"What's up, everyone! Today, I, Mike Loud, will be your host for this momentous match between the Leader of the New Generation of Trainers and the strongest Gym Leader!"
Eeveesaur: OMG! It's Mike!
Cunthia: Finally! When will the match start?
WifeofDante: Go husband! Beat that old man!
NormanistheGOAT: Old man!? He's just middle aged at best!
Seeing the constantly scrolling chatbox, Mike Loud grinned. When the Alliance emailed him for the opportunity to commentate this Gym match, he was ecstatic.
Although Mike had been working as a commentator for over a year now, most of the competition that fell to him were small-scale Pokemon matches. The latest Rookie competition in Manila had been his biggest event to date, and what a great opportunity it had been!
He stared at the Alliance's preparation screen, focusing on the white-red-haired boy.
During the Rookie Competition, Mike's opinion about the boy and his Pikachu was that they were stronger than their peers. Other than that though, they didn't seem particularly special.
And oh boy, did he prove him wrong. Now, Mike is eager to see whether he would be proven wrong once again.
After all, according to information from a reliable friend, Norman would be using his ace Pokemon in this battle.
—
"Good evening, sir."
Dante extended his hand. In front of him stood Norman, the Normal-type Gym Leader he was about to face.
When Dante had been browsing through the Philippines Gym's, looking for the next one to challenge, he was surprised to find this familiar face.
In the Gen 3 RSE (Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald) Pokemon games, Norman served as the player's father as well as the Normal-type Gym leader. Back then, there wasn't anything noteworthy about him, except that he could only be challenged after obtaining 4 badges.
However, it was different in the manga and anime. From what Dante recalled, Norman had a very special Slaking. Unlike a typical Slaking, his was more active
He tried searching for Norman's information on Pokenet and confirmed that this world's Norman has a similarly abnormal Slaking. In fact, his Slaking even had the record of consecutively defeating two Pokemon belonging to the country's current Champion.
It's no wonder that's the case, though. After all, Slaking is the only non-Legendary Pokemon whose total base stats exceed even Pseudo-Legendaries.
Slaking
HP: 125
Attack: 130 Defense: 100
Sp. Atk: 95 Sp. Def.: 65 Speed: 100
Such racial limits surpass even low level Legendaries like the three birds and some Mythical Pokemon. If not for its Truant Ability, the Alliance would likely list Slaking as the number one Pokémon to obtain for Trainers.
Truant makes a Pokemon lazy and prone to ignoring the Trainer's order. The more effort they exert, the more likely they are to lie down and laze around afterwards.
Because of this Ability, training Slaking to its full racial limit is not only an uphill battle, but almost impossible. And even if they reached it, Trainers can forget their Slaking from ever surpassing its racial limits.
That was why, when Norman's overactive Slaking was exposed during his University years, he captured the attention of Trainers from all over the world.
"Hey, it's nice meeting you. Let's have a good game, yeah?"
Norman warmly smiled and shook Dante's outstretched hand. The two Trainers casually chatted while waiting for the Alliance staff to set everything up.
"By the way, Mr. Norman, do you know any secret market where I can purchase some Peat Block?"
Norman raised an eyebrow. Peat Block's are recently discovered evolutionary items for Ursaring. Because of this, there were a scarce few available for sale.
"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. As far as I know, aside from placing reservations in the Alliance shop, you can only try negotiating with other Trainers who bought the earlier batches."
Dante frowned. He had already placed a reservation for it a month ago in the shop. But even now, there were still 200 people ahead of him in priority.
As someone who specializes in Normal-type Pokemon, he had hoped Norman knew of other ways to obtain the item. But it seems he thought too simply.
Still, Dante didn't dwell on it for long. He had already commissioned information on Peat Block in the PMD world. With these two worlds as his backing, it's only a matter of time before he obtained it.
He and Norman continued chatting until the Alliance personnel finally prepared everything.
…
"It's finally starting!"
In the VIP seats surrounded by opaque glasses, Shinobu and the other girls looked at the arena in anticipation.
"Thanks for letting us in, May. Hehe, I thought we'd be forced to find a restaurant or something to watch."
Candice patted the soft seat beneath her butt. Because of their large number, the staff hadn't allowed them to loiter inside the Gym to watch Dante's match. They had been discussing what to do when someone came along and invited them here.
"It's nothing. Besides, it's more fun with more people."
The one named May smiled modestly from her seat.
May is a skinny girl of average height with long, chocolate-brown hair that has a single fringe at the center with three edges secured by a red and white bandana. She has blue eyes with long eyelashes, with the single fringe on her brown long hair nearly identical to her father, Norman.
She is also currently studying as a 2nd-year Pokemon Coordinator in International Pokemon University.
Their group watched as Dante and Norman released their Pokemon. On Dante's side, he chose Ursaring as his first Pokemon. For Norman, he released Kangaskhan.
"Kangaskhan…Dad is really serious about this battle."
"Hmm? Is she part of Mr. Norman's main team?"
