Chapter 389: A Victorious First Battle

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"Muddy terrain, Swampert—not good! Venusaur, scatter Sleep Powder into the mud!"

Seeing how the battlefield quickly turned into a muddy swamp under the rain's influence, Yoshiko, as an Elite-level League trainer herself, immediately associated it with Swampert.

Her expression changed drastically, and she urgently issued a command to Venusaur.

Hearing the order, Venusaur, standing in the murky water, released a large amount of emerald-green powder from the bloom on its back, letting it blend into the muddy terrain beneath it.

In an instant, a green hue began to spread rapidly through the originally murky water.

"Muddy Water."

Seeing Yoshiko's command, Sato, who had remained silent until now, immediately instructed Swampert.

In the next second, the muddy battlefield surged into a massive wave under Swampert's control, rushing towards Venusaur.

The Sleep Powder mixed into the mud was swallowed by the wave and carried right back toward Venusaur.

With the battlefield already transformed into a swamp, Venusaur had nowhere to dodge against the giant muddy wave created by Swampert's Muddy Water. All it could do was watch helplessly as the wave engulfed its entire body.

Although the Water-type move Muddy Water didn't deal much damage to Venusaur, the attack left it completely covered in thick mud, turning it into a walking mud creature.

A heavy layer of sludge clung to its body.

Venusaur instantly felt uncomfortable all over, and with its eyes covered in mud, its vision was severely obstructed. Instinctively, it used its vines to wipe its eyes.

"Be careful! Use Protect!"

At that moment, Yoshiko suddenly shouted. Venusaur immediately became alert.

Having spent so much time together, Venusaur trusted Yoshiko unconditionally. The moment it heard her shout, it instinctively activated Protect.

In an instant, a green energy shield enveloped Venusaur, fully protecting its body.

This timely use of Protect saved Venusaur from the brink of defeat.

Unbeknownst to Venusaur, Swampert had already approached silently from behind, its fist covered in ice, ready to strike with Ice Punch.

For most Pokémon, a muddy swamp would be difficult to traverse, significantly slowing movement. But for Swampert, no terrain couldn't be more comfortable.

In the mud, Swampert's speed didn't decrease—it actually increased.

Furthermore, with the battlefield transformed into a swamp, it had become Swampert's domain as a Water/Ground-type Pokémon. This environment provided an incredible boost to its combat capabilities.

Using the cover of the murky water, Swampert had taken advantage of Venusaur's temporary blindness and swiftly closed the distance, arriving undetected right next to its opponent.

"Boom!"

A loud crash echoed as Swampert's Ice Punch struck Venusaur's energy shield.

The defensive power of Protect was impressive. Even with Swampert's immense strength, its attack failed to break the shield.

However, cracks like spiderwebs rapidly spread across the protective barrier.

Within three seconds, Venusaur's fully-powered Protect shattered under the force of Swampert's second Ice Punch.

Of course, having broken through the energy shield, the remaining power of Swampert's punch was minimal, causing barely any damage to Venusaur.

"Quick, use Vine Whip to bind it and then use Giga Drain! "

Seeing Swampert shatter Venusaur's Protect, Yoshiko's face turned pale, and she urgently shouted a command.

"Ice Punch!"

At the same time, Sato also gave his order.

Almost simultaneously, numerous vines sprouted from Venusaur's body, all glowing with a dangerous green energy. The moment they appeared, they lashed toward Swampert like grasping claws.

Unfortunately, despite Venusaur having so many vines, they still couldn't match the speed of Swampert's fists.

Although Swampert's right hand was temporarily numb from the recoil against the energy shield, its left hand remained unscathed.

With lightning speed, Swampert swung its left hand, still coated in ice, and delivered a direct punch to Venusaur's right cheek before the vines could reach it.

A moment later—

"Boom!!"

A resounding crash filled the battlefield as Venusaur's massive body was sent flying, turning into a blurred shadow before crashing into a wall about seven or eight meters outside the battlefield.

When Venusaur slid down from the severely damaged wall, it had already lost consciousness, lying motionless on the ground, unable to battle.

From start to finish, Swampert had only used one move against Venusaur that wasn't particularly damaging—Muddy Water. Aside from that, it had only used Ice Punch.

In other words, Swampert had effectively won the battle with just a single Ice Punch.

"How is that possible?!"

Seeing her Venusaur knocked out of the battlefield with a single punch, Yoshiko's face turned deathly pale, and she murmured in disbelief.

"Such a shame. If it had been just a bit faster, the outcome would have been different."

Standing at the edge of the battlefield, referee Joe felt a pang of regret as he raised his flag to announce Venusaur's defeat.

Not just Yoshiko and Joe, but even Sato and all the other trainers present had seen it clearly.

If Venusaur's Giga Drain-infused Vine Whip had landed a second earlier, the one losing would have been Swampert.

After all, a four-times effective attack was no joke. Even with its thick skin and endurance, Swampert wouldn't have been able to withstand such an assault.

However, there are no "ifs" in battle. Since Venusaur was slower, its defeat was inevitable.

Even knowing this, the trainers watching the match still looked at Swampert, who was now swimming effortlessly in the muddy water, with serious expressions.

Venusaur's defeat had made one thing abundantly clear—Sato's Swampert possessed terrifying strength, making close combat with it almost suicidal for most Pokémon.

Despite her unwillingness to accept the loss, Yoshiko had no choice but to recall her defeated Venusaur and send out her next Pokémon.

As the challenger, she was more aware than anyone of how powerful Sato's Swampert was.

Thus, she swiftly adjusted her strategy. Her second Pokémon was a Pidgeot.

Her plan was to avoid Swampert's overwhelming strength and use Pidgeot's hit-and-run tactics to wear it down.

Unfortunately, this strategy had a flaw. Her Pidgeot was much lower level than Venusaur—only level 37. It had no way of dealing with Swampert, who was lurking beneath the mud.

Meanwhile, Swampert was steadily recovering its strength and stamina thanks to a rare Mutated Supreme Blue Water Stone.

In the end, Pidgeot was ambushed by a rock Swampert hurled at it with incredible speed and fell helplessly into the swamp.

Before it could recover, Swampert sent it flying out of the battlefield with a single punch.

And so, Sato's first Gym battle as the acting Gym Leader ended with Swampert sweeping both of Yoshiko's Pokémon in a one-on-two victory.