Under Lacey’s expectant gaze, Aiden remained perfectly calm.
“Again!
Leafage—full spread!”
“It won’t work!
Flame Charge!”
The same exchange played out once more.
Sprigatito was struck again and sent tumbling across the battlefield, only barely managing to force herself back onto her feet.
Seeing the little Grass-type trembling with exhaustion, Elesa’s expression toward Aiden grew colder.
“So this is all you amount to as a Trainer…”
She sighed as she looked at Sprigatito struggling to remain upright.
“Let’s finish this.
Flame Charge!”
“Zebraaah!”
Zebstrika had already been fast to begin with, and after repeated boosts from Flame Charge, its Speed had reached a terrifying level.
But at that moment, Lacey—who had never believed Aiden’s strategy could possibly be this simple—suddenly noticed something.
Her eyes widened.
“That’s…”
“Now!”
At Aiden’s shout, Sprigatito cried out.
“Spriga!”
Another enormous wave of leaves erupted forward.
But unlike before, the target wasn’t Zebstrika.
It was the battlefield itself.
“The ground!” Lacey exclaimed.
“I get it—it’s a trap!”
She finally understood what Aiden had been doing.
Elesa realized it at the same time.
“Jump!”
Unfortunately, at Zebstrika’s current speed, there was no longer enough time to react.
Boom!
The charging Zebstrika suddenly caught its hoof on something hidden beneath the scattered leaves.
At that speed, even the smallest obstruction was disastrous.
Its entire body pitched forward and went rolling violently across the battlefield before crashing straight into the wall beyond the arena.
Ironically, the Flame Charges that had been increasing Zebstrika’s power throughout the battle had now become the primary reason it was knocked out.
The faster it had been moving, the harder the crash became.
Elesa: “…”
She stared at Zebstrika embedded in the wall, its eyes already reduced to dizzy spirals.
After a long sigh, she suddenly laughed.
“Well…
I really got taught a lesson this time.”
Thinking back to their conversation before the match, Elesa finally understood.
Aiden had been setting the trap from the very beginning.
He knew she favored Flame Charge when using Zebstrika to build Speed, and he also knew that at Sprigatito’s current level, trying to overpower Zebstrika directly would never work.
So he had deliberately ordered huge spreads of Leafage.
The attacks looked impressive, but most of the leaves had actually been used to conceal Sprigatito’s real work—digging small holes and disturbing the battlefield beneath them.
The dust thrown up whenever Zebstrika used Flame Charge, combined with all the shredded leaves scattered across the ground, had hidden the traps perfectly.
Then, after enduring several attacks, Sprigatito had gradually guided Zebstrika into exactly the right position.
“It wasn’t an especially complicated strategy, but…”
Combined with Aiden’s acting, it had completely escaped Elesa’s notice.
“Honestly…
I let my guard down.”
Shaking her head with a smile, Elesa recalled Zebstrika.
The referee finally recovered from the sudden reversal and thrust one arm into the air.
“Zebstrika is unable to battle!
Sprigatito wins!”
The moment the result was announced, Aiden hurried onto the field and scooped Sprigatito into his arms.
“You worked hard, Sprigatito!”
“Spriga~”
Sprigatito licked his palm and stared up at him with huge eyes that practically asked a single question.
‘Was I amazing?’
“You were incredible!”
Aiden vigorously rubbed her head until her fur was completely mussed up, then took out her Poké Ball.
“Get some rest for now.”
“Meow~!”
Lacey watched both Trainers recall their Pokémon, amazement still written across her face.
So that was why Sprigatito’s earlier attacks had barely seemed to damage Zebstrika.
Most of those leaves had never been intended to hit it in the first place.
They had been cover for the trap.
Looking at the whole battle now, it was obvious just how thoroughly Aiden had researched Elesa’s battling habits and Pokémon beforehand.
Aiden had started digging the hole before the battle even began.
Sprigatito had simply continued digging it during the match.
Lacey sighed.
“I honestly can’t tell whether the Trainer takes after the Pokémon or the Pokémon takes after the Trainer…”
…
Elesa had already regained her composure by the time she reached for her second Poké Ball.
“Galvantula, step into the spotlight!”
A large yellow spider Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Aiden looked at Galvantula, then down at the Poké Ball containing Snivy that he had already prepared.
His expression became increasingly strange.
‘Why am I fighting an Electric-type Gym and somehow getting bad matchups every single round?’
If he weren’t determined to use this Gym battle as training for Sprigatito and Snivy, Aiden would have been seriously tempted to throw Golurk onto the field immediately.
Then maybe just Earthquake the entire Gym while he was at it.
Still, based on the information he had found online, Elesa should currently be using her secondary Gym roster.
That meant the Pokémon available to her were most likely Zebstrika, Galvantula, Flaaffy, Emolga, Eelektrik, and Luxray.
Since Aiden’s own team was already public knowledge, Elesa would naturally choose Pokémon capable of answering his lineup.
That meant both of her remaining choices were probably Pokémon that could use Grass-type attacks effectively against Golurk.
And after Galvantula, the most likely final Pokémon was Eelektrik, whose Levitate Ability would also make Ground-type attacks useless.
Given the current matchup, the best answer was obvious.
Golurk against Galvantula.
Snivy against Eelektrik.
Besides, there was an old saying about momentum in battle: the first surge was strongest, the second weaker, and by the third, it was spent.
Now that Elesa had rebuilt her fighting spirit, the best move was to crush that momentum before it could fully recover.
“Let’s end this one quickly, Golurk!”
“Gooo!”
Elesa’s Galvantula was noticeably larger than an average member of its species, but standing across from Golurk, it still looked almost comically small.
This time, Elesa was fully focused from the start.
“Energy Ball!”
At her command, Galvantula immediately began gathering natural energy.
A glowing green sphere rapidly formed in front of its body.
Whoosh!
Its mastery of Energy Ball was clearly excellent.
The attack formed in an instant and shot across the battlefield almost immediately.
But no matter how powerful a move was, it meant nothing if it couldn’t hit.
“Phantom Force!”
The shadow beneath Golurk suddenly rippled like the surface of dark water.
A moment later, its enormous body vanished completely.
Energy Ball tore through empty air.
Elesa didn’t hesitate for even a second.
“Use String Shot and get airborne!”
Galvantula reacted just as quickly.
A thick strand of silk shot upward and latched onto the steel framework above the battlefield.
The next instant, Galvantula yanked itself into the air.
Unfortunately—
“Cut it off!
Fire Punch!”
A huge shadow suddenly appeared directly in Galvantula’s path.
Golurk emerged from nowhere, already intercepting its movement.
At the same time, one enormous fist became engulfed in flames.
The burning hand came crashing down.
“Gyaaah—!”
Boom!
Galvantula let out a shrill cry as the Fire Punch smashed it straight into the battlefield.
Dust exploded outward.
When the cloud finally cleared, Galvantula was already motionless.
It had been knocked out in a single exchange.
Elesa: “…”
She stared at Golurk for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.
“So that’s the Pokémon they’re calling the Titan.
Its strength really is impressive.”
She recalled Galvantula into its Poké Ball.
“You shone brightly enough to make my eyes spin~”
After offering her partner a few words of encouragement, Elesa reached for her final Poké Ball.
“All right, then.
This is the last one!”
The moment she said it, the audience immediately burst into exaggerated sobbing.
“Noooo~!”
“Miss Elesa, you can do it!”
“No matter what happens, we’ll always support you!”
“Go, Elesa!
Go!”
Surrounded by the cheers of her fans, Elesa straightened once more, her confidence returning.
She raised the final Poké Ball.
“Go, Eelektrik!”