If that move hit most other Pokémon that weren't resistant, its power would be objectively strong—genuinely scary.
But the one about to face it… was a Bug-type Heracross!
Everyone knew Bug was an undervalued type.
It had a ton of weaknesses, and its offensive coverage wasn't great either.
It only hit three types super effectively: Grass, Psychic, and Dark.
And yet, right now, that very type was showing its advantage.
Resisting Grass!
Facing the oncoming Petal Blizzard, Heracross simply raised its arms to guard. The wounds it took weren't that many.
And after using that move, Venusaur was actually getting tired.
When it saw Heracross basically fine, it went blank.
Even if Heracross resisted Grass moves… it shouldn't be able to take Petal Blizzard that effortlessly, right?
They were about the same strength, and Heracross's physical defense was only average. Under those conditions, shouldn't the damage have been more severe?
Venusaur didn't understand—but its expression had no choice but to grow heavy.
Because Heracross vanished again!
Aerial Ace?!
That all-too-familiar scene made Venusaur immediately think of that move.
Third time's the charm—if it got hit again, Venusaur was genuinely going to be taken out in a single blow.
Not only Venusaur—Green was thinking too.
Venusaur had lasted this long already, and that was impressive.
It had even landed multiple hits on Heracross—something her other Pokémon could hardly do.
But because of type matchups, the only move that really satisfied her was Sludge Bomb.
The other moves didn't do much damage.
They just looked flashy.
"Is it Aerial Ace?"
Green blinked, trying to think which of Heracross's learnable moves could produce that kind of burst speed in such a short time.
But besides Aerial Ace… nothing really fit.
Right now she needed to watch Heracross's attack angle—and after that earlier "counterattack" window, Green felt that if Grey used that move again, it would only backfire on him.
[What do you guys think? How many moves until the streamer ends this?]
[Three moves max. Whenever it's the challenger's last Pokémon, he always finishes fastest. Feels like he doesn't even want to "act" anymore.]
[True. It's like he uses the first two Pokémon to test you out. If you don't perform, the third one is straight speedrun. But if the first two do well, he might even switch one in voluntarily.]
[So if you make the streamer voluntarily switch, doesn't that mean you got acknowledged?]
[That's what it feels like. Not many trainers can make him switch. Even counting Baton Pass exits, it's like… you can count them on one hand.]
[Yeah, if we exclude Baton Pass, it only happened twice. Aside from that challenger named Ash, I think only Gym Leader Lt. Surge forced Grey to recall a Pokémon himself.]
[As expected, Lt. Surge really has something going on. If he's one of Kanto's eight Gyms, Surge definitely deserves it!]
[So how do we rate Cerulean Gym?]
[…]
[…]
[…]
The moment someone typed "So how do we rate Cerulean Gym?", the chat got possessed by "Red" or something—nothing but ellipses floated by.
Kanto trainers were emotionally devastated.
How could one of the eight Gyms basically be a "freebie"? If you fought with everything you had and still somehow produced a match with zero "fixed-match" vibes, you were basically a legend.
[Waaah, we at Cerulean Gym are really trying our best! Looks like we need to find time to go to the Fighting Dojo and take Grey's advanced course again.]
[Go on. Tell us more.]
The chat got derailed by Daisy's comment.
Meanwhile, on Grey's side, Heracross's silhouette quietly appeared above Venusaur's head.
"So it really is here! Bulby—use Sludge Bomb!"
The moment Green spotted Heracross, she clenched her fists and threw a few hard punches into the air in front of her.
"VENUSAUR!!"
As Venusaur roared, an eerie purple glow burst from deep within the flower on its back.
Several toxic explosive globs sprayed out together, timed with the pulsing motion of the bloom!
But the bloodlusted Heracross didn't dodge at all!
Its forearm, wrapped in Flying-type energy, came down like an axe!
BOOM!
The Sludge Bombs that collided head-on were cleaved apart midair, exploding into purple-black poison slurry that splattered everywhere. A few drops even sizzled against Heracross's shell as they corroded it.
Heracross only shook its arm once—like a berserker—its offense not slowing in the slightest!
If anything, Venusaur's attack made it even more vicious!
Venusaur couldn't dodge in time. That strike hit it squarely in the head.
It staggered, trying to force another round of offense by triggering Overgrow—
But Heracross saw right through it.
Then it followed up with Brick Break, smashing Venusaur down to the ground.
No hesitation.
And honestly, there was no "hesitation" to be had.
"This completely unreasonable Heracross… is there really anyone who can beat Grey's Pokémon at the same level?"
Green felt numb.
She truly felt like she'd done her absolute best, and still she couldn't beat Heracross.
It was like Grey's Pokémon all had some kind of "HP lock cheat" turned on.
Every time she gained an advantage, that "HP lock" would activate automatically—then Grey would make a tactical adjustment and shut her down completely.
"Green, you have to believe in yourself. Maybe later your strength will grow rapidly, and you'll get the chance to beat my Pokémon at the same level."
Grey drew her a big, fluffy dream again.
The classic "maybe," "if you keep improving," "there's a chance."
Like that wasn't just messing with her.
Green really wanted to complain that Grey's Pokémon improved way too fast. Even if she "grew rapidly," Grey's Pokémon were leveling up at a ridiculous pace too!
[My god—'maybe,' 'keep improving,' 'there's a chance'!]
[So is there really any trainer who can beat Grey right now?]
[If we're talking about raw power advantage, there are still plenty of top trainers who can fight Grey and even possibly beat him!]
[But if the levels are actually close… it really feels like nobody can beat him. The gap in command and decision-making is huge. Even if you gain an advantage sometimes, it's usually a bait he deliberately gives you.]
[Yeah. Grey's battle mindset is mature—doesn't feel like an ordinary trainer at all.]
[Wait—Cynthia?!]
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