The smoke cleared.
Omastar lay on the ground, its eyes spinning.
"Omastar is unable to battle. Torterra wins!" Hannah announced.
After making the call, she glanced at Gary expectantly.
Ever since Gary had become the temporary Leader of Viridian Gym, no challenger had ever forced out his third Pokémon. Hannah had certainly never seen it happen.
Now Gary had lost two Pokémon in a row while Paul hadn't lost a single one. Hannah couldn't help wondering whether Gary's first Gym defeat was about to happen.
"Thanks for the hard work. Get some rest." Gary recalled Omastar.
Paul had taken down two of his Pokémon, but Gary wasn't particularly bothered. Kabutops and Omastar weren't part of his main force, and he hadn't expected much from them.
If Paul couldn't even beat Kabutops and Omastar, he wouldn't deserve to be Ash's rival.
"Paul, you're not bad. But I'm going to get serious now," Gary said.
"Don't brag. If you wanted to be serious, you should've been serious from the start. You've only got one Pokémon left, so I'm winning this either way," Paul shot back.
Gary was a little surprised. Paul was usually so grim, yet here he was popping the champagne early.
"Aerodactyl, you've been asleep long enough. Your turn." Gary smiled slightly and threw the Poké Ball.
The ball opened in midair, and a Pokémon heavy with ancient, primal presence appeared.
[LV62 Aerodactyl / Champion]
"Roar!!"
Aerodactyl roared, and its overwhelming primal pressure spread across the entire field.
Hannah and Paul were both stunned. It was the first time either of them had seen an Aerodactyl.
"Torterra, come back and rest!" Paul recalled Torterra at once.
Torterra had beaten Omastar with Leaf Storm, and using that move lowered the user's Special Attack. Returning it to its Poké Ball removed the stat drop. Paul then pulled out his Pokédex to check on Aerodactyl.
Pokédex: "Aerodactyl, the Fossil Pokémon. A ferocious Pokémon from ancient times. It is said to have spread its wings and soared through the sky in a gliding flight."
After reading through the entry, Paul put the Pokédex away and took another Poké Ball from his pocket.
"You handle Aerodactyl." Paul threw the ball.
"Roar!"
A Pokémon even larger than Aerodactyl appeared—seven or eight meters long and covered in blue scales.
[LV49 Gyarados / Champion]
"Gyarados…!"
Gary was surprised. He hadn't expected Paul to have the Gyarados he'd used against Ash in the Journeys series.
More than that, the Gyarados in front of him had Champion potential. It had to be the same one. He hadn't imagined he'd get the chance to battle it himself.
Paul really did play like a gamer, preparing three Pokémon specifically to counter type matchups. Any other Gym Leader facing him would have had a serious headache.
But none of that mattered against Gary.
"Aerodactyl, Stone Edge," Gary ordered with a snap of his fingers.
"Use Waterfall!" Paul countered immediately.
"Roar!!"
Countless sharp stone blades formed around Aerodactyl's body and shot toward Gyarados, tearing through the air with a continuous whistling sound.
"Roar!!"
Gyarados wrapped itself in a curtain of water, launched into the air, and collided head-on with Stone Edge.
The sharp blades cut into Gyarados's body, slicing easily through the water streaming around it, and the stones that followed broke through and struck its scales directly.
"Roar!!"
Gyarados's Waterfall was cut short, its huge body crashing down to the ground as it roared in pain.
"Rock Slide!"
Gary gave it no room to recover.
Aerodactyl hovered above Gyarados, condensing boulders and dropping them down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dust billowed up, swallowing Gyarados's body.
Seeing this, Aerodactyl gave a light flap of its wings, and the gust swept the dust away.
Gyarados lay on the ground, its eyes already spinning.
"Gyarados is unable to battle. Aerodactyl wins!" Hannah announced.
Paul was startled. He hadn't expected that Gyarados wouldn't even be able to withstand two of Aerodactyl's moves. The gap was considerable.
"Come back." Once the surprise passed, Paul regained his composure, recalled Gyarados, and threw another Poké Ball.
"Torterra, it's on you."
"Torterra!"
Torterra reappeared on the field.
The moment it was out, Paul went on the attack. "Torterra, use Energy Ball!"
Torterra looked up at Aerodactyl circling overhead and spat an Energy Ball at it, but the shot missed—Aerodactyl dodged it with ease.
"Fly!" Gary ordered.
Aerodactyl rose toward the ceiling, wind howling around it, then tipped forward and dove straight at Torterra.
Torterra was too large to have any real room to dodge. It had to take the hit head-on.
"Torterra, Frenzy Plant!" Paul countered.
"Torterra!"
Torterra stomped the ground, and thick vines burst upward, lashing toward the airborne Aerodactyl. But the moment the vines made contact, the violent wind wrapped around Aerodactyl tore them apart.
Aerodactyl plunged straight through the Frenzy Plant, carving a path to Torterra and slamming into it.
"Torterra!"
Torterra's heavy body was knocked backward and crashed to the ground—but even then, it didn't go down.
"Wing Attack!" Gary ordered.
Aerodactyl pushed off with both feet and flew right at Torterra, striking with glowing white wings before Torterra could recover.
Torterra was blasted back again, and this time its huge frame couldn't get up. It lay on the ground without moving.
"Torterra is unable to battle. Aerodactyl wins!" Hannah announced immediately.
Hannah was thrilled now. She'd thought Gary's first Gym loss was about to happen, only for him to turn things around and take down two of Paul's Pokémon in a row.
Paul had only Primeape left, but Primeape had been badly hurt fighting Kabutops. If he sent it out, it wouldn't stand a chance against Aerodactyl.
Paul looked at his fallen Torterra, then up at Aerodactyl. He calmly recalled Torterra, raised his hand, and said, "I forfeit this Gym battle."
Gary wasn't surprised.
Paul was strict about his tactics. He knew Primeape's condition meant it couldn't beat Aerodactyl, and he wasn't going to force it and put his Pokémon through unnecessary harm.
"Challenger Paul has forfeited. The winner of this Gym battle is the Gym Leader, Gary!" Hannah announced.