Pokémon: Trainer Paul

At this crucial moment, Meditite noticed a sly glint in Gabite's eyes.

In the next instant, Gabite opened its newly evolved jaw right as the Ice Punch came its way.

Flames reignited!

The good news: Ice Punch landed!

The bad news: Ice Punch was bitten down by Fire Fang!

"Why is it like this again!?"

Maylene was fuming. You've already evolved—why are you still biting everything?!

People often assumed that after Gible evolved, its smaller jaw meant it wouldn't bite as aggressively as before. But in reality, that was a misconception.

Evolution may have changed Gible's appearance, but its bite force and tooth sharpness had only increased—this Pokémon bites, and it bites hard.

But people were often too focused on Gabite's sleek appearance and powerful moves, forgetting its most fundamental ability—biting things into submission.

Now, Meditite's hand was completely trapped in Gabite's mouth, unable to move.

"Ice Punch!"

Maylene's strategy was straightforward—if one hand was caught, she'd use the other to land a decisive blow to Gabite's head.

If you don't open your mouth, I'll hammer you into the ground with both fists!

However, she overlooked one crucial detail—Gabite still had two free claws to attack.

"Dragon Claw!"

Gabite showed no fear. Both claws gleamed with a vivid green energy, resembling twin scythes as they slashed toward Meditite.

One claw intercepted Ice Punch, while the other struck Meditite's unguarded body.

"Mff!"

Meditite let out a pained grunt. The force behind its Ice Punch weakened significantly upon impact.

Gabite seized this opening—another set of slashes came down at the exact same angle.

One claw broke through the weakened Ice Punch, striking Meditite square on the head.

The other landed at the same spot as before, amplifying the damage further.

"Cha!"

With that final hit, Meditite's head lolled to the side as it collapsed onto the battlefield.

"Meditite is unable to battle! Gabite wins!"

The referee declared the result.

"Return, Meditite. You fought well."

Maylene recalled her fallen Pokémon, sighing as she looked at Gabite—standing tall, composed, and utterly dominant. She muttered in disbelief, "Why is this thing so obsessed with biting!?"

"Gaaa~!"

Hearing that, Gabite proudly puffed out its chest, looking immensely pleased with itself.

"Continue."

Paul briefly considered switching to Vulpix, but after some thought, he decided to keep using Gabite.

After all, Lucario's Steel typing meant Gabite had the advantage. Even though Gabite wasn't at full strength, it could still put up a solid fight.

Maylene, unaware of Paul's plans, nodded confidently at Lucario.

"Show them our strength, Lucario!"

"Lucaa!"

Lucario stepped forward, its piercing eyes locking onto Gabite.

"Gaaa!"

Not one to back down, Gabite glared right back.

"Gabite, Fire Fang!"

Paul wasted no time giving commands.

"Gaa!"

Gabite stomped forward, charging straight at Lucario with its jaws wide open. Its fangs flared with roaring flames, forming a massive fiery bite aimed directly at its opponent.

Fire formed into fangs!

"Bone Rush!"

Knowing that Gabite's Rough Skin would punish physical attacks, Lucario refused to make direct contact. It materialized a bone staff between its hands and met the attack head-on, striking fiercely at the blazing fangs.

BAM!

With a flurry of rapid strikes, Lucario successfully shattered Fire Fang and redirected its attack straight at Gabite.

Yet, Gabite remained unfazed. It bit down on the staff, preventing it from advancing any further, and slashed at Lucario with Dragon Claw—mimicking its earlier battle with Meditite.

Recognizing the danger, Lucario let go of the staff and flipped backward, narrowly evading the attack while creating distance.

"Aura Sphere!"

As soon as Lucario landed, it charged up a brilliant blue sphere of energy, launching it towards Gabite like a Kamehameha blast.

SWOOSH!

Gabite didn't dodge. Instead, it swung a Dragon Claw, shattering the Aura Sphere before lunging back toward Lucario.

It was clear—Gabite wanted a close-range fight.

With the earlier Dragon Dance boost and its Rough Skin ability, it had a massive advantage over Lucario in hand-to-hand combat.

"Damn it!"

