Pokemon: Gym Leader

"What kind of dragon is this?"

Alder snapped back to reality, staring at the enormous, wild, gray Tyrannosaurus-like dragon on the field.

This terrifying presence, more fearsome than Reshiram, meant this dragon was definitely another legendary Pokémon.

Alder frowned in deep thought, then suddenly remembered another legend.

"Lillie, what is this Pokémon?"

Unable to confirm for himself, as the Pokédex displayed no data, Alder immediately asked Lillie, who was Dylan's sister and should know about Dylan's Pokémon.

"This is Kyurem, the Ice Dragon Kyurem," Lillie replied with a soft smile.

Since Kyurem had appeared, there was no point in hiding it any longer.

Kyurem! As expected!

Upon hearing this, Alder understood. Kyurem was another one of the legendary Dragon Pokémon of Unova, known in folklore as the man-eating and Pokémon-devouring dragon.

However, Alder was friends with Shaga of Opelucid City, who had once told him the true origin of Kyurem—that it was the empty shell left behind when the original dragon of Unova split into two!

"Dylan..."

Alder gazed at Dylan in the arena, his eyes filled with fiery admiration.

Not only had Dylan captured the Truth Dragon Reshiram, but also Kyurem! Was this guy here to collect all the Dragon Gods of Unova?

But it didn't matter—capturing legendary Pokémon was Dylan's ability, and what Alder needed to focus on now was how to get Dylan to join the Unova League!

On the field.

Buoyed by Dylan's gentle reassurance, Lacey regained her fighting spirit. Although the dragon in front of her still terrified her, she believed she shouldn't give up without a fight.

She had mustered up her courage, but...

"Granbull, show some backbone!"

Lacey looked at Granbull, who was clutching her leg and trembling, and felt a headache coming on—disappointed by her Pokémon's lack of resolve.

She herself wasn't this scared!

"Bulu..." Granbull looked up at Lacey with a pitiful expression, reluctantly letting go of her leg and slowly stepping back into the battlefield.

Technically, Granbull should have been disqualified for running out of the arena just now, as it showed a loss of will to fight, but everyone tacitly agreed not to mention it.

Granbull now stood opposite Kyurem, feeling the overwhelming pressure of the strongest dragon. Its legs began to tremble again, as it realized it was under far more stress than it could handle.

Oh no!

How could a mere Granbull be worthy enough to compete against Reshiram and Kyurem?

Was this fair at all? Not even remotely!

"Granbull, you can do it! Use Roar!"

Lacey clenched her fists, cheering on her Pokémon.

Granbull closed its eyes, trying to block out Kyurem's terrifying face, and let out a roar.

It was a roar that didn't quite sound like a roar, but it unleashed a gust of wind and a mysterious force that struck Kyurem.

At Dylan's signal, Kyurem gave the little dog a bored glance before returning to its Poké Ball as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Another luxury ball opened, and a dark shadow spread on the ground. From the shadow, the pitch-black nightmare slowly rose.

Darkrai!

Darkrai's calm blue eyes locked onto Granbull, but it was puzzled. Why did this little dog look so relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted?

"Phew~ It's the mythical Darkrai..." Lacey sighed with relief, realizing that while Darkrai was certainly formidable, it was far less intimidating than the previous two dragons.

"Darkrai, the mythical Pokémon from Sinnoh... Dylan, you're full of surprises!" Alder marveled. He was eager to know what other legendary Pokémon Dylan possessed.

Boss Clay felt a lot more relaxed as well. He still cared deeply about his precious daughter and didn't want any lasting psychological damage.

"Lacey, don't get too comfortable! My Darkrai is very strong, so don't underestimate it," Dylan gently reminded her with a warm smile.

"Yes! I'll do my best!" Lacey responded seriously.

She knew Dylan had given her an immense advantage, so there was no way she could let him down now.

She had to show her full potential to Dylan!

"Granbull!" Lacey called out to her Pokémon.

Granbull forced itself to focus, glaring at Darkrai with a menacing expression, its Intimidate ability activating.

