Gary turned around and saw a young woman with short brown hair standing behind him. She wore black tights, a green short cape, brown denim shorts, and a carved waistcoat.
The woman was none other than the Gym Leader of the Eterna Gym, Gardenia.
"Are you Gardenia?" Gary asked.
"Yes." Gardenia nodded. "Since you know me, you must be a Trainer. And you're here to challenge the Gym, right?"
"Yes. My name is Gary, from Pallet Town," Gary replied.
"Since you're here to challenge the Gym, then come on in. I happen to be free right now," Gardenia said, walking into the Gym by herself.
What's that supposed to mean? Like you wouldn't have time to battle me otherwise? Watch it, or I'll report you.
Gary followed Gardenia inside.
Gardenia was the type who couldn't sit still. Even as a Gym Leader, she liked to run off to Eterna Forest every now and then. Compared to being a Gym Leader, Gary thought she'd be better suited as a forest ranger.
Just as Gary had guessed, Gardenia had indeed just returned from Eterna Forest. When she spotted Gary at the Gym entrance, she figured he was there to challenge the Gym, so she took the opportunity to get the battle done.
Gardenia led Gary to the battlefield inside—a grass field, well-suited for Grass-type Pokémon battles.
"How long have you been a Trainer?" Gardenia asked.
"Three years."
Gary didn't hide it. He knew Gym Leaders adjusted the strength of their Pokémon based on the challenger. Against a rookie, they wouldn't send out anything too strong.
"Three years… it seems today will be a fierce battle," Gardenia said to herself.
"Alright, you can make the announcement." Gardenia nodded toward Rina, who was serving as referee.
[Ding! Mission released:
Obtain the Eterna Gym Badge. Reward: Intermediate Rare Candy ×3, Synthesis permanent move learner, Top-grade Miracle Seed ×1!Use Sinnoh region Pokémon to obtain the Eterna Gym Badge. Reward: Intermediate Rare Candy ×3, Grass-type permanent move learner of your choice, Random Pokémon item ×1!]
The system task appeared. Just like during his travels through the Hoenn region, the Gym challenge came with two options. The only difference this time was that the second option's reward was a random Pokémon item. The range was wide, so he might end up with something good.
From the referee's area, Rina nodded and announced, "The Gym match between challenger Gary and Gym Leader Gardenia will now begin. Each side may use three Pokémon. When all of one side's Pokémon lose their ability to battle, the match ends. Additionally, only the challenger may substitute Pokémon. Now… the battle begins!"
"Go, you're our starter—Cherubi!" Gardenia sent out her Pokémon first.
With a flash of light, a round, pink Pokémon appeared. Cherubi looked like a cherry, with a pair of sparkling eyes, and looked positively appetizing.
[Lv. 24 Cherubi ♀ / Gym]
This Cherubi was obviously Gardenia's way of testing the challenger, gauging their strength first.
It wasn't even level 30. There was really no point in fighting it seriously.
"Glaceon, I'll leave this to you." Gary threw his Poké Ball.
[Lv. 58 Glaceon ♀ / Champion]
Gary didn't want to waste time, so he just used one of his Sinnoh region Pokémon—there was no level restriction anyway. He could have used Garchomp, but he didn't think it was necessary. It would be noon in about an hour, and he didn't want to cut into his Pokémon's lunchtime.
"Glaceon!"
Gardenia was surprised to see the Glaceon. Eterna City's climate wasn't suited for Ice-type Pokémon, so most challengers relied on Fire-types or Flying-types. Ice-types rarely showed up here.
Seeing that both sides had sent out their Pokémon, Rina immediately announced, "The battle begins!"
"Icy Wind!" Gary ordered.
Glaceon exhaled, sending a gust of freezing wind rolling toward Cherubi.
Cherubi showed no fear, activating its Chlorophyll ability to boost its running speed. But it had clearly overestimated itself. The Icy Wind suddenly expanded and swept right over it.
"Cherubi!"
Cherubi cried out as frost coated its body, then collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again.
"Cherubi has lost its ability to battle! Glaceon wins!" Rina declared.
Even though the Grass-type Cherubi had the Chlorophyll ability and it was sunny out, its base speed was simply too slow. It was fine for dealing with weak baby Pokémon, but against an Ice-type like Glaceon, it stood no chance. Even with the speed boost, Cherubi couldn't outpace Glaceon.
"Cherubi, come back."
Gardenia recalled Cherubi and stared at Glaceon. She wasn't young anymore, and she could tell at once that the Glaceon Gary had sent out was no ordinary Pokémon—it definitely wasn't the strength of a beginner's team.
"Bellossom, it's your turn." Gardenia threw her Poké Ball.
A Bellossom wearing a green grass skirt appeared.
[Lv. 32 Bellossom / Gym]
Seeing Bellossom's level, Gary lost interest and simply ordered, "Use Snow Scene!"
Glaceon activated Snow Scene. Dark clouds instantly gathered above the battlefield, and heavy snow began to fall.
"Bellossom, use Magical Leaf!" Gardenia ordered, frowning.
Bellossom shook its grass skirt, releasing a stream of multicolored Magical Leaves that flew toward Glaceon.
Seeing Gardenia choose to attack, Gary was left a little speechless. Most of her Grass-type Pokémon had the Chlorophyll ability, which meant she clearly intended to run a Sunny Day strategy. Unfortunately, Bellossom didn't know Sunny Day.
The Magical Leaves struck Glaceon but did little damage. Glaceon was at the peak of the Elite level, while Bellossom was only at Gym level. The gap between them was simply too wide.
Gary snapped his fingers. "Blizzard."
Glaceon unleashed a Blizzard. Boosted by the falling snow, it swept across the entire field, leaving Bellossom no room to dodge.
"Quick, use Petal Blizzard to block it!" Gardenia ordered hastily.
Bellossom gathered pink energy petals to counter, but the moment they made contact with the Blizzard, they froze solid into chunks of ice. Bellossom was hurled back by the howling wind, slamming into the outer wall, unable to get up again.
"Bellossom has lost its ability to battle! Glaceon wins!"
Glaceon had easily taken down two of Gardenia's Pokémon.
As for Gardenia's third Pokémon, it had to be Roserade—no guessing required. And Gary could be certain this Roserade's level would reach the Gym standard. How did he know? Because Ash had once used an Aipom to defeat a Roserade, and that Aipom had been roughly Gym-level strength.