Pokemon: I'll Exchange Everything

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In the end, Liam still entered the botanical garden. The woman in the kimono kept apologizing with an embarrassed smile as she led Liam to the center of the garden, where a battle arena was located.

"I'm truly sorry. My daughter's favorite Pokémon is this Vileplume, and she spends all her time with it. As a mother, I can't do much about it. Plus, my work keeps me busy, and I've neglected her education. I'm really sorry."

The kimono-clad woman continued to apologize profusely to Liam, who was already halfway to losing his soul from the stench.

The little girl behind the woman, hearing her mother's words, pouted unhappily and said, "Mom, how can you say that? You're always busy managing the plants and never spend time with me. And you keep falling asleep all the time! Vileplume is the only one who can wake you up!"

Liam's eyebrows twitched violently as he listened to the two. 

He forced a smile, trying to hold back the feeling of his soul leaving his body, and said, "It's... it's fine. I can handle this... level of... intensity. Are you the Gym Leader of the Celadon Gym? When can we start the Gym challenge...?"

The kimono-clad woman's mental state didn't seem great. Just a few sentences in, she was already starting to doze off again. 

Hearing Liam's question, she quickly snapped awake and bowed apologetically. 

"Ah, yes! I am the Gym Leader of the Celadon Gym. You can call me Sara. This is the Gym's battle arena. We can start the Gym challenge whenever you're ready."

Liam looked at Sara's drowsy state with concern, unsure how to respond.

Sara noticed Liam's expression and smiled reassuringly. "Please don't worry. This state of mine is kind of an occupational hazard. I love plants and Grass-type Pokémon, so I'm always surrounded by pollen. That's why I often doze off unexpectedly. But I assure you, once the battle starts, I won't be like this!" Sara declared confidently.

Liam: "...Alright, let's begin then."

"Okay, I'll go get my Pokémon. Please wait here for a moment."

With that, Sara left her daughter, Erika, behind and dashed off.

Liam stared wide-eyed at the little girl holding the Vileplume, the overwhelming stench in the air making him feel like he wanted to die.

Soon, Sara returned, wiping a thin layer of sweat from her face with a smile. 

She stood at the other end of the battlefield and called out, "We can start now, challenger. Since it's just me and Erika in the botanical garden right now, there's no referee. Erika will temporarily take on that role. Don't worry, she's been professionally trained and is very fair."

Liam watched as Erika happily skipped to the referee's position. He finally let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his stiff face from holding his breath. 

Clenching his fists, he made a firm decision and quickly stepped onto the challenger's spot.

"This battle! I must end it quickly!"

Liam thought resolutely.

Sara, seeing that both Erika and Liam were ready, smiled and held up three fingers. 

"The Celadon Gym challenge is a 3v3 battle. Each side can use three Pokémon. The challenger can freely switch Pokémon, but the Gym Leader cannot. The battle continues until one side's Pokémon are all unable to fight. Let's begin the first round! Go, my darling! Lovely Victreebel!"

"Vicccc!"

A PokeBall was thrown by Gym Leader Sara, and a round, leafy Victreebel appeared on the field.

Upon hearing the battle format, Liam nearly fainted. Wasn't this supposed to be a quick battle? How did it turn into a 3v3 marathon? 

This was clearly a death sentence!

Liam pressed a hand to his dizzy head, looking utterly defeated as he glanced at Gym Leader Sara. Suddenly, he noticed that Sara looked completely relaxed, as if she were unaffected by the Vileplume's stench. 

Upon closer inspection, he realized something was stuffed up her nostrils!

"Oh, come on! I've never seen someone so shameless! She didn't just go to get her PokeBalls—she also plugged her nose! And to make it worse, she set up this ridiculous 3v3 battle, clearly trying to drag this out and kill me. As the saying goes, 'Women and children are hard to deal with.' The ancients weren't lying!" Liam thought, on the verge of tears. 

He pointed a trembling finger at Sara, but the words stuck in his throat.

Sara, realizing Liam had noticed her little trick, quickly clasped her hands together and playfully blinked, hoping Liam wouldn't expose her.

She was afraid that openly plugging her nose would hurt Erika's feelings, so she had done it secretly. She was still worried Liam might call her out.

Liam shakily lowered his finger, then took a PokeBall from his belt. His mouth barely moved as he threw it out.

A flash of white light later, Arcanine's fiery red figure appeared on the battlefield.

"Grrrr~~~ Huh?? Ugh!!!"

Arcanine let out a mighty roar, but then its nose twitched, and its expression changed dramatically. 

It turned to look at the Vileplume in Erika's arms, horrified. It plopped down on the ground, covering its nose with its front paws, tears welling up in its eyes as it looked back at Liam.

"Ahem, Arcanine! Hang in there. Give it your all and finish this quickly so we can get out of here."

Liam felt a pang of guilt seeing Arcanine's discomfort. Arcanine's sense of smell was far more sensitive than a human's, so the stench from Vileplume was even more unbearable for it. 

But as a Fire-type, Arcanine was the best choice against Grass-types. They had to end this fast.

Arcanine seemed to understand Liam's intention. It slowly lowered its paws, stood on all fours, and let out a low growl directed at the Victreebel across the field. Its anger was clearly building.

"The Celadon Gym badge challenge battle! Begin!"

At this moment, little Erika's sweet voice announced the start of the battle.

"Go, go, go, go! Arcanine! Flare Blitz!"

To ensure a quick victory, Liam didn't hesitate to have Arcanine use the powerful but self-damaging move, Flare Blitz.

"Woof!!"

Arcanine roared, its body erupting in flames and electricity as it charged forward like a blazing meteor. 

Sara's Victreebel didn't even have time to react before Arcanine slammed into it. The Victreebel let out a shrill cry as its plump body was sent flying like a cannonball, skidding across the ground and leaving a long trail. 

When it finally stopped, its eyes were spinning in circles, clearly knocked out.

"Victreebel!" Sara only now reacted, her previously drowsy demeanor replaced with urgency as she rushed to Victreebel's side to check on it.

"Victreebel is unable to battle. Arcanine wins this round," Erika dutifully announced.

After taking down Victreebel in one hit, Arcanine returned to Liam's side, panting heavily. Its eyes were almost wild as it glared at Sara.

"Next!!"

Liam, feeling like he was at his limit, shouted impatiently.