Pewter City is not a tourist city, and there are few places to visit.
Axel put away the blinking Gardevoir and Pheromosa, and headed to Pewter Gym with Duraludon and Dragonair.
The gym here is entirely made of rock, with a very medieval Western European style, appearing grand and majestic.
When Axel arrived, there happened to be many trainers watching.
"Wow, a powerful dragon-type trainer has arrived."
"Is he also here to challenge Gym Leader Brock? Our Pewter City has really been lively lately."
Hearing the whispers, Axel smiled slightly.
The reason Pewter Gym is so popular now is probably because the kids from Pallet Town have just started their journeys.
And Pewter Gym, being the closest gym to Pallet Town, has become a great challenge option for those kids.
He just didn't know whether Ash had already passed this gym.
Axel remembered that Ash should have challenged this gym twice, but wasn't sure if this gym corresponded to the Special Chapter.
If it corresponds to the Special Chapter… Ash might be stuck here for a long time.
Thinking this, Axel opened the Rotom phone that Professor Oak had just given him.
"Roto-roto~"
The phone blinked and automatically flew in front of Axel.
This kind of phone has many functions, similar to the PC in the games where you can transmit Pokémon to Professor Oak.
In addition, it has some very intelligent functions.
For example, finding websites for studying.
"Help me check reviews from Kanto trainers about Pewter Gym."
"Roto-roto!"
Rotom phone spun once, and a large batch of reviews about Pewter Gym appeared on the screen.
A few of them were even automatically highlighted by the Rotom phone.
[Red: That was a truly exhilarating battle!]
[Green: Not a challenge. Strengthen your training.]
[Gary (with hands-in-pockets photo): In front of my Smoliv, it's just a little frost.]
[Ash: I won't give up!]
'So… this is indeed the Special Chapter. Otherwise, Red, a battle maniac, wouldn't have felt it exhilarating.'
Axel didn't hesitate, registered directly at the front desk, and walked into the gate of Pewter Gym.
And Ash just happened to walk out, looking disheartened.
"Looks like not all of you from Pallet Town are strong trainers. Let your Pikachu and Pidgeotto go back and train more before coming again," Brock crossed his arms, his tone extremely cold.
From a pretentiousness perspective, he did have some skill.
But since he was here now, Brock definitely wouldn't be able to keep up the act.
"Ash," Axel stood in front of Ash, picked up Pikachu and sprayed some healing spray on him.
"Pika~", Pikachu's voice was weak, but he forced himself to lick Axel's cheek.
"Don't worry Pikachu, you guys were just countered by type advantage. It doesn't mean you're worse than Gary and the others."
"Really?", Ash's eyes lit up, staring at Axel.
"So if I study type advantage, I might be able to beat this gym too?"
"No, absolutely not," Axel quickly waved his hands.
Regarding Ash's growth, Axel didn't want to interfere.
Ash's growth is unique in this world, and no one has the right to instruct him.
Bonding is the most precious thing in this world.
"As long as you and your Pokémon are strong enough, fighting against type disadvantage isn't really a big deal."
"Wait a bit, I'll give you a good demonstration."
"As long as the bond is strong enough, even fighting type disadvantage is okay?", Ash muttered to himself, a bright light suddenly flashing in his eyes.
"Thank you, Axel. I'll remember those words for the rest of my life!"
Pikachu also clenched his little fist, "Pika Pi!"
Axel returned Pikachu to Ash and walked to one side of the arena.
In the depths of the gym, Brock's figure hid in the darkness, speaking mockingly, "To say such things like you can win even when countered by type…"
"I suggest you go back and train a bit longer!"
Axel chuckled, "Then tell me, by how much were Pikachu and Pidgeotto countered by type?"
"Two times, so they couldn't beat me!"
"Then tell me, is it possible that a Pokémon countered four times by type could beat you?"
"Countered four times by me?"
Brock furrowed his brows, immediately thinking of Charizard.
"Trying to rely on Charizard to overpower me with level? That's naive."
"But since you're here, I'll let you feel it."
"Just how terrifying I, a man like rock, really am!"
The moment Brock finished speaking, the dark gym suddenly lit up.
With arms crossed, head held high, eyes narrowed deeply, reaching the extreme.
