Chapter 156: Securing the First Badge

Looking at the Vigoroth lying on the ground, Norman was somewhat silent.

Am I supposed to be the Gym Leader testing the trainer here?

"Vigoroth, you've done wonderfully, return."

Norman gripped the Poké Ball, took a deep breath, and said, "What a powerful Pokémon. If I'm not mistaken, this should also be its very first official battle."

"Yes," Su Yi replied.

Da Kong flew down from the sky, trotted over to Su Yi's side, and chirped happily.

Su Yi bent down, patted Da Kong on the head, and smiled, "Well done, Da Kong. You need to grow up quickly."

"Aoguru~" Da Kong cooed coquettishly in response.

The others looked at Da Kong in surprise. Such a fierce and overbearing Pokémon just a moment ago had instantly turned coquettish, creating quite a contrasting charm.

Seeing this, Su Yi chuckled, "This little guy is only a little over a month old, you know."

Everyone was startled: This is really only a little over a month old?!

"Head back and rest for a bit first."

Da Kong had taken several super-effective Earthquakes, plus its maiden flight, leaving its stamina rather depleted.

The little guy's body was still developing, so it shouldn't be overexerted or injured.

"Are Pokémon from other regions all this strong?" Norman muttered to himself, feeling somewhat dazed.

Su Yi: *Giving Norman a slight Monster Hunter shock.JPG*

Da Kong was still in its early stage of rapid development. After a while, its growth rate would gradually slow down until it reached the average size of an adult male Rathalos—about 17 meters long and 5.6 meters tall.

"Has Dad completely fallen into a disadvantage?" Max grew nervous, his tone rather worried.

"Even so, Norman seems quite happy," Caroline smiled gently.

"Happy? Why? They're fighting so bitterly..." May asked in puzzlement.

"Perhaps it's because Norman hasn't felt pressure in a long time. He's enjoying the feeling of facing different Pokémon and battling with various styles."

On the battlefield, Norman grasped the Poké Ball of his final Pokémon and said, "Su Yi, looking at your registration info, it's hard to believe you're a rookie who only became an official trainer three months ago."

"You've got to be kidding!" Ash shouted in surprise.

Su Yi spread his hands. "It's the truth. Believe it or not."

More than three months ago, he was still just an ordinary wage slave.

"Ordinarily, a Gym Leader's duty is to test trainers and bring out their potential rather than defeat them with full power, but it seems not going all out against you would be a sign of disrespect." Norman tossed his Poké Ball.

"Go all out, Slaking!"

Thud!

A Pokémon resembling a giant ape landed heavily, then thumped its thick arms against its chest, emitting dull, booming sounds.

"King!" Slaking let out a deep roar, a fierce aura washing over them.

"It's Dad's ace Pokémon, Slaking!" Max said excitedly.

"Slaking?" Ash opened his Pokédex to check.

"Then what Pokémon will Brother Su Yi send out?" May looked toward Su Yi's side.

"Sending it out might be a bit much, too much of a bully. Let's pick another one, consider this its debut in Pokémon battles too." Su Yi instinctively reached for a capture ball, but thought better of it and switched to another.

"Go, Tobi-Kadachi!"

Whoosh!

A figure covered in cyan-white fur and scales appeared, quickly scanning its surroundings.

"Gua?" Tobi-Kadachi looked back at Su Yi, letting out a lazy, unenthusiastic question.

Su Yi said nothing, simply pointing at Slaking.

"Howl-a-woo," Tobi-Kadachi cried out, adopting an attitude of *I'll do whatever you tell me to do*.

"Such a big Pokémon!" Max said in astonishment, making the entire battlefield look somewhat cramped.

"Yeah, I didn't expect Brother Su Yi to have such a large Pokémon," Ash exclaimed in awe.

He had thought that Slaking's tall, robust build—far more massive than a human's—was already huge, but it paled significantly in comparison to Tobi-Kadachi.

"It's just that this Pokémon doesn't seem very motivated...?" May hesitated.

Slap!

Su Yi covered his face, feeling somewhat helpless.

What on earth turned you into this? Was it free room and board?

It felt like ever since he captured Anjanath, Tobi-Kadachi had become extremely lazy.

All it did all day was lounge in trees, eat its meals as usual, and follow Su Yi's commands, yet it always seemed devoid of energy.

"Tobi-Kadachi, time to battle!" Su Yi shouted loudly.

"Gua-ao!" Tobi-Kadachi barely mustered some spirit and assumed a battle stance.

"Is it because it was just captured? Then we'll strike first! Slaking, Mega Punch!" Norman decisively launched the opening attack.

"King!" Slaking charged forward with bold strides, its fist glowing with intense light.

"Bounce."

Tobi-Kadachi squatted down slightly to gather momentum, then leaped violently into the air.

