Sieg tucked his Pokédex back into his pocket and once again sent out Sharpedo.
"Sharpedo, I'm counting on you one more time!"
A colossal shark head burst onto the battlefield.
"Shaaarpedo!"
Its massive jaws opened wide as it let out a ferocious roar.
"Use Spark, Nosepass!" She commanded without hesitation.
At her voice, Nosepass's body crackled with surging electricity. Sparks wrapped around it as it charged forward with heavy steps, aiming straight for Sharpedo.
Sieg narrowed his eyes. "Just as I thought!"
The reason Nosepass was such a headache was clear to him now. Despite being a Rock-type, it had mastered a wide array of Electric-type moves.
Thunder Wave, Discharge, Spark, and even the devastating Zap Cannon.
Against a Water and Dark-type like Sharpedo, the natural type advantage should've been Sieg's. But with Nosepass's Electric-type techniques, the edge was completely neutralized.
Water beats Rock, sure.
But Electric beats Water.
They were locked in a mutual counter.
"Sharpedo, dodge with Aqua Jet!"
Sharpedo, already equipped with its Speed Boost ability, now pushed its Aqua Jet to the limit. Water exploded beneath it, creating a surging stream that propelled its torpedo-shaped body like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Despite being nothing but a shark head without a tail, it blasted forward like a bullet from a cannon.
A swirling jet of wind trailed behind it, a visual testament to just how fast it had become.
Nosepass's electrified charge missed entirely, crashing into the ground.
With a defense base stat of 135, Nosepass was undeniably a tank. But its base speed of 30 dragged it down like an anchor.
"Use Discharge, Nosepass!"
Roxanne quickly shifted tactics, switching to a ranged attack.
Blinding electric light burst from Nosepass's rocky body, forming a powerful current of lightning as it surged toward the speeding Sharpedo.
Zzzzt!
But once again, Sharpedo dodged effortlessly, propelled by another burst of Aqua Jet.
Its Speed Boost ability had now reached its pinnacle.
Sieg's lips curved into a faint smile. When he had chosen this particular Carvanha from among the others, it had been because of this very ability.
Once, a trainer on the forums asked which ability out of several hundreds was the most powerful.
The official response was a ranked list. And Speed Boost had consistently placed in the top ten.
No matter how the rankings shifted over the years, Speed Boost always held its ground, even reaching the top three at one point.
"Charge up Zap Cannon, Nosepass!"
Roxanne didn't seem to mind the missed attacks in the slightest. In fact, she was calmly preparing her Pokémon to unleash an even stronger move.
Sieg didn't worry. If Discharge couldn't land a hit, what chance did the far slower Zap Cannon have?
"Sharpedo, use Psychic Fangs!"
At his command, a massive pink projection shimmered into being before Sharpedo's jaws. It surged forward like a phantom, smashing toward Nosepass.
Boom!
A clean hit!
Nosepass stumbled with a grunt, clearly in pain.
But even as it reeled, the energy at its front continued to gather. The charged orb of Zap Cannon remained, humming with intensity.
It hadn't been interrupted.
"Sharpedo, keep moving! Don't let it lock onto you!" Sieg shouted, urgency in his voice as he realized the charge was nearly complete.
A gust of air burst from behind Sharpedo as it vanished in a blur of motion.
Across the battlefield, all that could be seen was a streak of blue light, a shark-shaped blur darting at incredible speeds, trailed by a ribbon of surging water.
"Fire the Zap Cannon!" Roxanne declared sharply, confidence flashing across her face.
Sieg's instincts screamed that something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Nosepass's nose gleamed faintly, and the Zap Cannon shot forward.
Just as Sieg thought Sharpedo would evade once more…
BOOM!!
The Zap Cannon struck dead-on, exploding like a warhead.
Sieg's mouth hung open, his expression frozen in disbelief. He murmured to himself, "How is this even possible…"
Zap Cannon was known for its abysmal accuracy. And yet, even with Sharpedo's speed having reached a level nearly imperceptible to the naked eye, the move still managed to land.
In such a situation… how could it have hit?
It was utterly absurd.
"Nosepass can lock onto its target through magnetic sensing," Roxanne explained, placing her hands behind her back, a soft blush rising to her cheeks. "Even in the harshest conditions, like raging storms or endless deserts, it can still determine direction with pinpoint precision."
She didn't know why she was sharing this. Maybe it was Sieg's stunned face, something about it stirred a need in her to reveal the truth.
But she had forgotten one thing: revealing one's secret weapon to an opponent was the fastest way to lose the upper hand.
"I see. Thank you for the insight," Sieg replied with a bow, his tone sincere.
Learning in battle, growing through experience. That was the path of a true Trainer.
"So it's come to this… a head-on clash," Sieg thought grimly.
A flash of white light burst forth as Crawdaunt took the field.
"Crawdaaa!"
Wielding its enormous claws with pride, Crawdaunt roared, eyes sharp and brimming with savage intent.
"Crawdaunt, use Razor Shell!"
With a powerful stomp of its stout legs, Crawdaunt leapt high into the air. One of its claws raised above its head, glowing with the image of a razor-edged shell.
Then, it came crashing down!
A devastating Razor Shell, aimed straight at the sluggish Nosepass.
Still drained from the previous Zap Cannon, Nosepass had no time to react; the strike landed squarely.
With a heavy thud, Nosepass collapsed on the spot, completely knocked out, eyes spinning in a dazed swirl.
The entire arena fell into dead silence.
All eyes were fixed on Sieg, every face painted with shock and disbelief.
Even Roxanne couldn't hide her surprise. Her delicate lips parted slightly, the blush on her cheeks deepening under the sunlight. Dressed in a flowing gown, she radiated a quiet, refined beauty.
"No way… Nosepass specializes in defense. How could it not survive even a single hit?"
From the crowd, a student named Lucius cried out, his voice tinged with confusion and alarm.
From the moment he had first seen him, he looked down on Sieg, harboring a strong hostility toward him. Part of it was the typical disdain nobles from League families held for common Trainers.
But most of it came from jealousy; the way Professor Roxanne smiled at Sieg, even showing subtle signs of bashfulness, was something Lucius couldn't stomach.
Long ago, he tried to confess to Roxanne in private… only to be coldly and fiercely rejected.
Since then, she had never once smiled at him, keeping only the formal distance of teacher and student.
And now, as that very woman stood there glowing with praise for another boy, he couldn't keep the bitterness from rising.
Such is the irrational nature of youthful affection.
But what had just unfolded before his eyes defied all logic. The very Sieg he had mocked as a pretty boy… had defeated Professor Roxanne.
Sieg wore a faint smile. He didn't gloat at the reactions surrounding him. On the surface, he appeared calm, indifferent to the students' earlier ridicule.
But deep inside, he made a mental note, especially of the loudest one.
"Lucius, was it?" Sieg thought quietly. "I won't forget."
He had never claimed to be a gentleman. In fact, Sieg openly saw himself as someone who bore grudges.
He simply excelled at pretending otherwise.
Adaptability, type advantage, and the Mystic Water item boost; these elements combined to amplify Crawdaunt's Razor Shell into a terrifyingly powerful blow.
"Congratulations on your victory, Sieg," Roxanne said warmly as she knelt to comfort her fainted Nosepass, then returned it to its Poké Ball. "Your Pokémon are truly strong. I wasn't nearly as skilled at your age."
She turned to face him, offering a small badge in her open palm.
"This is proof of your success in the Gym Challenge, the Rock Badge."