Maylene gritted her teeth as she watched Lucario constantly being chased around. It could only fire Aura Spheres in retreat, unable to keep up with Gabite's relentless assault.

She hated losing control of a battle's rhythm—and right now, Paul was dictating the entire match.

"Lucario, Drain Punch!"

Maylene finally made her decision—to fight fire with fire.

"Lucaa!"

Lucario stopped retreating and turned to face Gabite head-on.

Its Aura flared to full power as it studied Gabite's movements, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Then—an opening!

Lucario threw a powerful Drain Punch, landing a direct hit!

The energy absorption barely offset the damage from Rough Skin, but ignoring the pain, Lucario pressed forward with relentless attacks.

"Gaaa!"

Gabite staggered backward under the barrage of hits.

"Now's our chance! End it—Ice Punch!"

Maylene knew Lucario had more battles ahead—who knew what other Pokémon Paul had in store? Ending this fight with a 4x effective Ice Punch was the best move.

"Awoo~!"

Lucario darted forward, icy energy enveloping its fist.

"This punch will deal quadruple damage—let's see you survive this!"

Then—Lucario caught a flicker of light in Gabite's mouth.

Fire Fang?

Useless!

Having observed the entire battle, Lucario wasn't going to fall for the bite trap. It adjusted its aim—punching straight at Gabite's chest instead of its jaws.

"Flamethrower!"

Paul's voice rang out—a calm but deadly command.

BOOM!

A massive flame explosion erupted point-blank against Lucario, sending it flying.

Super effective!

"Brick Break!"

Emerging from the flames, Gabite rushed forward, its claws glowing white as it chopped down with brutal force.

"Smack!"

"Boom!"

The impact sent Lucario crashing into the ground, completely motionless.

"Lucario is unable to battle! Gabite wins!"

"The Gym Battle victory goes to Challenger Paul!"

The referee declared the result.

With the match won, Gabite dropped its serious demeanor, proudly puffing out its chest and looking up at Paul with expectation.

"You fought well. But your technique still needs polishing—train harder."

Paul didn't hold back his praise.

"Gaa!"

Gabite grinned from ear to ear.

Evolution may have changed some things, but at its core—it was still the same old bite-loving Pokémon.

"Come back, Lucario, you've worked so hard."

On the other side, Maylene took out the Poké Ball and took Lucario back, with frustration written on her face.

Even after using all her main Pokémon, she still couldn't defeat a single Pokémon of Paul. Maylene felt a little autistic.

However, she was the owner of the Gym after all, so Maylene cheered herself up, walked up to Paul, and took out the paving badge and handed it to him.

"As expected of you, Paul, the strength of the Gabite is really strong. You deserve this badge."

"Thanks for the badge, but I have to say..."

Paul took the badge and tossed it, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "This is really the easiest battle so far."

"What?"

Hearing this, Maylene was shocked and froze in place.

"Did you notice? You lost all three battles because of the Fire Fang."

Paul calmly pointed out the problem.

"Really..."

When Maylene thought about it, she immediately lowered her head in shame.

"As a gym leader, in addition to the strength of the Pokémon, careful observation and courage in decision-making are of utmost importance."

Paul said mercilessly, "You are still far from being a qualified gym leader."

"Yeah... I'm so weak... I don't have the qualifications to be a gym leader..."

After the battle and Paul's words, Maylene became autistic for the second time because of Paul.

"If this is all you have, then give up being a trainer and fighter as soon as possible."

"These two professions are not suitable for the fragile, and even less suitable for those who only know how to escape."

"No... this is impossible!"

Maylene looked up and shouted.

She might not want to be a Gym Leader to pressure, but she has never thought of giving up the two identities of trainer and fighter that run through her life.

"Veilstone Gym Leader, please don't bring shame to Veilstone City..."

Leaving these words behind, Paul walked out of the gym.

"Master, are you okay...?"

"Don't take Paul words to heart. We all believe that you can definitely become a qualified Gym Leader."

When the man saw Paul leaving, he hurried over to comfort Maylene.

"No, I'm fine."

Maylene looked at the figure who had disappeared from the doorway and said firmly:

"I will definitely not bring shame to the Veilstone Gym and Veilstone City!"

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