Chapter 154: Tactical Breakdown, Clean and Decisive

Early the next morning, Suyi arrived at the Petalburg Gym as agreed.
Ash, May, and their family were already waiting there.
"You're here." Norman stood with a calm expression at one end of the battle field.
Outside the field, an apprentice named Kenji acted as the referee and motioned for Suyi to enter the battle area.
"Let's begin." Suyi took out a Poké Ball.
"Do your best, Dad!" Max cheered loudly, his eyes filled with absolute admiration and confidence in Norman.
"I wonder what kind of Pokémon Big Brother Suyi will send out?" May wondered aloud.
"Pika..." Ash hugged Pikachu, watching the field with eager anticipation.
"Next, we have Suyi from the Galar region challenging the Gym! The rules are as follows..." Kenji conscientiously explained in detail.
Suyi was momentarily stunned, only then remembering that his identification documents had been arranged by Chairman Rose through the favor of Leon, meaning on paper, Suyi's official background was rooted in Galar.
"Mr. Suyi, judging by your records, this seems to be your first Gym challenge. Have you understood all the rules?" Kenji asked.
Before a Gym challenge, trainers must register. On one hand, this accurately records the outcome of the Gym challenge, and on the other hand, it displays the trainer's resume to the Gym Leader so they can test the challenger with an appropriate level of difficulty.
"Crystal clear," Suyi smiled.
Kenji nodded, waved his hand, and called out, "Then, let the challenge begin!"
As the Gym Leader, Norman tossed his Poké Ball first and commanded, "Come on out, Slakoth!"
"Makut..." A sleepy-eyed, sloth-like Pokémon appeared on the field, swaying unsteadily.
"Just as I thought," Suyi muttered to himself.
Norman's Pokémon line consisted of Slakoth and its evolutionary relatives. Because of the distinct traits of this evolutionary family, each of the three Pokémon would exhibit a completely different battle style.
"I'll leave the lead to you, Kubfu!" Suyi said.
"Belu!" The small, resolute bear Pokémon let out a spirited cry and appeared on the battlefield.
"What an adorable little bear Pokémon!" May said happily.
Though short in stature, Kubfu wore a serious expression, standing its ground with high alertness and overflowing energy.
It formed a sharp contrast with the lazy, sluggish Slakoth.
"Not a Pokémon from the Hoenn region, after all?" Norman remarked.
This meant the opponent's types, abilities, and moves were entirely unknown.
Norman had zero information about Kubfu, whereas Suyi knew Norman's Pokémon inside and out.
Norman reached out a hand and said, "Make your move."
Suyi thought to himself: *Using stillness to overcome motion? Then I'll play along with your strategy!*

"Kubfu, charge in!"
"Bela!" Kubfu sprinted toward Slakoth with nimble agility, while Slakoth maintained its sleepy, wobbly demeanor.
Just as Norman was mentally preparing to command Slakoth to dodge Kubfu's attack and test the waters with a countermove...
"Stop!" Suyi commanded promptly.
Kubfu, who had rushed right up to Slakoth, immediately ground to a halt.
"What!?" Norman was caught off guard.
Slakoth, which had been bracing itself to dodge, lurched forward and almost lost its balance.
"Brick Break!" Suyi ordered once more.
"Belu!" Taking advantage of the feint, Kubfu delivered a swift chop with the edge of its hand directly onto the off-balance Slakoth.
"Makut!" Slakoth let out a cry of pain as it was heavily knocked down.
"What? Dad's Pokémon went down the moment they crossed paths..." Max said, looking utterly astonished.
"Oh my, it seems Norman's strategy has seen right through," Mitsuko said in surprise.
"What strategy?" May was completely baffled. The match had just started—how could anyone tell what strategy was at play?
"Makut..." Slakoth gritted its teeth and struggled back to its feet. The Fighting-type move, combined with the fact that it had no time to brace itself, dealt heavy damage.
"Belu!" Kubfu assumed a martial arts stance. It didn't become arrogant after gaining the upper hand, but instead remained fully focused and on guard.
"Was it a coincidence, or did he figure out my strategy?" Norman frowned deeply.
A Pokémon like Slakoth, true to its name, was sluggish, wobbling, and perpetually half-asleep.
Based on this nature, Norman had crafted a specialized strategy: using Slakoth's appearance to deceive opponents.
When the enemy attacked, Slakoth would evade with those wobbly, unpredictable movements, and then immediately launch a counterattack. It was the essence of using stillness to control motion.
This fighting style had a distinct feel of Drunken Boxing.
Seeing Suyi's confident demeanor, Norman became convinced that Suyi either understood Slakoth's habits and was naturally wary, or had learned of his strategy from other challengers or alternative sources.
"Not certain yet. I'll test it again."
"You've raised this Pokémon very well," Norman praised, choosing not to press the attack.
"Master Mustard trained it well," Suyi smiled, likewise holding back his offense.
"No proactive attacks?" Norman felt a headache coming on. Wasn't this effectively sealing away his entire strategy?
"In that case, I'll take the initiative."
As Norman pondered, he commanded, "Slakoth, Shadow Ball!"
"Makut!" Slakoth swiftly gathered a dark-purple energy sphere in its hands and hurled it toward Kubfu.
"Dodge it, then close the distance!"

"Belu!" Kubfu bolted forward, evading the Shadow Ball, and continued its charge toward Slakoth.
"Here it comes..." Norman didn't rush to issue another attack command, waiting instead for Suyi's next move.
"Brick Break!" Suyi obliged.
"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" Norman shouted, finally executing his true strategy!
"Makut!" Slakoth swayed its body, effortlessly dodging Kubfu's Brick Break, and instantly generated a Shadow Ball to fire at point-blank range.
Kubfu clearly didn't have time to dodge, yet its face remained calm, evidently placing absolute trust in Suyi's commands.
"Detect," Suyi said, his expression unchanged.
"Belu!" A brilliant light flashed in Kubfu's eyes, and with a high-difficulty physical contortion, it narrowly dodged the Shadow Ball.
"Oh no!" Norman was startled.
"Close Combat!" Suyi waved his hand.
Kubfu surged forward, unleashing a relentless torrent of attacks using its fists, feet, and entire body against Slakoth.
In a ironic twist, Norman's own evasive counter-strategy was now being used against him by Suyi, a taste of his own medicine.
"Makut!" Slakoth was driven back step by step, ultimately struck down by the final blow of Close Combat. It hit the ground and lost its ability to battle.
"What's going on? Dad's Pokémon didn't even manage to land a hit on that Kubfu before going down!" Max said in disbelief.
May instinctively perked up and remarked, "And the attacks were so crisp and decisive."
"What a gorgeous dodge and counterattack!" Ash pumped his fist and shouted excitedly.
"Pika!"
Norman wiped the look of astonishment from his face and recalled Slakoth into its ball.
"Splendid response and execution," Norman praised.
"Tell me, Suyi, you seem awfully familiar with my Slakoth..." Norman hesitated.
"I understand the nature of Slakoth, but I also knew Mr. Norman is exceptionally strong, so your Slakoth definitely wouldn't be as simple as it looks on the surface. I was just on guard subconsciously," Suyi offered the only plausible explanation.
*So he really came prepared...*
Norman sighed inwardly, then nodded and said, "A cautious yet decisive battle style."
"However, for the next round, let me get a little more serious." Norman tossed out another Poké Ball.
"Time to shake things up, Vigoroth!"