41 Chapter 41: Challenge of the Petalburg Gym

"That's settled then. Swellow, Heracross, and Poliwhirl, it's up to you to take on the Petalburg Gym challenge this time!" 

Rex addressed the three Pokémon in front of him.

He was now riding Swellow in the forest outside Petalburg City, intending to conduct last-minute training with them during the afternoon. It was a warm-up activity before the gym challenge.

Of course, Swellow and the others were eager. They were all battle enthusiasts and never refused a challenge.

"So, this afternoon's plan is set. Heracross and Poliwhirl will battle Swellow, and I'll be your referee. I won't interfere with your battle, so give it your all!"

Yes, Rex's plan was to have Swellow and the others engage in an intense friendly match. By allocating roles this way, the pressure was on Swellow.

Swellow was stronger than Heracross, but with Poliwhirl joining, the outcome was uncertain.

After hearing Rex's plan, Swellow wasn't afraid; it was actually excited. It had been a while since it felt this way.

As for Heracross and Poliwhirl, they felt a bit underestimated by Rex. They were determined to show their strength and defeat Swellow to prove themselves.

"So, let the battle begin!"

With Rex's words, the Pokémon began an intense battle.

Rex dared to play like this because of his healing ability.

Tomorrow, they would challenge the Petalburg Gym, and he would use his healing ability on them three times today to ensure they were in top condition for the challenge.

So, why not let Swellow and the others have an intense battle? Even if they were seriously injured, they could all recover.

Rex couldn't help but pat himself on the back for his cleverness.

Later, the three Pokémon began their intense battle.

Swellow used its speed to spar with Heracross and Poliwhirl, occasionally launching long-range attacks with Air Slash.

This made Heracross and Poliwhirl a bit overwhelmed, but such attacks only served as harassment and didn't cause significant damage.

Suddenly, Rex noticed a dark cloud in the sky followed by a drizzle. He realized that Poliwhirl had learned Rain Dance, a move he had been wanting it to learn.

He hadn't expected Poliwhirl to learn Rain Dance to limit Swellow's speed.

Due to the rain, Swellow's feathers absorbed water, causing its speed to decrease.

This gave Heracross the opportunity to use Megahorn, colliding with Swellow's wing attack.

Watching the three Pokémon lying on the ground, Rex recalled the scene of their previous battle. Swellow had fought against Heracross and Poliwhirl under a two-on-one situation and ended up in this state. Rex knew they had all tried their best.

This resulted in them accumulating too many injuries. Without Rex's healing ability, they would probably have to lie in the Pokémon Center for at least a week.

Actually, neither side was very satisfied with this result. Swellow felt that if it persisted a little longer, it might have achieved the achievement of one against two, but in the end, both sides lost their combat ability, resulting in a draw.

As soon as Rex finished healing them, the three Pokémon felt as if they had been revived, although they still felt mentally exhausted. However, they were already eager to fight again.

"Alright, let's call it a day for now. You all need to rest well now, so you can face tomorrow's gym challenge in complete condition!"

Seeing signs of another battle between them, Rex quickly intervened.

Fortunately, the three Pokémon were quite obedient to Rex as their trainer, and they all calmed down, just thinking about finding another opportunity to battle in the future.

Afterward, Rex had Swellow carry him back to the Pokémon Center.

"You're back from your special training. How did it go?"

Seeing Rex back, Rina asked directly.

"Uh, it's okay. We'll see how it goes tomorrow during the challenge!"

Rex couldn't say that he didn't train them but let his Pokémon fight each other!

The next day, Rex and Rina arrived at the Petalburg Gym on time. After they arrived, the Gym apprentice opened the door for them.

"Hello, we're here to challenge Norman. Could you please inform him?"

Rex said to the apprentice.

"Oh, you're here to challenge the Gym trainers. Please wait a moment, I'll go in and inform Mr. Norman!"

The apprentice seemed very familiar with the challenge process. He would go in now to see if Mr. Norman had time to accept the challenge. If he did, they could start immediately. If not, he would give them an appointment time to come back for the challenge.

"You're lucky. Mr. Norman happens to have time to accept the challenge now. Follow me!"

The apprentice came back with an answer for the two of them in less than 5 minutes.

Then, Rex and Rina followed the Gym apprentice to a battle arena, where Norman was already waiting.

"Mr. Norman, I'm here to challenge you again!"

Upon seeing Norman, Rina spoke up first.

"Oh, it's you coming to challenge. Are you ready this time, Rina?"

It was obvious that Norman and Rina were quite familiar with each other, not just a typical challenger returning to challenge the Gym. There seemed to be some special connection between them.

"Since that's the case, let's get started. The rules of the match are the same as last time, a 3v3 battle!"

Norman said to Rina.

"Sorry, let me interrupt. After discussing with Rina, I'll be the one to challenge the Gym first. Is that okay, Mr. Norman?"

Rex interrupted Norman's next move politely.

"Oh, I was too hasty just now. May I ask your name, young man?"

Norman originally thought Rex was Rina's companion, accompanying her to challenge the Gym. He didn't expect both of them to be Gym challengers.

"My name is Rex!"

Rex replied politely.

"In that case, let's start with you, Rex. Are you ready?"

Norman looked at Rex and asked.

"I'm ready!"

Rex gave an affirmative answer.

"Well then, the match between Rex, the trainer from Fallabor Town, and the Petalburg Gym challenge begins now! The match is limited to using 3 Pokémon, with the trainer able to switch Pokémon at any time, while the Gym Leader cannot switch Pokémon. Let the match begin!"

This was the referee for the Gym challenge, appointed by the Gym apprentice who led them in.

"Come out, Poliwhirl!"

"Come out, Slakoth!"

Both of them sent out their Pokémon simultaneously. Rex had already known that Norman would use the Slakoth series of Pokémon for the Gym challenge.

Rex had watched the anime in his previous life and knew that Norman's Slakoth was not to be underestimated. It was also very good at dodging attacks.

"Poliwhirl, use Bubble Beam!"

Rex directly used a long-range attack, giving himself a little buffer time and a higher margin of error.

"Slakoth, use Flame Punch!"

Norman also gave a timely command.

Rex was quite confident in Poliwhirl's Water-type move, Bubble Beam. As expected, Slakoth's Flame Punch only delayed Poliwhirl's Bubble Beam for a few seconds before it surged forward.

"Slakoth, dodge it!"

Norman was somewhat surprised by the power of Poliwhirl's Bubble Beam, but he was confident in Slakoth's evasiveness.

Seeing the power of Poliwhirl's Bubble Beam, Rex had been waiting for this opportunity. He waited for Slakoth to dodge and then launched a direct assault.

"Poliwhirl, charge ahead and use Focus Punch!"

Rex had been waiting for Slakoth to dodge, using the opportunity to launch a sudden attack.

"Slakoth, use Headbutt!"

Despite seeing this scene, Norman knew Slakoth was in danger, but he still gave the command.

Slakoth moved first and hit Poliwhirl's abdomen with Headbutt, but it was also hit by Poliwhirl's Focus Punch, causing both Pokémon to stagger back a few steps.

As a Normal-type Pokémon, Slakoth ultimately suffered too much damage from the Fighting-type move Focus Punch, and in the end, it was seriously injured and unable to battle.

However, Poliwhirl also suffered damage from Slakoth's desperate Headbutt, and its injuries were not light.

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