Pokemon: Skybound

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The red-haired woman placed a hand on her hip and smirked.

"Hey there, you two. Sorry about last night I didn't get a chance to introduce myself properly."

"I'm Luana, the owner of this hotel and the Gym Leader of the Kumquat Gym!"

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"The owner?"

He had assumed that Luana and the hotel had some kind of business partnership, but he hadn't expected that she owned the entire place herself.

So being a Gym Leader pays this well?

Kai couldn't help but feel tempted, 'Maybe after I've challenged all the major Pokémon Leagues, I should open a Gym like this too…'

Realizing he was getting distracted, Kai quickly pushed the thought aside and gave a polite nod.

"I see. My name is Kai. I'm a Trainer from another region, and I'm here to challenge you, Miss Luana."

Luana gave a small nod, clearly unimpressed.

Most Trainers who came here were challengers, so this wasn't anything new to her.

However her gaze shifted toward Sabrina, and her expression changed.

Even as a woman, Luana couldn't help but admire Sabrina's striking beauty.

However, what truly stood out to her wasn't Sabrina's looks it was her cold, piercing stare.

There was a powerful, almost intimidating aura around her, making it clear that she wasn't someone to be approached lightly.

"What an intense gaze..." Luana thought.

She tilted her head, "And you, miss? Are you also here to challenge the Gym?"

Sabrina simply crossed her arms and remained silent.

Kai took the initiative to answer.

"No, she's my companion. She's also a Trainer, but she won't be challenging you today."

"I see." Luana nodded before returning her attention to Kai.

"So, how many Gym Badges do you have so far?"

"You're not challenging me as your first Gym battle, are you?"

Kai casually pulled out his Badge Case, flipping it open to reveal three different Orange League Badges.

"I've already defeated three Gym Leaders. Kumquat Gym is my final challenge."

Luana raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? You're just one win away from qualifying for the Winner's Cup!"

Sabrina, standing beside Kai, glanced toward him with mild curiosity.

She had heard Kai explain the Winner's Cup before.

If he defeated all four Orange Island Gym Leaders, he would earn the right to challenge the Orange League Champion.

And if he won that final battle, He would become the strongest Trainer in the Orange Islands.

Kai nodded slightly, feeling a sense of nostalgia as he reflected on his journey.

"Yeah… Just one more step to go."

Luana grinned, "Well, in that case, let's not waste any more time."

She clapped her hands together and explained the Gym rules, "At Kumquat Gym, we battle in a Double Battle format."

"Each of us will use two Pokémon at the same time. However, there's a twist—"

"The match is decided the moment one Pokémon faints on either side!"

Kai's eyes narrowed slightly, "A Double Battle where you only need to knock out one Pokémon to win?"

This was different from the standard Double Battle rules he was familiar with.

Normally, both Pokémon on a Trainer's team would have to be defeated for the battle to end.

But in this case—

"If I focus all my attacks on just one of her Pokémon, I could end the match in an instant."

This rule seemed strangely exploitable.

Why would a Gym Leader set a rule like this?

But overanalyzing wouldn't help.

Rules were rules.

"Alright, no problem. Let's get started."

A referee walked onto the battlefield, standing between both Trainers.

Raising his voice, he announced:

"The official Kumquat Gym challenge will now begin! This is a Gym Badge certification battle between Gym Leader Luana and Challenger Kai!"

"Each side will use two Pokémon! The battle ends when one Pokémon is unable to continue!"

Kai took a moment to scan the battlefield.

This was easily the most professional Gym battle he had fought in the Orange Archipelago so far.

The arena was massive, and the facilities were state-of-the-art.

Unlike the other Orange Island Gyms, which often felt like random competitions, Kumquat Gym had a real stadium-like atmosphere.

"The amount of money poured into this place must be insane…"

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps caught his attention.

Kai turned his head to see a growing number of spectators arriving from the hotel's upper floors, taking seats in the audience area.

"Looks like we have an audience."

Since the hotel and the Gym were combined, many of the guests often came to watch battles as entertainment.

This was a unique feature of Kumquat Gym unlike most Pokémon League Gyms, tourists were allowed to spectate battles freely.

Fortunately, the crowd remained respectful, quietly taking their seats without causing disruptions.

"Have you chosen your Pokémon?" Luana called out.

Kai refocused on the battle.

Luana reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out two Poké Balls and tossing them onto the battlefield.

"These are my Pokémon!"

With two flashes of blue light, her Pokémon appeared.

Alakazam and Marowak!

Kai studied her choices.

Alakazam—Psychic-type.

Marowak—Ground-type.

This wasn't a typical combo they didn't seem to have any clear synergy.

"Does she have a strategy involving these two?"

Regardless, Kai wasn't about to underestimate them.

After a brief moment of consideration, he made his choice.

Grabbing two Poké Balls from his belt, he threw them forward.

"Let's go! Charizard and Scyther!"

Two bright flashes of light appeared on Kai's side of the battlefield.

Charizard is his strongest and most experienced Pokémon.

Scyther the newest addition to his team, freshly caught.

Luana narrowed her eyes at his selection.

"Two Flying-types?"

She couldn't immediately figure out his plan.

But what Kai actually had in mind was simple, He wasn't aiming for any complex strategy.

Instead, he simply wanted Charizard to mentor Scyther through battle experience.

However...

By pure coincidence, Scyther's Bug-type attacks had a natural advantage against Alakazam, giving him a solid matchup advantage.

The referee stepped back and raised his hand.

"Both sides are ready."

"Begin!"

With a decisive swing of his arm, the battle was officially underway!

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