Darkrai's physical attack was lowered by one stage due to Intimidate.

However, Darkrai narrowed its eyes slightly, surprised that this little dog had the nerve to bare its fangs at it...

"Granbull, use Play Rough!"

Lacey's face was serious. This was the best possible scenario—Darkrai was a Dark-type, which was weak to Fairy-type moves.

She had to put up a good fight! She couldn't disappoint Dylan!

Granbull growled and charged toward Darkrai, but unfortunately, Granbull's fastest running speed was still quite slow.

"Dark Pulse," Dylan said calmly, with a smile.

Darkrai approached Granbull, its black shadow moving like a phantom, dark energy dancing around its claws.

Darkrai quickly reached Granbull, whose teeth and claws were glowing with Fairy-type energy as it lunged at Darkrai.

Play Rough!

However, Darkrai easily dodged the attack with a graceful sidestep, its claws aimed directly at Granbull's side.

"Granbull! Watch out!" Lacey's eyes widened in shock.

Boom!

Dark Pulse exploded upon impact, hitting Granbull squarely. Granbull howled in pain, its body sent flying by the powerful dark energy.

Despite being a Fairy-type, which resisted Dark-type moves, this attack was simply too strong. Luckily, Darkrai had not used its full power.

"Shadow Ball," Dylan commanded.

Darkrai raised its right claw, forming a dark, eerie energy ball.

With a swift motion, Darkrai hurled the Shadow Ball at the fallen Granbull.

Boom!

The Shadow Ball hit its target, erupting in a loud explosion.

The pitch-black nightmare floated back to Dylan, silent and eerie as always.

"Granbull is unable to battle. Darkrai wins," Alder declared.

So strong!

Lacey stared in disbelief at her unconscious Granbull. There was no doubt—this Darkrai was far stronger than the Regirock from the beginning.

Did she really Roar away the weakest one?

Thinking of this, Lacey wanted to bang her head against the wall. How could this happen?!

"In comparison to Regirock, Darkrai's offensive capabilities are definitely much stronger. Miss Lacey, there's a reason I chose Regirock to lead," Dylan said, seemingly guessing Lacey's thoughts.

"Regirock has excellent defense and a decent physical attack, but its speed isn't fast. It's a relatively bulky type. If a suitable battle strategy is found, Regirock isn't particularly hard to handle."

"But Darkrai is different."

Dylan glanced at Lacey. Darkrai was agile and had a fast speed. With its priority move, Dark Void, it would put opponents to sleep upon hitting, and its special attack was exceptionally powerful.

Furthermore, Darkrai was also at a higher level than Regirock, so the difficulty of their battle was clear.

But Dylan was at a loss; he had chosen the weakest and easiest to battle Regirock as the lead, and Lacey had scared it away herself. Now, it was still not returning.

"Wuu…" Lacey covered her face and let out a cute whimper.

Regirock, I miss you! Can you come back?

But the battle had to continue. Lacey quickly adjusted her emotions. After thinking it over, she threw out her third Poké Ball.

"Whimsicott! Please!"

The Poké Ball opened in the air, and a Pokémon with a big fluffy tuft of cotton on its back landed in front of Lacey.

It wasn't very large; its brown body resembled a sheep, with cotton extending from the top of its head and swelling into a large puff.

'Ding~ Whimsicott, Grass, Fairy type, Windveil Pokémon

Ability: Prankster

Moves: Moonblast, Tailwind, Cotton Guard, Light Screen, Cotton Spore, Stun Spore, Leech Seed, Giga Drain…

Description: Like the wind, it can slip through any tiny gap, leaving behind white tufts of fluff.'

It looked quite cute.

Lillie looked at the data of this Whimsicott in the Pokédex.

"Whimsicott, huh…" Dylan raised an eyebrow at the cheerful and cunning-looking Whimsicott.

And if he remembered correctly, Lacey's Whimsicott had the Prankster ability.

"Whimsicott! Use Stun Spore!" Lacey decisively commanded.

Whimsicott grinned, waving its little arms, and a cloud of yellow powder drifted through the air.

