I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 704 - 704: Iono Is Not Simple

"Really... I thought this match would end with Annihilape alone. Looks like I have to send you out after all."Gary recalled Annihilape and took an Ultra Ball out of his pocket.

"Huh! An Ultra Ball? Then the next Pokémon he sends out won't be ordinary," Iono said nervously. She had noticed the ball in Gary's hand right away.

"It's over! An Ultra Ball means a Legendary Pokémon!"

"Oh! Master Gary is getting serious. Iono really doesn't want to lose this time."

"Wait, this Gary has a Legendary Pokémon?"

"Obviously. Why else would people call him God Gary?"

"What even is a Legendary Pokémon?"

"Go watch the finals videos from the other regions' League Conferences."

The livestream chat exploded again.

Anyone familiar with Gary knew that when the Ultra Ball came out, whatever he sent next was definitely not ordinary.

The referee announced, "Both sides, please release your Pokémon at the same time."

"Shining Luxray, take the stage!"

"I choose you."

Gary and Iono threw their Poké Balls at the same time.

[Lv. 56 Luxray ♀ / Quasi-Elite]

[Lv. 60 Great Tusk / Champion]

Two figures, one large and one small, appeared on the field.

"Awooo!"

Luxray roared, and its Intimidate spread across the field, forcibly lowering Great Tusk's Attack by one stage.

"Mrrph!"

Great Tusk felt slightly uncomfortable, but it didn't think much of Luxray. That small body didn't look like it had any real power.

"Is that... a Donphan?" Iono tilted her head. It was her first time seeing Great Tusk. Judging from its appearance alone, she could only assume it was a Donphan. The resemblance between the two really was considerable.

"What is that Pokémon?"

"Never seen it before."

"Is it a Donphan?"

"It looks like a Donphan, but the size is way off. And those tusks are way too exaggerated."

It wasn't just Iono. The onlookers around the venue couldn't identify Great Tusk either. Even the livestream chat filled with question marks and requests for someone to explain, but no one could answer.

"Gary, what Pokémon is that?" Iono asked directly.

Gary broke into a cold sweat internally.

This is a battle. You're just going to ask? If I answered, wouldn't I be exposing my own weaknesses?

"Great Tusk, use Megahorn!" Gary ordered.

"Mrrph!"

Great Tusk's tusks glowed with white light as it charged toward Luxray.

"Seriously, why attack all of a sudden? Luxray, use Wild Charge!" Iono countered.

Hearing Iono's command, Gary smiled coldly.

He honestly didn't know what to say about her. Even if she didn't recognize Great Tusk, its resemblance to Donphan alone should have been enough to guess it had a Ground typing.

Bang!!

The two Pokémon collided fiercely.

The lightning wrapped around Luxray's body surged into Great Tusk, but it was nothing more than a formality; the electricity was channeled harmlessly into the ground. Luxray, meanwhile, couldn't withstand the force of Great Tusk's enormous tusks and was knocked back more than ten meters, seriously injured.

Great Tusk was only level 60. Although it was a tier above Luxray in raw strength, a level 56 quasi-Elite Pokémon was still qualified to trade blows with it.

"Sunny Day!" Gary ordered.

"Mrrrph!"

Great Tusk faced the sky and spat out a golden ball of energy, which hung more than twenty meters above the field, radiating warm sunlight over the arena.

"So it really does have Ground typing. Luxray, attack with Iron Tail!" Iono seized the opening.

Luxray dashed out, closing the distance to Great Tusk in just a few strides. It feinted an attack, then leapt high instead, spinning in midair as its tail wrapped in steel energy and came swinging down.

Bang!!

Luxray's Iron Tail struck Great Tusk's back, but it did nothing at all.

Great Tusk wasn't afraid of Steel-type moves, and its physical defense was extremely high. Unless Iron Tail struck a vital point, it posed no threat whatsoever.

"What tough skin," Iono said in surprise.

"Brick Break!" Gary launched his attack.

Iono was a little confused. Looking at Great Tusk, she couldn't imagine how it would use Brick Break. Brick Break required hands, but Great Tusk ran on four limbs. How was it supposed to pull that off?

The next moment, she got her answer.

Iono watched as Great Tusk's massive tusks became wrapped in crimson energy. Charging forward, Great Tusk slammed straight into Luxray.

Bang!!

Luxray was sent flying more than ten meters, crashed into the energy barrier at the edge of the field, and lost consciousness on the spot.

"What?! It's that strong?!"

Iono was shocked. Luxray had managed to survive the first clash, so why did it go down to Brick Break? Brick Break's power was far lower than Megahorn's.

Naturally, Iono had no way of knowing that Great Tusk was a Ground and Fighting dual type. On top of that, thanks to its Ability, the sunny weather boosted its highest stat—aside from HP—by 30%. Combined with the same-type attack bonus, that Brick Break was anything but weak.

"Luxray is unable to battle... Great Tusk wins!" The referee had to think for a moment before recalling the name Gary had called out earlier.

Iono silently recalled Luxray, then calmly took out a red and white ball.

"You... couldn't you give me a little face? Did you really have to use such a strong Pokémon?" Iono shouted in dissatisfaction.

"Miss Iono, I told you before this challenge that I wouldn't hold back. You're the one who insisted on a livestreamed battle. You can't blame me for this," Gary replied.

"Hmph! I'm very unhappy about it, but the pressure of fighting you almost feels like ascending to heaven. The battle isn't over yet. I still have one last Pokémon."

"Go, my strongest ace!"

Iono sent out her final Pokémon.

An electric frog with a huge dark belly made its debut.

[Lv. 62 Bellibolt ♂ / Elite]

Just as Gary had judged, Iono really did have a Pokémon above level 60 in her hands.

It was fortunate that Gary had strengthened Great Tusk beforehand. Otherwise, this Gym battle might have actually gone wrong. Even though Iono would hand over the Badge regardless of the result, Gary had no intention of losing a Gym battle.

Bellibolt's base stats weren't high, but its actual strength was still considerable.

That was because of its exclusive Ability, Electromorphosis. Whenever it took damage, it entered a Charged state, doubling the power of its next Electric-type move. On top of that, it was slow and bulky, which meant it got hit easily—and that made its Ability just as easy to trigger.

However, Bellibolt's Ability meant nothing in front of Great Tusk. Ground-type Pokémon were immune to Electric-type moves. In this match, Gary could already be said to have won...