"It jumped so high!" Max cried out.

"King!?" Slaking's Mega Punch naturally missed completely.

"Defend against it!" Norman commanded.

Slaking crossed its thick arms in front of its chest. The next moment, Tobi-Kadachi, having leaped into mid-air, swung its massive tail down in a heavy smash.

Thud!

With a dull thud, Slaking stumbled back several steps. Though a bit disheveled, it successfully blocked the blow without taking massive damage.

"As expected of Slaking," Su Yi muttered in mild surprise.

A Pokémon like Slaking possessed remarkably high base stats across stamina, physical defense, attack, and speed, with a total base stat sum surpassing even many legendary beasts.

Of course, base stats represented potential rather than actual strength in reality.

Slaking's stats being higher than many legendary beasts didn't mean it was stronger than them, but it certainly highlighted the sheer power of the species.

Moreover, Norman's Slaking was exceptionally well-trained, rumored to possess strength close to that of the Elite Four.

"Tobi-Kadachi, pick up the speed! Needle Discharge!"

Su Yi decisively accelerated the pace of the attack.

Although Slaking possessed immense power, it had a fatal weakness: its Ability, Truant.

Pokémon with the Truant ability could not use moves consecutively and had to rest for a short period after every move.

All power came with a price; either base stats or abilities had to be sacrificed—am I right, Regigigas?

"Dodge!"

Slaking sidestepped to evade, but clearly, it underestimated Tobi-Kadachi's agility.

Tobi-Kadachi nimbly altered its trajectory, and the discharging electrode needles on top of its head still grazed Slaking's body.

Crackle! Sparks of electricity flashed.

"King!" Slaking retreated two steps, electric arcs dancing across its body.

"Paralyzed? This is troublesome," Norman thought to himself, sensing danger.

Unable to act frequently to begin with, combined with the paralysis status that would randomly restrict Slaking's movements at unpredictable moments, the situation could only be described as making matters worse.

Having already executed two physical moves, friction generated electricity, triggering Tobi-Kadachi's Lightning Rod ability. Its white fur and electrode needles stood on end, electric currents sparking fiercely between the tips with a dazzling glare.

"Did that trigger some kind of ability?" Norman immediately grew alert.

"Tobi-Strike!"

Tobi-Kadachi hopped lightly, executed a backflip, and brought its lightning-drenched tail crashing down with gathered momentum.

"Protect!"

Hum!

Slaking raised its hands high, and a barrier materialized. The empowered Tobi-Strike smashed against the barrier, sending sparks flying everywhere, yet failing to harm Slaking.

Before Norman could even breathe a sigh of relief, however, the barrier cracked with a snap, and the tail—now devoid of its electric glow—continued its downward smash.

Thud!

Slaking retreated heavily by several steps, fresh injuries added to its arms.

"Acrobatics!" Su Yi commanded immediately, intending to press the attack relentlessly.

Tobi-Kadachi rushed forward with nimble grace.

"Grab it!" Norman harbored a bold idea in his mind.

"Huh?" Su Yi's eyes widened.

To his astonishment, Slaking swiftly sidestepped to evade and then wrapped its thick arms tightly around Tobi-Kadachi's forelimbs.

Su Yi: *Hey! Wait a minute! Aren't you supposed to have the Truant ability? How are you able to move so quickly? Is this Slaking even legal?*

Clearly, Norman's Slaking had undergone rigorous training to minimize the downtime imposed by its ability as much as possible.

"Climb onto its back!" Norman ordered instantly.

"King!" Slaking used both hands and feet, scrambling onto Tobi-Kadachi's back in a flash.

"Shake it off!" Su Yi shouted.

"Sss-ah-ah!"

Tobi-Kadachi shrieked, violently thrashing its body and sprinting wildly in all directions, but Slaking clung stubbornly to its back.

"That's great, Dad, go for it!" Max cheered loudly.

"Use Mega Punch, just like this!" Norman clenched his fist.

"King!" Slaking steadied itself with one hand while raising the other, clenching its fist as the glow of the move illuminated, then smashing it down heavily onto Tobi-Kadachi's head.

With a loud thud, the immense force caused Tobi-Kadachi's body to sway.

"Again!"

Slaking panted a few times, then raised its fist once more.

"Ram it into the wall." Su Yi pointed toward the gym's wall.

"Woo-ao!" Tobi-Kadachi shook its head to clear it, sprinted at top speed, and slammed its back against the wall with all its might.

"Jump down!" Norman was exceptionally decisive.

Slaking leaped off just in time, and Tobi-Kadachi slammed hard into the wall with a loud thud.

"Well done!" Max exclaimed excitedly.

"It won't be that simple, though. Tobi-Kadachi doesn't look heavily injured," May said with a worried expression.

