"I wasn't exaggerating."
Wikstrom turned toward one of the staff members nearby.
"Kenshi, take Ash over there and measure his body dimensions. Then contact the family and have them custom-make a set of knight's armor according to Ash's measurements. Have it sent here."
"Understood."
The staff member named Kenshi nodded.
"Ash, congratulations on being the first to pass the trial!"
"Congratulations, Ash!"
"Congratulations!"
"Well done!"
"Congratulations!"
Seeing that Ash had successfully passed the trial, everyone around him began offering their congratulations.
"Thank you, thank you, everyone..."
Ash smiled and greeted them before leading Fearow away from the battlefield.
Although Ash had already passed, the other participants' trials weren't over yet.
Especially the remaining three—Misty, Tierno, and Trevor.
All three were very close friends of Ash, so there was no way he was going to leave simply because he had finished his own trial and risk distracting them or affecting their performance.
The trial continued.
The third participant to step forward was Misty.
At the beginning, Misty had been uncertain about her chances.
She had felt that passing the trial would be extremely difficult.
However, after watching Ash's performance during the previous round, Misty now had a strategy of her own.
The first and most important point was that the objective of this trial was to steal the key, not to defeat Wikstrom or his Pokémon.
Once that fact was understood, the strategy for completing the trial became much simpler.
Misty could simply imitate Ash's previous tactics.
She would personally restrain Wikstrom while having Marill deal with Wikstrom's Pokémon and find a way to obtain the key from Klefki.
Although Marill's strength had only just reached the Elite level, Wikstrom's Pokémon were also fighting while deliberately suppressing their strength.
That meant the participants still had a chance to pass.
The third trial officially began.
Misty followed the strategy she had formulated beforehand.
She would hold Wikstrom back while Marill went after the key.
And this time, Wikstrom changed his Pokémon once again.
The first challenger had faced Aegislash.
Ash had faced Escavalier.
And now, for Misty's trial, Wikstrom sent out Probopass.
Probopass was a Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon, while Marill was a Water- and Fairy-type Pokémon.
Rock was weak to Water, but Steel was super effective against Fairy.
As a result, Marill didn't actually have much of an advantage against Wikstrom's Probopass in terms of typing.
The reason Ash had been able to pass the previous trial so easily came down to two major factors.
First, Ash's personal combat ability was exceptional.
Not only could he keep Wikstrom occupied, he could even suppress him to a certain extent.
Second, Escavalier had an enormous weakness in its speed.
Fearow, on the other hand, was exceptionally fast.
That was why, while Ash restrained Wikstrom, Fearow had been able to shake off Escavalier and eventually obtain Klefki's key.
Misty, however, found it much more difficult to execute the same strategy.
Although Misty normally trained alongside her Pokémon, her years of exercise had only made her physically fitter than other children her age.
Her personal combat ability was nowhere near Ash's level.
Ash was a dual psychic-type ability user who had also trained as a martial artist.
Misty, on the other hand, was ultimately just an ordinary six-year-old girl.
Therefore, when Misty took up her sword and engaged Wikstrom, she was completely suppressed.
Unlike Ash, who had fought Wikstrom with ease, Misty was forced to struggle just to defend herself.
Fortunately, Wikstrom was still deliberately holding back.
Although his attacks were fierce, he didn't overwhelm Misty with enough force to defeat her outright.
Misty's plan of restraining Wikstrom had therefore been successfully accomplished.
But Marill's situation was far more difficult.
Probopass's base Speed was only 40—not much better than Escavalier's miserable 20.
But Marill's Speed was only 50 as well.
There wasn't much of a difference.
Trying to imitate Ash's strategy by simply relying on speed to shake off Probopass and reach Klefki was therefore extremely difficult.
Furthermore, Marill's battle style was completely different from Fearow's.
Marill followed the path of a dragon-slaying warrior and brute-force brawler.
Fearow, by contrast, had learned a wide variety of moves capable of weakening its opponents.
Probopass, meanwhile, possessed an abundance of control techniques.
In this chase, Marill was at a disadvantage from the very beginning.
[Block + Gravity + Sandstorm + Lock-On + Rock Throw + Rock Tomb...]
Facing Probopass's relentless barrage, Marill could only flee in panic.
It was already struggling just to survive under the pressure, let alone shake off Probopass, break through its defenses, and reach Klefki to steal the key.
"Marill!!"
At this point, neither Trainer was giving their Pokémon commands.
Both Pokémon had chased Klefki into the castle, so everything they did now depended entirely on their own judgment.
Fortunately, although Marill didn't possess Fearow's incredible speed, it had an advantage of its own.
Under the tremendous pressure created by Probopass's relentless attacks, Marill was finally pushed to its limits.
And under that overwhelming pressure...
Something inside Marill suddenly burst forth.
"Marill~!"
Probopass suddenly noticed that Marill had stopped running.
Instead of continuing to flee, Marill turned around and looked directly at it.
Its little face suddenly became pitiful and adorable.
Probopass froze.
"Huh...?"
It clearly hadn't expected this.
"Marill~!"
Marill immediately unleashed an entire arsenal of feminine charm.
[Baby-Doll Eyes + Fake Tears + Attract + Captivate + Disarming Voice...]
One after another, Marill's adorable tactics came into play.
The fierce Probopass that had been chasing it moments ago suddenly lost all of its fighting spirit.
It had been completely conquered by Marill's charm.
The terrifying pressure that had been radiating from Probopass disappeared almost instantly.
"Marill~!"
Seeing that Probopass had completely fallen under its spell, Marill's cute little face revealed a sly, triumphant smile.
Then it didn't waste any time.
It opened its mouth and began to sing.
Sing!
Probopass was already completely captivated by Marill's charm.
Its body relaxed, its guard dropped, and its resistance vanished.
Faced with Marill's gentle singing voice, it was instantly lulled into sleep.
And Probopass wasn't the only one.
At some point, Klefki had stopped ahead of them to watch the spectacle.
It, too, was caught by Marill's singing and fell asleep.
"Marill~!"
Seeing the situation, Marill happily made its move.
It ran over to Klefki, which had collapsed on the stone steps, and effortlessly retrieved the key required to pass the trial.
"Marill~!"
Holding the key securely, Marill returned triumphantly.
Outside the castle, Wikstrom soon learned that Misty had successfully obtained the key.
For a moment, he couldn't help being amazed.
When he had previously held the Knight Trials, even though he had deliberately held back his strength, very few participants had managed to pass.
Yet today, two people had already successfully completed the trial.
As expected of Ash's girlfriend...
And as expected of the Gym Leader of the Cerulean Gym in Kanto.
Wikstrom couldn't help silently praising Misty in his heart.
The third challenge of [The Knight's Glory] had produced another unexpected result.
Under the crushing pressure of an opponent who seemed impossible to overcome, Marill had found its own path to victory—not through speed or brute force, but through its overwhelming cuteness and a perfectly timed series of status moves.
And once again, another Trainer had successfully seized the key.