Seeing that Kofu was testing him out, Gary attacked directly. "Body Slam!"
"Ceti!"
Cetitan launched itself out of the water with a massive splash, its huge body crashing down and casting a giant shadow over Veluza.
Veluza immediately dove and slipped beneath the surface.
Bang!!
The pool looked as though it had been struck by a depth charge. Water shot up several meters into the air, and Veluza burst back out from underwater, riding the wave.
"Icicle Crash!" Gary ordered.
"Ceti!"
The three large horns on Cetitan's face became coated in ice energy, transforming into massive icicles that rushed forward.
"Aqua Cutter!" Kofu immediately countered.
Veluza shed all of its excess flesh, wrapping its body in a current of water that formed into a blade. It spun through the air, slashing toward Cetitan.
Bang!!
The two attacks collided for the first time.
Cetitan was knocked back down into the pool by the impact, while Veluza was launched skyward. Thanks to the priority of Aqua Jet, it safely dropped back into the water without taking any fall damage.
However, the water level in the pool had already dropped by nearly two-thirds. What used to be deep enough for an adult swimming pool now barely qualified as a children's wading pool.
In a pool this shallow, it was becoming difficult to land a hit on Veluza. After all, the shallow water was starting to hinder its own movement speed as well.
"Cetitan, freeze the pool with Ice Beam," Gary ordered.
"Ceti!"
Cetitan fired a beam of ice straight into the pool, and the water it touched froze instantly.
"Don't act like Veluza doesn't exist anymore. Use Aqua Cutter!" Kofu felt that Gary was getting a little too carried away, completely ignoring Veluza's presence in favor of altering the battlefield itself. He wasn't about to let his Pokémon be treated as an afterthought.
Veluza transformed into a blade of water and charged forward, slashing at Cetitan with a single strike.
Bang!!
"What?!"
Kofu was stunned to see Cetitan intercept the attack, blocking Veluza's water blade with a fist wrapped in shimmering ice energy—Ice Punch—all while the frozen pool beneath them continued to spread.
Veluza landed hard on the ice and immediately began to panic. It couldn't move properly on the frozen surface. Although it could still shift position using Aqua Jet, that move only worked in a straight line meant for attacking—it was far too rigid to use for dodging.
"Ice Shard!"
Cetitan opened its massive mouth and spat out several ball-sized chunks of ice. Veluza tried to retaliate, but its speed couldn't keep up with the incoming Ice Shard, and it was struck by several shards in a row.
"Take Down!"
"Aqua Cutter!"
Gary and Kofu issued their commands at the same time.
Both Pokémon surged forward, colliding head-on.
Bang!!
Even though there was no difference in level between the two, Veluza simply couldn't get through Cetitan's massive frame. It was sent crashing directly into the pool's wall, cracking the surface on impact.
"What a powerful Tackle. But this isn't over yet. Veluza, use Final Gambit!" Kofu ordered.
Gary froze for a moment. Final Gambit was a very unusual move—the more HP the user still had remaining, the greater the damage it would deal. However, the user itself would faint immediately after using it.
Veluza gathered every last bit of its remaining strength and charged straight at Cetitan.
"Icicle Crash!" Gary chose to meet the attack head-on, letting Cetitan take the full force of Veluza's final Final Gambit rather than dodge it, giving his opponent a fair fight to the very end.
"Ceti!"
Ice energy surged around Cetitan's body. The great horns on its face became coated in another layer of ice, forming three massive icicles that shot forward.
The ice energy collided with the surging life force behind Final Gambit. The frozen surface shattered on impact, and both Pokémon were thrown backward, slamming into the walls behind them.
"Ceti...!"
Cetitan stood there panting heavily, having endured Veluza's devastating Final Gambit.
Veluza, on the other hand, had already collapsed.
"Veluza is unable to battle! Cetitan wins!" the referee announced.
That first exchange had been fierce enough to genuinely spark Gary's interest.
Kofu recalled his defeated Veluza.
"Seems like the first dish didn't quite satisfy you. Let's move on to the second course, then!"
Kofu sent out his second Pokémon.
"Come on out, Crabominable!"
A crab-like Pokémon covered in shaggy white fur made its appearance.
[Lv. 32 Crabominable ♂ / Gym Tier]
Gary: "Hm."
For some reason, Gary was starting to notice a pattern with Kofu. Every single Pokémon he used seemed to double as a food ingredient.
Veluza's flesh, after all, was edible.
Crabominable's pincers were edible too. Whenever Crabominable found itself in danger, it would break off its own pincers to make an escape. Those discarded pincers were considered quite the delicacy—some people would even trek deep into the mountains just to search for pincers Crabominable had shed along the way.
"Cetitan, come back and rest," Gary said. He had no intention of letting Cetitan keep fighting. He'd only sent it out this round to give it a taste of its very first Gym battle.
"Annihilape, I'll leave the rest to you." Gary sent out Annihilape to close things out.
He hadn't sent Annihilape out earlier mainly because the battlefield had been a pool. But now that the water had frozen solid, there was finally enough stable ground for it to stand on.
"Crabominable, use Ice Punch!" Kofu ordered.
Crabominable charged toward Annihilape. Normally, it was quite slow-moving, but since it was an Ice-type Pokémon, the frozen surface actually worked in its favor—it could slide across the ice with ease, and its crab-like legs turned out to be especially well-suited for gliding.
"Shadow Punch."
Annihilape sized up its opponent in an instant, recognizing that it wasn't particularly strong. With a casual swing of its arm, a shadowy fist flashed forward.
Bang!!
Crabominable, still sliding across the ice, was struck by the Shadow Punch and sent flying backward. It slammed into the wall before dropping to the ground, losing consciousness instantly.
"Crabominable is unable to battle! Annihilape wins!" the referee announced.
Kofu's brow twitched slightly. He hadn't expected the Annihilape Gary had sent out to be this powerful. Compared to Cetitan, the gap in strength was simply too enormous.
It looks like I'm going to lose this Gym battle, Kofu thought to himself. He knew all too well just how high Annihilape's level was—there was no way his last Pokémon would stand a chance against it either.
Still, Kofu had no intention of conceding early. Giving up partway through simply wasn't in his nature.
"You're the last main course. Let's go, Wugtrio." Kofu sent out his final Pokémon.
The Poké Ball opened, and a black stone dropped onto the battlefield. Moments later, three worm-like creatures emerged from holes within the stone.
[Lv. 35 Wugtrio ♂ / Gym Tier]
Seeing Wugtrio, Gary could now say with certainty that every single Pokémon Kofu used doubled as some kind of ingredient.
Sure enough!
Wugtrio was also a popular food ingredient in its own right.
Wugtrio itself wasn't particularly tasty, but it periodically shed its skin, and that shed skin was considered a genuine delicacy. It wasn't just prized for nourishing yin energy and improving the skin—it was also believed to strengthen kidney health.