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"Admit defeat? But only two Pokemon have lost their ability to fight. How can you surrender already?" Chris couldn't understand what was happening.
In a standard six-on-six full battle, losing two Pokemon meant they hadn't even reached the midpoint of the match yet.
"I can't beat you, so I surrender," Atticus said, spreading his hands in resignation. If he thought he could win against his rival, he certainly wouldn't want to give up.
He had carefully analyzed the strength difference between himself and Chris, and the comparison had crushed any hope of victory he might have had.
Mega Blaziken—if he remembered correctly, its ability should be Speed Boost. Its speed would increase as the battle progressed, making it faster and more dangerous with each passing moment.
As a trainer who specialized in Dark-type Pokemon, Atticus knew he didn't have a single Pokemon in his team that could compete with Mega Blaziken head-on. And as time went on, the Speed Boost ability would make the fiery fighter even more impossible to handle.
If he didn't surrender now, the next time Mega Blaziken's Blaze Kick connected, it would probably be aimed at his own waist.
Furthermore, his trump card, Mega Houndoom, had already fallen in battle. Originally, he had planned to use it to counter Chris's trump card, Mega Shiny Gardevoir. But he hadn't expected that immediately after Mega Houndoom emerged and fired a Hyper Beam, it would be instantly defeated by Hariyama's ordinary Aura Sphere combined with Greninja's attack.
Losing his trump card first was like playing all four aces at the beginning of a card game—what was the point of continuing?
Atticus wanted to shout, "I don't want to play anymore!"
Thinking about the information he had read beforehand, Chris also possessed a Mega Garchomp in addition to his Mega Shiny Gardevoir.
Mega Blaziken, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Garchomp—the combination of these three Mega Pokemon was simply overwhelming. How could he possibly take the lead against such a lineup?
Although he did have some secret strategies up his sleeve, they wouldn't be enough to affect the outcome of the entire duel.
So surrendering was the logical choice. Instead of getting beaten up and still losing, it was better to admit defeat quickly and go enjoy a hot pot meal that evening.
Time to make his exit!
The referee confirmed Atticus's decision once more.
After confirming that Atticus had indeed surrendered, the result was announced immediately.
"Atticus, the Gym Leader of Forest ym, has surrendered. Therefore, the winner is Chris, the Gym Leader of Green Valley Gym!"
Both trainers recalled their Pokemon and left the arena amid sparse applause.
The commentators in the audience didn't have much special to say about how the battle had unfolded.
Initially, they had all been rooting for Atticus.
Although Chris was well-known, he was still a rookie among Gym Leaders, and his strength seemed limited. His victory over Remi had relied on a special move, and since Atticus had managed to crack that particular Aura Sphere technique, it seemed like he had already won half the battle.
What's more, Chris's trump card was Gardevoir, while Atticus's was Houndoom. Having type advantage with his trump card should have been a huge benefit!
But when they witnessed Chris's Mega Blaziken in action, their opinion of Atticus's chances immediately plummeted.
Today's surrender by Atticus could only be described as unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable at the same time. It was like one of those classic O. Henry endings with a twist.
However, although everyone expressed their thoughts aloud, they silently raised their evaluation of Chris several notches in their hearts.
Using a special move to defeat a gym leader in casual battle was completely different from suppressing and defeating a gym leader through pure strength.
The former's special move could be analyzed and countered, just as Atticus had demonstrated today.
But the latter—raw, overwhelming strength—was simply unsolvable.
As they passed through the player corridor, Alexis came down from the audience seating, while Atticus came running over from the distance.
"Come on, let's go eat hot pot! Chris is paying the bill!" Atticus showed no discouragement from his recent defeat. On the contrary, he seemed very excited, clearly planning to make Chris pay dearly for the meal.
And pay dearly he did.
Atticus specifically chose the most expensive hot pot restaurant in the area, where the ingredients were either airlifted fresh or premium grade. He also invited Remi and several other familiar gym leaders to join them.
Plus some fine wine to accompany the meal.
The cost of dinner reached several hundred thousand Pokedollars.
For a gym leader, this was at most a small dent in their wallet—pocket change, really.
During the banquet, Remi raised his glass to Chris.
"Chris, I take back my words about wanting to fight you privately. I've realized that even in a private battle, I wouldn't be your rival!" Remi decisively changed his stance after watching the fight between Chris and Atticus.
"Come on, Remi, why are you backing down now?" Atticus called out from the side, causing a stir.
"I already cracked Chris's big Aura Sphere technique for you, and you still don't dare to challenge him?"
Remi wasn't having any of it. "Backing down? How can you call this backing down? I call this being wise and knowing when to pick your battles!"
"Why take an unnecessary beating?"
Although everyone wanted Remi to fight Chris, they had to agree with his reasoning.
Given Chris's current strength, Remi definitely wouldn't be Chris's opponent.
Additionally, they whispered among themselves:
"Chris has only been a Gym Leader for such a short time, yet he already has this level of strength. In a little while, he'll probably be targeting the Elite Four."
"No, at this rate, he'll probably become Champion before we know it!"
"This kind of growth isn't normal!"
Everyone continued drinking and toasting, and Chris didn't refuse anyone who offered him a drink.
With the three orbs within his body, Chris could feel himself growing stronger every day under their nourishing influence. While he might not be comparable to a humanoid Tyranitar, he could certainly handle a thousand drinks without getting intoxicated.
Only Alexis didn't drink throughout the entire evening, since his match was scheduled for that afternoon.
Everyone settled in to watch his battle.
There was nothing technically brilliant about it—it was simply a complete massacre.
Alexis used three Pokemon: Dragonite to control the sky, Kommo-o to dominate the ground, and Weavile to protect himself. The two dragons worked together to suppress his rival, and even after the opponent released six Pokemon consecutively, they couldn't reverse their declining situation.
Victory was inevitable. Alexis won.
Being young had its advantages—both Pokemon and trainer were in their prime, and their combat effectiveness had improved significantly within the past year. Especially after being defeated by an Elite Four member, he had clearly absorbed the lessons from that failure and grown even faster.
When defeating a gym leader of the same level, he took less time than Chris had.
Many gym leaders felt that Alexis already possessed strength comparable to the Elite Four. Even if he wasn't quite at that level yet, he was only one step away.
Chris watched the entire match carefully. If nothing unexpected happened, the final match would be between himself and Alexis.
To defeat his senior, Chris would probably have to use every secret technique he had in his arsenal.