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As Gardevoir evolved and Ash made his decision, the second battle officially began.
"Bellossom, Grassy Glide!"
"Bellossom~~"
Bellossom cried out, then lightly tapped her toes, and her entire body began to slide across the ground, moving incredibly fast!
Ash and Gardevoir didn't even see her figure before she was already in front of Gardevoir, emitting a vibrant green energy, and slammed hard into Gardevoir!
"Gardevoir!"
Having just evolved and showing her elegance, Gardevoir was directly sent flying, rolling several times on the ground, looking a bit disheveled.
"Gardevoir!!" Ash called Gardevoir's name worriedly, his mind constantly searching for the move Grassy Glide, but this move was not in his database; it was a move he hadn't learned yet.
"Gardevoir…" Gardevoir slowly got up from the ground; although a bit disheveled, it was clear that this move couldn't defeat her while she was at full health.
However, Bellossom's speed just now was too fast; even with her strong Psychic power, she couldn't catch her figure. That was definitely not a speed increase from just Chlorophyll, but related to the move she used.
"Brock, do you know what Grassy Glide is?" Misty was also startled by Bellossom's speed. Ash had taken the first round, and Gardevoir had even evolved, so it seemed the advantage was clearly with Ash.
But Erika was no ordinary opponent; she immediately counterattacked with an unknown move. This move seemed to be a Grass-type, not only fast but also receiving a power boost from the Grassy Terrain, making its power considerable.
The key was that she had never even heard of this move.
Although Brock was a bit infatuated due to Erika's appearance, he still stood by his good friend. If he had any information on Grassy Glide, he would definitely tell Ash. However, he racked his brain for Grass-type moves and couldn't recall Grassy Glide.
"This move shouldn't be one Bellossom learned by leveling up, but rather acquired from a TM from another region. I have no data on this move in my memory."
Hearing this, Misty's expression turned a bit grim. It was a move even Brock didn't know; what kind of move was this?
"So fast… Pikachu, this is a bit like your move, isn't it?" Ash's expression was serious, but he wasn't flustered; instead, he calmly analyzed.
"Pika Pika." Pikachu nodded in agreement. The move called Grassy Glide should be similar to his Electric Terrain, boosting a Pokémon's speed, but from a sensory perspective, the boost wasn't as fast as Electric Terrain.
This meant that this move should be like Quick Attack, a priority +1 move.
"Hehe, confused about what this move is, aren't you? This move should be quite rare in Kanto, because the TM for it can only be bought in Galar. As for its effect… I won't tell you~" Erika stuck out her tongue, saying with a look of delight.
Who told Ash to annoy her so much just now? Now it was her turn!
"No matter what move it is, it's just fast. Control her, Gardevoir, use Psychic!"
"Grassy Glide!"
Being controlled would indeed be troublesome, but the prerequisite was that Gardevoir could control her.
Under Sunny Day, Bellossom's move speed doubled. She lightly tapped her feet and began to slide across the field. The entire field was filled with her afterimages, and Psychic couldn't lock onto her at all.
Gardevoir's beautiful eyes swirled, the blue light within them shining brighter.
"Bang!"
Bellossom once again knocked Gardevoir away with Grassy Glide. Gardevoir flew backward again, sliding several meters on the ground.
However, just as Bellossom was about to continue maneuvering with Grassy Glide, she suddenly found she couldn't move!
Gardevoir slowly got up from the ground. She gently raised her palm, and a deep blue energy firmly bound Bellossom. Psychic—success!
"How is that possible? Bellossom's speed should have made it impossible for Gardevoir to catch her!" Seeing Bellossom actually being controlled, Erika's triumphant smile instantly froze.
What on earth? How could she be controlled? Although Psychic is a very powerful Psychic-type move and has a good hold, its weakness is its small range, requiring the opponent to be caught in its gaze.
With Bellossom's speed boosted by Sunny Day, plus the priority +1 characteristic of Grassy Glide in Grassy Terrain, Gardevoir couldn't even see her heel. How could she be controlled?
"Want to know how Gardevoir did it?"
Erika narrowed her eyes and made a gesture to listen intently.
