Jasmine nodded in agreement with Erika's statement.
"Your Cottonee is well-trained!"
Seemingly having made up her mind, Leah lifted her head again and smiled at Maki.
"It's an honor to receive praise from a Grass-type master like you."
It wasn't just empty humility—Leah's knowledge of Grass-type Pokémon undoubtedly surpassed his; otherwise, she wouldn't be a Gym Leader.
"Even if you say that, I won't go easy on you." After saying this, Leah put on a thoughtful expression before turning back to Maki.
"How about this? If the next Pokémon I send out also gets defeated by your Cottonee, I'll let Erika be your girlfriend. How about that?"
Maki was immediately choked by Leah's words and could only smile awkwardly.
"Gym Leader Leah, please don't joke about things like that."
"Oh? A dedicated little boy, huh? That just makes me like you even more. You know, back in the day, Erika's father..."
As she spoke, Leah drifted into reminiscing mode.
"Now is not the time for this, Mother!!!"
The referee, sitting to the side, showed no reaction to Leah's words, as if completely accustomed to them. However, Erika couldn't tolerate her mother's antics at all.
"Oh~ Erika, you're becoming less cute as you grow older!" Leah pouted in complaint.
"That's not the issue here! Maki is waiting! Hurry up and continue the Gym battle!"
"Ahem, Gym Leader Leah."
Reminded by Erika, the referee couldn't continue watching from the sidelines. After coughing twice, he turned to Leah.
"Alright, alright. But this time, I'm going all out. You better be ready."
A mysterious smile appeared on Leah's face, making Maki pause for a moment as an ominous feeling arose within him.
"Go, Ivysaur!"
As expected, the next Pokémon Leah sent out was Ivysaur—the evolved form of Bulbasaur, one of Kanto's three starter Pokémon, alongside Charmander!
"Ivy!"
Judging by its size and developed features, this Ivysaur was only slightly weaker than his Charmeleon, meaning it had a level advantage over Cottonee.
Not to mention, Ivysaur's Grass/Poison typing completely countered Cottonee.
Originally, Maki had considered adding Ivysaur to his team as his second Pokémon, but for various reasons, he chose a different path. However, there was no doubt about Ivysaur's potential.
And since Leah sent it out, it meant that Ivysaur surely knew Poison-type moves.
Cottonee's Grass/Fairy typing was four times weak to Poison. One solid hit, and it was over.
"No... No way, right?"
Maki's mouth twitched slightly as he whispered to Leah.
"I think this is just right. Let's see how much power you two can unleash."
Leah chuckled mischievously.
She wasn't deliberately making things difficult for Maki. Aside from not wanting to lose too badly in front of her daughter and her daughter's friend, she was also curious to see what kind of surprise Maki and his Cottonee could bring.
Besides, even if Cottonee lost, Ivysaur probably wouldn't be a match for Maki's Charmeleon. The Badge would end up in Maki's hands regardless.
From that perspective, there wasn't much difference in the outcome.
Meanwhile, sitting in the audience, Erika blushed with embarrassment and covered her face with both hands. She knew her unreliable mother was causing trouble again.
Having spent years in the Gym, she was very familiar with Gym Challenge rules. Not only was Ivysaur already above the level of a rookie Trainer without a Badge, but it also had a complete type advantage.
However, since the Pokémon League didn't have explicit regulations against it, no one could really say anything. Otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed Sabrina to do as she pleased in Saffron City.
Even the referee merely glanced at Leah with slight surprise but didn't comment further.
"Tri Attack!"
As the second round began, Maki quickly commanded Cottonee to attack, taking advantage of its still-active "Growth" effect.
"Sludge!"
Maki's guess was spot on—this Ivysaur had inherited the Poison-type move "Sludge."
Dark purple sludge gathered in Ivysaur's flower bulb and was swiftly launched toward Cottonee.
Rather than directly meeting Cottonee's attack head-on, it cleverly controlled the trajectory to strike at Cottonee from a different angle.
"Dodge it!"
Cottonee quickly withdrew from its planned follow-up attack, narrowly avoiding Ivysaur's Sludge.
Without the continuous assault advantage, Ivysaur easily adjusted its movement and dodged the Tri Attack strikes, letting them land harmlessly on the ground.
Maki had no choice—he didn't know exactly how much damage Tri Attack would deal to Ivysaur, but it certainly wouldn't be fatal.
However, if Cottonee took a direct hit from Sludge, it would be a disaster. It was already fragile, and that four-times Poison weakness was a deal-breaker.
Although Cottonee's battle strategy is strong, its overall strength is still lacking. There's no way it can launch an effective counterattack after taking a Sludge head-on.
Leah thought to herself, and the unfolding battle played out exactly as she expected. Maki could only focus on commanding Cottonee to dodge, unable to find a proper countermeasure.
But what she didn't realize was that Maki had been waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to turn the battle around instantly.
"Maki's Cottonee looks like it's in trouble!" Jasmine said worriedly, sensing that Leah's Ivysaur was indeed a bit overpowered for this challenge.
"That's unavoidable. In terms of raw power, Maki's Cottonee is definitely at a disadvantage."
Despite being deeply impressed by Cottonee's special talents, Erika knew that overcoming a pure strength gap was difficult.
However, their eyes soon widened in surprise as Leah and Maki gave their next commands.
"Ivysaur, use Vine Whip and try to restrain Cottonee."
While continuously using Sludge could keep Cottonee at bay, it was also consuming Ivysaur's stamina.
So Leah decided to use Vine Whip to limit Cottonee's movement. As long as she could land just one Sludge attack, the battle would be over.
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