Sceptile spotted the Earthquake wave surging across the battlefield and immediately leapt to the side toward Slaking. All the Double Team clones vanished the moment the tremor hit.
At that moment, Sceptile was already airborne, descending from above. Brendan gave his command:
"Now! Use Leaf Blade!"
Sceptile summoned a glowing green blade of energy on its arm and slashed downward toward Slaking.
"Ice Punch!" Gary countered suddenly.
Slaking looked up at the approaching Sceptile, raising its massive right fist now radiating with frigid energy. The sun beamed overhead, casting light on the field.
Leaf Blade and Ice Punch collided mid-air. In an instant, the Leaf Blade shattered, and Slaking's icy fist smashed into Sceptile's head, sending it flying upward.
"What?! How is that possible?!" Brendan was stunned. "Slaking just used Earthquake! It should be resting—why can it move again?!"
Could this Slaking be the same one Norman used in Petalburg Gym?
Brendan was still in shock, but Gary wasn't done.
"Fire Blast, finish it!" he ordered.
Slaking reared back and released a blazing Fire Blast, the flames forming a kanji-like "大" shape as they surged across the field.
Sceptile cried out in pain as the blast hit dead-on, launching it out of the arena and crashing to the ground. Its eyes swirled—it was knocked out cold.
"Yoo-hoo! Gary wins with a perfect sweep!" Zinnia cheered, fists pumping in the air.
Brendan silently returned Sceptile to its Poké Ball, disappointment clearly written across his face. He had entered this battle full of confidence—but now stood still, shadowed by a bitter realization. After training so hard, he couldn't even defeat Gary's team.
"Hey, Brendan, you alright?" Gary asked.
"No... I mean, I'm not upset. I'm just wondering where I went wrong," Brendan replied.
"Honestly, Brendan, it's not that you did anything terribly wrong," Gary said. "It's just that I'm too strong."
"In fact, you're stronger than most trainers your age. You're easily among the top of your class."
Brendan gave a small, grateful nod. "You and I are both recapturing Pokémon and building new teams. Even if we're not from the same generation, we're basically starting from scratch together."
Gary smirked. "Who says we're equals? I've got two more years of experience than you. That's a big difference. I've learned that battling isn't just about type matchups from textbooks."
"Every Pokémon has its own unique battle style. As a trainer, it's your job to help them develop it."
"The Pokémon you're training right now—they've got levels and stats, sure. But they don't have their own style yet. That's why you lost."
Despite Brendan being far stronger than a rookie, the Pokémon he used lacked personalized battling strategies. All four of his Pokémon followed commands in a very textbook way—they didn't blend their moves into natural, adaptive styles.
He also wasn't factoring in the battlefield conditions. For example, using Milotic on land wasn't ideal. Gary couldn't help but wonder if Brendan had only sent it out to show off.
"Style, huh…?" Brendan muttered, absorbing every word. He knew the concept of battle style—but hadn't grasped how important it was to adapt techniques to suit each Pokémon's individuality.
"You should focus on that moving forward," Gary said, offering some encouragement. "I hope we'll see a new side of you at the Ever Grande Conference. For now, let's head back to the Pokémon Center."
Finalizing a unique battle style for each Pokémon takes time, and Brendan still had a long way to go.
The trio returned to the Pokémon Center. Zinnia, who had been sulking earlier, now wore a triumphant grin. Brendan, on the other hand, had fallen quiet, the sting of defeat still fresh. It felt like their moods had swapped places.
Brendan still had the Fortree Gym to challenge. He had recently caught a Flying-type Pokémon, but it still needed more training before it could participate.
Meanwhile, Gary and Zinnia headed to the Pokémon Department Store to restock their supplies and craft some Pokéblocks. They were planning to leave for Lilycove City the next morning.
From Lilycove, they could take a ferry straight to Mossdeep City—a short journey, taking less than a day.
Zinnia had been eager to visit the Mossdeep Space Center ever since receiving an invitation from Professor Cozmo.
Half a month later...
Gary and Zinnia finally arrived in Lilycove City.
Gary's Pokémon had grown significantly since their last stop:
Eevee — Lv. 62Latios — Lv. 66Breloom — Lv. 37Sceptile — Lv. 41Slaking — Lv. 37Gardevoir — Lv. 36Shelgon — Lv. 37Combusken — Lv. 35Marshtomp — Lv. 30Aggron — Lv. 42 ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
Eevee and Latios had each gained a level, and the rest had steadily progressed. Gary had used a mid-tier Rare Candy on Lairon to evolve it into Aggron at level 41.
Mudkip had also evolved into Marshtomp at level 22.
Upon arriving in Lilycove, Gary first stopped by the Pokémon Center. He wasn't in a rush to head to Mossdeep just yet.
He had one goal: to help Combusken evolve into Blaziken.
Marshtomp still had a while to go before reaching its final form, so that would have to wait.
After parting ways with Zinnia temporarily, Gary walked out into the training grounds and released all his Pokémon. He then called Combusken forward.
(Combusken's voice rang out, full of energy.)
It already seemed to know what was coming.
It had watched Slaking and Gardevoir evolve with Gary's help—now it was finally its turn.
"Combusken, it's time. You've earned this." Gary smiled.
(Combusken nodded enthusiastically.)
Without delay, Gary reached out and used a mid-level Rare Candy on Combusken.
The moment it reached level 36, Combusken's body radiated with power. White light engulfed it as it began to evolve.
Its body elongated and grew taller—nearly two meters in height. Feathers sharpened into sleek contours as it transformed into a more humanoid figure.
The glowing light faded…
Standing before Gary was Blaziken—its brilliant white crest standing tall and its fiery red feathers gleaming in the sun.
It looked majestic—graceful, fierce, and proud.
"Blaziken," Gary nodded in satisfaction, "let's start training with your full potential."
Now that it had reached its final evolution, Gary began teaching it new moves it couldn't learn before: Solar Beam, Brave Bird, and Hyper Beam.
Soon, he'd find a move tutor to help it master the ultimate Fire-type move: Blast Burn.
And later, Sceptile would learn Frenzy Plant, while Marshtomp, upon evolution, would learn Hydro Cannon.