Flannery was tall, a head taller than Lionel.
Walking up to Lionel, Flannery raised an eyebrow, her tone deliberately provocative: "You're Lionel?
The trainer from Devon Corporation, and you even caught Larvesta?
Grandpa watched your previous gym challenge video and said you were amazing, even telling me to learn from you!
Today I'll see just how much you're worth."
Before she finished speaking, she tossed her ponytail, turned, and walked towards her battle station, leaving only a curt statement: "Come on, don't waste time."
livestream chat instantly went viral:
[Here it comes! The main characters finally faced off!]
[Flannery is so cool! But I'm on Larvesta's side!]
[Will Flannery send out Magmortar again? Magmortar was amazing just now!]
[Larvesta, charge! Get the Flame Badge! ] As
the staff prepared to walk onto the referee's platform, the side door of the arena suddenly opened.
All eyes turned to it.
Morre walked out slowly, toying with a bright red badge in her hand. The badge's edge was engraved with delicate flame patterns, gleaming under the lights.
Flannery's arrogance melted instantly, and she quickly went to greet him, her tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of coquettishness: "Grandpa, what brings you here?"
"Can't Grandpa watch your gym battle?"
Morre chuckled, patting her shoulder, but her gaze swept over the crowd, landing on Lionel with a scrutinizing and probing look.
The live stream chat exploded:
[!! It's Gym Leader Morre! She hasn't shown up for over half a year!]
[Speaking of which, when Morre was Gym Leader, badges weren't this hard to get—Flannery has been really strict since she took over!]
[The streamer must be under a lot of pressure? The former Elite Four are watching!]
Lionel couldn't help but chuckle as he read the comments about how hard it was to get badges.
The difficulty of obtaining gym badges in the Hoenn region varies considerably; it's not always necessary to win a battle. It's more about the gym leader's approval of the challenger.
For example, the Mauville Gym Leader, Wattson, has a playful, childlike temperament. As long as there are no fundamental mistakes in the battle, the badge is practically a given.
Roxanne, the Rock Gym Leader in Rustboro City, while a teacher, is harsh on challengers' mistakes but always awards a badge as encouragement.
Previously, the hardest gym badges to obtain were the Twin Badge from Mossdeep City and Winona's Flying Badge.
Now, Flannery's Flame Badge is also a contender.
Flannery's rule for obtaining badges after taking over the Flame Gym is simple:
if you can't beat me, don't even think about getting a badge.
Of course, this only refers to the difficulty of obtaining the badge, not the gym leader's strength.
In terms of strength, the strongest gym leaders in Hoenn are Norman from Petalburg City, Adam from Soothing Gym, and the former Lavaridge Gym Leader, Morre.
These three are the strongest gym leaders in the entire Hoenn region.
Flannery chatted briefly with her grandfather, took a deep breath, and returned to her battle position.
Her expression returned to its previous coldness, as if the girl who had been acting coquettishly just moments before was merely an illusion.
"Referee, it's time to begin."
The referee ascended the platform, cleared his throat, and announced in a booming voice, "Attention both trainers, this Gym Challenge is a three-on-three battle. A team that loses if all of its Pokémon are unable to battle will be declared the loser. Challengers may freely change their Pokémon.
Now, the match begins!"
Flannery tossed a Poké Ball: "You've seen my Cyndaquil, so let it continue!"
A flash of red light, and Cyndaquil landed steadily in the center of the arena, its body ablaze with flames, clearly having recovered to its peak condition.
"Larvesta, it's your turn."
Lionel tossed a Poké Ball, a white light blooming, and a chubby Burnntorff appeared in the arena.
It tilted its head curiously, its five antennae swaying gently as it sized up the Cyndaquil opposite it.
A low gasp rippled through the audience.
Cyndaquil was nearly a meter long, but compared to Burnntorff, it appeared considerably smaller.
The size difference surprised many viewers who had never seen a Larvesta before, and whispers arose.
Cyndaquil seemed enraged by the Larvesta's scrutinizing gaze; flames erupted from its head and back, crackling as it bared its teeth defiantly at the Larvesta.
The Larvesta, however, was not to be outdone.
Its five antennae around its head instantly spewed forth fierce flames, far more intense than those emanating from Cyndaquil, as if to say, "Where do you get the confidence to challenge me, you little brat?"
Lionel had complete confidence in the Larvesta.
Flannery's Cyndaquil was indeed talented, mastering the powerful Fire-type moves Flamethrower and Overheat.
However, at this stage, the energy levels of the two Pokémon, Larvesta and Larvesta, were on completely different levels, a vast difference.
Unless Cyndaquil evolved into Typhlosion, it might be able to barely contend with the Larvesta; otherwise, the difference in energy intensity between the two Pokémon was simply too great.
Over the days they spent together, Lionel and the Larvesta had developed a deeper understanding, and Lionel also learned why it treasured the stone with the "Ω" symbol so much.
It was a gift from its mother when it was a child.
According to the Metang's translation, after the volcanic eruption, Victini and Volcarona did not leave immediately, but instead searched for a suitable place for it to grow in Hoenn.
Mt. Chimney's environment was perfect for its growth, so Victini and Volcarona left Larvesta there.
The stone with the "Ω" symbol was also found by Victini in Mt. Chimney and given to Larvesta specifically for its protection.
Victini said that once Larvesta absorbed energy in the volcano and evolved, it could fly north to find its mother.
So that's how it is.
After learning this, Lionel promised Larvesta that he would help it evolve and take it to find its mother when the opportunity arose.
Larvesta was so happy that it snuggled against him, forgetting all about the bet and its strange feeling, completely accepting him as its trainer.
"Victini—"
A ripple of emotion stirred in Lionel's heart.
Normally, Victini and Volcarona's habitat is in the Unova region, so why were they in Hoenn?
Victini helped Larvesta's mother evolve into Volcarona; what kind of connection existed between them?
Lionel carefully examined Larvesta's moveset.
Larvesta only inherited the move "Morning Light," and Lionel asked it to think carefully about how to use the move "V-Blaze."
However, the Larvesta just shook its head blankly, clearly having no concept of the move.
"What are you thinking about? Don't want to fight?"
Flannery's voice interrupted Lionel's thoughts. She raised an eyebrow at him: "If you're scared, it's not too late to admit defeat now."