Authors'Note : I generally dont write before the chapter but felt this was needed , I want to really thank you guys as we have reached a milestone of 100 power stones which is great news hence this bonus chapter , as I was going to upload on sunday but decided to do it now , I also appreciate the encouraging comnts and the supports I read most of the comnts and appreciate it and take ideas at ti from it if I can, I also take in negative comnts with so sense or logic to improve If I can and have the ti to implent it , what I dont like is negative comnts for absolutely no reason with no basis those comnts that are just there to spread a bad word I ignore such comnts after one read anyway luckily there arent from this platform ,but wanted to inform about this part: I take 2 days to write up a chapter , 1 day for writing a draft and second is to edit it and then make the chapter and I do it at night after work when I am dead tired so you can understand why there might be errors and I am not a proffesional writer nor have an editor, this is just a hobby for , that said I am going to continue it at least until the indigo league after that I will think about it if I get support from my mind and the viewers to continue , with all this out of the way thank you again for your support and enjoy. Grey's POV
After my Pokémon were finally healed—which took a considerable amount of ti given the state they were in—I headed to the front desk to secure a room.
I managed to book a stay at the Pokémon Center for a week. Despite the massive crowds currently flooding Vermilion, I got lucky; it turns out Nurse Joy back in Celadon had put in a good word for .
The Vermilion Nurse Joy held a room that had just beco vacant, keeping it reserved specifically because of that recomndation.
With my lodgings settled, I headed straight to the Vermilion Gym to register for a match.
I wanted to give myself three days of preparation. When I arrived, the attendant behind the counter looked dead tired, like she'd been staring at the sa paperwork for a century.
There was a massive line just to get to the registration desk. When it was finally my turn, I scheduled the battle for the 3-badge tier.
The attendant wished luck, but her tone was hollow—she'd probably said the sa thing to dozens of trainers who proceeded to get their spirits crushed by Surge.
Once the paperwork was finished, I made a quick stop at the Poké Mart to replenish my supplies. With my bag restocked, I headed to the outskirts of Vermilion to catch up on the daily training we'd skipped during the travel and the battle with Blue.
I decided on the roster for the upcoming gym match: Axew and owth would be the primary focus this ti, stepping in for Shellder.
While Shellder has the Counter Shield, a high-volu barrage of electric attacks could potentially overwhelm his defenses. Because of that, I pushed owth to train twice as hard as usual.
For Exeggcute, I paired him with Shellder for a specific exercise. The goal was for Exeggcute to learn how to stop Shellder's spinning using Confusion—the exact sa tactic Blue's Kadabra had used to shut us down.
To make it harder, I had Shellder initiate the Counter Shield during the attempt. Exeggcute had to find a way to project psychic force through the centrifugal barrier to halt the rotation.
It was the only way to rapidly increase his psychic output. I made sure to tell Exeggcute that he was the key to this gym; his Grass typing would be the clutch factor we needed to secure the win.
While the team ran their drills, I dove into the Pokénet to gather intelligence on Surge's current rotations.
The forums were filled with rage posts. According to the latest data, Surge has significantly amped up the difficulty for 3-badge challengers.
He's currently using at least one—and if your luck is truly rotten, two fully evolved electric types.
His roster is deep. He typically closes with a Raichu, or an Electabuzz if he really wants to make a point.
For his second slot, he rotates between Magneton and Electrode, though he sotis uses them as finishers if the challenger is clearly struggling. He generally starts with sothing unevolved like Pikachu, Voltorb, or Magnemite.
However, searching deeper into the archives revealed so rare outliers: he has been known to pull out an Alolan Geodude or a Charjabug. It seems Surge spent so ti in Alola and brought back a few regional specialties.
I realized I'd need to formulate counter-strategies for those rare cases just in case they made an appearance.
As the sun began to set, we moved into the final phase of training.
Exeggcute worked on refining the activation speed of Sunny Day and the potency of his Synthesis.
anwhile, Axew took owth under his wing, teaching him so close-range combat principles. owth began incorporating these into his own nimble style, significantly improving his technical skill.
Shellder played a vital support role, pushing his spinning speed to the limit to test Exeggcute.
