"Great coordination!"
Brawly recalled his fainted Machamp and couldn't help but offer praise. "Looks like you've done your homework. With that kind of focus, no wave is too big for you to ride."
An experienced Gym Leader like him could easily see that Kashiwagi and Mawile had tailored their tactics specifically to his habits and Pokémon. That was why the battle against Machamp had flowed so smoothly, requiring very little mid-battle direction.
Whether it was lifting Machamp off the ground to disrupt its leverage or using Taunt to shut down its setups, Kashiwagi had hit every vital point.
Brawly didn't resent this kind of calculated challenge; in fact, he encouraged it. To him, doing research was like picking the right board for a specific wave—everyone had their own strategy. The key wasn't just having a plan, but the ability to execute it.
"You flatter me," Kashiwagi replied with a nod. He looked down at the slightly panting Mawile and whispered, "Beautifully done."
"Maw-wile!"
Mawile didn't even look back, simply flashing a confident thumbs-up.
-----
Brawly pulled out his second Poké Ball. "Go! Medicham!"
Pop!
"Medi!"
Amidst a flash of light and a sharp, disciplined cry, a pink, humanoid Pokémon landed on the field. It stood on one leg, its body appearing as flexible as a noodle.
Medicham, the Meditate Pokémon. In most cases, its ability is Pure Power, a terrifying trait that doubles its Attack stat. In other words, its strikes hurt—a lot. Pokémon weak to Fighting types usually couldn't stand more than a single blow.
But Kashiwagi had long ago scouted an answer for this.
"Baton Pass!"
Even before Medicham touched the ground, Kashiwagi was already switching. Mawile's head glowed with a white light as she transformed into a streak of energy and returned to her ball. Simultaneously, another Poké Ball clicked open, releasing Galarian Corsola.
Sensing the threatening aura from her opponent, Corsola immediately deployed all her smoke-like tentacles, which bloomed outward like a ghostly flower.
Electricity crackled beneath her base, and her body shimmered with a metallic silver glint—signs that she had inherited the effects of Magnet Rise and Iron Defense.
"Oh? A Corsola?"
Brawly blinked, taking a few seconds to realize this wasn't the standard coral Pokémon.
Watching his expression, Kashiwagi realized once more that Galarian variants must be incredibly rare here. Is the Gym League circuit so demanding that Trainers never travel abroad?
Regardless, based on the intel Kashiwagi had gathered, Brawly's Medicham didn't know Foresight. While many of his other Fighting types did, this specific Medicham lacked that crucial move. Whether Brawly left that weakness as a "gate" for challengers or the Pokémon simply couldn't learn it, Kashiwagi knew Galarian Corsola was the perfect counter.
"Follow the plan!"
Kashiwagi opened with Curse. Since Gym battles usually restricted the Leader's switching, moves like Curse and Perish Song were incredibly potent and hard to stop.
A dark light swelled within Galarian Corsola, quickly forming a hideous, distorted shadow that shrieked as it flew toward Medicham.
"Shatter it with Zen Headbutt!" Brawly shouted.
Medicham leaped into the air, flipping gracefully until it was upside down. Its forehead glowed with a pale blue light as it funneled massive psychic energy into a strike against the shadow.
With a loud thump, the shadow exploded into countless black shards.
But before Brawly could breathe a sigh of relief, those shards seemed to come alive, swarming into Medicham's own shadow.
"It failed?"
Brawly frowned. He had recognized the move as Curse rather than Night Shade, but Galarian Corsola's spite was apparently too strong for Medicham's mental fortitude to repel.
From what he knew, the stronger the lingering resentment, the more effective the Curse. Just how much hidden grudge does this Corsola have?
Regardless, he couldn't afford to wait for the Curse to drain Medicham dry. "Shadow Ball!"
"Medi!"
Medicham cupped its hands in front of its chest. A deep purple orb of energy, crackling with black electricity, formed and streaked toward the coral.
"Block it with Ancient Power!"
A dark brown ring of energy materialized behind Corsola. A surge of jagged rock energy surged forward, detonating the incoming Shadow Ball in mid-air.
Boom!
As smoke filled the field, a bright white light suddenly emanated from within.
It was the signature sign of Ancient Power's secondary effect—every one of Galarian Corsola's stats had just increased.
"What a persistent opponent," Brawly muttered. "Reminds me of a massive wave I saw last month. It was constantly shifting, giving me and Hariyama a real hard time—but in the end, we conquered it! Zen Headbutt!"
Brawly's dialogue never strayed far from surfing. Medicham, seemingly fueled by its Trainer's will, charged forward with incredible speed. It reached Corsola in an instant, leaped high, and flipped vertically.
It plummeted downward!
BAM!
A dull thud echoed as psychic energy seeped into Corsola's translucent body. The impact was so great that the ground beneath her cracked into a spiderweb of fissures.
Medicham's offensive power was indeed monstrous. Any other Pokémon might have folded under the pressure. Fortunately, Galarian Corsola's defensive stats were naturally high, further bolstered by her Eviolite, Iron Defense, and the Ancient Power buff. She tanked the hit with ease.
In fact, letting Medicham get close was exactly what Kashiwagi wanted.
"Strength Sap!" he commanded.
Even without the order, Corsola had already pierced Medicham with her smoke tentacles, siphoning green sparks of life to replenish her own health.
Medicham's face contorted in pain. Enveloped in the black aura of the Curse and drained of its physical strength, its Attack power was plummeting while its stamina began to vanish. It was a dangerous situation.
"Retreat, now!" Brawly's face paled.
But once a Pokémon gets close to this ghost, Kashiwagi and Corsola weren't about to let it leave so easily. "Whirlpool!"
Crystal-clear water condensed out of thin air, instantly forming a rapid vortex that trapped Medicham within its center, its current tearing at the Pokémon to keep it from escaping.
"Use Meditate!"
Brawly's shout caused the struggling Medicham to look serious despite the lashing water. It forced its body into a strange, meditative sitting position. Its entire frame was suddenly encased in a blue light. As if stepping into another dimension, it lightly tapped the air with its toes and drifted upward, completely breaking free from the vortex's pull.
"Wait, what?"
Kashiwagi was stunned. You can use Meditate like that?
The online guides definitely didn't mention this. It looked like Brawly had a secret ace up his sleeve after all.