The outcome of a battle is often decided in a blink of an eye, a moment so quick it's almost unbelievable — yet enough to change the entire course of the fight.
Less than ten seconds later, Alex's Lucario had defeated Probopass — a Pokémon renowned for its formidable and solid defense. The whole arena fell silent witnessing the astonishing result.
"What just happened!?" a trainer shouted in disbelief.
"Can someone explain this to me!?" another chimed in skeptically.
Many trainers around, even the most experienced ones, had yet to fully react to the shock.
An older trainer, who already held four Gym Badges from other arenas, smiled and praised, "Alex's strategy is flawless!"
"This is a textbook-perfect strategy!" he said with admiration.
"First, Lucario uses Aura Sphere three times in a row. Given Probopass's type disadvantage and slow movement speed, Gym Leader Roxanne would inevitably try to break those energy spheres."
"And the only way to explode those spheres is by using the same type of energy attacks."
"Three consecutive explosions destroy much of the battlefield, generating a thick cloud of dust that severely limits visibility."
"Finally, taking advantage of this critical moment to launch a direct, damaging assault."
"Initially, everyone thought those Aura Spheres were simply offensive attacks, but in reality, they served as a cover!"
"What a brilliant tactic!"
Following the analysis from the veteran trainer, those around began to grasp the deeper strategic plan Alex had executed.
A quicker-witted trainer, still suspicious, asked, "I recall Gym Leader Roxanne had Probopass use Thunderbolt at the end. At such close range, how did Lucario avoid the hit? Can someone explain?"
Upon hearing this, the experienced trainer applauded the question, saying, "A great plan must penetrate everyone's heart!"
"After Lucario closed the distance, it gained absolute dominance."
"If I hadn't predicted the leader's counterattack and prepared accordingly, escaping such close proximity would have been impossible!"
This sharp insight once again filled the arena with applause and admiration.
May, quietly listening to the discussions, recalled the time she had challenged Roxanne's Nosepass. Back then, Alex had carefully instructed her to use moves in the correct order.
Thanks to that, May was able to defeat Roxanne.
Yet at the time, she was only happy and hadn't paid much attention to the details.
Now, as an observer, she realized that every move Roxanne made was part of Alex's plan!
"Alex truly is a master tactician!" May thought to herself.
Looking back at the battlefield, Roxanne reluctantly admitted that her Probopass had been defeated.
A strong wave of disappointment surged within her.
Though Probopass wasn't the main fighting force in tier two, it was among the best in her second-tier lineup.
She couldn't believe it was defeated so swiftly.
They barely even touched each other!
Still, she had to acknowledge Alex's strategy was genuinely perfect.
Facing Alex, she felt as if every move she made was seen through.
She took a deep breath and pressed her Poké Ball, recalling Probopass.
Roxanne looked directly at Alex, who stood calmly with a complex expression as if contemplating something deeply.
After steadying her breath, she spoke, "Alex, according to the rules, I still have one more Pokémon to send out."
"You are the strongest challenger I've ever faced. To honor you, I've decided to use my Golem to battle!"
As soon as Roxanne finished, murmurs and discussions erupted everywhere.
"Golem! That's her first-tier Pokémon!"
"Oh my god, a challenger has forced the Gym Leader to send out her main first-tier Pokémon!"
"Is that too much? Isn't the Gym Leader supposed to train challengers? How can she use her main fighting power in a match?"
"Train? Do you really think someone as strong as Alex needs training?"
"Besides, the current Gym Leader clearly treats Alex as an equal! Haven't you seen that yet!?"
"Yeah!" Alex nodded lightly, saying nothing more.
Roxanne took another deep breath and slowly pulled out another Poké Ball.
Inside was Golem — a huge, sturdy boulder Pokémon, one of her core fighting strengths.
As many trainers in the audience had already noted, no one doubted Golem's key role in Roxanne's lineup.
She pressed the button on top of the Poké Ball and threw it out.
After a flash of red light, a large round rock appeared, standing tall on the battlefield.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Golem's roaring echoed, shaking the whole arena.
Its presence was clearly more intimidating than the Probopass before.
Data on Golem appeared in Alex's mind:
[Type]: Rock, Ground
[Ability]: Sturdy — even when hit by recoil moves, its HP does not decrease.
[Introduction]: Its body is as hard as stone; even explosives cannot harm it.
Alex felt immense pressure. Golem's level was 14 higher than Lucario's.
Yet, this pressure also ignited his fighting spirit.
He turned to look at Lucario on the battlefield.
Lucario, as if reading Alex's thoughts, looked back at him with burning determination.
The opponent was very strong and high-level, and that alone pushed Lucario to fight to the very end.
"I want to fight it!" Lucario sent the message through their aura, straight into Alex's mind.
"All right, Rocky, let's go." Alex understood and smiled as he waved.
To fully free Lucario, Alex gently removed the heavy protective gear he had been wearing since the start of the match.
He took off each piece of the 30kg ultra-heavy gear on Lucario's hands and dropped them on the ground.
The thuds of the gear hitting the arena echoed.
One, two, three, four — a total of four pieces of ultra-heavy protective gear were removed.
Every eye in the arena focused on those heavy protective suits.
"This… this is… ultra-heavy protective gear!?" someone shouted in astonishment.
"Lucario was wearing ultra-heavy protective gear throughout the battle!?"
Everyone was overwhelmed.
"And judging by the sound, it must have been incredibly heavy!"
"Lucario was battling with ultra-heavy gear on the whole time!?"
At that moment, everyone on the battlefield was stunned, unable to believe it.
They couldn't have imagined that Alex's Lucario had fought under such harsh conditions — and still won decisively.