He clearly hadn't forgotten the indignity of Kadabra stopping his spin, and he was determined to make sure his speed was high enough that no psychic grip could ever catch him again. The competitive fire between the two was exactly what we needed.
After our training session concluded, I fed the team their usual rations. I noticed that my stock was starting to dwindle, and I made a ntal note to restock the supply after the gym battle and the S.S. Anne event.
My Pokémon have been showing massive growth lately I'm not sure if it's the quality of the food or the influx of experience from these increasingly tough matches, but they love the al plan, so I'll keep buying it. Even if it cuts into my funds, survival is less of an imdiate worry now that I've built up a decent nest egg.
That said, I'm going to have to spend big eventually to get high-quality Leaf and Water Stones to evolve the team.
I still have that high-quality Dusk Stone, which is significantly more expensive; if I could find soone to trade with, that would be ideal. I could even sell the Hard Stone I found, though I'm holding onto the Rock Essence liquid for now that stuff seems way too valuable to just toss away for quick cash.
Once the team had rested up, I headed to the outskirts of Vermilion to pick so fights.
The local trainers here are noticeably stronger than the ones I encountered previously at this level.
I suspect the S.S. Anne tournant has attracted the more competent trainers in the 3-badge bracket, or perhaps Surge's brutal reputation has forced everyone in the area to level up just to survive.
I fought five trainers today. The first was a brat nad Kenji who ran a bug-thed team of Venomoth and Pinsir.
owth and Axew handled them effectively. owth, in particular, really showcased his growth in close-quarters combat. He's fully mastered Shadow Claw now and has even started working on Shadow Ball. After getting a handle on the physical side of ghost energy, he's starting to understand how to project it as a special attack.
Three of the other trainers specialized in Rock and Ground types. Despite having the type advantage against Surge, they had all lost to him and were training to evolve their Pokémon for a rematch.
They used a mix of Geodude, Mankey, Nidorino, and Nidorina. Shellder and Exeggcute made quick work of them. The trainers weren't exactly happy about the outco—they wanted a "challenging" match—but I had used Axew and owth earlier and wanted a quick victory to test my secondary rotation.
My hunch was right; they weren't nearly as technical as the bug trainer, and I won with ease.
The final trainer was a girl nad Sansa who—no joke—looked exactly like Sansa from Ga of Thrones. She had a Mightyena she called "Lady." I have no idea how she got a Hoenn native out here, but I let owth take the lead to gain more experience before the gym.
It was a grind; Shadow Claw and Night Slash weren't very effective against another Dark-type, and Mightyena's Bite and Take Down were heavy hitters.
owth played it smart, using his superior speed for hit-and-run tactics. He peppered the "mutt" with Pay Day attacks just to be annoying. Despite the na "Lady," the dog was anything but lady-like once she lost her temper.
owth goaded her into making mistakes until she started ignoring Sansa's commands entirely. Once she beca impatient and reckless, owth moved in with precise Fury Swipes and slashes, hitting spots where she couldn't counter-attack before slipping away. By the ti it ended, owth stood victorious. I didn't offer any "encouragent" or lecture the girl about her Pokémon's disobedience;
I could tell by her expression she already knew she had a control problem. I just took the prize money and moved on.
On the way back, I stopped at the Poké Mart to check for TMs.
Apparently, standard Marts only sell TMs to VIP custors, and the prices are astronomical if they aren't sourced directly from a Silph Co. outlet in Saffron. I'll have to head there eventually to pick up utility moves like Protect.
I ended up selling off so excess Nuggets and Potions I'd accumulated through owth's "Pickup" antics and left.
Back at the Center, I checked the Pokénet one last ti for any hidden info on Surge or creative ways to ground electric attacks, but I ca up empty.
I briefly considered teaching Counter Shield to the rest of the team, but they aren't quite ready for it.
Exeggcute lacks a physical leaf move to create a solid barricade, and while Axew has a "Dragon Rage barrage," it's more of an omnidirectional blast than a sustained shield. owth just doesn't have the specific move pool to pull it off yet.
I guess I'll just have to trust in the training we've done. No more tricks just a straight-up battle to take Surge down. With that thought, I finally drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note : This was more of a breather chapter , as I cant give tough battles each chapter , that said next 2 chaps are the gym battle so wait for it
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