"You're Gary? You're so young."
Argenta came into the hall and looked at Gary with some surprise. Scott had told her about someone named Gary, but she hadn't expected him to be this young.
Gary also looked Argenta over.
Argenta was an older woman who seemed close to fifty, but because her side job was acting, she looked younger than her age. She also seemed very energetic.
"Hello, Ms. Argenta. I'm here to challenge the Battle Hall. When would you have time for a match?"
It was already past ten o'clock, and lunch would be soon. Gary had mainly come to make an appointment, so he wouldn't arrive in the afternoon only to find she had no time to see him.
"Sure. Then let's battle now," Argenta agreed.
Seeing Argenta agree so readily, Gary hesitated and said, "It's almost noon. Won't that be inconvenient?"
"It's fine. We'll have a one-on-one match, so it'll be over quickly," Argenta said.
"Alright."
Gary thought one-on-one was fine. It would be faster that way.
Argenta was a Flying-type Trainer. As far as Gary knew, she had a Skarmory and a Dragonite. Dragonite was Argenta's ace Pokémon.
Gary really hoped Argenta's Dragonite was high-level enough. It would be best if it had reached Champion level, since that would make the Rare Candy reward higher.
Following Argenta, the two arrived at a battlefield. Rather than a normal battlefield, it looked more like a stage used for performances.
After all, this was the Battle Hall. It made sense for the venue to be designed like this.
According to the Battle Hall's official rules, a challenger had to choose a Pokémon above level 30 and keep battling. To challenge Argenta, they needed to win either fifty battles or one hundred and seventy battles. Argenta would appear in those two matches.
Soon, a female referee arrived and announced, "The Battle Hall Frontier match will now begin."
"The two Trainers are the challenger, Gary!"
"And the famous actress and Frontier Brain of the Battle Hall, Argenta!"
"The rules are one-on-one. The battle will continue until one side's Pokémon is unable to battle. Now, please send out your Pokémon."
[Ding! Obtained mission: Acquire the Stage Print. Rewards: Master Rare Candy ×1, Ability Enhancement Stone ×1, Silver Bottle Cap ×1, Self-Selected Permanent TM ×1!]
Gary was pleased. This Argenta did have some strength. She actually possessed a Champion-level Pokémon, though unfortunately, there seemed to be only one.
"Take the stage, Dragonite!" Argenta threw her Poké Ball.
In a flash of light, a powerful Dragonite appeared.
[LV70 Dragonite / Champion]
Level 70. It had just reached the threshold of Champion level.
"This opponent is very good. I'll leave it to you." Gary threw out his own Poké Ball.
In a burst of light, Blastoise appeared.
[LV74 Blastoise / Legend]
Gary's Blastoise had already grown to level 74, which was quite high. At this level, after another three years, it should be able to raise its level to 75 or above.
"The battle begins!"
Argenta did not hold back and attacked first. "Dragonite, Thunder Punch."
Dragonite flapped its wings, using the force of the wind to accelerate as it rushed toward Blastoise.
"Ice Punch!" Gary countered.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise's fist was covered in icy energy as it charged toward Dragonite.
"Fly up quickly and dodge!" Argenta didn't dare let Dragonite trade blows directly with Blastoise. That would be a loss.
Bang!
Dragonite leaped up and flew high into the air.
But Gary would not let Dragonite get away so easily. He ordered, "Aura Sphere."
Bang! Bang!
Blastoise raised its head and fired two Aura Spheres. After they shot out, the two attacks chased Dragonite from different directions.
"Dragonite!"
Dragonite had no intention of dodging. Lightning flashed around its fists, and when the two Aura Spheres approached, it punched them one by one, knocking both Aura Spheres away.
But at that moment, the real fatal attack came.
"Ice Beam!"
Blastoise fired a beam of ice from its cannon.
Dragonite had just knocked away the Aura Spheres and could no longer deal with the Ice Beam in time. It was too late to dodge.
"Flamethrower!" Argenta ordered.
Dragonite immediately spat out flames, but the flames only traveled less than two meters before the Ice Beam rushed through and tore them apart. The beam struck Dragonite directly in the abdomen.
"Dragonite!"
The cold air entered Dragonite's body, causing it great pain. A layer of ice had already formed over the area hit by the Ice Beam.
Argenta had not expected the Aura Spheres to only be a feint, deliberately drawing Dragonite into dealing with them. Ice Beam had been the real move.
"Dragonite, use Rain Dance, then use Thunder!" Argenta ordered.
"Dragonite!"
Dragonite's antennae had the ability to control the weather. In an instant, the sky above the battlefield was covered in rainclouds.
"Dragon Pulse!" Gary ordered.
"Blastoise!"
Energy condensed in Blastoise's cannon, and a dragon-shaped wave shot into the sky.
Dragonite ignored Dragon Pulse. After using Rain Dance, it immediately used Thunder.
Boom!!
Boom!!
Both sides' moves struck each other.
Both attacks were super effective.
Dragonite suffered quite a bit as well and fell from the sky.
"Dragonite!"
"Blastoise!"
The two Pokémon stared tensely at their opponent, ready to act at any moment.
"It's so strong. It actually withstood Dragonite's Thunder," Argenta thought in shock.
Argenta knew Dragonite's strength very well. Blastoise had been hit by Thunder and still seemed mostly fine. That meant Blastoise's level was definitely not lower than Dragonite's.
"Dragonite, rush in and use Thunder Punch," Argenta ordered.
Although she knew Blastoise had Ice Punch, Dragonite's strongest point was physical attack. If she couldn't make use of Dragonite's advantage, then she might as well fight with everything she had and look for a chance to win.
"Dragonite!"
Dragonite beat its wings and charged forward.
"Rapid Spin Water Blade!" Gary ordered.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise withdrew into its shell. A layer of flowing water covered the outside of the shell, and as Blastoise spun rapidly, the water formed a sharp rotating blade around it.
"Dragonite!"
Dragonite was not fooled by Blastoise's move. It threw out a punch, but its fist was blocked by the current. Only the lightning energy on the fist was conducted into the water.
Bang!!
The water blade from Rapid Spin slashed across Dragonite's shoulder and knocked it back.
Blastoise also stopped spinning. Naturally, it had been struck by Thunder Punch as well. Although it had not taken the full damage of the attack, it was still injured by the lightning from Thunder Punch.
Both sides were competing through their battle techniques. Blastoise's physical attack could not compare with Dragonite's, so Gary had to rely on this kind of move combination and added power to contend with Dragonite directly.