"Misty, is your Psyduck... throwing the match or something?"
Ash, out by the field, voiced the question that pierced straight to the soul of his traveling companion.
Misty: "..."
Honestly, he kind of had a point.
Her Psyduck had gone after Metagross like it'd been injected with adrenaline.
That final burst of world-ending momentum was still fresh in her mind.
And then what happened?
In the blink of an eye, it flopped over like a toy with its batteries yanked out.
Wasn't that blatantly staged?
Not even Bollywood would script it like that!
Some people in the stands had already started whistling and jeering, and even the Cerulean Sisters were covering their faces in embarrassment.
Misty wanted to explain, but she had no idea how.
Right now, Psyduck was still in a dangerous state.
Ears burning red, Misty scooped Psyduck into her arms.
But the moment her fingers touched its burning-hot forehead, she realized that terrifying power was still rampaging through Psyduck's body...
"So it really... was at its limit..."
Her arms trembled slightly as she held Psyduck tighter.
That scene just now hadn't been an act at all. It had been a genuine last-ditch gamble.
In a daze, Misty suddenly felt her arms grow lighter.
She looked down and saw that Psyduck had vanished from her embrace.
Panic surged through her, but when she looked up, she saw Psyduck in Sabrina's hands.
Sabrina used her psychic powers to smooth out Psyduck's violent psychic turbulence.
Psyduck's psychic power was strong.
But Sabrina was stronger.
It didn't take long before Psyduck finally returned to normal.
"This Psyduck is exhausted and needs rest.
"For a while, don't let it use psychic powers again.
"It has remarkable talent, but that talent needs to be refined. And for the record, this battle was not a fixed match."
Sabrina's tone was calm, her words carried directly into everyone's minds through her psychic power.
The crowd erupted.
Sabrina herself had stepped forward to confirm that Misty's Psyduck hadn't thrown the match.
And she had also stated clearly that Misty's Psyduck was highly gifted.
What did that mean?
It meant this Psyduck had an extremely high ceiling... and an extremely high floor too.
Misty had basically struck gold.
Her eyes gradually began to shine.
She hadn't expected even a Psychic like Sabrina to recognize Psyduck, much less come over personally and help explain that the match hadn't been thrown. That really saved her.
"Thank you, Gym Leader Sabrina!"
Misty took Psyduck back from Sabrina, then thanked her again in all seriousness.
Sure enough, Psyduck was a double-edged sword.
Against weaker opponents, it could wipe them out on the spot.
But the moment it ran into an especially powerful foe, it would crash just as hard.
"You're welcome. I hope your Psyduck can learn to control that power in the future."
Sabrina shook her head, signaling that Misty didn't need to dwell on it.
She admitted it to herself: Psyduck had tempted her too.
Among all the non-Psychic Pokémon she had ever seen, this one had the highest gift for psychic power.
In fact, plenty of actual Psychic Pokémon didn't have talent on this level.
"Mm! I will. Thank you, Gym Leader Sabrina."
Misty thanked her again, then finally turned to Grey.
"Gym Leader Grey, that was a very meaningful battle. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Being able to witness such an incredible Psyduck was an honor for me as well."
Grey gave a light nod.
He had only exchanged a few rounds with Psyduck.
And yet, those few short rounds had shocked him to the core.
Sure enough, the Duck God's reputation wasn't just hype.
Psyduck had come dangerously close to taking down his Metagross.
If that final Psychic had actually gone off, the result might really have been a double knockout.
Grey recalled Metagross and prepared to see who his next opponent would be after it received treatment.
Two more wins, and a top-eight finish would be practically guaranteed.
This event was only a preliminary round to decide the Eight Gym titles.
As for the true ranking of strength, that would still depend on the opening matches of the Indigo Plateau Conference.
When that time came, every powerhouse would gather in one place.
There would even be more than five Elite Four-level trainers.
...
...
While Metagross was being treated, Grey opened his stream and started bragging to chat.
[Streamer, did you almost get reverse-swept just now?]
[Yeah, that Psyduck looked terrifying.]
[So is Kanto's current trend that unevolved Pokémon are the real aces?]
The viewers couldn't resist teasing him about the "Psyduck incident."
Metagross had almost lost all its dignity there. It was only because Psyduck ran out of stamina first that it collapsed before the finish.
"It's fine. Metagross still had a decent amount of stamina left. But I have to admit, that Psyduck's talent really is impressive."
The moment Grey started talking about Misty's Psyduck, the scene from earlier resurfaced in his mind all over again.
The pressure it gave off had definitely been real.
Its activation condition was just a little harsh.
It needed a headache first.
[So who's your next opponent? Can you tell us?]
Everyone in chat was getting curious about Grey's opponent for the second battle.
Ideally, they wanted him matched against one of the Eight Gym trainers.
High-level matches were what they loved to watch.
Gym battles really were peak entertainment.
"My next opponent? The officials haven't posted it yet... huh? There it is, let me take a look."
Grey had just been about to say the official list wasn't out yet when the notification popped up the next second.
[Gym Showdown Preliminary Round - Second Matchups]
[Giovanni vs. Lt. Surge]
[Koga vs. Muno]
[...]
[Grey vs. Erika]
[The second round will begin at 2:00 PM. All Gym Leaders, please be ready.]
Grey's opponent was Erika.
She wasn't close to Elite Four level, but among Gym Leaders, she was already one of the very best.
And when Grey told chat the news—
the screen was immediately flooded with wails of despair.
[Grey, promise me you'll go easy this afternoon.]
[Waaah, Gym Leader Erika! Such a dedicated Gym Leader, and she had to run into Grey this early?]
Grey: "..."
Great. Just great. So all of you are fake fans, huh?
The second they saw him matched against a pretty girl, they instantly started feeling sorry for her!
"Seeing you all act like this really breaks my heart."
Grey pressed a hand to his chest, looking like he was on the verge of tears.
"You treat a hardworking streamer like this, and your consciences don't hurt at all?"
[Just thinking about Gym Leader Erika after losing to you, with big tears rolling down her cheeks, makes me feel like you should be the one to suffer instead.]
[It's okay, streamer. Once we hear you're matched against Gym Leader Giovanni later, we'll come here and cry for you.]
"Alright, alright. I'm going to get lunch soon. We'll chat a little longer, then I'm ending the stream."
Grey knew the viewers were just joking, so he didn't take it to heart.
...
...
Inside the Celadon Gym lounge.
"Gym Leader Erika, it looks like your next opponent is..."
The Gym assistant Linglan sat beside Erika, who was wearing a thoroughly miserable expression.
"Well? Out with it. No need to beat around the bush. What, is it Gym Leader Giovanni? Gym Leader Blaine?"
Erika frowned slightly and asked in a soft voice.
"Neither of them. It's Grey."
Linglan answered.
Erika: "???"
I'm fighting Grey?
Seriously?
Can I surrender?
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