Murkrow's feathers stood on end, dazzling black light trailing like a whip as it mirrored Breloom's motion and thrust out its left wing!
When the shockwaves passed, it came down to their true bodies.
Breloom's crimson arm snapped longer in a whipcrack and shot for Murkrow!
"Caw!"
Murkrow refused to yield, its wing flashing with black light as it lashed out too!
Fist met wing; power met power. Neither side could gain an inch!
[That can't be right. The streamer's using a Fighting-type, no? Why isn't it steamrolling a Murkrow?]
[Because Murkrow used Foul Play. That move's damage scales off the opponent's strength. It's Dark-type, yeah, but Breloom's own power is fueling it.]
[Learned something new. Dark-type moves are wild…]
[Karen, huh? She's interesting~]
[Giovanni's not running a Gym and still has time to watch streams?]
[Heh. I only heard the examiner's strong and dropped in to take a look. No harm done.]
"Bre—loom…"
Seeing its strength neutralized, Breloom lifted its other arm and hammered another punch!
Swoosh!
Black light shimmered; Murkrow mimicked the motion again, slamming its right wing down to cancel the blow clean.
There was even a hint of soft-redirection technique to it, locking out Breloom's ability to generate force through its arms!
Right now, Breloom's forearms were pinned in a stalemate—anything arm-based was off the table!
"Even if you're using Mach Punch, for a while Breloom's only going to stay in equilibrium with Murkrow."
"They can't break free of each other. That means Breloom's prized Force Palm can't get any power behind it."
Karen watched Grey with a half-smile, wanting to read his face.
But…
"Not bad. For a lot of Fighting-types, the arms are the main source of power."
"And Breloom's legs aren't especially developed, so you don't need to worry much about kicks. That's the premise behind your setup, isn't it?"
Grey smoothed a wrinkle from his collar, even taking a moment to explain Karen's intent for the chat.
"Hm?!"
Karen's eyes sharpened.
If Grey only sort of understood, she wouldn't have reacted.
But the problem was—
Grey understood too well!
He's going to use Spore…?
Right, Taunt's duration just ended.
If he's this confident, that has to be his next play!
No big deal—Murkrow's Ability is Prankster; it'll act first!
Karen's thoughts ran hot; she was sure she'd read Grey's aim.
Realizing Taunt had worn off, she rushed to patch it: "Don't let it set that up—use Taunt, now!"
As soon as she said it, she finally breathed out.
"Who told you I was going for Spore?"
Grey's tone turned light, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Headbutt!"
White light flared; with its arms locked out, Breloom drove its head straight into Murkrow and launched it!
Murkrow went flying at insane speed, slammed into the dojo's roof beams, and dropped straight down!
"C—aw…"
"Come back. You did great."
Before it hit the floor, Karen recalled it, heart aching as she raised the ball.
"Phew…"
She exhaled a warm breath, fingers stroking the Poké Ball before clipping it back to her belt.
"Unexpected. All my precautions, and I still didn't foresee a Headbutt hitting that hard."
Karen's eyes tracked Breloom as it landed; she could only smile helplessly.
"Understandable. Breloom's famous for Spore. But for a Pokémon like it, the head's a serious weapon too."
Saying that, Grey recalled Breloom as well.
"Heh. You really do keep surprising me, Dojo Master Grey."
Karen brushed back her blue-black hair; the excitement from Murkrow's loss faded into calm.
She held Grey's gaze, wanting to fix his face in memory.
"I've met all kinds of Trainers, and among the Gym Leaders I've seen, you're the most interesting."
"I know. I'm very interesting."
Grey twirled a Poké Ball on his finger. "Likewise, among the examiners I've seen, you're the strongest."
"Thanks for the compliment~"
"No problem. You started it."
Pleasantries done, both tossed their Poké Balls. Twin bursts of red light drew the audience's attention.
Which Dark-type would Karen field next?
"Uu-moon—"
A sharp long howl rang out. A small jet-black quadruped padded forward from the light, long ears twitching as its gaze fixed ahead.
Seeing the golden rings on its body, Grey recognized it at once.
[Pokémon: Umbreon]
[Type: Dark]
[Level: 48]
[Ability: Synchronize]
[Moves: Toxic, Thunder Wave, Grudge, Substitute, Sleep Talk… ]
Move after move scrolled across the mental screen. Grey's eye twitched a fraction, unreadable.
This Umbreon's style…
Truly "upright and aboveboard," huh.
"Chaoh!"
For the second bout, Grey sent out Blaziken!
Second in the dojo's internal rankings, and the perfect bridge of the lineup!
First and last can rotate, but the second slot? That's Blaziken's, no question!
"A Kanto Gym Leader, and your picks are all from Hoenn? That does catch me off guard~"
Karen chuckled, but her expression tightened.
She'd gotten burned earlier by unfamiliar non-Kanto/Johto species; with Grey continually throwing out "out-of-region" Pokémon, it almost felt like fighting in Hoenn.
[Is Gym Leader Brawly in chat? Is the streamer from Dewford Town or what?]
[Sorry to disappoint. The streamer's a Saffron City native, through and through. Plenty of Saffron locals here can vouch.]
[Didn't expect the dojo to be restored like this. I'm kinda moved!]
[Who even are you, dude?]
[Hahaha! The great me never hides my name—Karate King, Koichi!]
[Don't know you. I don't practice 'martial virtue.']
[?]
And just like that, the Fighting Dojo's first master got buried in the corner by the scrolling chat.
"Round two—begin!"
Referee Will raised his flags to announce the next battle.
"Blaziken—Flamethrower!"
At the opening bell, Grey chose steadiness, probing from range.
Flames burst from Blaziken's wrist vents; its beak parted, and a huge orange-red pillar roared out, heat rolling!
"Quite the move."
Karen flicked her hair and snapped, "Umbreon—Dark Pulse!"
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