Thanks to the Prankster ability, it used Stun Spore at an incredibly fast speed.

"Blizzard, blow it back," Dylan narrowed his eyes.

Darkrai quickly retreated, its claws coming together before violently spreading apart, unleashing a powerful blizzard.

An Ice-type Blizzard!

Under the blizzard, the Stun Spore was directly consumed, and the blizzard continued to surge toward Whimsicott.

"Whimsicott! Protect!" Lacey reacted quickly.

Whimsicott immediately used Protect, and the green barrier expanded instantly under the boost of Prankster.

Dylan shook his head, seeing that Whimsicott couldn't hold it. Lacey's choice was very correct; the area of the blizzard was too large, making it the most rational decision for Whimsicott to use Protect.

But it was futile; his Darkrai was already level seventy-one. The difference in strength was so great that Protect couldn't withstand it, and it would be directly shattered.

The howling blizzard slammed into the Protect barrier, but before Lacey could feel relieved, the barrier began to freeze and then shatter.

Creak~!

Protect was directly broken by the blizzard, which continued to surge toward Whimsicott. Whimsicott cried out in pain, its entire body engulfed by the blizzard.

And since Whimsicott was weak to Ice-type moves, there was no way it could hold on.

"Whimsicott is unable to battle. Darkrai wins," Alder announced the result of the battle.

Lacey bit her lip, looking at her unconscious Whimsicott with a bit of helplessness. It couldn't even protect itself, and this Darkrai really left her feeling powerless.

Hmm, once again, she missed Regirock. How about switching to the Rock Guardian, Dylan?

That gym leader's rule against switching Pokémon could also be overlooked, in her opinion.

"The gap in strength is too big." The observing Clay sighed, filled with paternal worry for his precious daughter.

"I hope Lacey won't be affected by this battle."

The outcome of the battle was already a foregone conclusion. Now Clay was only worried about whether his daughter's mindset would be influenced by this battle.

After all, there were many instances of this; many trainers had fallen into despair after a crushing defeat in a single battle.

"Don't worry. Lacey isn't the type to be downcast just because of one failure. She's not that weak."

Alder was quite confident in Lacey. Even facing Reshiram and Kyurem, she didn't give up on the battle. Alder believed Lacey had a bright future ahead.

"And she's already performed well. Do you think Dylan would give her a badge?"

Alder was quite curious about this. To be honest, he didn't think anyone could defeat Dylan, who used this legendary team.

It was no wonder Dylan said he was at his peak.

Is there really someone in this world who can defeat Reshiram and Kyurem in a legitimate battle? Alder seriously doubted it.

The might of Kyurem made even him feel a shiver down his spine.

So would Dylan really give out that legendary Rota badge? Perhaps the only possibility was to gain the recognition of Dylan, who used a legendary team, and then randomly give a badge.

"If it were me, I would give it." Clay replied naturally.

"I also think he would. To be able to face Kyurem and still have the will to continue battling, just that alone is already no small feat. This girl has already earned a badge."

Alder thought the same; putting aside everything else, Lacey's determination was commendable.

"As far as I know, it seems that the Rota Gym has only given out one badge so far, right, Lillie?"

"Um… if it's the new Rota badge, then yes, only Erika received a ghost-type Rota badge."

Hearing Alder's question, Lillie replied obediently.

"In fact, according to Selene and Asha, Brother has wanted to give out badges several times, but those challengers felt they hadn't defeated Brother, so they didn't accept them."

"After all, many trainers have their pride; it's quite normal."

Clay, as a gym leader, wasn't surprised by this. He had also wanted to give badges to challengers multiple times but was refused.

"This Dylan is really something! Gym badges can be divided by various types. If he encounters a trainer with OCD, hahaha~ How many times would he have to challenge to collect them all?"

Just imagining that scene made Alder laugh out loud.

What a pity that such an extraordinary talent wasn't born in their Unova; what a shame.

"It's making me want to battle Dylan for a Rota badge to collect it."

(End of this chapter)

Patreon: patreon.com/RockyRoad891