"Boom!"

  "Tauros is uo battle! Haunter wins! Gym Leader, please send out your Pokémon!"

  "Good job, Tauros! Now, my one—Kangaskhan!"

  "Kangas kan!"

  A strong, brown behemoth appeared otlefield, its thick tail smming the ground with a resounding smack, clearly in aed state.

  Moreover, there was no baby Kangaskhan in its pouch—this was aremely rare male Kangaskhan!

  "Battle, begin!"

  "Kangaskhan, Fake Out!"

  "Haunter, Protect!"

  "Hummm—"

  A green barrier successfully blocked Kangaskhan's sneak attack. In the instant, both sides issued their ands again!

  "Dizzy Punch!"

  "Curse!"

  Kangaskhan was incredibly fast, and si was already near Haunter, its Dizzy Punded directly—o KO!

  Curse failed!

  "Haunter is uo battle! Kangaskhan wins! Trainer, please send out your Pokémon!"

  Sato retrieved Hauha for its efforts, a out his Pokémon—Zoroark!

  "A male Kangaskhan with the Scrappy ability, Leader Howard, that's probably rarer than a pseudo-legendary, right?"

  Sato couldn't help but ent, feeling a tinge of envy.

  "Well, well, barely passable, hahahaha!"

  "..."

  Howard clearly loved his Kangaskhan. He was trying to sound modest, but his ugh was far too boisterous.

  Pokémon like Kangaskhan, Heracross, and Pinsir were naturally powerful battlers despite their ck of evolutions.

  However, Kangaskhan beloo the Parent Pokémon category—over 99.9% of them were female, spending most of their lives g for their offspring, leaving little time for training.

  Heracross had excellent potential, but over 90% were pacifists, preferring a peaceful life, which limited their bat prospects.

  Pinsir had a violent temperament, often disregarding ands and even attag their trainers, leading to a dee in its usage.

  sidering all this, a male Kangaskhan was exceptionally rare. Coupled with the Scrappy ability—allowing Normal and Fighting-type moves to hit Ghost-types—it was as valuable as a pseudo-legendary.

  "Alright, let's tinue!"

  "Kangaskhan, Dizzy Punch!"

  "Agility to dodge, thehrower!"

  Kangaskhan was fast, but Zoroark was even faster. Without speed restris like Haunter had faced, and with Agility boosting it further, Zoroark became nothing but a streak of bck shadow across the battlefield!

  "Kangaskhan, Protect!"

  Zoroark's Fmethrower packed siderable power thanks to its training, but against Protect, it was rendered pletely iive.

  "Keep going, Fmethrower!"

  "Kangaskhan, use Uproar!"

  Fmes engulfed Kangaskhan, but despite the burning pain, it let out an ear-pierg roar.

  The battlefield trembled with sonic waves, affeg everyone except Kangaskhan itself!

  "Close in! Mega Punch!"

  "Zoroark, Night Daze!"

  Kangaskhan charged at Zoroark, its right fist glowing bright white, the size of a sandbag as it came crashing down!

  "ZO!"

  Dark-type energy surged from Zoroark into the ground, then violently erupted! The overwhelming force of its signature move bsted the nearly 150-kilogram Kangaskhan backward!

  "Dark Pulse! Finish it off!"

  Zoroark crouched low like a spri the starting line, muscles tehen exploded forward! In the blink of a closed in oill-dazed Kangaskhan.

  Dark Pulse densed in Zoroark's right hand—not unleashed as a wave, but pressed into a long, whip-like form!

  "Snap!"

  "Snap! Snap! Snap!"

  "K-Kangaskhan is uo battle… That… uh… unknown Pokémon wins! Gym Leader, please send out your Pokémon!"

  Whithe pink-haired girl ag as the referee, swallowed hard. This massive bck beast was terrifying—she even fot what she was supposed to say !

  "This is really…"

  Howard stared bnkly at his unscious Kangaskhan, then at the shadowy Zoroark wielding a dark, violet-bck whip. A shiver ran down his spine.

  "e back, Kangaskhan. Go, Miltank!"

  "Moo-moo!"

  Unlike most Miltank, Howard's was brimming with battle spirit—it ractically a Tauros in Miltank's body!

  Moreover, Howard's signature Pokémon—his ultimate ace—was her than this seemingly docile Miltank!

  Sato had researched Howard before. At his peak, he had served as a temporary member of Johto's Elite Four.

  However, for unknown reasons, he sooired, choosing to bee a rancher while simultaneously taking on the role of Goldenrod City's Gym Leader!

  This Miltank had yet to break through the Elite level, still cssified as a Gym-level Pokémon—meaning it was beatable!

  "Battle begin!"

  "Miltank, Rollout!"

  "Zoroark, Dark Pulse!"

  The pink, spherical body began rolling, and the trembling ground made Sato realize—this Miltank was not light!

  Zoroark shed out with its Dark Pulse, the energy f into a whip of bd purple, strikilessly—yet every hit missed!

  Miltank maintais speed, barreling straight toward Zoroark!

  "zor!"

  With the speed boost from Agility, Zoroark easily avoided the first round of Rollout. But Miltank made a sharp turn—its momentum unbroken—charging back even faster and stronger!

  'This has to be illegal!' Sato thought, but he didn't hesitate to give his and.

  "Extrasensory! Stop it in its tracks!"

  "Zor!"

  A burst of pinkish energy shot from Zoroark's eyes, lifting Miltank into the air. With no ground to push off from, the attack successfully halted its charge.

  "But it won't be that easy! Miltank, use Milk Drink!"

  "Moo-moo!"

  pletely unfazed by being airborne, Miltank reached behind itself and pulled out a bottle of Moomoo Milk.

  "Gulp! Gulp! Hic—!"

  Sato watched in disbelief as Miltank—barely affected by Extrasensory—fully restored its stamina before even nding. A bad feeling crept into his heart.

  "Miltank, Rollout—again!"

  "Again?! Rollout… again?!" Sato wao scream, but instead, he quickly issued another and.

  "Zoroark, Night Daze!"

  The devastating power of Zoroark's signature move erupted once more, sending Miltank rolling backward. But as Sato saw its hooves reag toward its back, he already knew what was i.

  "Miltank, Milk Drink!"

  "Zoroark, Taunt!"

  Milk? Not happening. Not today.

  "zor-ar~"

  Zoroark let out a cocky, mog growl. The previously cheerful Miltank immediately dropped its bottle, its expression turning fierce as it mindlessly tinued Rollout!

  "Oh no! This is bad… Sato really is something!" Howard chuckled, shaking his head.

  Had it been his ace Miltank, enduring Taunt until the effect wore off would have been easy. But for a standard Gym-level Miltank? Not so much.

  As expected, Sato didn't take any ces. Another all-range Night Daze exploded across the battlefield.

  Still standing? No problem—one more time!

  "Miltank is uo battle! Zoroark—? Zoroark wins! That means the winner is the challenger… uh… Sato!"

  Whitney, nervously gng at Zoroark, made sure to carefully remember its name as she annouhe match results.