[Steven: Oh? Is Ash already challenging the Petalburg Gym? Norman probably won't use his full power, right?]
[Wallace: Indeed. After all, he's known as "the next Elite Four Member"! His strength is already at the Elite level!]
[Lance: …Do other regions' Gyms all have this high a standard?]
[Professor Kukui: Actually… I think Kanto Gyms are the truly ridiculous ones… I've battled full-power Koga, Giovanni, Blaine, and Sabrina…]
[Lance: Uh… never mind then…]
Just like Professor Kukui said, in terms of difficulty, Kanto Gyms were truly insane!
If the Gym leaders didn't "half-give" badges, most challengers wouldn't be able to win!
Saffron Gym — Sabrina,
One of the strongest psychics in the entire world!
Her psychic power alone was nearly Elite-tier.
If she didn't hold back, she absolutely had Elite-level combat power.
Aside from Kukui, very few reckless Trainers dared to challenge her.
There was even a rumor:
Lose to Sabrina, and you get turned into a doll to play with for a few days!
Just hearing this made Lance shiver.
Turned into a doll…
What kind of terrifying psychic power is that!?
Cinnabar Gym — Blaine, in his prime, was extremely powerful!
Although his older Pokémon have since retired, and even his Magmar has declined,
When Kukui fought him back then, Blaine was definitely close to an Elite tier.
Fuchsia Gym — Koga, seemingly just a simple Poison-type ninja Gym Leader—
But he was officially confirmed to be the future Johto Poison-type Elite Four member!
His full strength… Needless to say.
And finally—
Viridian Gym — Giovanni.
Known as the strongest Gym in Kanto.
Enough said.
Recently, some rumors linked Giovanni to Team Rocket's leader…
Lance didn't believe it—well, only 10% believed it.
Giovanni? The Rocket Boss? Impossible!
He was always doing charity in Viridian City!
It's just… the Gym has been mysteriously empty lately.
Maybe he went on vacation?
Anyway—
Kanto technically had more than 8 Gyms—over a dozen if you counted them all.
And Kukui just so happened to challenge the four strongest ones.
Lance didn't know what to say.
[Steven: The Gyms Kukui described… are each as strong as Petalburg Gym?!]
[Lorelei: Um…]
[Wallace: What the heck! Kanto is a literal hell-difficulty region! We have ONE Elite-level Gym Leader and think it's insane. You have FOUR?!]
[Blaine: Not anymore, not anymore. I'm old.]
[Norman: No, Blaine, you're still quite strong!]
Norman finally spoke out.
Even he didn't expect that Kanto had so many Gym Leaders comparable to the Elite Four's strength!
That really was a true hell-difficulty region!
[Drake: Oh? Norman's here! Seeing that you'll battle Ash in the future, do you have anything to say?]
[Norman: Hmmm… Against Ash, I will probably use quite a bit of strength.]
"Use quite a bit" means—he won't use full power!
After all, Ash has only been traveling for a year at most.
To fight an Elite Four member after just one year is extremely difficult.
(Actually, Ash could fight the Elite Four with one year of training, but… script limitations. He's too strong, so anime writers nerfed him.)
(Also, regarding Koga and Sabrina: some details are rumor or manga material, but Koga being Elite tier is official.)
Petalburg Gym:
Young Max chattered:
"Dad is the strongest! He definitely won't lose to Ash, right?"
"Even though Ash is really strong, he's still no match for Dad!"
"But if Dad holds back a little, Ash might still win!"
"Since we all traveled together, giving him a badge as a favor is only—"
"Max."
Norman cut Max off.
He looked serious as he said:
"Gym battles… or rather, Pokémon battles… are sacred."
"I won't hold back because of your friendship with Ash."
"The reason I won't use full power is that Ash's current strength hasn't reached that level yet."
"Gym battles test a challenger's command ability, mindset, and the strength of their Pokémon."
"If I always use full power, hardly anyone in all of Hoenn could beat Petalburg Gym."
"A Gym Badge is proof that a challenger's strength is acknowledged. It's not a family heirloom."
"Max… don't think your father can never lose. There are many people stronger than me. I'm not the strongest in the world. And there is no one who never loses. If they haven't lost… it just isn't their time yet."
Max was stunned.
