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"Typhlosion! Use Flamethrower!"
"Wraaah!"
At Delia's shout, another overwhelmingly powerful Flamethrower burst from Typhlosion's mouth. Carrying rolling waves of heat, it carved a long, melted trench straight across the icy battlefield before striking its target head-on!
"Rooaaar!!"
Engulfed by flames in an instant, its body swept by searing fire, the Granbull—previously stuck in a confused state—snapped awake immediately. It raised both arms in front of its body and let out a furious roar!
"Granbull! Dodge it quickly! Use Thunder Fang!"
Seeing this, Sima grew anxious. Knowing she couldn't let Granbull continue taking hits like this, she shouted her command at once.
"Rooaar!!"
Granbull's tightly shut eyes flew open. Its massive body flashed sideways, slipping out of the Flamethrower's range. Golden lightning crackled around its enormous jaws, condensing into four electric fangs. Its feet slammed against the ice as it lunged forward at high speed, biting straight toward Typhlosion!
"Typhlosion! Don't give it a chance! Use Flame Charge!"
"Wraaah!!"
As Granbull charged in with Thunder Fang, Delia reacted instantly. Flames erupted across Typhlosion's entire body, turning it into a blazing fireball. Its sharp claws dug into the ice, and with a sudden burst of power, it shot forward like a rocket, smashing straight into Granbull!
BOOM!!
A dull explosion echoed across the ice field as Granbull's lightning-charged fangs and Typhlosion's Flame Charge collided violently.
Thick black smoke billowed outward, quickly engulfing the battlefield.
After the explosion, no movement could be seen within the smoke. Delia and Sima could only stand where they were, faces tense with worry, waiting for the result.
They didn't have to wait long.
A few seconds later, a tall figure slowly emerged from the smoke, trailing wisps of black haze. It walked over to Delia, lowered its head obediently, and affectionately rubbed against her.
If it wasn't Typhlosion, who else could it be?
By now, most of the smoke had cleared. Everyone could see that at the center of the battlefield—amid shattered ice—Granbull lay sprawled on the ground, eyes spinning in circles, completely unable to continue fighting.
"Sigh… In the end, I still lost," Sima said softly.
"Granbull is unable to battle! The final winner is Typhlosion! Congratulations, Delia—you've won this Gym Challenge."
Looking at Granbull, which could no longer fight, a trace of disappointment flashed through Sima's eyes. With a bitter smile, she raised her voice to announce the result.
"Mm. Thank you for your hard work, and thank you for your guidance, Aunt Sima," Delia replied calmly.
"Typhlosion, you worked really hard too~ When we get back, I'll definitely make you lots of delicious Pokémon food as a reward~"
Hearing Sima's words, Delia didn't show overwhelming excitement. Instead, she smiled politely in thanks, then gently praised Typhlosion.
"Wraaah~~"
At the mention of tasty Pokémon food, Typhlosion's face lit up with happiness. It narrowed its eyes, enjoying Delia's gentle petting, and let out cheerful cries.
"Here, Delia—this is the Glacier Badge, the symbol of Mahogany Gym," Sima said.
"Now that you've defeated the Gym, I'm officially handing it over to you. Make sure you take good care of it."
After the battle, Sima escorted Liam and Delia to the Gym entrance, smiling as she placed the Glacier Badge into Delia's hand.
"Yes! I'll treasure it, Aunt Sima!" Delia said happily.
"Thank you so much for everything—my sincerest thanks."
Clutching the Glacier Badge tightly in her palm, Delia spoke with a serious expression.
"Haha~ You're too polite. This is only natural," Sima replied with a smile.
"You earned this badge with your own strength. I was completely defeated this time. It seems my training still isn't enough—I'll have to work even harder in the future. Alright, I still need to repair the damaged battlefield, so I won't walk you out any further."
"Yes, then we'll take our leave."
"We'll be going."
"Mm, take care."
With that, Liam and Delia bid Sima farewell and headed toward the Mahogany Town Pokémon Center.
As they walked farther away, the smile on Sima's face slowly stiffened. Expressionless, she closed the Gym doors and returned to the icy battlefield.
Crack.
A sharp sound of ice breaking echoed.
Standing on the ice field, Sima's body began to lose its color. It slowly turned into something resembling an ice sculpture, cracks spreading across it before it shattered completely—breaking apart into countless shards of ice.
Gurrrr… gurrr…
Moments later, the steady sound of wheels rolling came from the darkness. An elderly man with a pale, bloodless face—Pryce—slowly emerged, seated in a wheelchair.
The wheelchair stopped beside the pile of shattered ice. Pryce expressionlessly reached down, rummaged through the fragments, and pulled out a black voice transmitter.
He calmly stared at the device in his palm, then turned his gaze in the direction Liam and Delia had departed. With his other hand, he slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew two feathers of different colors.
The moment the feathers appeared, a savage grin finally twisted Pryce's otherwise unchanging face.
Naturally, Liam had no way of knowing what had just happened inside Mahogany Gym. In any case, the Glacier Badge was already in hand. Next on their journey was the next Gym—Blackthorn City.
Blackthorn City lay far from Mahogany Town, with a long road in between.
Not long after leaving Mahogany Town, they arrived at a vast, endless grassland.
This grassland was a strange place. Many Grass-type Pokémon lived here, the most common being Oddish and its evolved form, Gloom.
Perhaps because there were simply too many Gloom, the air here was filled with a peculiar stench. Ordinary people rarely came near, and other kinds of Pokémon didn't settle here either.
However, Liam remembered that this grassland had a very unusual phenomenon.
The wind.
The strong winds blowing across the plains seemed to carry traces of evolutionary stones. When northeastern winds rose, some Gloom would evolve into Vileplume. When northwestern winds blew, others would instead evolve into Bellossom.
At first, when Delia heard that Bellossom could be found here, she had been quite excited and wanted to catch one.
But the moment they reached the edge of the grassland, Delia frowned deeply, pinched her nose, and dragged Liam away as fast as she could.