"What are the rules?" Leah asked again.
"Two Pokémon. One-on-one battles."
Since the goal was to train Cottonee, a single battle was the best choice. In a double battle, Charmeleon could likely handle things alone.
"Using two Pokémon?"
A single battle was within Leah's expectations. After all, double battles required strong synergy between Pokémon and their trainers, and even between the Pokémon themselves. Most beginners weren't skilled in that aspect yet.
What surprised her, however, was Maki's decision to use two Pokémon. In her view, if this was a pure 1v1 match, Charmeleon would have an overwhelming advantage.
"The official battle rules are 1v1, with each trainer allowed two Pokémon. Switching during the match is not permitted. Understood?"
The referee, seated on the sidelines, confirmed the rules with Maki.
"No problem." Maki nodded.
"Even though you're Erika's friend, I won't be holding back in a Gym Challenge. You should prepare yourself for a loss."
Despite having the approachable charm of an older sister, Erika's mother showed her strong-willed nature when it came to Gym battles.
After all, as a Gym Leader, being tough was part of the job.
"Cottonee."
Maki called out, and when he saw the little Pokémon still comfortably nestled in Jasmine's arms, his face darkened. If he remembered correctly, his Cottonee was female, right?
"Cottonee~"
Hearing Maki's call, Cottonee responded lazily. Jasmine quickly let go, allowing the fluffy Pokémon to float back to Maki.
During the short time she took to drift over, Cottonee seemed to adjust her state. By the time she reached Maki, she was back at full energy.
"Cotton!"
Cottonee called out energetically, her posture full of confidence, as if declaring, No matter who my opponent is, I'll defeat them in three moves!
"Let's do this! This is your first real battle—give it your best shot!"
"Char~meleon!"
Knock 'em out!
Maki encouraged Cottonee, and Charmeleon joined in with a cheer of his own.
"Cottonee, huh? Then my first Pokémon will be… Tangela!"
Leah smiled. She had already suspected whose Pokémon that Cottonee was when she saw Jasmine holding it earlier.
After all, Jasmine was determined to become a Steel-type specialist, so it was unlikely she would have a Grass/Fairy-type Pokémon.
As for Erika, she had never caught a Cottonee either.
Leah was quite satisfied with how Maki had been raising his Cottonee. In terms of Grass-type knowledge, she far surpassed Erika, who was still young.
One glance told her that this Cottonee had been raised on high-quality Pokéblocks. It was in excellent condition, and even the Charmeleon beside it looked well-trained.
Considering that Maki's starter Pokémon had been a Charmander officially assigned by the Pokémon League, Leah couldn't help but feel a bit curious about his background.
After all, high-quality Pokéblocks weren't easy to come by—especially custom-made ones tailored perfectly for a specific Pokémon.
Either Maki had access to special resources, or he was an expert Pokéblock maker.
But given his age, Leah immediately ruled out the latter. That kind of expertise wasn't something a trainer of his age could realistically have.
Still, she decided to set the matter aside for now. She would investigate further when registering his Gym Badge later.
A challenger couldn't simply walk away with a Gym Badge after winning a battle. The Gym Leader had to register it officially with the League. Otherwise, during the Indigo Plateau Conference, trainers could just borrow badges from one another—did they think the League officials were fools?
That's why Gym Badges alone weren't enough. They had more commemorative than practical value. Even if a badge was lost, as long as the League had the record, the trainer could still compete in the tournament.
Leah's first Pokémon was Tangela, which wasn't a surprise to Maki.
After all, Gym Leaders had to strike a balance between testing challengers and not making things too easy.
This was why some Gyms only accepted challengers with a certain number of badges—it was an early filtering system.
With a flash of red light from the Poké Ball, a blue Pokémon appeared before them.
Tangela's entire body was covered in thick, blue vines, concealing its face except for its eyes. The vines were covered in fine hair, and beneath them were stubby red feet, resembling small boots. Its arms were completely hidden.
No one knew what Tangela looked like beneath its tangled mass of vines.
This reminded Maki of another Pokémon with an air of mystery—Mimikyu. That Pokémon concealed its true form beneath a ragged Pikachu-like cloth, and rumor had it that anyone who saw its real body died from sheer terror.
Tangela had a similar nature. The vines around its body weren't truly part of its body. Even if they were cut off, Tangela wouldn't feel any pain, and the vines would quickly grow back.
The way the vines constantly writhed on their own, even when Tangela wasn't controlling them, gave off a strange, unsettling vibe.
It made Maki think of something else—something found in certain, ahem, specific types of illustrated works…
"Cotton!"
Cottonee floated to her designated spot on the battlefield. Since Maki hadn't given any background on Tangela, she didn't seem particularly wary of the strange, vine-covered Pokémon.
"You're the challenger, so you get the first move."
"Well, I won't be holding back."
Maki smirked slightly. This was a Gym Leader battle—he had no reason to be polite.
"Cottonee, use Leech Seed!"
Maki wasted no time giving his first command.
"Leech Seed?"
Leah raised an eyebrow. Not because the move was particularly dangerous for Tangela, but because—Leech Seed had no effect on Grass-type Pokémon.
She had initially thought Maki was a competent challenger, especially after seeing his Charmeleon. But now, she was starting to doubt that. He didn't even know such a basic rule?
Slightly disappointed, Leah shook her head. But then, Maki's next command made her pause.
"Aim for the ground!"
Since this was a Grass-type Gym, the battlefield was covered in a grassy surface.
Leech Seed's move description stated that it could sap energy from the opponent.
But since it was a seed… couldn't it also be planted in the ground?
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