Pokémon Court

"Wobbuffet, Counter!"

In the arena, Gallade, who appeared in a flash and Wobbuffet erupted into a fierce exchange of offense and defense. Terrance couldn't help but admire how quickly Wobbuffet executed its defensive techniques, which could also be described as having excellent "prediction."

It seemed Simon had given it some prior instructions, as Wobbuffet appeared ready to use Counter the moment Gallade showed any hint of attacking.

Terrance, however, was thoroughly enjoying the match. If this had been a few days earlier, Gallade might have struggled against Wobbuffet. But ever since Gallade had gained some understanding of energy control, it could now use the strategy of trading damage to deal with its opponent.

By controlling the power of Slash to counter the Counter, Gallade could follow up with a second Slash, ensuring that Wobbuffet wouldn't stand a chance.

However, for the sake of preserving the fun of the battle, Terrance decided not to let Gallade use consecutive attacks during the Gym Battle. Instead, Gallade used only one Slash after each Teleport—a strategy that was quite lenient and friendly toward challengers.

Of course, if a particularly strong challenger appeared, Terrance wouldn't hesitate to go all out.

But then again, a Trainer of that caliber wouldn't bother collecting Badges to compete in the League Conference, would they?

The battle kept the spectators on the edge of their seats. Gallade and Wobbuffet engaged in a fight of "predictions" and "counter-predictions." Even for Gallade, the fight was no walk in the park. Throughout the battle, its mind was working at maximum capacity. Sometimes, just before Gallade could strike, Wobbuffet's Counter would already be ready, forcing Gallade to quickly retract its Slash. If Gallade failed to react in time, it would suffer severe injury instead.

This was a match that truly tested Gallade's awareness.

But the outcome surprised everyone.

"Gallade and Wobbuffet are both unable to battle… So this match is a tie," Kuraki announced in disbelief.

A tie?

Lucy Joy and Inspector Aida watched the situation before them with intrigued expressions.

"It lost…" Terrance felt bitter.

The final attack! Terrance had believed that this command would allow Gallade to break through Wobbuffet's "prediction" and defeat Wobbuffet. However, to his surprise, Wobbuffet didn't use Counter this time—it used Destiny Bond instead.

A tie in a Gym battle was a truly unexpected situation, leaving Terrance completely stunned.

"Next time, I definitely won't be so careless."

"As expected of Simon. but speaking of which, that Gym Trainer is really strong," Tatsuya remarked, marveling at the outcome while gaining newfound respect for both of them. Simon is someone who has reached the quarterfinals of the Silver Conference, so collecting Badges is an easy task for him. However, Terrance, who appeared younger than them, managed to achieve a tie. In a sense, Simon still lost, as he was a challenger who had come prepared.

"Although the match ended in a tie, I acknowledge your strength. This is the standard Badge—please accept it."

After the battle, Terrance gave the apprentice, Kuraki, a quick look. Kuraki immediately brought out a box containing the Gym Badge.

"Really?" Simon was stunned.

A tie… It had been a desperate move because he didn't want to outright lose.

To receive a Badge under these circumstances—was it really appropriate?

"Yes," Terrance nodded, looking up at the sky. "The Gym's role is to test the challenger's abilities. Gaining the Gym Leader's recognition doesn't necessarily require defeating them. This Badge is proof that you've passed the Rogge Gym's test. Take it and continue striving for greater heights."

"Ah… thank you. In that case, I'll accept it." Simon exhaled deeply, his emotions mixed.

Truthfully, Simon had no intention of challenging Rogge Gym again. First, this battle had already been a rewarding experience, and even if he won the rematch, it wouldn't hold much significance. Second, he wasn't planning to participate in the Ever Grande Conference, so he wasn't overly fixated on Gym challenges. Third, their group had already stayed in Rogge City for a week due to this Gym, and prolonging their visit would disrupt their travel plans, which had started as a mere curiosity.

"Terrance, have a battle with me too!" Tatsuya said eagerly.

"Sure, but we'll need to wait until Castform and Gallade have fully recovered," Terrance replied with a smile. He had already sent Kuraki with the two Pokémon to the Pokémon Center.

As a Gym Trainer, Terrance had priority access to the Pokémon Center's facilities. It wouldn't take long for Gallade and Castform to return to peak condition. Although the previous battle hadn't drained much of their stamina and their injuries were relatively light even compared to regular training, they still needed to put on a good show.

Tatsuya nodded enthusiastically, filled with anticipation for the upcoming Gym Battle. For this battle, he had trained diligently and spent considerable time devising strategies to counter Terrance.

After a short wait, Terrance used the fully-recovered Gallade and Castform to engage in a battle with Tatsuya.

In the battle against Simon, Castform focused on testing Breloom's fundamental abilities. With subtle guidance from Terrance and Castform, Breloom showcased its wrist flexibility and its nimble footwork.

Breloom's "wrist flexibility" and "nimble footwork", and overall performance in the battle, based on these fundamentals, earned Terrance's approval.

As for Wobbuffet, a Pokémon renowned for its defensive capabilities, its speed in defense, timing, and endurance were all evident during the battle with Terrance. The attacks Terrance commanded his Pokémon to perform were deliberately designed to test their fundamentals.

Terrance was confident that Inspector Lucy Joy and Inspector Aida, with their keen observational skills, would notice this. Otherwise, it would be unworthy of their reputations as inspectors.

Terrance adopted a similar approach in his battle with Tatsuya. Drawing on the experience of their first encounter, Tatsuya came prepared this time, devising a strategy specifically to counter Gallade.

Imprison move.

Since this was Tatsuya's second challenge, his displayed fundamentals met Terrance's expectations, earning his recognition. So he threw the match after a while.

At this point, Terrance had officially awarded two Gym Badges.

"Ten days—finally, two Badges have been handed out," Inspector Aida remarked with a long sigh. To him, Terrance was surprisingly persistent, holding off until the tenth day to issue his first Badge.

However, he thought Terrance's standard for giving out Badges was pretty good.

"Let's hope this isn't just temporary…" Aida thought. In his experience, Gym Trainers often started their roles with great responsibility and dedication. However, over time, external influences and distractions gradually eroded their initial sense of duty. This phenomenon led to the establishment of inspection teams to evaluate the qualifications of Gyms. If every Gym could maintain its original level of diligence, there wouldn't really be a need for the League to conduct such painstaking inspections.

However, this sense of self-awareness... is bound to change with time and various external factors.

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