"Protect!"
Koga's expression stayed calm as ever.
Hum!
A semi-transparent barrier materialized, blocking every drop of the black-violet poisoned water before it could make contact. Not even Koga or Aya, standing behind the Venomoth, were touched.
The wooden door, however, was blasted clean off its hinges by the surge of water.
"What the heck, that's Water Pulse? You could pass that off as surfing and I'd believe it!"
"This is the streamer's thing. When it comes to move power and variety, he never loses."
"Come on, Dratini, give it everything you've got!"
Inside the livestream chat, as Dratini seized the upper hand, viewers flooded the screen with cheers for Caster and Dratini. Koga had a poor reputation online despite his respectable strength, and plenty of people were more than happy to watch him go down.
"Dra!"
But just then, Dratini winced in visible pain, and the black-violet hue on its face deepened. The poison was eating through its body, draining it of stamina.
"Ugh, poison is genuinely the worst. Poison-type trainers are my absolute least favorite."
"Seriously! Why can't they just fight straight up? Why resort to cheap tricks?"
"Come on, little dragon, get up! You've got this!"
Dratini's adorable appearance had won it a devoted fanbase, and watching it suffer from the poison had countless viewers aching with sympathy.
Koga, on the other hand, watched Dratini's anguished expression with the faintest curl of a smile. His greatest pleasure was watching opponents succumb to poison, writhing and helpless, unable to break free, until they finally collapsed in defeat.
The only unfortunate thing was that this Venomoth had been freshly trained as a Gym battle tool. The poison he'd used wasn't calibrated for peak potency and hadn't been layered with secondary effects like paralysis, confusion, or sleep.
Thinking of how Caster had stirred something in Aya, Koga decided to crank up the pressure. "Venomoth, use Supersonic!"
"Moth!"
Venomoth vibrated its wings and rapidly opened and closed its mouthparts. The sounds merged into an intense oscillating wave.
"We're not losing the Supersonic war either!"
Caster's eyebrow shot up. "Dratini, hit back with Supersonic!"
Dratini wasn't known as a Supersonic specialist, but its Supersonic was at Mastered level, which meant it was already operating at full potential in that department.
"Dra!"
The same wave launched from Dratini, but its intensity dwarfed Venomoth's by several times over. Normally sound waves are invisible, but Dratini's were so powerful they were almost tangible, rolling outward like crashing walls of sound.
Boom!
The two Supersonics collided. Venomoth's wave shattered on contact, like an egg thrown against a stone wall.
Dratini's Supersonic, meanwhile, bounced off the surrounding walls, amplified by the reflections, and came back even stronger.
"Veno~!"
The hit connected, and Venomoth immediately recoiled in pain. Stars began swirling around its head. Dizzy and disoriented, it could barely hold itself in the air.
Venomoth had fallen into confusion.
"How is Dratini's Supersonic this powerful?"
Both Koga and Aya were stunned.
Fuchsia Gym was best known for its mastery of poison, but it was no slouch when it came to Supersonic, Stun Spore, and Sleep Powder either.
Yet here they were, outclassed by one small Dratini.
With Venomoth reeling, Caster wasn't about to let the opening go. "Dratini, use Extreme Speed, now!"
Whoosh!
Pushing through the poison eating at its body, Dratini shot forward like a streak of light, slamming into the floundering Venomoth mid-air and sending it crashing to the floor. Dratini followed up immediately with a Water Pulse.
"Veno~!"
A pained cry rang out, and Venomoth's eyes spun in circles as it lost the ability to battle.
One opening was all it took, and Caster had made the most of it. What had been a commanding advantage for Koga crumbled into defeat.
It stung a little, but Koga had to admit: Caster's Dratini had been raised exceptionally well. Its Water Pulse and Supersonic in particular were not only powerful but executed with remarkable speed. Flawless, honestly.
Koga kept a Tentacruel as his ace. Setting aside raw energy output, if he were to compare that Tentacruel's mastery of those two moves alone, it fell short of Caster's Dratini, and that was just the truth.
He was genuinely impressed.
This kid is something else.
"I wonder, compared to the talented trainer Lance went off to meet, who would actually come out on top?"
As he recalled his Venomoth, the thought surfaced quietly. Lance had stepped out after taking a phone call, saying only that he was going to meet some exceptionally gifted trainer. He hadn't mentioned who.
Anyone Champion Lance considered worth his personal attention had to be extraordinarily skilled.
"Wait. Lance? Dratini?"
A bolt of realization flashed through Koga's mind.
He felt like he'd just connected the dots.
He vaguely recalled overhearing that the person Lance was going to meet was only a few minutes away, which meant they had to be somewhere near Fuchsia City.
With that, his entire read of Caster shifted in an instant.
He took out a medicated tablet and held it out toward Dratini, smiling as he said, "This is my own formulation. Swallow it, and the poison in your body will clear right up."
"Dra!"
Dratini looked warily at its former opponent and shrank back, unwilling to take anything from him. The old man was crafty; his poison had come out of nowhere.
Only after Caster gave a nod did Dratini finally swallow the tablet.
Shortly after, the poison in Dratini's body dissipated entirely, and its energy seemed notably restored.
That was clearly more than a simple antidote.
Caster wasn't surprised. He knew Koga was an expert in medicines and poisons and frequently used his own concoctions to treat Pokemon.
"This is proof of your victory over me: the Soul Badge. Please accept it."
Koga then unrolled a scroll he'd taken from his coat, revealing a pink heart-shaped badge split into two halves nestled inside.
"Thank you!"
Caster happily accepted the Soul Badge, held it up in front of the camera for a few seconds, and grinned. "I've got the Soul Badge!"
"Congrats, Old Fish, on getting your fifth badge. One step closer to the Indigo League. Here's a Luxury Ball, don't mention it."
"Congrats to the streamer on another great new addition to the team!"
"Dratini forever! Fight on, for me!"
"Fish Dad! If trading Dratini is completely off the table, fine, I get it. But could you at least let Dratini breed with mine someday? I'll pay 1,000,000 P. I'll even throw in a Rayquaza Meteor Shower donation right now as a show of good faith!"
After the battle, viewers flooded the chat with donations. The most eye-catching was the Rayquaza Meteor Shower, its special effects blazing spectacularly across the screen.
"Breeding? Dratini's still young. Let me raise it up properly first, and once it evolves into Dragonite, we can talk!"
Caster laughed it off and strolled out of Fuchsia Gym.
After chatting with viewers for a while longer, he ended the stream.
He checked his earnings from the session and his eyes lit up. "Another 100,000 in donations? This money is almost too easy."
This Fuchsia Gym run hadn't featured many of his usual stunts, but with a fanbase in the millions, it had still pulled in over 100,000 in donations. Even after the platform's cut, what was left would keep Caster comfortable for a long time.
"That's finally enough to cover the materials for the Seel bait recipe."
His eyebrow lifted with anticipation. "So next up, fishing my way over to Sevii Islands!"
"I hear the waters around Sevii Islands are home to all kinds of Water-type Pokemon. With any luck, I might pick up another strong one or two along the way!"
His eyes lit up at the thought.
The Icefall Cave in particular was said to be home to a colony of Ice-types, a type notably absent from his current roster. Dewgong, Lapras, Cloyster, any of them would be a fantastic addition.
Just thinking about Sevii Islands, Caster felt a familiar warmth stir in his chest.
He'd get to see Elisa again.
And if things went the way he hoped, he might even get to stop by her place for a visit.
Even if it was just a visit.
۞۞۞۞
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