"What incredible power! Keep attacking with X-Scissor!"
Burgh didn't care that Escavalier had been pushed back—he had it press the attack.
"Escav!"
Escavalier's twin lances were sheathed in thick, dark green energy as it charged at Excadrill again.
"Use Horn Drill!" Gary ordered.
"Drill!"
The steel drill on Excadrill's head flashed with silver light as it met the charge head-on.
Clang! Clang!
Excadrill used its claws to trap Escavalier's lances, then drove the steel horn on its head straight into Escavalier's body.
Bang!!
"Escav!"
The powerful Horn Drill delivered a massive shockwave, sending Escavalier flying back several meters.
"Horn Drill can be used like that?!" Iris said in shock.
"Using its claws to stop the opponent from getting away, then striking with the drill on its head—that was incredible," Cilan said.
"Mr. Burgh's in trouble now," Ash said.
Ash and the other two figured the match was as good as over. Escavalier was strong, but head-on it just wasn't a match for Excadrill.
"What a powerful Horn Drill. But thanks to that, it's our turn to strike back," Burgh ordered. "Escavalier, use Reversal!"
"What?! It knows that move?!"
"Can it pull this off?"
"No idea!"
Reversal was a Fighting-type move whose power increased the lower the user's HP was, capping at 200. On top of that, Fighting-type moves were super effective against Excadrill, doubling the damage—there was a real chance it could knock Excadrill out in one hit.
"Escav!"
Escavalier poured everything into this last strike, a deep red fighting aura wrapping around its body as it charged forward without hesitation.
Gary watched Escavalier rush in. He could have had Excadrill use Protect and counter afterward, but with the battle having come this far, doing that felt pointless.
"Drill Run!" Gary ordered.
"Drill!"
Excadrill brought its claws together with the drill on its head, spinning its whole body as golden energy wrapped around it, turning Excadrill into a golden lance.
Bang!!
Boom!!
The two Pokémon collided violently. The energy around their bodies tangled together and exploded, and the shockwave hurled them apart.
Thud! Thud!
Both Pokémon hit the ground.
Excadrill dragged itself upright, pushing through the pain, and glared across the field.
Escavalier was in bad shape, propping itself up on one of its lances as if it might collapse at any second.
"Drill!"
Seeing that Escavalier hadn't gone down, Excadrill let out a fierce growl and braced itself to attack again.
"Escav…"
A gust of wind kicked up sand across the field, and Escavalier finally toppled over, eyes swirling.
"Escavalier is unable to battle! Excadrill wins!"
"Gym Leader Burgh's Pokémon are all unable to continue. The winner of this match is Gary!"
Gary had won a clean sweep against Burgh.
"That Excadrill is amazing—way stronger than yours, Iris," Ash said.
"What did you just say? I haven't even battled him. What makes you say my Excadrill is weaker?" Iris shot back, annoyed.
"Well, Iris, every time your Excadrill comes out, it just curls up into a drill and ignores you. It won't even fight. What else is there to say?" Ash said.
"I'm not talking to you anymore."
Iris, poked right where it hurt, had no comeback.
"What a wonderful battle. Your strength is truly impressive. This is the Insect Badge—it's yours now."
Once the match was over, Burgh handed his Gym Badge to Gary.
"Thanks."
Gary took the Badge.
[Ding! Mission complete. Rewards have been delivered to your System Storage.]
After the Gym battle, Gary took the time to head to the Pokémon Center with Ash and the others to get their Pokémon treated.
Pokémon Center.
"Gary, when did you come to the Unova Region? Weren't you in the Paldea Region?" Ash asked curiously.
When Ash had returned to Pallet Town, he'd wanted to challenge Gary, but Gary hadn't been there—he'd gone off to a region Ash had never even heard of.
"I only went there to take care of a few things. I got back over ten days ago. I've been in Unova for close to half a month now," Gary said.
"So which Gym are you challenging next?" Ash asked.
"I'm planning to check out Nacrene City and Striaton City," Gary said.
Unova had plenty of Gyms, and there were no Frontier Brains around, so Gary could only earn system rewards by challenging the regular Gyms.
"Those two Gyms are nice, but there won't be any real pressure for you, Gary," Ash said.
Ash had challenged both Striaton and Nacrene Gyms himself. The Leaders were skilled and well-suited for challenging low-level Pokémon, but for Gary's team, it would be pure bullying.
Gary chatted with Ash and the others while their Pokémon were being treated, then went back to his room to rest.
Back in his room.
System, let's see what random item I got this time.
[Premium Wide Lens: When held by a Pokémon, increases move accuracy by 30%.]
"Yes! A Wide Lens!"
Gary was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected this to be the reward.
A Wide Lens boosted accuracy and was a lifesaver for Pokémon with the Hustle Ability. Hustle boosted attack to 1.5× the original, but at the cost of a 20% drop in physical move accuracy. With a normal Wide Lens, the drop would only be reduced to about 10%.
The Premium Wide Lens the system had given him, though, wouldn't just eliminate the drop—it would push accuracy up by 30%.
Unfortunately, the only Pokémon on Gary's team with Hustle were Togekiss and Nidorino. Togekiss was a special attacker, so there was no reason to activate its Hustle. As for Nidorino, its level was too low right now, and Gary couldn't make use of it at this stage. There was no return on investing in it.
Still, the Wide Lens wasn't useless. It could boost the accuracy of moves in general—not the most practical thing all the time, but something to keep on hand for emergencies.
System, exchange the Bug-type Self-Select Permanent Move Tutor for U-turn.
[Ding! Move redemption successful.]
There weren't many Bug-type moves worth converting into a permanent tutor. Only U-turn had any real value.
Gary stayed the night in Castelia City.
After breakfast the next morning, he said goodbye to Ash and the others, then flew east on Togekiss toward Nacrene City.
Nacrene City had been a warehouse district a hundred years ago before being converted into a town, which was why many of the buildings still looked like old warehouses.
By the time Gary arrived, it was already 11:00 in the morning. Worried he'd need to book an appointment for the Gym challenge, Gary headed straight for the Nacrene Gym after lunch.