Seeing Snover’s reaction, Sinshi had no intention of stopping.
“Am I wrong?
Or do you actually think she’s capable of inheriting her father’s Gym?”
“Sno!”
Snover nodded without any hesitation.
This attitude of absolute trust deeply moved Candice, who was standing behind it.
She never expected Snover to willingly step up and defend her right in the middle of their argument.
Especially that unwavering look in its eyes when faced with the goal they had set when they first set out on their journey.
Feeling that she couldn’t hold Snover back either, Candice sniffled.
“Even if my performance is bad right now, I believe that as long as Snover and I work hard together, I can definitely overcome my flaws and become a qualified Gym Leader.”
Her voice was slightly nasal, but her tone was far more resolute than before.
Sinshi quietly watched Candice and Snover.
The eyes of the girl and the Pokémon were completely different from before—they were perfectly aligned, resolute, and brimming with confidence.
Sinshi smiled faintly.
“Since you two are so confident, let’s have a battle.”
“A battle?”
“Yes.
Prove to me with your actual performance that you have what it takes.
Of course, if you’re afraid of battling a novice Trainer like me, then pretend I never said anything,” Sinshi said, spreading his hands.
Candice didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she looked at Snover, and Snover looked back at her.
Their gazes met for a moment before they both nodded in unison.
“No problem, bring it on!”
“Sno!”
…
This clearing at the edge of the forest was very spacious.
After putting enough distance between them, Candice tied her blue jacket around her waist and took a deep breath.
“The Pokémon I’ll be using is Snover.
What about you?” Candice asked, seeing that Sinshi made no move to pull out a Poké Ball.
“My Pokémon is this guy.” Sinshi called out toward the rock behind him, “Agumon, are you done eating?
Come out, it’s time to get to work.”
‘Agumon?’
Hearing this name, Candice furrowed her brows.
‘Is that a nickname for a Pokémon?
Or what?’
Just as she was filled with confusion, a small, entirely yellow, dinosaur-like Pokémon leaped out from behind the rock, arriving in front of Sinshi in two bounds.
“What kind of Pokémon is this…”
Looking at the Agumon standing opposite her, Candice realized she didn’t recognize it at all.
It should be known that she was consistently ranked first in the Pokémon School in Snowpoint City.
She knew all sorts of Pokémon knowledge by heart, and identifying different species of Pokémon was the most basic of basics.
But now, no matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t find a single memory regarding it.
‘An unknown Pokémon?’
Thinking of this, Candice pulled a Pokédex from her pocket and aimed it at Agumon.
However, even the Pokédex, which usually processed information incredibly fast, fell into a silence lasting over ten seconds.
Just as Candice was starting to suspect the Pokédex was broken, the cold, mechanical voice finally sounded.
But even so, it only spoke a single, simple sentence.
“No data?”
Candice’s eyes widened involuntarily.
There wasn’t a single record or piece of data about this Pokémon in the Pokédex.
‘What exactly is going on?’
Candice stared intently at Agumon, then looked back at Sinshi.
“An unemployed vagrant, an unknown Pokémon…
what a weird combination.
But I won’t lose just because of that.
“Judging by my instincts, this mysterious Pokémon’s level should be very close to Snover’s.
The gap shouldn’t be so big that we can’t put up a fight.”
Candice’s gaze slowly shifted to Snover, who stood before her, presenting a steady and reliable back.
“Snover, we’ll strike first.
Use Ice Shard!”
Snover moved at her command.
Shards of ice materialized out of thin air and, guided by Snover, shot rapidly toward Agumon.
Although she didn’t know what kind of Pokémon the opponent was, nor its typing, judging from its appearance, it was highly likely to be a Dragon-type.
This method of judgment could sometimes lead to huge errors, but right now, she had no other choice but to try starting from this angle.
“Smart choice,” Sinshi couldn’t help but praise.
Once they entered battle, it was obvious that Candice’s demeanor completely changed.
Clearly, to become the Gym Leader of the Snowpoint Gym and a teacher at the Pokémon School in the future, she was highly capable.
But if this was all she had, she was still a bit far off.
“Agumon, dodge to the side, then charge straight at it!”
Agumon lowered his body, his two thick, powerful thighs flexing as he instantly leaped to the side.
After dodging the incoming Ice Shards, he pumped his legs and charged straight ahead.
‘Its reaction time and speed are so fast!
And looking at those claws, its main method of attack should be close combat.
That’s probably why it’s closing the distance.’
Candice thought rapidly while issuing her next command.
“Snover, don’t let it get close so easily!
Use Icy Wind!”
Amidst a faint white mist, sparkling snowflakes appeared, causing the temperature to drop rapidly.
This freezing gale blew fiercely toward Agumon.
The moment the Icy Wind blew, Sinshi predicted its trajectory and area of effect, calling out, “Dodge to the left, then leap forward and keep charging!”
Thanks to surviving in the wild year-round, and the fact that the Digital World’s environment was generally much harsher than the Pokémon World’s, Agumon possessed incredibly fast reflexes.
Almost the very next second after Sinshi’s voice rang out, Agumon was already moving.
Rolling to the left to evade the first wave of the attack, his powerful thighs pushed off fiercely, leaving two deep footprints in the ground as his body leaped high into the air.
Right at that moment, a vigorous surge of green energy erupted from Snover, sweeping up the leaves and weeds on the ground and blowing them toward the mid-air Agumon.
“Using Icy Wind as cover, with Leafage lying in ambush right behind it.” Having seen through Candice’s offensive, Sinshi commanded, “Agumon, use Sharp Claw!”
Suspended in the air, Agumon was by no means defenseless.
Paying no mind to whether he would land steadily after falling, his claws suddenly flashed with an orange light.
The next second, two massive orange energy claws coated his arms.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
The claws danced rapidly, the sound of tearing air echoing all around.
All the energy-wrapped leaves and grass were shredded by the orange claws almost instantaneously, turning into green fragments that slowly drifted down through the air.
Candice clearly hadn’t expected such a stealthy ambush move to be broken through so violently.
But right now, she had no time to be shocked or think about anything else.
Because Agumon had already charged right in front of Snover.