"Actually, it's just… I won't tell you~" Ash said halfway, then changed his tone, making a face at Erika.
The biggest trait of young people is holding grudges, let alone a newcomer like Ash.
Erika had provoked him just now, and he had kept it firmly in his heart. Now it was payback time.
In reality, Gardevoir was able to do this because after evolving, she could subtly spread her Psychic power around her. As long as the opponent attacked her or touched her Psychic power, they would immediately be stuck to her Psychic power. Then, she would increase her Psychic output, allowing her to control the opponent with Psychic.
This method of defense was somewhat of a double-edged sword, but as long as she could control the opponent, it didn't really matter.
On the other side, Erika was still wondering what secret Ash would reveal, but then Ash returned the same expression to her.
Except one was sticking out her tongue, and the other was making a face.
This made Erika's expression stiffen, and she took countless deep breaths to swallow the words she wanted to blurt out.
Be a lady… Erika… be a lady… After desperately suppressing it, Erika's face showed a smile that couldn't be more fake: "Very good, Ash, you've learned the first lesson of battling: don't tell your opponent your Pokémon's information. Now let me teach you the first lesson of being human: don't provoke women!"
"Bellossom, Petal Dance!"
Petal Dance is one of the ultimate Grass-type moves, but just like Dragon-type's Outrage, continuous use will lead to confusion, and it's a crucial move only used when deciding to go for the win!
But now, Erika was quite angry, and she couldn't hold back this anger for even a second!
"Bellossom!"
Bellossom let out a delicate cry, and a surging Grass-type energy rapidly burst from within her body, shattering the Psychic binding her under the powerful Grass-type energy.
Then she danced her graceful figure, and beautiful petals fell around her. These flying petals, accompanied by Bellossom's elegant dance, contained immense killing intent.
"Gardevoir, Mystical Fire!"
"Gardevoir!" Intense flames directly erupted from Gardevoir, burning away the falling petals.
However, as more petals scattered from Bellossom, the flames seemed to be subtly extinguished by the petals!
Fire does counter Grass, but the Grass-type energy contained in Petal Dance was simply too strong, and Mystical Fire wasn't Gardevoir's STAB move. Therefore, even fire couldn't completely block those falling petals.
Slowly, Gardevoir was completely surrounded by falling petals, and there was no longer any space for Gardevoir to dodge.
If she wasn't a Psychic-type Pokémon.
"Gardevoir, Ally Switch!"
With a command, Gardevoir, protected by the flames, had a deep blue light flash in her eyes. The next second, her position and Bellossom's position were directly swapped!
Bellossom, who was dancing, was instantly in the burning flames!
But because Bellossom still had petals falling from her, the residual flames were instead broken through from the inside out!
The killing intent on the field remained; the petals were still under Bellossom's control. Even if the field was swapped, Bellossom could control the petals to continue attacking Gardevoir, unlike the Solar Beam earlier, which would have hit herself.
Facing this situation, Ash no longer intended to defend: "Gardevoir, Psyshock!"
"Gardevoir!"
Gardevoir raised her delicate hand, and an incredibly powerful Psychic energy converged into an invisible force, directly passing through Petal Dance and creating a strong impact on Bellossom, who was floating inside!
But at the same time, Petal Dance also hit Gardevoir. Petal after petal fell, cutting wound after wound on Gardevoir, her pristine white body gaining numerous small cuts.
The Grass-type power seeped through the wounds, causing Gardevoir's face to show pain.
Both sides attacked each other, but theoretically, Bellossom had the upper hand, after all, Petal Dance was a major Grass-type ultimate move, while Psyshock's power could only be considered an advanced Psychic-type move.
However, after Petal Dance is used, it must be continuously used until the user becomes confused. And that Psyshock directly disrupted Bellossom's thoughts, causing Bellossom to pause for a moment during her dance, and the constantly falling petals also stopped.
"Skill Swap!" Taking advantage of Bellossom's momentary pause, Ash once again used a disgusting move, Skill Swap!
Gardevoir's ability is Synchronize, which has very limited use in battle, but Bellossom's Chlorophyll is very useful!
