[LV45 Infernape — Elite-tier]
"This Ignis is actually very good at breeding Pokémon," Gary commented to himself as he appraised the fiery primate.
Although Ignis himself seemed a bit frivolous and loud, the Pokémon he raised were undeniably top-tier. Both Blaziken and Infernape were excellent Fire-type Pokémon, so well-trained that Gary even briefly considered whether he should breed one himself. Unfortunately, he hadn't encountered a Chimchar with high enough potential during his travels in the Sinnoh Region; otherwise, Gary would have certainly raised an Infernape of his own by now.
"Thunderbolt," Gary ordered calmly.
"Vire!"
Electivire let out a sharp cry and unleashed a bolt of crackling lightning.
"Dig!" Ignis commanded quickly, his reaction time sharp.
Infernape immediately burrowed into the ground, disappearing beneath the surface just in time to successfully avoid the Thunderbolt.
Gary merely smiled coldly. "No need to say more."
"Vire."
Electivire shared the cold smile. It lifted its massive leg and stomped hard on the ground, causing a powerful Earthquake wave to spread out across the entire arena floor.
Bang!!
"Shi—!!"
The ground shattered violently. Infernape was blasted out from its subterranean tunnel by the seismic force. The severe pain of the super-effective, double-damage Earthquake caused it to wail in agony as it was launched into the air.
Thud!
Infernape fell back to the shattered ground and lost consciousness instantly.
"Infernape has lost the ability to battle, Electivire wins!"
Ignis stood on his command platform, completely numb. Two of his Pokémon had been taken out in seconds. The key question in his mind was: Why does an Electivire know Earthquake?
"Master Ignis, are you okay? Can this really be called the 'strongest' Gym?" Gary asked with a provocative tilt of his head.
Ignis: (╬￣皿￣)!!
If the official rules didn't strictly forbid it, Ignis would have wanted to jump down and settle things with Gary in person.
"Boy, don't be too proud! Next is my strongest Pokémon, just you wait!" Ignis took a Poké Ball from his pocket and threw it out with a roar. "Go! My Trump Card!"
A bright flash of light revealed a fat, huge figure radiating intense heat on the venue.
[LV52 Magmortar — Elite-tier]
Level 52!
Gary was actually shocked. He didn't quite understand what was going on. According to the task rewards released by the system—which offered six intermediate Rare Candies—the three Pokémon representing Ignis were supposed to be between levels 40 and 49. So why was a level 52 Pokémon suddenly being sent out?
Looking at it this way, it was clear that Ignis was so angry that he had sent out a Pokémon above the standard Gym level to try and suppress Gary. Unfortunately for him, even a level 52 Magmortar was still not Electivire's rival.
"Magmortar, use Flamethrower!"
"Thunderbolt!"
"Moor!"
Magmortar raised its cannon-like arms, and from the barrel-shaped limbs, it erupted two scorching streams of fire at Electivire.
"Vire!"
The electric current in Electivire's body burst out, gathering into a spear of lightning that instantly tore through the flames and struck Magmortar directly.
"Roar!"
Magmortar wailed repeatedly under the shock, but it did not fall down. With the durability of a quasi-Elite, it wasn't a big problem for it to resist a single attack from an Elite-level Pokémon.
"What! Elite-level!!"
Seeing Thunderbolt easily breaking through Magmortar's flames, Ignis realized that only an Elite-level Pokémon could pull that off. It was terrifying—a twelve or thirteen-year-old child actually owned a true Elite-level Pokémon.
"Thunder Punch!"
Electivire rushed toward Magmortar immediately, its fist crackling with lightning.
"Don't let it get close! Fire Blast!" Ignis ordered desperately.
Magmortar raised its arms again! With a loud bang, a ball of flame spat out from the barrels, expanding into a massive kanji-shaped Fire Blast that rushed forward.
"Vire!"
Electivire immediately activated Light Screen and charged straight through the inferno.
Boom!!
The Fire Blast exploded upon impact, filling the air with heat and smoke, but Electivire burst out of the smoke with its Light Screen still shimmering. It closed the distance instantly, and its lightning-flashing fist was blown out with full force.
Whoosh!!
It punched Magmortar square in the head, knocking the massive Pokémon to the ground. After Magmortar fell, it couldn't get back up again.
"Magmortar has lost the ability to battle!"
"All three of Gym Leader Ignis's Pokémon have been defeated, and the winner of this Gym Competition is the challenger, Gary!"
The Gym battle finally ended.
Ignis, who had been swept three-to-zero, had no choice but to take back his defeated Magmortar. Gary walked over to him at this time and said, "I've won. Please give me the Badge."
"Boy... did you raise this Electivire yourself?" Ignis asked, staring at the Pokémon.
"Of course. I conquered it back when it was my very first year as a Trainer," Gary said.
"Vire!"
Electivire nodded. It was indeed Gary's own Pokémon.
"Hold it. This is the Solar Flare Badge."
Ignis didn't even bother to take Gary back to the official display case; he just handed the badge over directly.
"Thanks."
[Ding! The task is completed, the reward has been distributed to the space backpack.]
"Goodbye. Eevee, we're leaving."
"Vui!"
Gary and Eevee turned and left together. Leaving the Sunshine Gym, Gary immediately checked the item rewards from the system.
[Premium Smooth Rock: Extends the duration of Sandstorm. Additionally, the power of the Pokémon carrying this prop is increased by 30% when using Rock and Ground skills in Sandstorm weather.]
Gary was surprised. He didn't expect that a "Premium" Smooth Rock would have such a strong effect. In addition to extending the Sandstorm duration, it also increased the power of Rock and Ground skills, which was amazing. This top-quality Smooth Rock was perfect for any Pokémon with the Sand Stream ability.
Ideally, Tyranitar would choose between Mega Evolution and this Premium Smooth Rock. Gary would definitely choose the former once he had the Mega Stone, but since he didn't have Tyranitarite yet, this top-quality Smooth Rock was very suitable for Tyranitar to carry for the long term.
"System, use the Fire-type self-selected permanent skill learner to redeem Flare Blitz for me."
Without any hesitation, Gary directly exchanged for the strongest physical Fire-type attack move. Although Flare Blitz has recoil damage, its power is the highest among all physical Fire-type skills.
[Ding! Skill redemption was successful.]
After the redemption, Gary touched Eevee's head and taught the move Flare Blitz to Eevee.
Eevee: (^▽^)!
Eevee was already used to this and just smiled happily at the new power. There are not many Pokémon that can naturally learn Flare Blitz; usually, only Fire-types can master it. Other attribute Pokémon—excluding Legendaries—can rarely master it unless they have a special system like Gary's Eevee.
After teaching Eevee the skill, Gary and Eevee went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. In the afternoon, they set off for Lake Verity to check on things.
Gary had originally planned to capture the Lake Trio while they were in their coma earlier, but because of the red gems fused to their foreheads, he couldn't subdue them then. Now, he could only follow his original plan and try to negotiate with them.
Currently, Lake Verity was the only one of the three lakes in the Sinnoh Region that had not been renovated.
Lake Valor and Lake Acuity had both been developed; Lake Valor had even become a major tourist attraction with a Grand Hotel next to it for tourists to stay in.
Lake Verity remained well-protected and undeveloped. Gary followed the wooden signs along the forest path, heading toward the pristine waters of Lake Verity.