A white light flashed, and Brock's Geodude appeared on one side of the arena.
The referee began to announce the rules.
"Pewter Gym uses 2v2 battles. Attacking the trainer is not allowed."
"The gym leader sends out their Pokémon first and cannot switch them during battle. The challenger can switch at any time."
"If either side has both Pokémon lose their ability to fight, the other side wins."
"3...2...1... Start!"
"Axel, did you really catch a Charizard?"
Axel shook his head, "Charizard is a final evolution Pokémon. Even if I were lucky enough to get a Charmander, it wouldn't be possible to train it into Charizard in just a few days."
"Whew~", Hearing the two talking, Brock secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
'Since it's not Charizard, then it's another Pokémon?'
'There are quite a few types that are quadruple countered by Ground and Rock.'
'But by comparison, Charizard is one of the stronger ones.'
'This round is in the bag, the advantage is mine!'
"Challenger, release your Pokémon."
"I can't wait… to show you my rock-like will!"
"Okay," Axel suppressed a laugh and took out a fiery red Pokéball from his waist.
A sacred flame burst out, forming the shape of a bird in midair.
Seeing the Pokémon Axel released, Brock was stunned.
'Four times countered?'
'You really weren't lying? Fire + Flying is indeed quadruple countered by Rock-type.'
'But…'
'I just opened a gym, and you bring a divine being to mess with me?'
'ISN'T THAT GOING A BIT TOO FAR?'
Ash's gaze was glued to Ho-Oh, his voice excited, "Axel, when did you get Ho-Oh?"
"That's amazing!"
Axel grinned, "What's so amazing about Ho-Oh? Gym Leader Brock's rock-like will is even stronger."
"Gym Leader Brock, please make your move quickly."
"I can't wait..."
"To see your rock-like will!"
"And teach me about the importance of type advantage, okay?"
'Type advantage?'
Brock suddenly felt his rock-like will shatter with a crash.
'In front of a divine beast, what the hell is Type advantage worth?'
After experiencing Gary's underhanded tricks, Brock deeply understood the truth of joining when you can't win, and had racked his brains to come up with a set of tactics.
Spikes strategy + Sandstorm had greatly improved his strength in a short time.
In just half a day, the ranking of Pewter Gym had already pulled a huge gap from the normally evenly-matched Cerulean Gym.
That's why so many challengers had gathered in such a short period.
But now... Brock felt like he was really about to be G-ed (game over).
In the legends of Kanto, a child recognized by Ho-Oh would become lucky.
Then what about the uncle who gets beat up by Ho-Oh?
Would he start getting food stuck in his teeth even when drinking cold water?
"Gym Leader Brock is not moving, are you letting me take the first move?"
Axel's hearty voice pulled Brock back to reality.
"No no no, let's both make our moves together," Brock hurriedly refused.
"After all, Type advantage doesn't mean absolute victory or defeat, there's still a lot I need to learn from you."
In Brock's view, even though the opponent was Ho-Oh, his own Pokémon were all Rock-type. As long as he attacked first, the loss might not be too ugly.
Then when facing the next challenger, he could boast, ["I'm a man who fought a god and almost won."]
Thinking this, Brock gave the command first.
"Geodude, use Smack Down!"
Geodude suppressed its inner fear toward the divine being, trembling as it raised its right hand.
A huge rock on the ground was pulled by Rock-type energy and appeared in Geodude's hand.
"Whoosh!"
The sound of wind being cut rang out, the rock infused with Rock-type energy soared into the sky, heading straight for Ho-Oh's direction.
This move was a signature Rock-type skill, Smack Down, it could knock down flying Pokémon from the sky to the ground.
Axel was in no hurry, not rushing to command Ho-Oh to attack.
As Ho-Oh's debut battle, he wanted it to display overwhelming strength.
Only in this way could being a divine beast trainer be justified.
'I'm already a divine beast trainer, and you want me to play mind games with you?'
Just as the rock was about to hit Ho-Oh, its gaze remained calm.
As if the rock wasn't aimed at itself at all.
As a divine beast, even if newly born, it still had its own pride.
"Ho-Oh, use Sacred Fire!"
"Ho-Oh!", Ho-Oh lifted its neck and let out a long cry. At the moment when the rainbow-colored ring behind it fully unfolded, an extremely condensed torrent of holy fire poured out.