Even though he was still a kid, he understood more than most.
Otherwise, Norman wouldn't allow him to travel with Ash in the future.
He understood the meaning—but couldn't accept it.
Because in his heart, his father was invincible.
And now his father told him he was not.
This would take Max a long time to digest.
May, being older, understood the truth better.
Watching herself and Ash enter the Petalburg Gym,
She didn't know who to support.
Her father… or her friend?
Both felt equally important.
Under everyone's attention, the Petalburg Gym battle finally began!
Ash opened with Pikachu!
Norman sent out Slakoth!
Everyone lost it—holding back was fine, but this was too much!
Slakoth, with Truant and slow movements—
Shouldn't Pikachu destroy it!?
But the result shocked everyone.
Slakoth used its "wiggling technique" to successfully confuse Pikachu!
Using stillness to counter speed—
Pikachu couldn't do anything!
No matter what attack Pikachu used, Slakoth avoided it with tiny movements.
This wasn't "holding back"—this was clearly one of Norman's main trained Pokémon!
Seeing this, Ash switched out Pikachu for Torkoal!
Everyone recognized this Torkoal—the same one that used Flamethrower against Darkrai and got one-shot!
Honestly, no one expected much from it.
But again—
The outcome shocked everyone.
Both Pokémon were slow types.
If the opponent didn't move, they wouldn't move.
If the opponent attacked, they countered.
Slakoth used Blizzard—
But Torkoal countered with Flamethrower, overpowered it, and one-shot Slakoth!
"...Was he acting in the Lily of the Valley Conference?"
"…It's possible…"
Why was Flamethrower so strong here!?
Was he sick during the conference!?
After Slakoth fell, Norman used Vigoroth.
Ash didn't switch out and paid the price!
From extreme stillness to extreme motion—
The sudden style change caught Ash off guard.
Vigoroth dodged every attack and one-shot Torkoal with Slash!
"Okay, I believe it now. He wasn't acting in the Lily of the Valley Conference!"
"Is this thing really a Torkoal?! How does it get one-shot by physical attacks?!"
Torkoal's wild inconsistency confused everyone.
They came for Sceptile's story—why was Torkoal stealing the spotlight!?
Squirtle, watching, took out his Cool Shades and put them on—
As if saying:
"As a fellow turtle… I can't bear to watch this."
After Torkoal fainted, Ash sent Pikachu back in.
After a fierce back-and-forth, Pikachu and Vigoroth were both knocked out.
"Pikachu fought well… It's not even mid-stage yet, and it took so much damage. Double knockout is already great!"
"That Vigoroth is really strong! Is Norman even holding back?"
Norman then sent out his final Pokémon—
Slaking!!
[Wallace: Norman… what are you—]
[Drake: From Slakoth + Vigoroth's shift from stillness to motion, and now sending out Slaking with overwhelming power… Norman, are you treating Ash as an Elite Trainer!?]
[Norman: It seems I take Ash very seriously! Otherwise, I wouldn't be using such strength!]
[Steven: Norman's Slaking is one of his main forces! Even one of his favorites! He practically has an entire household of Slaking!]
("Household" meaning Slakoth, Vigoroth, and Slaking: the entire evolution line.)
[Lance: So you're saying… Norman's Slaking is Elite Four level!? WHAT!? That's too much!! Treecko hasn't even been Grovyle for long! How is he supposed to fight Slaking?!]
[Cynthia: You mean Grovyle is doomed to lose?]
[Lance: Isn't it obvious!?]
[Cynthia: Where's the betting table? I'm betting on Ash to win!!]
[Lance: ???]
Are you scolding me?
What? Didn't you scold me?
Everything you said feels like scolding my bad predictions!!
Everyone watching burst into laughter.
Even the normally cool and elegant Cynthia showed a human side.
This "comment bar" lets the world see the champion's true personalities.
And with the joking over—
Ash and Norman's final battle began.
Against Norman's Slaking, Ash naturally chose Grovyle.
After all, this was Grovyle / Sceptile's biography.
If this were an irrelevant battle, there wouldn't be so much detail.
And in terms of stats—
Slaking was a monster.
A "pseudo-legendary-level" Pokémon for ordinary Trainers.
If not for its ability, Truant, its popularity would rival pseudo-legendaries.
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones