"Boring!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
"And here I thought we'd get to see the Elite Four in a real match."
As Grimsley walked away, the passersby began to disperse. Many of them followed after him, wanting to see where he was going.
"What a shame. Looks like I won't get the chance to battle Grimsley." Gary shook his head, resigned.
"Vee."
Eevee was disappointed too — it had also wanted a shot at the Elite Four.
Among all of Gary's Pokémon, only Blastoise had ever fought a member of the Elite Four. None of the others had had that chance, and they all wanted to accomplish what Blastoise had done.
Gary had also been hoping that a battle with Grimsley might trigger a mission, one that could reward him with some Advanced Rare Candies, or even Master Rare Candies.
Although Grimsley had said he'd consider battling Gary the next time he was short on money, that was clearly just an excuse. He had no intention of actually fighting.
On top of that, Grimsley had never even taken part in the World Coronation Series. If Gary wanted to challenge him, he'd have to do it by special invitation or by joining the Unova League. Otherwise, there was no way to arrange a match with him.
"Let's go grab a meal."
Since there was no chance to battle Grimsley, Gary could only stick to his original plan.
Three days later.
Gary rode Latios out of Driftveil City and headed for Mistralton City.
Mistralton City naturally had a Gym — a Flying-type one.
Gary was after an Air Slash TM, so instead of rushing back to Castelia City, he came here directly.
He arrived at Mistralton Gym.
The Gym itself was actually an airport that also handled Mistralton City's cargo operations. It had only been temporarily converted for use as a Gym.
When Gary stepped inside, he found the place packed with Trainers, most of whom were young and looked like rookies.
Mistralton Gym wasn't one of the weaker Gyms in the Unova Region. Rookies like these had no business winning against it.
Gary found a man in work clothes and went over to ask, "Excuse me, is this Mistralton Gym?"
"Yes. Do you need something?" the man replied.
"Hi, I'm here to challenge the Gym."
"Do you have a reservation?"
"No. Can I make one now?"
Reservations were common for Gyms, so having to wait a little longer wasn't a problem.
"Let me check if there are any spots left today. There's one opening left this morning. Would you like to reserve it?" the man asked.
Gary: ???
Gary was confused. If there were still openings for the morning, why were so many Trainers just standing around?
"Are all those people here to challenge the Gym?" Gary asked.
"Yes, they're all Trainers here for this morning's challenges."
"That many… can the Gym Leader really handle it all?"
Gary didn't know the details of the Unova Region's anime plot. He only knew that the Mistralton Gym Leader was a girl named Skyla and had some idea of what Pokémon she specialized in — everything else was a blank.
"In the past, she couldn't," the man said, "but ever since she started using the Fantasy Battle format, things have gone a lot more smoothly."
"Fantasy Battle…" Gary said, surprised. "What kind of battle is that?"
"It follows Mistralton Gym's rules — still three-on-three. At the start, both sides send out the three Pokémon they've prepared, and the winner is decided based on type matchups," the man explained.
"What?"
Gary was stunned.
That wasn't a Fantasy Battle — that was a theoretical battle.
More to the point, he had no idea whether the system would issue a mission under rules like these.
Even though Gary now had plenty of Rare Candies, the other rewards were still valuable — especially the Ability Expansion Stones given for defeating Unova Region Gym Leaders.
"Don't be too surprised. I know the format is unusual. If you want to win, just prepare three Pokémon that counter Flying-types and you'll get the Badge. You can watch a match first." The man could tell his Gym Leader's method was a little odd, so he was doing his best to help Gary secure a Badge.
Gary thought it over. None of the six Pokémon he had on him had a strong matchup against Flying-types — if anything, Skyla's Pokémon might counter his. If he really had to follow the Fantasy Battle rules, he might not walk away with a Badge.
"All right, I'll watch first," Gary said.
"Then please let me see your Pokédex."
Gary took out his Pokédex and let the man scan it. After receiving a number ticket, he waited.
By 9:30, a plane descended from above, circling smoothly before landing on the airport runway and taxiing toward the Gym.
The cabin door opened, and a girl jumped out of the cockpit. She pulled off her helmet, revealing long red hair. Combined with her lightly tanned skin, she had a striking look all her own.
"Hi, everyone!"
"I'm Skyla, the Mistralton Gym Leader — the one who soars through the skies!"
Skyla greeted the crowd cheerfully and walked to the front of the line.
"Now then, the Gym battles are about to begin. This morning I'm scheduled to take on fifteen challengers." With that, she took three Poké Balls from her pocket and opened them.
Go!!!
[LV40 Swoobat♀ / Gym]
[LV40 Unfezant♂ / Gym]
[LV42 Swanna♀ / Quasi-Elite]
Looking over Skyla's three Pokémon, Gary noted that their levels were about right. Under standard Gym rules, they were more than qualified — a bit on the high side, even.
"Then the first challenger, please step up and send out your Pokémon." Skyla said.
"Right!"
The boy holding reservation number one came forward and released his three Pokémon.
Go!!!
[LV24 Graveler / Elite]
[LV27 Flaaffy / Gym]
[LV20 Luxio / Elite]
Looking at the boy's three Pokémon, Gary's brow twitched. All three had a type advantage, sure, but their levels were far too low. In an actual fight, they'd be crushed.
"Now, the morning's first Fantasy Battle — take flight!"
Skyla closed her eyes and began picturing the battle between the two sides.
The boy watched nervously. He'd put a lot of effort into preparing those three Pokémon.
Time passed second by second, and after roughly a minute Skyla opened her eyes and said, "Oh, looks like I lose."
"Congratulations on winning the Jet Badge."
Skyla cheerfully handed over her Gym Badge to the boy who had won the Fantasy Battle.
Gary was speechless.
To think she actually held Fantasy Battles like this. No wonder the Trainers at the Vertress Conference were so weak — the whole problem started with the Gym Leaders themselves.