"Return, Gliscor. You did a fantastic job," Feng Che said, his voice calm as he recalled the bat-like predator.
He turned his gaze toward Sasaki Sho, a playful yet sharp glint in his eyes. "I wonder... if I send out Talonflame, would you start to hate me?"
Sho's face instantly flushed a deep, bruised purple. He knew exactly what that meant—a direct elemental hard-counter to his 'secret weapon.'
"Go, Talonflame!"
The Scorching Pokémon burst from its ball. This Talonflame was a marvel of selective breeding, evolved from a Fletchinder Feng Che had intercepted from a poacher's warehouse. To elevate its potential to the Epic (Cyan) tier, Feng Che had invested a fortune in rare Berries and ancient medicinal herbs he'd recovered from the Flying Ruins.
Pokémon: Talonflame Potential: Epic (Cyan) Ability:Gale WingsLevel: 53 Type: Fire / Flying Evaluation: Gifted with extreme speed and overflowing fire energy.
"Alolan Sandslash, use Icicle Spear!" Sho roared, desperate to strike first.
The icy hedgehog launched a volley of crystalline spikes. Talonflame merely beat its wings, venting intense heat from the gaps in its feathers. The flames incinerated the ice into steam before they could even get close.
"Look at that! The challenger's face turned green the moment he saw a Fire-type," a spectator laughed.
"It's not fair! The Gym Leader is just picking counters!" another argued.
"Fair? This guy came here specifically to humiliate the Gym on its opening day," a third retorted. "Feng Che is just giving him a lesson in reality."
Scorching the Earth
"Sandslash, Blizzard!" Sho screamed. He couldn't lose this easily; the clan would never let him live it down.
"Talonflame, Flamethrower."
A pillar of concentrated fire collided with the freezing storm. The meeting of extreme temperatures created a massive fog that blanketed the arena.
"Now! Dig!" Sho commanded. Sandslash used its steel claws to vanish into the earth, leaving only a hole behind.
The Flamethrower washed over the opening, turning the surrounding soil into glowing, molten slag. "He's fast," the crowd buzzed. "How can Talonflame hit him if he's deep underground?"
Feng Che watched the mist swirl. "Hiding in the dark? Fine. Talonflame, use Flame Charge—Maximum Output!"
Talonflame ascended, vanishing into the white fog. Then, it plummeted. Combining the speed of Quick Attack with the raw power of Flame Charge and a focused Peck, it became a living meteor.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the reinforced concrete of the battlefield. Great fissures spider-webbed across the arena, and searing flames poured into the cracks like liquid sunlight. It was a localized earthquake coupled with an inferno.
Deep underground, Alolan Sandslash felt the world shake before a wave of heat swallowed it whole. It slumped into unconsciousness instantly.
"Alolan Sandslash is unable to battle! The winner is Leader Feng Che!" the Battle Rotom announced, hovering into the crevice to retrieve the fainted Pokémon.
The Desperate Gambit
"Dammit!!" Sho's composure shattered. He looked at the cheering crowd and his eyes flashed with a venomous cunning. "This result doesn't count! My Sandslash didn't lose to Talonflame—that Rotom attacked it while it was underground! I saw it!"
"Rotom! I did no such thing, zzt!" the referee cried out indignantly.
"You're a gadget owned by the Gym Leader! Of course you'd cheat!" Sho sneered, playing to the cameras. "I am a member of the Sasaki family! I demand absolute fairness, or I will file a formal complaint with the League. There are no cameras underground—you can't prove I lost!"
The audience erupted in boos. "Loser!" "Typical elitist garbage!"
In the stands, Sasaki Taro watched his relative with cold disgust. "Tenshi, what do you think?"
"Master Feng Che looks perfectly calm," Tenshi noted, his voice steady. "He definitely has a backup plan. I'm just waiting for the slap to land."
Feng Che raised his head, his eyes freezing Sho in place. The sheer pressure in his gaze made Sho stumble back a step.
"You want evidence?" Feng Che's voice was like ice. "I'll give you evidence."
The giant screens above the arena flickered. They began playing a high-speed thermal recording. The spectators saw Sandslash hiding in a tunnel, the massive thermal shockwave of Talonflame's impact, and the flames flooding the burrow. The footage clearly showed Sandslash fainting long before Rotom ever entered the hole.
"Truth revealed," Feng Che said. "Sasaki Sho, you are officially blacklisted from the Viridian Gym. You are barred from ever challenging for a badge here again."
The Trap Springs
"Stop!" Sho screamed, dropping all pretense. "You think a petty Gym Leader can fight the Sasaki family? You think being Tenshi's tutor makes you special? That Toxic Orb your Gliscor is wearing—it was a bribe from Sasaki Tenshi, wasn't it?"
Suddenly, a man and a woman stood up from the front row, shedding their civilian coats to reveal the uniforms of League Inspectors.
"Leader Feng Che," the male inspector said, his face a mask of bureaucratic severity. "We have reason to suspect you of engaging in illegal transactions and accepting exorbitant bribes from the Sasaki family. Please come with us for questioning."
The crowd went silent. This wasn't just a grudge match anymore—it was a coordinated political assassination.
The inspectors are moving to detain Feng Che in front of his new fans! Should Feng Che allow himself to be taken to expose the "Mole" within the League, or should he call upon "Sasaki Taro" to step out of the shadows and silence the accusations with his authority?
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