Jessie and James snuck quietly into the gym, moving and acting as cautiously as possible.
Unlike in other regions, when they came to Sinnoh this time, they discovered that the gyms here were very different from the gyms in other places.
In other regions, gyms were generally for lower-level Pokémon battles, serving as a kind of assessment for challengers.
But the gyms here seemed completely different.
They held great hostility toward challengers, and right from the start would send out their strongest Pokémon.
They had seen it with their own eyes, when Ash called out Pikachu, that Gym Leader went crazy.
Saying things like, "I've already seen through you," "You challengers are all dishonest".
And also things like, "If I'm not mistaken, that Pikachu of yours must know Thunderbolt, right?"
In short, that Gym Leader shouted a few times and then just sent out a Gym Leader–level Onix.
Jessie and James couldn't help but think at the time. Was this gym really meant for people to challenge?
When the brat's battle ended, the two of them appeared immediately, trying to snatch Pikachu.
But just as they appeared in the gym, that Gym Leader released a Rampardos.
"You're here to challenge too, aren't you?"
"Hahahaha! I knew there couldn't only be one challenger."
"Sinnoh Gym Leaders will never fail to the same tactic twice!"
"Rampardos, charge! Use Double-Edge Head Smash!"
Before Jessie and James could react, they were smashed with stars spinning around their heads by Rampardos.
———
"Huh, is this gym empty?", After waiting a while, the whole gym remained silent, no voices, no one showing up.
Finally, Jessie couldn't help it. She straightened up a bit from her bent-over posture.
Poking her head out from behind a Froslass, she suspiciously scanned the gym.
James nodded too, "Seems like there really isn't anyone here!"
Soon, the two of them found a small blackboard at the end of the gym hallway.
[Hello challenger, recently I received a task from the Pokémon League, and I won't be back for quite some time.]
[But I've already left a message with Crasher. You only need to challenge Crasher once more, and you can receive the badge I'll mail to you.]
After reading the message, the two exchanged a glance, a gleam flashing in their eyes, "So that means… we can disguise ourselves as the Gym Leader, set up a trap, and wait for the brat to come knocking?"
Jessie clapped her hands happily, "Perfect, perfect, this time we'll definitely succeed big time."
———
The sound of hooves stepping in the snow came. Axel appeared at the entrance of Snowpoint Gym, holding Platinum in his arms.
The young lady lazily wrapped her arms around Axel's neck, burying her whole face almost completely in his chest.
"Axel… I still can't tell the way. How am I supposed to battle later?"
Axel was speechless, 'Can't even tell the way, yet you sat in the driver's seat?'
'As a human, you're even tougher than Elesa.'
But Axel also understood, Platinum didn't want him to leave, she wanted to leave behind an unforgettable memory before he did.
Thinking of this, Axel gently patted her little head.
"It's okay. In a bit, you can ride Glastrier. I'll get down and walk."
"It's just the last gym. Hold on a little longer."
"After we finish this gym, we'll go to Snowpoint Temple. I remember there's a miraculous potion there. Once you drink it, you'll be fine."
If he remembered correctly, in this city's Snowpoint Temple there was a statue of Regigigas.
In the game's storyline, bringing Regice, Regirock, and Registeel together would summon Regigigas.
But judging from the current storyline, Regigigas must have already gone elsewhere.
Still, that wasn't a problem. Gardevoir knew Regigigas's location, he could just ask her later.
What Axel was aiming for was that "Full Restore Potion" born from the ruins.
Seeing Axel being so considerate, the young lady gently nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth:
"Alright then. Let's finish this gym, let you, my bodyguard, complete your mission, then we'll head to the temple."
Clop! Clop! Clop!
Glastrier walked forward a few steps, entering the gym's long corridor.
Once inside, the drifting snow outside was all blocked by the roof, and it was noticeably warmer.
Nearing the inner doors of the gym, Axel gently patted Glastrier's bare mane.
"Glastrier, stop here. In a bit, make sure Platinum is steady on your back. I'll walk from here."
"Neighhh!"
The strange thing was, Glastrier didn't stop immediately but instead began circling in place, watching the space ahead with vigilance.
"What's wrong?", Axel's tone carried confusion.
Glastrier only showed this attitude when facing danger.
But this was a gym, how could danger appear here?
"Neighhh!"
Glastrier neighed sharply. An icicle formed in midair and crashed onto the floor ahead.
Crack!
The floor shattered, revealing a large hole.
Beneath the hole, a poacher's Pokémon capture net had been set up.
"This isn't right," Axel frowned, instinctively feeling that something was wrong.
Along his journey so far, although Gym Leaders often made up strange rule restrictions, they were still within the League's allowance.
But setting up traps was absurd, it wasn't something Gym Leaders would do.
Usually, only villains or poachers would pull something like this.
But Sinnoh's villains had already been toyed around with by him, and they were still busy raising money for him.
Poachers were generally weak, and there was no way they'd dare sneak into a gym to set this up.
"Then who could it be?"
As Axel was puzzling, a familiar voice rang out from behind the gym's inner doors.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
As the inner doors slowly opened, Jessie and James stepped out. Axel blinked.
"Meow?"
"Thud!"
The aura Jessie and James had been trying to build up instantly collapsed, and with a loud thump, they fell to the ground.
"Damn it, you skipped half the lines!"
Seeing the two in such an awkward state, Axel grinned.
So the trap was set by these three clowns. That meant there wasn't really any danger, it was just another farce.
"Where's the Gym Leader? We're here to challenge the gym."
Hearing that someone wanted to challenge the gym, Jessie's aura perked up a little.
"We're the Gym Leaders!"
As she said that, she snapped her fingers, and the lights above turned on automatically.
And then… James and Jessie froze in shock.
'What the hell?'
'Why is it Axel again!'
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