Dawn, who sat beside May, asked the brown-haired girl.
"Yes. See that gem around her neck? Dad and Kangaskhan can even undergo Mega Evolution."
"Woah!"
Shinobu and the others looked over. Sure enough, right below her neck, there was a round, brown-black stone.
"Haha, you don't have to worry. Dad isn't allowed to use that when against Gym Challengers."
May comforted them. However, instead of the expected relief, she saw disappointment on the girl's faces.
"Aww, too bad. If Mr. Norman could use Mega Evolution, maybe he could defeat Dante."
"No. With Pikachu and Azumarill, I don't think even Mega Evolution would be enough."
The rest nodded slowly in agreement to Focalors's statement. Seeing this, May felt dissatisfied.
"Hey! Aren't you underestimating Dad too much!?"
"Ah, sorry May. It's not that we underestimate him. But really, Dan's Pokemon are super duper strong."
Recalling how Dante's Azumarill only threw three stones to knock her whole team out, Mualani shuddered.
May frowned but decided not to say anything more. Clearly, Dante's girl friends have a blind worship of his strength. She would let the match speak for itself.
…
"Ursaring, use Belly Drum!"
"Kangaskhan, use Work Up!"
The battle began with both Pokemon using a stat-boosting move. And coincidentally, both increased their Pokemon's offensive stats.
Ursaring roared, his arms wildly pounding against his chest. Slowly, a blood-red aura surrounded his body. The large bear Pokemon clenched his teeth in pain. Even so, his eyes showed no trace of backing down.
From his birth until now, Ursaring felt he hadn't been able to meet his Dad's expectations.
During the Hunter J incident, even though Dad and Big Brothers gave him the perfect opportunity to take down the mastermind, he hesitated and almost let her get away.
He had vowed to make up for it. And he did, somewhat. He defeated the Trainer who challenged his Dad all by himself. At that moment, he thought he was finally catching up to his Big Brothers.
But then the next battle came.
Against Mualani, he barely did anything before Dad took him back in his Pokeball. And then…Big Brother Azumarill replaced him and swept the entire opposing team.
Even though Dad assured him it was just a bad type matchup, Ursaring couldn't shake the disappointment. Especially when he heard the other students only talk about Big Brothers Pikachu and Azumarill's strength.
This time, he'll redeem himself. He'll show the world that he is also one of his Dad's ace Pokemon.
"Belly Drum, huh. Let's keep our distance Kangaskhan. Use Bulldoze!"
Norman stared at Ursaring. Ursaring's racial speed limit is only 55, much lower than his Kangaskhan which was 90. He planned to make use of this and prevent said Pokemon from getting closer.
Kangaskhan stomped on the arena floor, causing the ground to tremble and Earth-type energy to spread.
"Ursaring, use Stomping Tantrum to get close!"
Ursaring charged forward, his every step shaking the ground and similarly releasing Earth-type energy. It collided with Kangaskhan's attack, neutralizing it. And in mere moments, he was just a meter away from the dinosaur-like Pokemon.
Norman's eyes narrowed. This speed… to achieve it, this Ursaring must have the Quick Feet Ability. He just wasn't sure what Status condition Ursaring is under. Is it poison? Or paralysis?
And his Attack after being doubled by Belly Drum is as terrifying as expected. If Kangaskhan gets hit by Ursaring's next move, surviving is highly unlikely.
However, there's a reason why Trainers must be cautious when using Belly Drum.
"Kangaskhan, use Sucker Punch!"
"Ursaring, Brick Break!"
Two commands rang out at the same time.
Ursaring straightened his right paw, red Fighting-type energy coated over it. Meanwhile, Kangaskhan narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist.
Sucker Punch is a physical Dark-type move with a base power of 70. When the opponent is readying an attack, the user seizes the opportunity when they are distracted to land a blow first.
After using Belly Drum, Ursaring's health has already reached a low level. There's no way he could survive from this move, especially when Kangaskhan's attack had been boosted from Work Up earlier.
Just as Ursaring raised his paws above his head to chop down, Kangaskhan stepped forward, her fist blurring and heading straight towards Ursaring's face.
"Heh. Too slow."
Dante smirked.
As the fist neared Ursaring's face, the brown Pokemon stepped to the side, displaying a speed dramatically faster than earlier.
The fist grazed Ursaring's cheek. Then, before Kangaskhan could react, Ursaring's paws fell.
"Kang!!"
Kangaskhan cried out in pain, her body slamming heavily into the ground and forming a deep crater.
A/N: Btw, here's Ursaring's current stat
Ursaring (Male)
Type: Normal
Abilities:
Guts (Attack increases by 50% when inflicted by a major status ailment)
Quick Feet (Speed increases by 50% when inflicted by a major status ailment)
Level: 44
HP: 114/114
Attack: 100 (+10) Defense: 99
Sp. Atk: 84 Sp. Def.: 90 Speed: 91
Item: Power Band (Attack +12)