"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
When Janine saw the Larvitar, she froze for a moment, clearly not recognizing it.
Larvitar was native to the Johto region. If Koga had been the one here, he would've recognized it at a glance—but Janine was obviously not as well-traveled as her father.
Nozomi glanced at her but didn't bother explaining.
For a Trainer, recognizing an opponent's Pokémon during battle was an important measure of strength. After all, no battle rule within the League required one to reveal information about their Pokémon.
Still, faced with the situation, Janine didn't back down.
"Go! Venonat, take down your opponent!"
"Veno—nat!"
The fuzzy Pokémon with its large red compound eyes cried out, kicked off the ground with its short legs, and lunged toward Larvitar.
"Larvitar, dodge it! Use Sand Attack!"
"Lar!"
With a sharp, intimidating cry, Larvitar turned its back to Venonat and furiously kicked up the dirt, flinging sand and gravel into its opponent's face.
"Venonat!"
Venonat, who'd been charging in for a Tackle, was suddenly blinded by the grit. It winced, rubbing its face with its fuzzy forelegs.
"Venonat, hang in there! Don't panic—use Poison Powder!"
Shhh!
Clearly, Janine's Venonat had been through formal training. Under her command, it quickly regained its composure, shaking its body and scattering a purple cloud of poison toward Larvitar.
"Larvitar, avoid it!"
Poison Powder posed little threat to Larvitar. The move took time to prepare and was far too obvious when released. Unless used up close, it was easy to evade.
Besides, Nozomi had a better idea.
"Larvitar, use Sandstorm!"
The small, green Pokémon spread its arms and let out a fierce roar.
Then, with a heavy stomp, a miniature sandstorm erupted across the battlefield.
For Larvitar—who would one day evolve into the so-called "Desert Tyrant"—whipping up a sandstorm like this was basic practice.
Venonat immediately panicked as the swirling winds surrounded it.
Living in the forests around Fuchsia City, it had never experienced such weather before. Its fear was instinctive and overwhelming.
No matter how loudly Janine shouted, Venonat couldn't calm down.
It lashed out blindly toward Larvitar.
But its normal attacks couldn't hurt Larvitar even in the best of times—much less now, in this panicked state.
Larvitar didn't even bother to look back. It simply used the only offensive move it knew besides Tackle—
Rock Slide!
A cluster of boulders appeared and crashed down from above, pelting Venonat mercilessly.
Before the poor bug could recover, Larvitar charged forward, grabbed Venonat by the fur with its short arms, and hoisted it into the air.
Venonat struggled wildly, but the small-bodied Larvitar stood firm, steady as a mountain, before slamming it hard into the ground.
"Venonat!"
Janine gasped and rushed to its side, scooping it up.
"Venonat, are you okay?"
She stroked it with a worried expression.
"It should be fine," Nozomi said calmly. "My Larvitar was just born not long ago—it doesn't have the power to cause serious harm yet."
Hearing that, Janine checked Venonat's injuries and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she looked up at Nozomi. "I admit it—you have the right to challenge my father. Come with me."
With that, she turned and led him deeper into the Gym.
"Father, this is today's challenger!"
Janine pushed open the sliding door to a tatami room, where a middle-aged man in a purple ninja uniform sat kneeling with his back to them.
"A challenger? Are you prepared to experience the secrets of ninjutsu?"
He spoke with a dramatic tone as he turned around—
Only for his expression to freeze the moment he saw who it was.
"You're… Nozomi!?"
Koga's body stiffened, his face a mix of disbelief and exasperation.
"Oh? So you know me, Mr. Koga?" Nozomi asked, slightly amused.
Having been unrecognized by Erika in Celadon City, he hadn't expected a reclusive Gym Leader like Koga to recognize him instead.
Koga smiled faintly. "Of course I do. I may live quietly in the Fuchsia Forest, but I still hear the news. The man who helped take down Team Rocket's leader Giovanni, the one who thwarted their operations multiple times—if I didn't know about you, I'd truly be ignorant."
"So Erika really was the odd one out," Nozomi thought, speechless.
Apparently, everyone did know him—it was just Erika who didn't.
"Right, the challenger my daughter mentioned…" Koga's eyes narrowed.
"That's right," Nozomi confirmed. "You guessed correctly—I'm here to challenge the Fuchsia Gym."
"…You're joking, right?" Koga's face twitched.
Everyone knew Nozomi's record against Team Rocket. With that kind of strength, why would he even need to challenge Gyms?
"No choice," Nozomi shrugged. "I'm still a Rookie Trainer this year. If I want to compete in the Indigo League, I have to collect Gym Badges."
Koga fell silent.
He vaguely remembered hearing some news online about Nozomi being a Rookie Trainer—but he'd assumed it was a joke.
Now that it was confirmed true, he couldn't help but feel that none of this made sense.
How could a rookie be this powerful?
Nozomi didn't bother explaining. He just smiled. "What's wrong, Mr. Koga? Don't tell me you're refusing my challenge?"
"…Very well. If you insist."
As a Gym Leader, he couldn't turn down a challenger—especially not one with ties to Lorelei and Lance of the Elite Four.
Reaching behind him, Koga took out a Poké Ball. Skipping any fancy ninja theatrics, he declared the battle rules plainly.
"This Gym challenge will be one-on-one. A single match will decide the outcome!"
He had no desire to drag things out. One match—win or lose—would settle it.
"One-on-one, huh? Works for me." Nozomi smiled, pulling out his own Poké Ball.