The path of the flames left scorched marks in the real world, within those charred cracks appeared starry totems in the shape of a phoenix.
Under the impact of this flame, Geodude's Smack Down vanished instantly without a trace.
Under the shine of the starry totem, the whole gym became as bright as day, and the temperature soared to a terrifying level above fifty degrees Celsius.
The rooftop's sprinkler system instantly activated, endless streams of water poured from the thick ceiling, spraying indiscriminately on both Ho-Oh and Geodude.
Upon contact with the water, Geodude felt discomfort in its body, and the fear of Ho-Oh was magnified to the extreme, almost losing the will to fight.
Also being water-weak, Ho-Oh's performance was much better.
As a creature that bathed in fire year-round, the sprinkler's water couldn't penetrate the flames covering Ho-Oh.
When the water met the flames, it instantly turned into thick mist, spreading across the entire field.
"This is? Foggy weather?"
Brock was completely dumbfounded. He had never imagined someone could use the environment to activate moves.
In this foggy weather, move accuracy would drastically decrease.
His Geodude's Rock-type moves had small coverage, making it hard to hit Ho-Oh.
In contrast, Ho-Oh...
Brock recalled the move Ho-Oh had just unleashed.
Its range could easily cover the entire field.
The current situation was like both sides becoming blind, but his side had a sniper rifle, and the opponent had a mortar.
'Damn it!'
'Just what kind of trainer is this?'
'He already has overwhelming strength, and still plays so dirty?'
Axel blinked, also a bit surprised.
'I did want to go for firepower coverage, but what is this situation?'
'Crap, could I have dirtied myself down to the bone?'
Axel quickly threw out that terrifying thought and looked back at his little Ho-Oh.
'Since foggy weather is already here... then let's use that move.'
Geodude was an extremely skewed Pokémon in terms of base stats: physical defense had a full 100 points, but special defense only had 30.
Compared to the physical-based Sacred Fire, clearly a special attack would hurt Geodude more.
"Ho-Oh, use Weather Ball!"
Ho-Oh lightly flapped its wings, the rainbow-colored ring behind it flashed, and a nearly transparent sphere appeared in front of it.
As it flew through the field, the transparent sphere automatically absorbed part of the white mist, becoming a very hazy and unstable orb.
Weather Ball was a very special move; used in different weather, it would produce drastically different effects and types.
By default, it only had 50 base power, but once it encountered special weather, its power could increase up to 100.
Depending on changes like Harsh Sunlight or Hail, this move's type could become Fire, Ice, or other types.
In the foggy field, Ho-Oh's Weather Ball was still a Normal-type attack, which Geodude resisted by two times.
However, in terms of both sides' stats, a power of 100 was already deadly enough.
BOOM!
A loud explosion rang out, followed by a terrifying shockwave throughout the entire arena.
Caught head-on, Geodude was instantly blown away, its rock-formed body covered in dents from the blast.
Seeing Geodude flipped onto the ground, almost losing all fighting ability, Axel did not hesitate and commanded Ho-Oh to use the next move.
"Ho-Oh, use Calm Mind!"
Ho-Oh flapped its wings, the rainbow-colored ring behind it released a sacred flame.
Two upward holy halos appeared, and Ho-Oh's aura surged again.
Special Attack and Special Defense both increased by one stage.
Seeing Axel's response, Brock's mouth twitched.
'Seriously, what kind of guy is this?'
'Already a divine beast trainer, and still doesn't know what shame is.'
'Using this chance to sneak in buffs!'
To prevent Axel from buffing again, Brock immediately raised his hand.
"My Geodude forfeits, please ask the opposing trainer to stop using moves."
"We'll wait a bit for the next battle, I need to go prepare some items for my Onix."
Axel glanced at the weather that was about to be baked into Harsh Sunlight by Ho-Oh's flames, and began silently mourning for Brock.
If the weather here turned into Harsh Sunlight, then Weather Ball would become a Fire-type move.
Even more coincidentally, Ho-Oh could instantly cast Fire-type moves.
"Gym Leader Brock, are you sure you want to pause?"
Brock blinked, 'In my own gym, you think you can stop me from pausing?'
'Even if God Himself came, I must pause!'