"Golisopod is unable to battle! Venusaur wins!" the referee announced.
Nessa had lost two matches in a row, with only one Pokemon remaining. The battle had reached its final stage.
"It’s been a long time since I’ve faced such a strong challenger..." Nessa could clearly feel the pressure radiating from John.
She was certain that John’s strength far exceeded her own, the gap between them wasn’t small. However, as a Galar region Gym Leader from a world renowned for its "battle-hungry" trainers, Nessa had only one reaction when facing the strong.
The stronger the opponent, the fiercer she fought!
John’s power had awakened Nessa’s warrior spirit and her burning desire for victory. Just as she was about to declare, "I’m not going down that easily!" she paused, thinking of the Pokemon she was about to send onto the field. Honestly, she had to hold back her bravado.
"Then... I can only count on you, partner!" Nessa gripped the massive wristband on her left arm with her right hand, and a Pokeball suddenly expanded in her grasp.
The Pokeball swelled until she could barely hold it with both hands, then she hurled it forward.
The Pokeball burst open, and a colossal turtle leaped onto the battlefield.
It raised its two front limbs while its hind legs, several times thicker, planted firmly on the ground. Using its tail for balance, it stood upright on the field. The blade on its head had transformed into a cannon barrel, with three red clouds rotating around its crown. It looked like a living war fortress!
The sky above began to be shrouded in crimson, becoming blood-red and ominous due to its presence.
The Pokemon before John was Blastoise after achieving "Gigantamax."
But its typing was Water, meaning it took double damage from Grass-type moves!
In the final battle, she’d sent out a Pokemon with a two-times weakness to her opponent’s type.
There were only two possible reasons for this choice.
Either this was her only remaining Pokemon, or this Blastoise was Nessa’s ace, her trump card!
Only with an ace Pokemon would a trainer place such absolute trust.
"Gigantamax, huh? Then I suppose I should show some respect." John displayed his Z-Ring on his wrist.
"Venusaur, Mega Evolution!"
"Venu~~!" With a low growl, Venusaur was enveloped in multicolored light.
After learning the method for Pokemon Mega Evolution, John had trained each of his Pokemon’s bond and evolutionary compatibility. Unless Mega Evolution was impossible for a species, John worked tirelessly to ensure his Pokemon could achieve the transformation.
When the rainbow light collapsed, Mega Venusaur stood before everyone.
Its body had grown even larger, its coloring shifted from dark green to light green, with a magnificent pink flower blooming atop its head and an increasingly lush canopy on its back.
Both its power and presence had climbed to another level entirely.
"Solar Beam!" John raised his hand and snapped his fingers, striking first.
The flower on Mega Venusaur’s back blazed with light, and despite the red-tinted sky over Hulbury Stadium, brilliant sunshine broke through. You could feel the heat even through the crimson atmosphere, and the energy condensed with remarkable speed!
Seeing that John had opened with the devastating Solar Beam, Nessa knew she had no choice but to meet power with power as a Gigantamax trainer!
She immediately raised her hand to command:
"Blastoise! G-Max Stonesurge!"
Red light flickered atop the living war fortress.
The cannon barrel on Blastoise’s head erupted with a torrent of blue energy that shot straight into the sky.
The entire heavens darkened as a portal to another dimension tore open.
In an instant, countless gigantic rocks plummeted from the otherworldly gateway, accompanied by torrential rain. Water mixed with stone as they fell in unison, covering the entire battlefield.
Strangely, the rocks seemed to dissolve in the water, gradually disappearing mid-fall through the sky.
John observed the vanishing meteor shower of giant stones.
G-Max Stonesurge, this was Gigantamax Blastoise’s signature move. After use, it would set up the "Stealth Rock" field effect as a bonus.
However, despite its name, it wasn’t actually a Rock-type move, but a Water-type attack.
"Fire!" John raised his hand and commanded without concern.
The Solar Beam on Mega Venusaur’s back erupted instantly!
Surging, dazzling white light immediately illuminated the entire Hulbury Stadium. The columnar beam of pure energy pierced through the rocky rain, the transparent stones briefly revealing their true colors before shattering completely. Finally, the white light struck Blastoise without reservation.
The war fortress-like body was immediately penetrated by the solar energy.
The Gigantamax form crumbled apart.
John had returned to his room, holding his Gameboy and examining it carefully. He wanted to see if Nessa would mention the Isle of Armor after the battle, otherwise, he’d have to find another gym to challenge.
The post-battle results screen was displaying on his Gameboy.
[Defeated LV70 Blastoise, Venusaur gained 8,922 experience]
[Defeated Hulbury Stadium Leader Nessa, received 50,000 Pokedollars]
[Nessa: Your strength has conquered my raging seas!]
[Nessa: This is proof of your victory over Hulbury Stadium, the "Water Badge"]
[Nessa: I’m giving you the TM for "Whirlpool" and some Water-type Pokemon training experience. I hope they’ll be useful to you.]
[Nessa: By the way, you asked about getting to the Isle of Armor before our battle. I happen to have a spare ticket. You can take it to the station and catch the train to the Isle of Armor.]
John read through all the rewards from beginning to end.
Seeing that he’d finally been given a ticket to the Isle of Armor, John breathed a sigh of relief.
This battle hadn’t been in vain.
The other rewards were less important.
Since the seventh generation, there had been no HMs. Neither the Alola region nor the Galar region used them, so even earning a Badge didn’t grant access to hidden techniques.
But Badges still provided a 10% power boost to moves, that much remained unchanged.
So there was still value in challenging Galar region gyms.
However, John wasn’t planning to continue his gym challenge for now.
Time to grab that ticket to the Isle of Armor and head out!
John vaguely remembered that the Isle of Armor seemed to have a top-tier legendary Pokemon available for free!
(A/N: Goal 56/70: Double upload for a week)