A ray of light flew from Gardevoir, directly hitting the still swaying Bellossom. Immediately after, a ray of light also appeared on Bellossom and flew back into Gardevoir.
Skill Swap succeeded, borrowing the last afterglow of Sunny Day, Gardevoir was now at double speed!
"What have I done… There's no choice, Bellossom, continue using Petal Dance, defeat Gardevoir directly!" Erika looked at Bellossom, whose ability had been swapped, her expression changing rapidly, showing regret, self-blame, and shame.
As a Gym Leader, she had been blinded by anger, suddenly using a move that couldn't be changed. This was definitely a very low-level mistake. Thinking about how she had just said something like 'don't provoke women,' Erika felt a wave of shame.
But since things had come to this, she could only grit her teeth and continue using Petal Dance.
The opponent had been hit by Grassy Glide twice, and also by one Petal Dance; their stamina must be on its last legs. As long as she hit once more, she would also be able to win!
"Teleport, Fire Punch!"
As Bellossom stood up, Ash also commanded Gardevoir to launch her final attack. A Fire Punch boosted by Sunny Day meant instant death if it connected!
Gardevoir instantly teleported directly above Bellossom, her pristine small hand burning with intense flames, then she slammed down fiercely!
At the same time, an endless stream of petals also flew from Bellossom, the petals transforming into sharp Leaf Blade, cutting towards Gardevoir above!
"Boom!"
A violent roar sounded, and waves of shockwaves spread around, directly blowing the petals that had burned to ashes on the ground to the edge of the field.
Due to the obstruction of special devices, those ashes did not fly all over the Gym.
However, no one paid attention to that. Everyone was now intently watching the rising smoke in the arena; the victor would be decided in this strike.
As the smoke slowly dissipated, both Bellossom and Gardevoir stood silently on the ground. A moment later, Gardevoir let out a cry and knelt on the ground.
Before Erika's face could show a smile, Bellossom let out a delicate grunt and collapsed onto the ground.
The victor was decided, Gardevoir had the upper hand!
Even if Gardevoir was on the verge of collapsing at that moment, she was the last one standing.
The other female Gym staff watching looked at each other.
This was already the second Pokémon their Gym Leader had lost. When had their Gym Leader ever fought such a difficult battle when being challenged by a lower-ranked opponent!
Even if it was a Psychic-type, that first Pokémon wasn't even Elite Level!
Even after evolving, its level was still one lower. In this situation, to be defeated in two rounds by the opponent was truly a bit exaggerated.
The Sunny Day on the field also slowly disappeared at this moment, and the vibrant green energy on the ground vanished along with it.
The time for Sunny Day and Grassy Terrain was up.
At the same time, Gardevoir's dual screens also disappeared. Now both sides were back on the same starting line.
However, Erika only had one Pokémon left, while Ash still had three.
"Bellossom is unable to battle, Gardevoir wins." The staff member announced the result, his tone slightly wavering.
Erika also took out a Poké Ball and recalled Bellossom.
"This is my last Pokémon, and one of my main Pokémon. Whether you defeat him or not, I will give you the badge." Erika took out a red and white Poké Ball and said this to Ash.
Ash heard this and felt something was off.
"No, wait a minute, what do you mean by 'main Pokémon'? Are you saying…"
"Go, Venusaur!"
"Venusaur!"
A majestic and powerful Venusaur appeared on the field.
This was the final evolution of Bulbasaur, one of the Kanto Royal Three Families, and also one of Erika's true main Pokémon.
Ash looked at the opponent's status and immediately felt uneasy.
Venusaur — Professional Level, Beginner!
This is too much! I didn't say I wanted to fight a Professional Level opponent, what happened to the intermediate difficulty? What happened to Elite Level? What does your Venusaur mean by coming out!
"Erika, what is the meaning of this?"
"Didn't I say, regardless of winning or losing this battle, I will give you the badge? But I need to vent my anger properly." Erika's face showed a genuine smile, but no matter how Ash looked at it, he felt that this smile was truly too sinister!
She was going to beat him up, even if it meant disregarding the rules, otherwise, she couldn't let go of the anger in her heart.
This was what Erika meant by — don't provoke women!