"What? You're not going to try for a clean sweep? That would've been explosive."
Seeing Gary recall Excadrill, Roxie found the decision rather boring. If she were in his position, she definitely would have kept using Excadrill to ride that momentum to the very end.
"I have other Pokémon that need battle experience. I can't let Excadrill handle everything," Gary said, taking another Poké Ball from his pocket.
"It's no fun battling such a levelheaded Trainer," Roxie complained. "Hurry up and send out your next Pokémon so we can finish this."
Gary saw through Roxie's intentions at a glance.
After losing two rounds in a row, she was clearly worried about suffering a complete defeat. After all, Roxie was a rock musician as well as a Trainer, so she naturally had a strong competitive streak. If she lost without taking down even one of Gary's Pokémon, she would undoubtedly be frustrated.
"Bisharp, you're up!" Gary threw the Poké Ball.
[LV52 Bisharp / Champion]
A Bisharp clad in blue steel armor appeared on the field.
"Oh! Another Shiny Pokémon!"
Roxie was quite surprised when she saw Bisharp. She hadn't managed to catch a single Shiny Pokémon herself. Gary's luck was incredible; he had actually managed to capture two excellent Shiny Pokémon.
"You would've been better off sticking with Excadrill. Toxtricity, use Shock Wave!" Roxie ordered.
"Tox!"
Golden electricity gathered around Toxtricity's head before it launched a crackling Shock Wave at Bisharp.
"Dig!" Gary ordered.
Bang!!
Bisharp sliced through the earth with its sharp blades and burrowed underground.
Bang!
The Shock Wave struck the ground and spread outward without hitting its target.
"You think hiding underground will save you?" Roxie smiled as she strummed her electric guitar, then thrust out her hand. "Blast Bisharp back up—Boomburst!"
Gary was confused.
Boomburst?
Gary knew that Boomburst was an attack that struck everything around its user. Aside from using Protect or similar moves, it was nearly impossible to evade. But even so, it shouldn't have been able to reach an opponent underground.
"Toxtric!!"
Toxtricity suddenly crouched down and pressed itself close to the ground. Its chest vibrated intensely, poisonous sweat seeping from its body as it forcefully strummed the protrusions on its chest. A deafening blast of sound erupted outward. The entire battlefield was struck by Boomburst and shook violently.
Bang!!
The ground beneath Toxtricity suddenly split open. Bisharp burst out and slammed into it with a powerful Iron Head, sending Toxtricity flying.
Gary quickly checked Bisharp's condition and found that it wasn't seriously injured.
Although Toxtricity's Boomburst had made the ground shake violently, it was still far inferior to Earthquake. After all, it contained no Ground-type energy. Even if the vibrations could inflict some damage underground, there was no type advantage to amplify it.
Toxtricity, on the other hand, had taken a direct hit from Bisharp's Dig and suffered severe damage. A wound had been torn across its chest, and its condition rapidly deteriorated.
There was still a clear difference in strength between the two sides—like the power gap between the late Foundation Establishment stage and the early Golden Core stage.
"End the battle with Night Slash!" Gary ordered.
"Sharp!"
Bisharp charged toward Toxtricity at high speed.
"We're not losing here! Use Overdrive!" Roxie ordered.
"Toxtric!!"
Toxtricity raked its claws across the organs on its chest, producing a deafening guitar riff. A violent current carried by sound waves surged outward across the battlefield.
Bisharp endured the damage from Overdrive and continued its charge. Dark-red energy coated the blades on its wrists, suddenly expanding into a pair of long energy blades.
Seizing the opening right after Toxtricity released its move, Bisharp swept past it with a rapid slash.
Bang!!
"Toxtric—!"
Toxtricity was sent flying. It crashed to the ground, its eyes rolling into spirals.
"Toxtricity is unable to battle!" The referee announced the result. "All of Gym Leader Roxie's Pokémon have been defeated. The victory of this Gym match belongs to the challenger, Gary!"
"Oh! What an incredible match!"
"This Gary is amazing, he actually beat Roxie!"
"That was fantastic. This is the first time I've seen Roxie lose like this. I have to upload this video to the rock music forums!"
"You're seriously... inhuman!"
The surrounding spectators were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Meanwhile, the two Trainers recalled their Pokémon from the field.
"I really did lose to you."
Although Roxie was reluctant to admit defeat, as a Gym Leader, she still had to follow the rules of an official Gym battle.
"This is the Toxic Badge—proof that you defeated me. Here, take it." Roxie held out a badge resembling a plume of purple smoke and handed it to Gary.
"Thank you."
Gary accepted it without much concern. He already knew that the Gyms of the Unova region were all highly distinctive, each one designed according to its Gym Leader's personal preferences.
[Ding! The reward for completing the task has been sent to the space backpack.]
With the Badge secured, Gary left the Virbank Gym and headed toward the Pokémon Center.
Both Excadrill and Bisharp had been injured during the Gym battle and needed treatment.
On the way to the Pokémon Center, Gary also checked what the reward item was this time.
[Premium Dusk Stone (After it is used to evolve a Pokémon, any Pokémon whose potential is below Champion level will have its potential raised to Champion level.)]
"A Dusk Stone!"
Upon seeing the reward, Gary immediately began considering which Pokémon evolved with a Dusk Stone.
There were four Pokémon that evolved using one: Murkrow, Misdreavus, Lampent, and Doublade.
Gary immediately ruled out Misdreavus and Doublade.
Their final evolutions only possessed one Ability. Although Aegislash, Doublade's evolution, had a higher Base Stat Total, having only one Ability wasn't enough to interest Gary.
Murkrow could evolve into Honchkrow, which had three Abilities: Insomnia, Super Luck, and Moxie. While Moxie was somewhat useful, the other two weren't especially valuable.
That left only one option: Lampent.
Lampent could evolve into Chandelure using a Dusk Stone, and Chandelure possessed three Abilities—Flash Fire, Flame Body, and Infiltrator.
Gary had already strengthened Arcanine's Flash Fire Ability before, and it had clearly been a waste. Aside from Ash, ordinary Trainers wouldn't be foolish enough to repeatedly use Fire-type moves against a Pokémon with Flash Fire, so there was little reason to strengthen it. Flame Body and Infiltrator, however, were both well worth enhancing.
"Then I'll catch a Litwick."
Gary thought Chandelure was an excellent Pokémon. It had three Abilities, a strong type combination, and was well worth raising.
Gary also knew exactly where he could find a Litwick. On the road to Nimbasa City, Ash had encountered a mansion built atop a hill. Four Litwick and one Lampent lived inside it.
They had even been capable of opening a gateway to the spirit world, so their potential was likely quite high.