first time in the Hoenn region.

However, Yuga had only distributed a few of these boxes when the Verdanturf Gym first opened. This was because the rules for challenging the Verdanturf Gym changed later, requiring trainers to collect three badges before attempting the challenge, so there were no more first-time challengers.

Yuga asked them, "With over a month left until the Hoenn League Conference, what are your plans for the future?"

Arata Sena replied, "After Megumi participating in the Verdanturf Town Pokémon Contest, if everythinv goes well, after earning a Ribbon Badge, we plan to train in the Petalburg Forest for a while. Then, we'll accompany her to a Grand Festival and head directly to the League Conference."

Yuga nodded in response and advised them, "That sounds like a good plan, but when you go to the Petalburg Forest, be careful not to venture too deep. So as not to encounter dangers that are difficult to deal with"

Petalburg Forest It's one of the largest forests in the Hoenn region, and there are high-level Pokémon everywhere.

"We understand, and we'll be careful!" both of them affirmed.

Yuga considered the situation and decided to inform Noctowl to secretly follow Akihito and Arata Sena when they ventured into the Petalburg Forest. After all, these two were apprentices from the Verdanturf Gym and not just random trainers. They deserved some protection.

However, Noctowl would remain hidden unless absolutely necessary. As a Psychic-type Pokémon, Yuga believed that Noctowl could effectively conceal its presence.

Before leaving the gym, Astrid mentioned to Yuga that she would return to challenge the Verdanturf Gym again after some time.

Yuga regretfully informed her that he had urgent business in Sinnoh and wouldn't be at the gym. If she wanted to challenge the gym during that time, she'd have to find the substitute Gym Leader, Beidou.

However, Astrid insisted on waiting for Yuga to return, which left Yuga with no choice but to go along with her plans. This could potentially affect her schedule for the League Conference.

But after thingking about it, felt that he wouldn't be able to stay in Sinnoh for more than a few days, and he could manage to return in time.

The day after Akihito and Arata Sena's gym battle, Yuga met with Barcas's ex-wife. With the help of Chimecho and Nana, Barcas was successfully freed from the psychological manipulation after meeting his ex-wife.

However, to Yuga's disappointment, Barcas decided to resign. Although Barcas understood that Yuga wasn't to blame for what had happened, the fact remained that he had been put in danger.

To be honest, Barcas had a deep respect for Yuga because, thanks to him, Verdanturf Town had prospered. Even though Barcas wasn't originally from Verdanturf Town, he had developed a sense of belonging. If he were alone, he might have continued working alongside Yuga.

However, Barcas had parents and a young daughter to support. He couldn't risk putting his family in danger, even if future risks were uncertain.

Barcas's parents were elderly, and his daughter was still very young. Losing him would mean their family could no longer support itself.

Although Yuga regretted Barcas's decision, he respected it. He understood that family and safety should always come first.

Barcas was a capable manager, and under his guidance, the Paradise Hotel had thrived. When Barcas resigned, Yuga provided him with a bonus as a token of appreciation for his contributions.

Furthermore, through this incident, Barcas realized that he still had deep feelings for his ex-wife. Their previous divorce had been based on misunderstandings. So, after this event, he began pursuing her once more.

The fact that Barcas's ex-wife had rushed to his aid during his time of trouble showed that she still had feelings for him too.

Half a year after Barcas's resignation, the two of them decided to remarry and found happiness together.

Of course, this is a story for another time. When Yuga learned about their remarriage, he offered his heartfelt congratulations to the couple.