Eric stood on the opposite side of the field from Canna.
Canna and Misty shared a lot of features, to the point that she looked very similar to how Misty would look as an adult - just that her hair was longer and her eyes were blue, unlike Misty's teal colored eyes.
"I watched a little bit of your battle with Daisy. Your Pokémon are very well trained."
"Thanks."
"Fufu. Not much of a talker, I see. Well then, let's get started."
Upon the referee's signal, Canna threw a Poke Ball onto the field. From it, a Golduck emerged.
---
Pokémon: Golduck
Gender: Male
Level: 34
Type: Water
Ability: Swift Swim
Held Item: None
Potential: Deep Blue
---
Strong.
Eric sent out Poliwhirl. He hadn't bothered to get his Pokémon healed, so Fearow still wasn't in a condition to do battle.
Golduck also had the Swift Swim ability, so Poliwhirl won't have the speed advantage this time.
Poliwhirl used Surf to start the battle - his trademark strategy.
Eric thought Golduck would counter with a surf of his own, but he didn't and instead jumped into the air.
Poliwhirl fired a Bubble Beam while he was mid-air, but Golduck countered with a Hydro Pump!
Hydro Pump was a lot more powerful and easily overpowered the Bubble Beam, hitting Poliwhirl.
"Follow up with Confusion!"
A wave of Psychic energy surrounded Poliwhirl, causing his head to hurt.
But Poliwhirl powered through, and hit Golduck with a Water Gun - which was his fastest move.
Poliwhirl then dashed towards Golduck.
"Brick Break!"
"Protect, then Hydro Pump!"
Poliwhirl struck the green barrier around Golduck with his right hand, coated in fighting-type energy. A few cracks appeared on the barrier, but it wasn't enough to break it.
Golduck used this chance to fire a powerful Hydro Pump at him, but this time, Poliwhirl used Protect, blocking the attack.
It was then that Golduck did something unusual. He lifted off his feet from the ground while still using Hydro Pump, using the momentum from it to fly backwards and gain some distance.
Then, once Poliwhirl's Protect ended, he started firing off attacks at him from range.
Golduck was outright superior to Poilwhirl in ranged combat, boasting much higher offensive capabilities. Furthermore, he was very well trained - not at all inferior to Poliwhirl in terms of mobility and battle sense.
Poliwhirl eventually succumbed to the attacks and was defeated.
Now Eric only had Haunter to battle. Everyone in the crowd thought he was cornered.
But he wasn't the slightest bit worried.
Eric didn't move as the referee signalled him to send out his next Pokémon.
Instead, his shadow expanded and shot forward into the field. From it, Haunter slowly emerged.
The moment he did, the balance of energy inside the gym shifted.
Ghost-type energy surged, replacing water-type energy as the most dominant type of energy in the gym.
Everyone in the audience felt a chill run down their spines as they looked at Haunter. The ghost-type energy around him felt as if it were alive.
Ethan was stunned. This was on a completely different level than when he was just a Gastly.
'It hasn't been that long. Has the gap between us really increased that much?!'
Canna's eyes focused as she observed Haunter.
'The ghost-type energy around it looks almost alive. It is at least at the beginner Grade 4 level...Eric, was it? Looks like Kanto has another rising star.'
"Haunter, Shadow Ball!"
"Golduck, Hydro Pump!"
There were no fancy movements, just a straightforward clash between the two.
The high-pressure spiralling torrent of water met a purple ball of energy.
The two attacks clashed for a moment. Yes, just a moment, as the purple ball pushed through the beam of water and crashed onto the Golduck.
There was a small explosion as Golduck was blown away, unconscious.
There was pin-drop silence amongst those observing the battle.
'Did he just one-shot a gym leader's Pokémon? Aren't they both at the intermediate level? Are you sure you aren't secretly an advanced-level Pokémon?!'
Canna smiled as she recalled Golduck. This outcome was expected to her experienced eyes. Golduck's water-type energy was only at the peak of Grade 2. He was just a Pokémon used to test trainers, after all.
The gap was simply too big.
The rest of the battle went about the same as this one. Since this was just Eric's second gym battle, Canna wasn't allowed to use Pokémon higher than level 35. And unless the Pokémon was really exceptional, they simply weren't Haunter's match.
In the end, both her Octillery and Starmie were defeated in one or two moves, the battle ending with Eric's victory.
The audience shared a common sentiment after witnessing this fight.
'Wasn't that Haunter too OP?'
But while the crowd cheered after witnessing such a spectacular battle, Eric was pondering something else.
'My team right now is too unbalanced. There is a massive gap between Haunter and the rest.'
It couldn't be helped. Not only was Haunter more talented than the others from the start, but that unknown fragment had also only increased the gap.
Right now, Eric was like all those kids back in his old world that finished the game with an overlevelled starter and nothing else.
Eric drove all these thoughts away as Canna walked up to him to give him the Cascade Bade.
"That was a spectacular battle. Take this Cascade badge as proof of your victory. I look forward to seeing what you accomplish in the future."
As Canna was talking to Eric, Misty, who was watching the battle, ran up to them.
"I can't believe you beat Mom!"
"Misty!" Cough cough.
Canna was a bit surprised to see Misty run up to them like this.
"Sorry about that, Eric. This unruly child is my daughter, Misty."
She then turned to Misty.
"How many times have I told you to act professionally in the gym?"
"Hehe, Sorry, Mom! I just wanted to see him up close after that battle."
She turned to Eric.
"Your name is Eric, right? I'll remember it. I'm Misty. You'd better remember it as well, for I will become the greatest water-type trainer in the world one day."
Eric didn't know how to respond, so he just nodded.
"Sure. Good luck with that."
"What's with that lackluster response. I'm serious, you know. Don't you believe me?!"
"Does it matter if I believe you or not? It's enough if you believe it."
He said as he turned around to leave.
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