Sure enough, Tobi-Kadachi shook its body, glaring at Slaking with an expression of annoyance in its eyes.

"Mr. Norman, you've minimized Slaking's weaknesses as much as humanly possible—truly remarkable. But after all, this Ability cannot be entirely overcome through training alone," Su Yi praised.

"Oh?" Norman furrowed his brow.

Su Yi continued, "As long as we keep pressing the attack unceasingly, there will always be a moment when we catch an opening!"

"Tobi-Kadachi, use Acrobatics consecutively!"

Gua-ao-ao!

Tobi-Kadachi sprinted rapidly, crashing into its opponent over and over again in rapid succession.

"Counter with Mega Punch!"

Yet Slaking's moves couldn't interrupt Tobi-Kadachi; at best, they merely cancelled out that single attack, and every time it used a move, it had to stop and gasp for breath. Gradually, several injuries were battered onto Slaking's body.

"How could this be?" Max felt a wave of despair as the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

"Even such a powerful Slaking couldn't hold out against this Pokémon? So strong!" Ash clenched both fists, his expression grave.

"Pika."

Watching the electricity accumulating on Tobi-Kadachi's body due to its ability, Su Yi calculated the intervals of Slaking's panting and suddenly commanded, "Tobi-Strike!"

Whoosh!

Tobi-Kadachi instantly changed its move, its lightning-charged tail sweeping across in a horizontal slash.

Thud!

Slaking, caught right in the middle of its breathing interval, let out a distressed roar as it was sent flying backward.

"Do it again!"

Tobi-Kadachi dashed forward, leaped, spread its gliding membranes, and executed a backflip tail-smash.

"Protect!" Norman shouted.

"King!?" Just as Slaking raised its hands, a stray current of electricity flashed across its body.

"Almost forgot about the paralysis status!" Norman was instantly startled.

"Of cent-percent all times, right now!" May cried out in despair.

Crackle!

The thunder-laden tail smashed straight down. The paralyzed Slaking was left completely helpless, taking the full brunt of the powered-up Tobi-Strike head-on.

Thud!

Slaking lost its strength, collapsing heavily to the ground.

"Slaking is unable to battle! The winner is Su Yi!" Kenji announced loudly.

"Whew! It's over." Norman sighed in relief, then recalled Slaking into its Poké Ball.

"I honestly don't know what to say."

"Ordinarily, a Gym Leader needs to guide trainers through battle, but it seems you didn't need any."

"Your partner is strong, and your commands are brilliant. I admit my defeat wholeheartedly."

Norman stepped forward, shook hands with Su Yi, and handed the Balance Badge over to him.

"This is proof of your victory. I'm certain you'll shine brilliantly in this tournament."

"Thank you." Su Yi accepted the badge, then released his participating partners for this match.

"Beilu!" Kubfu threw a punch, signaling that it could become even stronger.

"Roar-ao!" Da Kong flapped its wings, eager to experience the sensation of flight a bit more.

And Tobi-Kadachi... well, it was spacing out.

"Captured a commemorative moment, loto." The Rotom Phone captured the scene right on cue.

"A brilliant battle." Caroline walked over, clapping her hands.

"Thinking about competing with Brother Su Yi for victory in the tournament suddenly piles on the pressure, but we're not going to be scared, right, Pikachu?" Ash immediately swelled with enthusiasm.

"Pika!"

"You should worry about catching enough Pokémon first!" Max interjected.

"You're really strong, and you beat Dad, but one day, I'm going to challenge you!" Max shouted toward Su Yi.

Caroline chided gently, "It's not polite to talk like that, Max."

"Then I'll be waiting," Su Yi laughed nonchalantly.

...

Far away in the Sinnoh region, located northeast of Kanto and Hoenn.

In Eterna Forest, near Eterna City, a pale-yellow figure moved nimbly through the trees.

"It should be around here. Slow down a bit, Great Jaggi, let's search our surroundings carefully," Professor Oak said.

Beneath him, the Great Jaggi carrying him acknowledged the command, slowing its pace as it strolled through the woods.

"This Pokémon is truly peculiar, and it's even a species previously undiscovered," said a white-haired, white-bearded elderly man riding another Great Jaggi right behind Professor Oak.

"I believe you'll be even more surprised once you see its Ability," Professor Oak chuckled.

"Is this the Pokémon you mentioned last time that can help us research the evolutions of Leafeon and Glaceon?" Professor Rowan, the white-haired elder, asked with curiosity.

"You'll see when we get there..."

"Gah-ah!?" The Great Jaggi let out a cry, looking ahead.

"Oh? Is someone there?" Professor Oak looked over.

"Oh my? Could the two of you be... Professor Oak and Professor Rowan?!" A blonde-haired beauty turned around, speaking in surprise.