Chapter 48: Barry Gets Criticized; Paul vs. Gardenia (Part 1)

"I think Barry can win the badge too." Lucas remarked.

He suddenly recalled Barry's second encounter with Paul in Jubilife City and added, "By the way Paul, we never got the chance to battle again. How about we have a match after the gym battle?"

"A battle? Sure. I've got some Pokémon that need the experience." Paul replied without hesitation.

Soon, the battle on the field began.

Gardenia sent out her Turtwig first, while Barry chose his Staravia.

From the start, Barry ordered Staravia to use Quick Attack to strike. However, Gardenia's Turtwig and its Trainer remained unfazed, dodging at the last moment with impressive precision.

Unwilling to back down, Barry directed Staravia to unleash a barrage of attacks—Quick Attack, Aerial Ace, and Wing Attack. Unfortunately, none of them landed on Turtwig.

"This Turtwig… its speed is ridiculous…" Lucas muttered from the sidelines, stunned.

As a turtle Pokémon, Turtwig was somehow faster than Lucas' Chimchar. Was this even reasonable?

"Indeed, its speed is impressive." Paul agreed.

Paul knew his own Turtwig was fast, but compared to Gardenia's, it was completely outclassed.

Still, Paul had no intention of training his Turtwig's speed. After all, it would evolve sooner or later, and even with increased speed, how fast could it realistically become post-evolution?

As expected, after a series of exchanges, Barry's Staravia was defeated by Turtwig.

For his second Pokémon, Barry made an unusual choice, sending out his recently captured Snorlax.

Against the speed-maxed Turtwig, Snorlax remained unmoved, repeatedly using Defense Curl and Amnesia to bolster its defense and special defense. When its HP ran low, it restored itself with Rest, attacking in its sleep with Snore.

Turtwig attempted to counter with Leech Seed, but Snorlax burned the seeds away with Fire Punch.

With its excellent defense and stamina, Snorlax steadily endured, using a simple yet effective cycle of boosts recovery and attacks. Eventually, Turtwig succumbed to Snore.

Gardenia then sent out Leafeon to face Snorlax, but despite its best efforts, it too fell to Snorlax's overwhelming power.

It wasn't until Gardenia's third Pokémon, Breloom, entered the fray that Snorlax was finally defeated.

For his final Pokémon, Barry chose Heracross, whose type advantage allowed it to take down Breloom with a decisive Megahorn, securing victory.

"How did I perform in this battle?" Barry asked enthusiastically as he returned to the stands with his newly earned badge.

"Your use of Snorlax was impressive. To think you managed to defeat Turtwig with that strategy—well done." Lucas said with a smile, as he didn't want to criticize his childhood friend.

"Nothing much to say." Paul interjected bluntly. "If your Staravia couldn't beat Turtwig, either the Trainer isn't good enough, or the Pokémon isn't trained properly."

"It's unbelievable that the two Pokémon who won you in this battle were ones you recently captured, while the one you've been training lost in the first round."

Paul's sharp critique left Barry visibly frustrated.

Training a Staravia without teaching it any ranged moves was something Paul could understand—after all, Staravia excelled in close combat. However, before it evolved into Staraptor and learned Close Combat, relying solely on impact moves for offense wasn't enough.

"If its speed isn't up to par, train it. If not, teach it Agility. Otherwise, against faster opponents, it'll just get kited to death. What's the use of such a Staravia?"

"And don't even think about using Double Team in a forested area like this—it's useless here."

"Paul, you… ugh! I'll prove you wrong someday!"

Barry pointed at Paul, visibly upset but unable to refute the truth of his words. All he could do was sulk.

Lucas, witnessing the scene, felt awkward and unsure of what to say.

Paul, uninterested in further conversation, left the stands and headed to the field. He waited for Gardenia to finish healing and swapping her Pokémon while considering his own battle strategy.

After a brief pause, Gardenia returned her Pokémon to their Poké Balls and nodded to the referee.

"The next match will be a challenge battle between Veilstone City's Paul and Eterna Gym's Gardenia, with the badge on the line."

"Each side may use three Pokémon. The battle ends when all of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon."

The referee's announcement echoed through the field.

"The weather looks nice. Go, Tangrowth!" Gardenia called out, throwing her Poké Ball.

A Pokémon covered in blue vines with visible eyes and red boot-like feet appeared on the field.

Paul noticed Gardenia's actions and glanced up, seeing the clear sunny sky. Suspecting Gardenia's strategy, Paul tossed his own Poké Ball.

"Vulpix, let's go!"

"Vul~"

Vulpix wagged its tails slightly, ready for battle.

"Vulpix, use Ember!"

Vulpix opened its mouth, releasing a wide spray of fire that covered Tangrowth's position.

Even though the flames were scattered and less powerful, the sunny weather amplified their effect, making the attack far from weak.

"Jump and dodge!"

Calm and composed, Tangrowth leaped onto a nearby tree, hopping effortlessly from branch to branch to avoid the embers.

"It really has the Chlorophyll ability." Paul deduced after observing Tangrowth's speed under the sunny weather.

"Tangrowth, use Sleep Powder!"

A pale green powder wafted from Tangrowth's body, drifting toward Vulpix.

"Burn it away!"

Vulpix unleashed a burst of flames, easily incinerating the powder mid-air.

Even after the attack, Vulpix remained stationary, watching Tangrowth intently while awaiting further instructions.

"Playing defensively? It won't be that easy." Gardenia remarked.

From the moment Paul sent out Vulpix, Gardenia knew using SolarBeam directly wouldn't be effective. However, she wasn't concerned—Tangrowth had other moves.

"Tangrowth, use Ancient Power!"

"Tang~"

Tangrowth summoned glowing orbs from the ground, transforming them into massive rocks that hurtled toward Vulpix.

"Use the trees to evade!"

Under Paul's command, Vulpix skillfully maneuvered through the forested area, using the trees as cover to either block or avoid the falling rocks.

"Now, use Bind to catch it!"

Seizing the opportunity, Tangrowth extended its vines, which snaked toward the dodging Vulpix and successfully ensnared its legs. With a strong tug, Tangrowth pulled Vulpix toward itself, wrapping more vines around its body.

"Great! Now, use Slam!"

Just as Tangrowth prepared to execute its move, Paul's voice rang out.

"Now, Extrasensory!"

Trapped within the vines, Vulpix's eyes glowed with a mysterious blue light, and an invisible force surged along the vines, paralyzing Tangrowth.

Though Tangrowth struggled, it couldn't move for several seconds, giving Vulpix the chance to free itself.

"Fire Blast!"

The moment Vulpix landed, it unleashed a massive fiery-shape at close range, engulfing Tangrowth in flames.

Boom!

The explosion sent Tangrowth flying, and it landed on the ground, unable to continue battling.

"Tangrowth is unable to battle. Vulpix wins!" the referee declared.

"Vul~!"

Though Vulpix was visibly tired, it remained jubilant over its victory.

"Come back, Tangrowth. You did great." Gardenia said as she recalled her Pokémon.

She understood Paul's approach—Vulpix wasn't in peak condition, and if it had engaged Tangrowth head-on, it would've likely exhausted itself. However, by taking a calculated risk, Paul managed to secure a victory with minimal energy expenditure.

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