Chapter 18: Charmander vs. Psyduck! Dragon Pulse!
After his exam, Leo took the Sharp Beak off his Pidove and handed it back to Kenji. As his friend for many years, Kenji knew Leo could be stubborn, so he didn't argue and simply took the item back.
"So, how'd it go?" Kenji asked from the back seat of the car on their way from the gym.
Leo grinned. "Not bad."
Pidove's potential was what it was. Even though it had trained alongside a Beedrill and a Charmander, the power gap between them had only continued to widen. Still, at level 8 and with the boost from the Sharp Beak, Leo was confident he had secured at least a B-Rank.
After lunch, Leo's family dropped Kenji off back at the Edgecliff Gym. With their encouragement ringing in his ears, he walked back inside.
The gym was bustling with volunteers directing students and handling any issues that arose. There were a total of sixty battlefields set up for the exam, and Kenji was assigned to Arena 55. Melody, as it turned out, was in Arena 53, just one field over.
A few middle-aged men in official examiner uniforms were standing near the arenas, chatting casually. There was still some time before the afternoon session began. Kenji was number 60 in his arena's queue, meaning he would be the last one to battle.
Since the students were allowed to move around freely before their turn, Kenji decided to wander over to Arena 53 to kill some time. He found Melody doing some warm-up stretches with her Charmander.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised.
Kenji shrugged. "Bored. What number are you?"
"Number 5. You?"
"60," Kenji replied.
Melody nodded. "That's good. I'll be able to watch your match after I'm done."
Kenji smiled. "You should probably focus on your own exam first. You're almost up."
"Don't worry," she said with a confident smile. "I've got this."
The exam began. Kenji stood next to Melody, watching the battles on the field. The first few students were clearly outmatched; none of them lasted more than five minutes against the examiner's Pokémon.
"Number 5! Melody!" a staff member with a clipboard called out. Her name flashed on the large electronic screen above the field.
Melody waved at Kenji, then walked out of the crowd. She handed her ID to the staff member with one hand and placed her Charmander's Poké Ball on a scanner with the other.
The machine beeped, and a green light flashed, indicating that her Charmander was a legitimate, registered exam Pokémon. The staff member nodded, signaling that she could proceed.
Melody walked onto the field and, with a practiced motion, threw her Poké Ball.
"Go, Charmander!"
Poof!—
The Poké Ball opened, and her Charmander appeared on the field.
"Char! Char-char!—" it cried, waving its short arms with surprising ferocity.
"Whoa! A Charmander! That girl must be pretty skilled."
"Hey... she looks really familiar. I feel like I've seen her somewhere."
"Of course you have, we go to the same school. You'd recognize her dad even more easily."
"Who's her dad?"
"Where are you right now?"
"The exam site."
"Wrong."
"You're in her house."
"Wait, WHAT?!"
There were a few other students from their school in the audience. Within minutes, the news that Melody was the Gym Leader's daughter had spread like wildfire.
Kenji ignored the chatter and focused on the examiner across the field. The man casually tossed out a Poké Ball. With a soft pop, a yellow, duck-like Pokémon with a vacant expression appeared, clutching its head.
"Quaaack..."
"A Psyduck?" Kenji raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had a soft spot for the Pokémon, especially after seeing the ridiculously overpowered "God Duck" in the anime from his past life.
Psyduck
Level: 14
Ability: Damp
Potential: F+
On the field, Melody frowned. Of all the Pokémon she could have faced, she had to get a Psyduck. A Water-type versus a Fire-type. The battle hadn't even started, and her Charmander was already at a disadvantage.
"Chaaar!—" Charmander cried, the flame on its tail flaring brightly as it looked back at Melody, its eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"The battle... begin!" the referee announced.
"Psyduck! Use Disable and lock it down!" the examiner commanded immediately.
"Charmander! Use Smokescreen and keep moving!" Melody countered.
As Psyduck clutched its head, its eyes glowing with a faint blue light, Charmander opened its mouth and spewed a thick cloud of black smoke. The smoke instantly concealed its body, preventing Psyduck's Disable from finding its target.
"Charmander, use Leer, then Ember!"
"Char!"
A moment later, a small ball of fire shot out from within the smoke cloud, streaking toward the Psyduck.
"Psyduck, use a full-power Water Gun! Aim for where the Ember came from!"
"Quaaack!—"
Psyduck opened its beak, and a powerful jet of water shot toward the source of the flame. As expected, the water completely overpowered the fire, continuing its trajectory straight into the smoke.
But Melody's eyes flashed with insight. "Endure it! Now, Charmander! Full-power Dragon Pulse!" she shouted.
"What?!" The examiner was stunned. He never expected her Charmander to have an egg move like Dragon Pulse, a true powerhouse of a move.
And he certainly never expected to see its Hidden Ability flare to life.
"Solar Power, activate!"
"CHAAAAAR!—"
BOOM!
The flame on Charmander's tail erupted, burning so intensely that it cleared away the dissipating smoke. A terrifying draconic energy began to gather in its mouth. Just then, the Water Gun slammed into it.
Smack!
Charmander winced in pain as the super-effective move hit home. But at that exact moment, the Dragon Pulse was fully charged.
"CHAAAAAR!—"
With a roar, Charmander threw its head back and unleashed the stored energy. A massive, swirling beam of power shot across the field. The pathetic Water Gun was instantly vaporized as the Dragon Pulse tore through it, continuing unabated toward the Psyduck.
"Dodge it, quick!" the examiner yelled in a panic.
But it was too late. Psyduck, still in the middle of executing its last command, was a sitting duck. The Dragon Pulse hit it head-on.
"QUAAAAACK!—"
With a final, pained cry, the Psyduck was sent flying, crashing onto the field with its eyes replaced by swirls.
A one-hit KO.
The entire arena fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a wave of shocked murmurs. The previous matches had been complete stomps by the examiner. No one had expected Melody to not only win, but to win by a complete knockout.
This was the power of the Gym Leader's daughter!
"Psyduck is unable to battle! Charmander is the winner!" the referee quickly announced.
"Char..."
On the field, the flame on Charmander's tail flickered weakly. The Water Gun had done a number on it, but it stood victorious.