Could it be…!
Looking at the Legend-tier Pikachu, Gary suddenly remembered what had happened to Ash when he first arrived in the Unova Region and encountered Zekrom.
Pikachu had absorbed Zekrom's lightning, which threw its condition out of balance and led to its defeat at the hands of the rookie Trainer Trip's Snivy.
Zekrom was a top-tier Legendary Pokémon, but it shouldn't have had any ability to raise another Pokémon's potential. Most likely, when Pikachu accidentally absorbed Zekrom's lightning, some kind of fluke had occurred—one that boosted Pikachu's potential all the way up.
Gary found himself wondering whether he should have Electivire absorb Zekrom's lightning too. They were both Electric-types, after all. If Pikachu could absorb Zekrom's lightning and gain potential from it, then Electivire should be able to as well.
Especially since Electivire had been with Gary since it was still an Elekid. Gary had personally watched Elekid absorb the thunder inside storm clouds, evolving into Electabuzz and raising its potential by a full tier in the process.
Going by Ash's travel route, they would run into Victini when they reached Eindoak Town, which would set off the events of that movie.
It was just that the developers had been out of their minds—the two movie versions were obviously the same film, yet they'd insisted on splitting it in two, with the only difference being which dragon each side got to ride.
Gary decided to focus on collecting Badges first, then wait for the plot to unfold at Eindoak Town, where Electivire could take the chance to absorb Zekrom's lightning.
"As the Gym Leader, I'll demonstrate my strength first. Up first is… come on out, Dwebble!"
Once the referee finished explaining the rules, Burgh sent out his Pokémon first.
Go!!!
[LV21 Dwebble♂ / Gym]
Seeing Dwebble's level, Gary found it a little sad, but there was nothing to be done about it. Castelia Gym was officially designated to test a Trainer's strength, and there were plenty of restrictions—Burgh wasn't even allowed to use his Gym-tier Pokémon here.
But no one should underestimate those seemingly weak Gym Leaders. The Pokémon they sent out were low-leveled only because of the League's arrangements. If they brought out their main Pokémon, ordinary challengers wouldn't stand a chance.
The genuinely weak ones were basically Leaders who had only just taken up the post, so their Pokémon hadn't reached high levels yet. Anyone who had held the position for a few years would have raised their Pokémon's levels considerably.
After all, Gym Leaders had to accept a large number of battles every day. Anyone who had served as one for a few years had hundreds, even thousands of battles under their belt.
Brock, for example, knew so much about Pokémon precisely because he had been a Gym Leader for years, learning through all those battles.
"Tepig, I choose you!"
Ash didn't hesitate, immediately sending out the type-advantaged Tepig.
Go!!!
[LV15 Tepig♂ / Elite]
When Gary saw Tepig, he had to admire Ash's luck. It couldn't compare to Charmander, but it still had Elite-tier potential.
Sure enough, picking up Pokémon that other people had thrown away was Ash's specialty—he'd grabbed another one without a word.
Unfortunately, while Tepig had the type advantage over Dwebble's Bug typing, Dwebble's Rock typing was just as effective against Tepig.
After one round of fighting, Burgh relied on Dwebble's mastery of more practical moves to defeat Tepig with a single Rock Wrecker.
Who would believe that a Dwebble barely past Level 20 had mastered Rock Wrecker, a move with 150 base power? This Dwebble had clearly been specially raised by Burgh with a Breeder's help—produced through artificial intervention. Otherwise, there was no way a Dwebble at such a low level could master so many practical moves.
The four moves Burgh's Dwebble had shown just now were X-Scissor, Dig, Protect, and Rock Wrecker—not one of which it could have awakened naturally at its current level.
"Firing a Rock Wrecker from the closest possible range—that worked extremely well."
"So he deliberately lured his opponent in close and then finished it off?"
"Yeah, he waited on purpose for Tepig to approach. As expected of Mr. Burgh."
Cilan and Iris commented from the sidelines. Their analysis was reasonable enough, but who would have imagined a Dwebble knowing so many powerful moves—even Rock Wrecker?
What kind of Pokémon knows Rock Wrecker at just over Level 20?
"So, Ash, which Pokémon will you send out next?" Burgh asked curiously.
"Among the Pokémon Ash has, only Oshawott can stand up to this Dwebble," Iris guessed.
"Not necessarily. It could be Pikachu—after all, Pikachu knows Iron Tail," Cilan added.
"Wrong! If he really did what you're thinking, he wouldn't be Ash," Gary cut in.
"Ash won't use Oshawott or Pikachu?" Iris asked.
Iris was actually a student of a Pokémon school. She had only just graduated and set out traveling, so her understanding of Pokémon naturally followed standard type matchups.
"Just watch."
Gary refused to say what Ash would send out, deliberately keeping them in suspense.
Everyone looked toward Ash and saw that he had already taken a Poké Ball from his pocket.
"Alright—to deal with a Bug-type, we'll use a Bug-type!"
Go!!!
[LV20 Sewaddle♂ / Quasi-Elite]
"Ah?!"
"Huh?!"
Cilan and Iris were both stunned, unable to understand what Ash was thinking. He had actually chosen Sewaddle.
Sewaddle was a dual Bug- and Grass-type—doubly weak to Dwebble's Rock moves.
"It's normal for him. He's a specialist at bad matchups—he loves fighting uphill battles," Gary said.
"You really are his childhood friend," Iris sighed.
"Indeed, this is very much Ash's style."
Cilan was reminded of Ash's challenge at Striaton Gym. He could have earned the Badge with a single win, yet he'd insisted on battling all three of them.
The battle began.
Ash had Sewaddle use String Shot to tie Dwebble down and drain its stamina, then seized the opening to attack with Tackle. As luck would have it, the impact sent the stone shell on Dwebble's back flying right off.
Dwebble's defense was high only because it hid inside that stone shell. Once it lost the shell's protection, its defense was as fragile as thin paper, breaking at the slightest touch.
Sewaddle used Razor Leaf and defeated Dwebble.
"Amazing! What a great match!" Iris exclaimed.
The defeated Burgh recalled Dwebble and said, "Ash, your Sewaddle performed really well."
"Thanks for the compliment." Ash rubbed his nose a little bashfully. He was much more mature now than the cocky kid he used to be.
"Then the next Pokémon I'll send out is this one. Come out, Whirlipede!" Burgh threw out his Poké Ball.
Go!!!
[LV22 Whirlipede♂ / Gym]
Whirlipede looked just like a tire, its body marked with red rings and lined with barbs along both sides.