Chapter 24: Fuchsia Gym, Elite Four-Level Strength

Chapter 24: Fuchsia Gym, Elite Four-Level Strength

"Is the Fuchsia Gym really inside this forest?" Lillie asked, sounding a little frustrated.

After leaving the town of flames, Ron and his team had been traveling for four days. Upon reaching Fuchsia City, they were informed that the Fuchsia Gym wasn't actually located in the city but deep within the forest. The Gym Leader, Koga, was said to be training in the wilderness, and his strength was formidable.

Ron scoffed. "No Gym Leader is weak. Well… except for the Cerulean Gym." In the anime, Koga didn't make much of an impression—he even lost to Ash's Charmeleon. But in the manga, Koga was definitely at an Elite Four level, with even more room for growth.

Ron recalled that the Fuchsia Gym was located near a deep ravine, but after wandering the forest for hours, they still couldn't find it. Finally, he had Charizard carry him and Lillie into the air to search from above.

Unfortunately, flying with passengers turned out to be harder than expected, and they nearly crashed into a tree. Clearly, flying with multiple people required skill.

"Maybe I should buy a TM for Fly," Ron mused. "It's a game mechanic, so it should help with flight control."

Deciding to train Charizard for aerial maneuvers in the future, Ron called out Mewtwo. Using its psychic powers, Mewtwo easily lifted both Ron and Lillie, allowing them to search the area while floating.

After scanning from the sky for a while, they finally found the Fuchsia Gym—a massive Japanese-style building deep within the forest.

Upon landing in the courtyard, a girl dressed in ninja attire emerged and asked, "Who are you? Why did you enter without knocking?"

"Hello, I'm Ron from Pallet Town, here to challenge the Fuchsia Gym. This is my travel companion, Lillie."

"Nice to meet you," Lillie greeted politely. "We flew in from above, so we didn't knock. Sorry about that."

"Flew?" The girl was speechless. However, upon hearing Ron was a challenger, she said, "Battle me first. My name is Ayako. If you defeat me, you can meet the Gym Leader. Go, Venonat!"

Ron glanced at the small bug Pokémon and sighed. "Alright, but don't cry about it. Go, Greninja. Let's have a proper ninja battle."

Greninja appeared on the battlefield and looked at the tiny Venonat in surprise. Turning back to Ron, it let out a small sound, as if asking, "Seriously? This is my opponent?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah… take it easy."

"Oh wow! That ninja frog is so cool! Is it called Greninja? Hey, can I trade my Venonat for it?" Ayako asked excitedly.

"No way! Are we battling or not?" Ron responded with a deadpan expression.

Lillie, standing to the side, was equally speechless. Who just casually asks to trade Pokémon on the spot? And Venonat was obviously much weaker—why would anyone trade a powerful Pokémon for it?

"Well, that's a shame. Alright, I'll go first! Venonat, use Stun Spore!"

Ron sighed. "Water Shuriken."

Venonat scattered yellow spores into the air, but there wasn't much of it—no wonder Ash's Bulbasaur blew away a similar attack so easily.

Greninja wiped its thigh markings and launched five Water Shurikens from different angles, all of them hitting Venonat instantly, knocking it out in one move.

"My Venonat!" Ayako cried, cradling her fainted Pokémon. She then glared at Ron and Greninja with resentment.

"Uh… that was probably a bit much," Ron said awkwardly. "Greninja, that was overkill."

"(Not my fault.)" Greninja shrugged.

At that moment, a Voltorb rolled into the arena and exploded, creating a cloud of smoke. When the dust settled, a man in ninja attire appeared.

"Greetings. I am Koga, the Fuchsia Gym Leader. I apologize for my sister's behavior."

After reprimanding Ayako briefly, Koga turned to Ron. "So you're Ron from Pallet Town. The Pokémon League has recognized your strength, so your challenge level will be adjusted accordingly. This will be a one-round match. I will use Arbok."

"Then I'll stick with Greninja," Ron replied.

A sleek and powerful Arbok slithered onto the battlefield. Ron observed it carefully—it was a high-tier Arbok, around level 50. Not too overwhelming. Over the past few days, Greninja and his other Pokémon had finally reached level 50 as well. However, leveling up was starting to slow down significantly.

His popularity points had reached over 20,000. Once he hit 30,000, he could unlock the x4 experience multiplier, allowing for even faster training.

"Since it's a one-round match, let's go all out," Ron declared. He formed a hand seal, and Greninja was instantly engulfed in water, transforming into its Bonded Evolution form.

"Then we'll take the first move," Ron continued. He raised his arms, and Greninja mirrored him, drawing five massive Water Shurikens. With a swift motion, Greninja hurled them at Arbok.

"Dig to evade!" Koga ordered. "That's an interesting evolution method. Makes me want a Greninja of my own. Where did you catch yours?"

"I caught it while fishing in the Alola region. But it originally comes from Kalos," Ron replied, keeping his focus. He suddenly leaped into the air, and Greninja followed suit, using Bounce to evade any counterattacks.

Arbok emerged from the ground, but Greninja came crashing down with a powerful Water Shuriken, smashing into Arbok's head. Arbok let out a pained hiss, then retaliated with Glare, paralyzing Greninja.

Feeling the paralysis through their bond, Ron knew they had to finish this quickly. In real battles, status conditions weren't limited to just one at a time—Koga could stack paralysis with poison next.

Ron formed another hand seal, and multiple Greninja clones appeared.

Koga frowned. "Arbok, use Poison Sting across the entire field."

Ron smirked. "Illusions." He placed a hand on his forehead, and powerful psychic energy surrounded Arbok, crushing it.

"Arbok, Thunder Fang, aim upwards!" Koga commanded, remaining calm. Looking up, he spotted the real Greninja in mid-air.

Ron reacted instantly. "Spikes!"

Greninja scattered Spikes below before Arbok's Thunder Fang struck it. Though the attack hit, Greninja didn't falter. However, the residual electricity disrupted its next move.

"Strange… the attack didn't paralyze it?" Koga muttered. "Fine, use Toxic."

Ron knew he had to act fast. "Toxic Spikes."

Greninja released a layer of Toxic Spikes, but the residual paralysis caused the move to fail.

At the same time, Arbok doused Greninja in deadly poison. Ron grimaced—this was exactly what he wanted to avoid.

Feeling their bond weakening due to the poison, Ron decided to take the risk. He dashed forward. "Final move—Hyper Beam!"

Greninja mirrored him, unleashing a devastating Hyper Beam that sent Arbok flying. However, the recoil left Greninja frozen in place.

"Last attack—Poison Fang!" Koga commanded.

"Last move—Hydro Pump!" Ron countered.

The two attacks clashed. Arbok bit down with Poison Fang, but Greninja's Hydro Pump blasted Arbok away.

For a moment, the two Pokémon locked eyes.

Then, they both collapsed at the same time.