Pokémon, who made him the gym leader?

Chapter 43 It's so cool!

"These poison darts... aren't they outrageous?"

"Wow! This Dragon Scorpion is so cool! It's freaking handsome! I want to catch one too."

"Pikachu is really pitiful. It was taken down in one go, without even a chance to fight back."

"These two are both incredibly strong. I wonder how the next one will deal with the Dragon King Scorpion."

Passersby were talking amongst themselves, but of course they kept their voices down so as not to disturb the two fighters.

As a trainer, no one dislikes battling; even watching others battle is quite enjoyable.

You'll improve by watching more, learning more, and practicing more.

"Pikachu is unable to battle; Drapion wins!"

Little Blue quickly realized what was happening, went over to observe Pikachu, and then announced.

"What a fierce Dragon King Scorpion!"

Xiaoxia was speechless. Goodness, they really seized the opportunity and used Poison Spike to almost instantly kill Pikachu!

Ash was still a little confused. He had just praised Pikachu for being awesome a second ago, and then Pikachu was caught, and then... nothing happened.

"Indeed, it's a very powerful Dragon King Scorpion, but the key is still this poison shard."

Xiao Gang nodded, then pondered for a moment before speaking.

"The poison shards will trigger more than once, which is really disadvantageous for Crimson. Although they won't be poisoned, the damage from the poison shards is still significant."

While the damage from a single poison spike may not be high, the pain from the poison spikes corroding the body is real, making it easy for opponents to seize an opportunity.

Pikachu was caught by Drapion because of the double pain from the recoil of Volt Attack and the damage from Toxic Spikes.

Otherwise, how could Drapion have caught the agile and swift Pikachu so easily?

"There are ways to deal with Toxic Spikes. Poison-type Pokémon are not affected by Toxic Spikes. Clearing fog and spinning at high speed can also clear the field. No wonder Arbok didn't use Toxic Spikes at first."

"Guxin is really amazing~"

Xiao Gang couldn't help but sigh, but would the challenger really be happy to fight like this?

Hmm, probably, after all, Guxin is also honing their experience in battling Poison-type trainers... right?

……

On the field.

"Thanks for your hard work, Pikachu."

After recalling Pikachu, Crimson whispered a word of comfort, then looked up at the ferocious Dracovish opposite him.

"Blastoise!"

Red didn't hesitate for long and threw out the third Poké Ball.

With a low growl, the heavily injured Blastoise landed in front of Crimson once again.

But the moment they landed, the poison shards dealt instant damage.

Blastoise's face was contorted in pain; its injuries were already severe. This time, the poison shards inflicted even more damage.

"They still chose to eliminate the poison darts."

Gu Xin chuckled softly upon seeing this.

That makes sense, though. Having learned her lesson from Poison Spikes, Crimson understands that it's too difficult to fight without dealing with them.

Although Venusaur is immune to poison, it struggles against Poison-type Pokémon. The reason is simple: both of its STAB types are ineffective against it, so how can it win?

"High-speed rotation".

"Pin Missile!"

Blastoise immediately retracted its limbs and head, and its shell began to spin rapidly.

But Guxin certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch. He swung the Dragon King Scorpion's pincers forcefully, sending a barrage of missile needle beams piercing the air.

Blastoise spun rapidly, barely touching the ground as it moved, and streaks of purple fluid flew out from the ground as it spun past.

The poison horn was quickly and thoroughly removed by the high-speed rotation.

But the needle missile had already arrived.

Boom boom boom!

The missiles kept hitting Blastoise and exploding, creating waves that kept spreading.

When the missile bombardment ended, Blastoise had already fallen to the ground and was unconscious.

Although Blastoise's shell provides it with high resistance to physical attacks, it cannot completely ignore them.

Blastoise is in really bad shape; it can't take it anymore.

Blastoise is unable to battle, Drapion wins.

Xiao Lan re-entered the arena and announced the outcome of the battle.

"..."

Red recalled Blastoise, which had lost its ability to fight, and slightly lowered the brim of its hat.

"Red, although the poison darts have been completely eliminated, my Dragon King Scorpion is still not easy to deal with."

Guxin smiled as he looked at the crimson figure opposite him. Besides... Blastoise had already lost its ability to fight.

If he then sprinkles poison shards, there's nothing to worry about!

"Snorlax!"

Crimson silently threw out its third Poké Ball.

"Kirby~!"

With a flash of white light, a bulky, bear-like elf landed heavily in front of Crimson.

Its body color is close to blue, while its abdomen is white. It is extremely fat, and its two eyes on its chubby face are squinted into slits, making it look a bit silly.

It's Snorlax!

"Beep~ Snorlax, Normal-type, Sleepy Pokémon"

Features: thick fat

Special moves: Belly Drum, Arm Hammer, 100,000 Horsepower, Instant Amnesia, Heavy Impact, Mount Tai Press, Flame Fist...

Description: A Pokémon that spends its days in a cycle of eating and sleeping, with a gentle nature so much so that children can use its big belly as a playground.

Ash looked at the Pokédex entry with great interest and had a very good first impression of Snorlax.

Hmm, I'll catch one someday too!

"Want to engage in close combat?" Guxin looked at the Snorlax and couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't afraid of close combat at all.

"Snorlax, Belly Drum!"

Crimson glanced at the Dragon King Scorpion, and then decisively gave the order.

Snorlax growled, its body constantly and drastically changing size, and it seemed to be suffering some kind of excruciating pain, its expression contorted.

Generally, it's abdominal distension!

"Going this far?"

The onlookers were taken aback.

Belly Drum is a very interesting move. After using Belly Drum, the user will maximize their physical attack!

According to Professor Elf's research, there is a limit to how much a Pokémon can be upgraded; it can only be upgraded up to six levels, and any further upgrades will be ineffective.

The same applies to weakening, with level six being the lowest.

Swords Dance and Trick Room are power-up moves that only raise a Pokémon's Attack and Special Attack by two stages, but Belly Drum is different; it can raise them by twelve stages!

In other words, even if your physical attack is weakened by six levels, Belly Drum can still directly max out your physical attack! That is, level twelve.

Of course, since physical attack enhancement is capped at level six, even without being weakened, Belly Drum can only be upgraded to level six.

However, Belly Drum has very serious side effects. Using Belly Drum will cause great damage to the Pokémon itself. To describe it in terms of game effects, the user will lose half of their HP.

"Poison horn".

Guxin was also somewhat surprised, starting with a belly bulge, which shows that Crimson was really going all out and really wanted to win.

After Belly Drumming, Snorlax's aggression is absolutely off the charts. Even a simple ramming attack would be a huge blow to Drapion.

But since you've upgraded, I'll just throw poison shards at you!

The Dragon King Scorpion's two pincers clasped together, and a deep purple energy sphere condensed and was sent into the sky to explode. The eerie purple fluid fell back down and disappeared on the battlefield.

Crimson watched silently. There was nothing he could do. After two battles, he had roughly figured out Guxin's fighting style.

It's either highly poisonous or it's a poison dart...

For Crimson, the only way to defeat Guxin is to fight quickly and decisively, taking down the opponent's Pokémon with overwhelming force!

Meanwhile, Snorlax had finished its Belly Drum and returned to normal. A dense white light entered Snorlax's body, and its aura suddenly surged.

"Kirby~!"

Snorlax raised its two large arms in a powerful pose, feeling an inexhaustible surge of power within it!

It's invincible now!

Snorlax tried its best to open its squinty eyes and stare at Drapion, but it was really difficult. But it didn't matter.

How could a mere scorpion monster possibly be a match for Emperor Snorlax?

We will win!

(End of this chapter)