"What?!"
Gary's eyes widened in shock when he heard Red command Mudkip to use Counter.
Without Red's system or Professor-level insight, there was no way Gary could have known Mudkip even had such a move.
"Stop! Krabby!"
Gary shouted with all his might, but once an attack had been unleashed, it wasn't something that could simply be withdrawn.
Krabby's massive pincers snapped shut with a piercing sound. The moment Mudkip was caught, it let out a pained cry.
Facing the boosted Vice Grip, Mudkip was heavily injured. But thanks to the earlier Growl, it retained a sliver of health—just enough to avoid being instantly knocked out.
And as long as it wasn't one-shot, Counter would return the damage it had taken—doubled!
A Red aura burst from Mudkip's body. Krabby was sent flying like it had been struck by a battering ram, its shell cracking against the barrier in a spiderweb pattern.
Flung into the air, Krabby slammed heavily onto the ground, its eyes spiraling as it lost the ability to battle.
[Ding! Mudkip leveled up: 8 → 9]
Mudkip struggled to its feet, panting heavily.
But when it saw Krabby lying defeated, it became visibly excited. Under Red's command, it had overcome a powerful opponent—its affection toward Red surged.
Seeing this, Red didn't hold back his praise.
"Well done, Mudkip."
At that moment, Mudkip's aura surged once more. A blue glow shimmered across its body as droplets of water in the air gathered around it, forming a spiraling ring.
Mudkip had successfully activated its ability—Torrent. The power of its Water-type moves increased by 50%.
Gary was completely stunned.
What had been a perfect situation collapsed instantly because of a single Counter.
Not only had he failed to defeat Mudkip, but Krabby was down—and Mudkip had powered up even further.
After hesitating for a moment, Gary gritted his teeth.
"Go, my darling!"
He sent Wartortle back out.
Gary believed that with Wartortle's defenses, it could hold out until it woke up. Once awake, it could defeat Mudkip and bring the battle back to a 2v2—he might still have a chance!
But Red saw straight through his plan and smiled faintly.
"Trying to take advantage of Mudkip not having strong Water-type moves?"
"Technical Machines may be expensive, but the Songzao Gym isn't that poor."
On the interface invisible to Gary, one move stood out in Mudkip's move list—one completely beyond its level:
Waterfall.
As one of the few physical Water-type moves, a Waterfall TM was worth at least a million.
Under Red's command, water surged beneath Mudkip's feet.
Though not yet fully mastered, Mudkip rode the rising wave and slammed a punch straight into Wartortle's face!
Wartortle took another heavy hit.
As the water subsided, Wartortle lay on the ground—completely unable to battle.
...
Silence fell over the arena.
Gary and his cheer squad all looked pale.
They couldn't believe it—Gary had just been swept by a rookie-level Mudkip.
Gary himself stared blankly at the battlefield, his vision going dark as he nearly fainted.
He had been a trainer for nearly three months, and this was the first time he had suffered such a crushing defeat.
For someone as proud as him, it was an unprecedented blow.
Red, however, didn't even bother looking at him. He yawned.
"Please send out your third Pokémon. Otherwise, this will be ruled as a loss."
Gary's fingers dug into his palm, blood seeping from beneath his nails as if he didn't feel it at all. He forced a smile—one uglier than crying—silencing his cheer squad instantly.
The truth was, Gary hadn't prepared at all for challenging the Songzao Gym.
Right now, he simply didn't have a single Pokémon suitable for battle.
Slowly raising his hand, he squeezed out the words:
"I… forfeit."
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating the first challenger. Reward: Random Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon Egg]
Hearing the system notification, Red finally revealed a genuine smile.
'The Pseudo-Legendary Egg—secured!'
At this point, he had no interest in Gary whatsoever. All he wanted was to get back to his room and check his new Pokémon egg.
Seeing Red about to leave, Gary staggered to his feet and spoke unwillingly:
"Why…? We're the same age. The resources and education I've received shouldn't be worse than yours, so why…"
"Why is the gap between us so big?"
Red didn't hesitate.
"Because I'm a trainer. And you…"
He glanced at Gary, his cheer squad, and the sports car parked outside, then let out a faint scoff.
"Fix your mindset first. Then we can talk about that."
"Xiaowen, see them out."
With that, Red couldn't be bothered to say more. Xiaowen escorted the heavily shaken Gary out of the Gym.
Turning to Xiaowen, Red added:
"For the next few days, re-screen the challengers. Only accept those with two badges who haven't participated in the League Conference."
"Understood, Gym Leader!"
Xiaowen fully agreed.
After all, with the Gym's Pokémon gone, even the best command skills wouldn't be enough without proper team strength.
Red, eager to claim his reward, made an excuse and left.
He headed to a storage room within the Songzao Gym.
Inside, he quickly found an incubator designed for protecting Pokémon and hatching eggs.
After all, this was a Pseudo-Legendary egg—being cautious was only natural.
Once everything was ready, Red claimed the reward.
A khaki-colored Pokémon egg appeared in his hands.
Its shell bore faint triangular patterns, and when touched, it pulsed with a strong, rhythmic heartbeat.
"A khaki-colored egg… what Pokémon could this be?"
Red placed the egg into the incubator.
[Pokémon: Unknown]
[Talent: Top]
[Evaluation: A Pseudo-Legendary egg with extremely high potential. What it will hatch into is unknown.]
At that moment, a Pokémon jumped out from Red's Poké Ball—it was Mudkip, curiously staring at the egg.
Red gently patted its head.
"This will be your little brother or sister in the future."
Mudkip nodded, half-understanding.
Just then, the system's voice rang out again in Red's mind:
[Ding~ Beginner mission completed. Rewards can now be obtained by developing the Gym.]
[Developing the Gym includes but is not limited to: increasing strength, boosting reputation, guiding trainers, taking disciples, etc.]
"Taking disciples?"
Seeing those words, a new idea suddenly formed in Red's mind.