Grey's POV
The next day, I woke up with a singular focus: keep the momentum going. I needed to seek out strong trainers to challenge, pushing the team to improve before the deadline.
We started the morning with the usual drills. Meowth was on the verge of mastering Shadow Ball; he almost has the technique down perfectly. Axew, meanwhile, was making great strides in his own path, specifically refining the impact and speed of his physical attacks.
I could tell both of them were reaching a threshold. They were showing clear signs that evolution was close—especially Meowth. It felt like something was holding him back, a thin barrier he was right on the edge of breaking. Once he pushes through, that evolution is going to happen immediately. Regardless, I had to keep the pressure on to give them that final nudge.
Exeggcute has officially mastered Synthesis and Sunny Day, which is a huge relief. I kept him paired with Shellder for reflexive training. My goal is for Exeggcute to reach a point where he can trigger Synthesis as a pure reflex, even on the very brink of defeat. Shellder was more than happy to help by relentlessly pelting Exeggcute's psychic defenses. Honestly, watching these two train reminds me of Sanji and Zoro for some reason—they clearly respect each other's strength, but they don't seem to like each other one bit.
While they worked, I dove back into my research on Surge. I did a deep dive into the search logs looking for any hidden Pokémon he might pull out. I didn't find much new info, but I did start to piece together his core philosophy. Surge fights straight-forward; he likes to use raw power to completely overpower his opponents. That means a tactical staller like Exeggcute is his worst nightmare, though a veteran like Surge is bound to have contingencies for that. I told Exeggcute that if things get too dangerous, he needs to use a Confusion barrier to literally fly out of the way. He just nodded, understanding the gravity of the plan.
After training and feeding them, we spent the rest of the day looking for battles. I didn't bother searching for Blue or Ash. I'll see them both at the S.S. Anne anyway, and I didn't want to leak any more information about my team than they already know. Ash doesn't know anything yet, but there's no sense in risking it. As for Blue, he's probably already dissected my team to build counter-strategies; there's no need to hand him more data on a silver platter.
This became our regular routine for the next two days. Meowth took on five trainers daily, while Exeggcute, Axew, and Shellder handled three each. Most of the opponents used the local staples: the Nidoran lines, Caterpie, Tauros, or the Rhyhorn line. We won every single match without much trouble.
On the final evening, I called off the training early. Tomorrow is the match with Surge, and the last thing I want is to lose because of a lingering injury or fatigue. It was time to rest, clear our heads, and wait for tomorrow
The day arrived. I decided to head to the Vermilion Gym, with Nurse Joy wishing me luck. On the way, I saw a few kids hurrying back to the Pokémon Center, maybe after getting beaten up by Surge in the early morning slot, but I didn't let it get to me. I have worked hard with my team and I am confident. Even if he throws a big surprise, I will do my best to win.
I arrived at the gym and let the attendant check my registry, then proceeded to the battle arena where Surge was waiting for me. I looked at Surge, who was there ready to accept the challenge. The thing is, I couldn't have taken the Challenge Mode anyway; not only would it have delayed my time for the S.S. Anne, but Surge himself wasn't taking any Challenge Mode requests. He was busy as heck with the gym, and even the junior trainers were busy as they had to handle the traffic from a massive number of new trainers challenging him.
Third POV
Surge looked at Grey as he arrived and said, "So you are the next baby that came to challenge me for a gym badge? Well then, let's get this over with."
Grey didn't rise to the taunt and simply asked, "Will it be 3-vs-3 or any other format?"
Surge, seeing that this one wasn't that receptive to taunts and kept his composure, said, "3-vs-3 it is." He nodded to the referee, who signaled the flag to start.
"Come on out, Geodude!" Surge shouted. "Come on out, Exeggcute!" Grey replied.
"Fuck!" Surge shouted upon seeing the Exeggcute. He calmed himself a bit, but Grey took advantage of that moment and ordered Exeggcute to use Sunny Day, which it did.
Seeing things start this quickly, Surge ordered a Rock Throw. Geodude threw the rock, but Grey told Exeggcute to block it with a Reflect and Confusion combo. This not only set up the screen but also used Confusion to block the attack.
Then, Exeggcute zoomed in toward the Geodude using its Confusion, almost as if Grey had instructed it to do so without orders—which he had. Seeing the Exeggcute coming in, Surge ordered a Tackle, as currently, this Geodude only knew that normal attack. Geodude tried to attack, but Exeggcute split its eggs and dodged it, then regrouped behind the Geodude and launched Leech Seed at the rock type.
Surge, realizing the setup, ordered Geodude to use Charge to raise its output a bit. Grey ordered Exeggcute to use Giga Drain right that instant to end it. Exeggcute went in close to do just that, but Surge smirked and ordered Self-Destruct. Geodude saw it was close and went for it, but right at the moment it came close, Exeggcute used Confusion at such an absurd capacity that it repelled Geodude from self-destructing.
Still, the range of the move was vast, and the blast hit Exeggcute. It looked to be in bad shape, but it started healing using Synthesis and recovered quickly since its move speed was also increased by the Sunny Day. It got up and looked at the fainted rock-type. Surge withdrew his Pokémon, looking at the kid like he might actually be a good challenge after all.
Surge looked at Geodude and thought that while he could have prolonged the fight, the Exeggcute would have still defeated it easily. It was a bad matchup right from the start. It was rare that people brought grass types against him, even with the ability to resist his moves; most trainers brought rock or ground types instead. Well, it still didn't matter.
Surge released his second Pokémon, which was an Electrode.
