"I should warn you — I'm pretty strong. A Pokémon like Koffing won't be enough for me," Gary reminded her.
"Oh? Sounds like you're confident." Roxie grinned with interest. "But my Koffing is strong too. Don't underestimate it."
"KOFFIIIING!"
Koffing floated over to Roxie's side, bobbing up and down in agreement, puffs of foul-smelling smoke leaking from the holes across its body.
Gary glanced around at the surroundings. Releasing Koffing in such an enclosed venue really wasn't the wisest choice.
Koffing constantly emitted gas. Breathe it in for too long and you'd be poisoned — and if the whole Gym filled up with gas, a single spark would turn the place into a firework show.
Meanwhile, the band on stage had started playing, and the men and women in the crowd were all cheering loudly. There wasn't the slightest hint of Gym battle tension in the air — the atmosphere belonged entirely to Roxie.
"Then let's get started."
Gary walked down the stairs and stepped into the challenger's command area.
"Sure. Let me lay out the rules first. I'll use three Pokémon. You can use as many as you've got," Roxie said.
Making up the rules on the spot like that probably violated League regulations, but Roxie clearly had the confidence to back it up.
In the anime, when Ash had challenged Roxie, she had proposed the exact same format.
"Suit yourself."
Gary didn't care much either way. He was going to win regardless.
"Alright! Then let's do this."
Roxie walked over to the opposite command area.
A man in a black suit and sunglasses acted as referee, announcing: "For this match, the Gym Leader will use three Pokémon, and the challenger may use six. Only the challenger is permitted to switch Pokémon. The battle ends when all of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue."
[Ding! Mission released: 1. Earn the Badge / Rewards: Mid-Level Rare Candy x5, Gunk Shot Permanent Move Tutor, Premium Poison Barb x1!]
[2. Earn the Badge using only Unova Region Pokémon / Rewards: Mid-Level Rare Candy x5, Poison-type Self-Select Permanent Move Tutor, Random Held Item x1, Ability Expansion Stone x1!]
Gary was surprised. Challenging the Unova Region's Gyms actually rewarded Ability Expansion Stones.
Ability Expansion Stones were extremely scarce, and Gary had always been reluctant to use them freely.
Looking at it that way, for the sake of Ability Expansion Stones, Gary now had all the more reason to challenge every Gym in the Unova Region.
"Thanks," Roxie said to the referee.
Clearly, Roxie knew this format wasn't normally allowed, but the referee had gone along with it anyway.
It seemed the referees for Unova's Gyms were all appointed by the Unova League. Besides officiating Gym battles, they were also responsible for supervising whether Gym Leaders were doing their jobs properly.
"Then here's my first Pokémon — the explosive Koffing!" Roxie declared.
"KOFFIIIING!"
Koffing hadn't even been recalled to its Poké Ball and stayed right out on the field.
"Keeping Koffing out after its last battle is pretty bold of you," Gary pointed out.
Koffing had fought in the previous match and hadn't been healed, yet Roxie was still sending it in. Her confidence was on another level.
"Don't you worry about that. Hurry up and send out your Pokémon. My Koffing won't let you down," Roxie said.
Since she'd put it that way, there was no point arguing. Gary would just have to teach Roxie a profound lesson through the battle itself.
"Excadrill, you're up!" Gary threw a Poké Ball.
Go!
"DRILL!"
When Excadrill saw it had appeared on a battlefield, it looked thoroughly pleased. That morning's battle hadn't been nearly enough fun — it hadn't expected to get another Gym battle this soon.
"Ooh! That brownish-red fur — a shiny Excadrill! Not bad, not bad at all. You've even got shiny Pokémon," Roxie said, strumming her electric guitar while the band behind her backed her up with a riff.
The men and women in the crowd started cheering for Gary too.
Watching their attitudes flip so quickly, Gary was now certain these people were just here for the spectacle.
"Then... let the performance begin!" the referee announced.
"Excadrill, Sandstorm!" Gary ordered.
Excadrill whipped up a Sandstorm. The field was instantly shrouded in raging sand, swallowing Koffing along with it.
"Trying to activate that Ability? Don't think so — Clear Smog!" Roxie saw through Gary's plan at a glance.
"KOFFIIIING!"
Koffing immediately spat out a stream of pure white smoke. Clear Smog had a powerful cleansing effect — wherever it passed, the Sandstorm was instantly blown apart.
"Scorching Sands!" Gary immediately countered.
Excadrill drove its steel claws into the ground. The metal claws radiated intense heat, and the earth they touched rapidly softened into scalding sand. As Excadrill ripped its claws upward, two waves of boiling sand surged straight at Koffing.
"Useless! My Koffing has Levitate — fly up!" Roxie ordered.
However, Koffing didn't fly up as ordered.
Koffing looked frantic. It wanted to float, but it was as if it had lost the ability to levitate entirely.
Bang! Bang!
The two waves of scalding sand slammed into Koffing one after another. Super effective!
At the same time, the Sandstorm that Clear Smog had blown apart kicked back up again.
"Earthquake!" Gary continued.
"DRILL!"
Excadrill slammed a claw into the ground, sending seismic waves rolling outward.
Koffing still couldn't get airborne. It took the full brunt of the Earthquake, dropped instantly, and its eyes rolled into spirals.
"Koffing is unable to battle. Excadrill wins!" the referee announced.
"What?! Why didn't Koffing fly?"
"Is it worn out from the last battle or something?"
Some of the clueless onlookers were baffled as to why Koffing hadn't flown up to dodge.
Roxie looked at her fallen Koffing, took out its Poké Ball, and recalled it. Then she said, "My mistake. Your Excadrill's Ability isn't Sand Rush — it's Mold Breaker."
"Who knows."
Gary put on an indifferent expression.
Roxie had guessed correctly — but also not quite.
Gary's Excadrill had more than one Ability.
Koffing actually could have been a counter to Excadrill, but unfortunately for Roxie, that would have required a Koffing with the Neutralizing Gas Ability.
"Looks like you're the real deal. Guess I'll have to get serious."
"Keeping it explosive — Garbodor!"
Not bothering to dwell on Koffing's defeat, Roxie sent out her second Pokémon.
Go!
[LV49 Garbodor / Gym-tier]
Level 49!
Gary was surprised. Roxie's Garbodor had actually reached the very peak of Gym Leader level.