Electrode looked at Exeggcute with a cocky grin, but Exeggcute didn't react much to it. The referee signaled to continue the match.
Surge ordered Electrode to use Sonic Boom. It fired the move, but Exeggcute used Leech Seed on the ball Pokémon. As the seeds flew, Electrode used its speed to roll away, but Exeggcute used its psychic Confusion to track the Electrode. It was almost like the seeds were homing missiles, and they eventually caught up to Electrode. Of course, the Sonic Boom hit Exeggcute fair in the face, but it shrugged it off. It was a calculated move; Grey allowed the hit so he could land the Leech Seed, which would work better in the long run of the match.
Surge liked the kid's gutsy style and decided to fight head-on by using Rollout. Exeggcute took it head-on and used Confusion. Electrode kept spinning in front of it, but Exeggcute used the full force of its Confusion to stop it cold, making it stop spinning. Surge was surprised by this move. Grey immediately capitalized by ordering Toxic on the ball Pokémon. Exeggcute did so since they were that close, but Surge ordered an Electro Ball right at Exeggcute's face. Exeggcute tried to use Confusion, but at such close range—and even with its great multitasking—it couldn't manage Toxic and a defense at the same time. If it were doing two things with just Confusion it might have worked, but in this scenario, it was hit in the face and sent flying back a distance. Electrode backed away, but then it was hit by the poison and the drain from Leech Seed, which healed Exeggcute.
Grey ordered Exeggcute to use Confusion to attack, and Surge told Electrode to use Rollout with Magnet Rise. It did so, and suddenly Electrode was rolling in the air at a much faster speed, zooming here and there. Exeggcute tried to lock onto it with Confusion but failed. Surge told Electrode to improve the power of Rollout by spinning more, and it started rotating around the arena in a circle with Exeggcute stuck in the center. On Surge's command, it also fired Electro Balls which landed right on target. Even though Exeggcute blocked them with Confusion, Grey was really impressed. Despite running circles at such velocity, Surge's Electrode was landing Electro Balls perfectly. It was just like Shellder with the Counter Shield and Icicle Spear. Still, even with Electrode running in circles, the poison and Leech Seed were working well.
Right at that moment, Surge ordered Charge. In a blue blur of absurd speed, Electrode flung itself at Exeggcute. Exeggcute used Confusion at max capacity to stop the attack. This time he didn't try to stop the spinning, as even he realized that was futile; rather, he tried to oppose the charging attack to soften it. But the attack landed, and Exeggcute was sent flying, crashing into the wall.
Surge thought it was over, as there was no way a Pokémon at this level could survive an attack like that. But Exeggcute came out of the wall like the Undertaker and started Synthesis. Grey's advice of a reflex Synthesis saved it, and the Leech Seed did its magic again, draining the ball Pokémon and giving health back to the eggs.
Surge realized something and told Electrode to use Rollout again. It headed toward Exeggcute, who was still using Synthesis to heal fully and used Confusion to protect itself like a shield. But right at that moment, Surge ordered "C4" . Electrode exploded with energy, and Exeggcute was caught right in the blast. It was stronger than Self-Destruct and happened right in its face; Exeggcute couldn't quite deflect it, and while it tried to overpower the blast with Confusion, it was useless.
At the end of the turn, both Pokémon fainted.
Surge and Grey returned their Pokémon. Surge asked, "You ain't gonna crib about that?"
Grey replied, "What's there for me to crib about? While I don't like self-destructing moves, it doesn't mean I don't understand the 'why' behind them. Besides, you're the one down to your last Pokémon." Mentally, Grey realized Surge had to pull that off; without it, Exeggcute would have outstalled Electrode because it could tank and heal up through its strongest Rollout. That was the only way, unless Surge was going to allow Exeggcute to sweep the gym challenge and code names for moves was a brilliant idea like C4 for explosion maybe he should think about it.
Surge looked at him and laughed a bit. "Finally, one good trainer after a long line of fucking weak-ass babies."
Grey was a bit bewildered, and Surge continued, "You get it, don't you? Pokémon battling isn't some joke. You get a Pokémon and travel a bit and think you can make it big, well, life ain't no fairy tale. To be a good trainer you need to be able to make hard decisions like a commander. Pokémon battling is like war, kid, and when the situation becomes dire between regions, it becomes war. You might make it big because you have the right attitude for it. You trained your Pokémon for such scenarios just like I did, and that's how you got to this stage. Plus, you know how to take a loss; while you regret your Exeggcute fainting, you also know it did its job."
Grey didn't reply much, but he looked at Surge as if asking, "What about it?"
Surge then said, "You know, kid, I have an offer for you." The moment Grey heard that, he had a dejavu.
Surge continued, "My next Pokémon will be slightly more challenging than my usual, but in return, if you can beat it, I will give you higher prize money and a TM."
Mentally, Grey had only one word: Fuck. But he didn't swear it out. For some goddamn reason, Gym Leaders loved to pull this with him, amping the difficulty and making his challenges harder.
Grey asked, "Which TM?" to which Surge replied that while he normally gives out Shock Wave, for this case, he would give out Thunderbolt.
Grey decided to accept the request. Thunderbolt was too good a TM to pass up, plus Meowth could learn the move. It would help him utilize his normal typing's best feature: the ability to use all kinds of elemental moves.
Surge and Grey both prepared to release their respective Pokémon. Grey released his Axew, and Surge released—
Author's Note: And thats chapter , I guess I will see you after 2 months due to work
.. Just Kidding