Pokemon: Farm Story-Chapter 161: The First Battle of the Gym

Very soon, the gym welcomed its grand opening battle.

Over the past few days, in preparation for the match, Mew had been dragging Slowking into non-stop crash training sessions.

Don't ask why Slowking, of all Pokémon—if Natsume can use him as an external brain, why can't Mew?

And then, to its surprise, Mew discovered—

Slowking is incredibly useful!

Sure, most of the things Slowking could come up with, Mew could usually figure out as well. And a lot of the things Slowking couldn't do, Mew could handle just fine on its own.

Ah, the joy of solving problems without having to think for yourself—what a blissful feeling!

It felt absolutely amazing!

Mew could already see itself getting a little too attached to this "external brain" in the future.

Though Slowking probably wouldn't be too thrilled about that.

Why is there another brainless one now?

Life was really getting harder by the day.

Slowking could proudly say that every single Pokéblock it had eaten since arriving at the farm had been well earned.

Trying to hustle for some food was seriously tough.

Sitting quietly on the big rock at the entrance of the farm, Slowking basked in the warm sunlight.

Ah... these brief moments were the only times it could truly relax.

Silently removing the Shellder from its head, Slowking calmly enjoyed this rare moment of peace.

---

Meanwhile, the grand opening of the gym was finally underway.

No dull speeches, no tedious segments.

Just like that, Natsume's gym quietly and officially opened its doors to challengers.

"Not a bad turnout."

Peeking out from backstage at the crowd in the stands, Natsume was surprised to see quite a few spectators gathered.

Perhaps some were simply here for the spectacle—or maybe to gather intel.

Typically, gyms were allowed to have spectator areas. But whether to open them was up to the gym leader.

If open, people might show up daily just to gawk. After all, in this world, one thing in abundance was—

People with way too much time on their hands.

So it wasn't strange at all to have an audience for the occasional gym battle.

And when it came to a new gym's very first battle, it was almost guaranteed to draw a crowd—especially the locals.

After all, for most trainers, the first gym they challenged was usually the one closest to home.

Watch enough matches, and you naturally got a sense of the usual strategies or the gym leader's combat style and preferences.

"In the blink of an eye, the gym's already completely built..."

At the back corner of the stands, Fu Gakuji looked out over the scene, overwhelmed with emotion.

Something inside him stirred—an unexplainable sense of excitement.

Even though the gym belonged to Natsume, and he had merely helped with a few odds and ends and cut through some red tape, this moment still stirred something in him.

From the moment he met Natsume, Fu Gakuji had been certain—this guy was never going to be just a farm owner.

And now, he was even more convinced. Natsume's journey was far from over.

He was still young. He wouldn't stop here.

There was something legendary about watching his rise.

Fu Gakuji felt like one of those background characters in a hero's party—like a bard or something.

Usually not very useful, sometimes even better off not being there at all.

But being able to witness the hero grow, overcome obstacles, and charge forward—that was a rare and precious experience.

And when the adventure was over, he could still go brag in some tavern about how he used to adventure with the hero back in the day.

Might even land a decent job with that experience.

Hey, gotta make a living somehow.

Lost in his thoughts for a while, Gakuji finally turned his attention back to the battlefield.

By then, the League-appointed referee had already taken his place and begun the pre-battle explanation.

"This match will be a 3-on-3 battle."

"During the battle, the challenger is allowed to switch Pokémon."

"The match ends when all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle."

After a brief pause, the referee gave a short introduction of the two participants.

Nothing particularly noteworthy, but it was only now that Fu Gakuji noticed—under that spotlight, the girl looked oddly familiar.

Where had he seen her before?

"Both sides, please get ready."

"The battle begins. The gym leader will send out their Pokémon first."

This was done to give the challenger a better chance to show their skills—and to offer a bit of an advantage.

Most gyms had the gym leader go first. Some had both send out at the same time.

But almost none let the challenger go first.

Only those poorly-run gyms with underwhelming successors resorted to that to hang on a little longer.

"Go, Swampert!"

Under the blazing lights, Natsume tossed out a Poké Ball, meeting the gazes of everyone watching.

A flash of white burst midair, and a massive figure landed in the arena.

Swampert paused for a moment, then slowly began stretching out its body.

It straightened up inch by inch from the waist up, ending with its head.

The motion wasn't fast, but it radiated a powerful sense of intimidation.

Its broad palms gently patted its own neck, like it had just awoken from a deep slumber.

"Your turn, Mei."

Withdrawing his hand, Natsume smiled softly at his opponent across the field.

The gym's opening match would be Natsume versus Mei.

"I've been looking forward to this day for so long."

Dressed in her favorite battle outfit, Mei was brimming with fighting spirit.

Her adorable, round face was full of passion for battle and a burning desire to win.

In this moment, she wasn't anything else—just the trainer Mei, standing proudly here.

To test how much she had grown—and to win.

She was going to fight with everything she had, and take this gym badge home!

"Let's go, Tsareena!"

"Say hello to your old friend!"

"Hmph."

Tsareena landed gracefully, raising her chin with a soft snort.

As a Bounsweet, she had been a cute little girl.

But after evolving into Tsareena, she'd become a proud queen.

Her name alone was enough to show it.

Facing the Swampert, whose sheer presence loomed like a small mountain, Tsareena's eyes showed a rare flicker of unease.

Back then, they had come to the farm together.

She vaguely remembered that this guy used to be a dumb little fish who followed behind Slowpoke whining and whimpering.

Who would've thought—blink once and look at him now.

Good thing Swampert couldn't read minds.

Otherwise, he'd probably snap back with a few jabs of his own.

And who was the baby Bounsweet crying on the ground because she didn't get enough to eat?

Didn't I take pity and give you a berry just so you'd stop bawling?

You really have the nerve to judge me now?

Maybe that's why childhood friends rarely ended up together.

They just knew way too many embarrassing stories about each other.

Hard to imagine the other being cool—or beautiful—after all that.

"Tsareena, don't go for a head-on clash."

"Poke at him and wait for an opening. When you land a hit, don't get greedy."

"Use your moves and abilities to find the right timing and position to strike."

Mei rattled off her instructions in rapid-fire succession.

Swampert was a Water/Ground-type—a combo that made it highly resistant to most attacks, with only one glaring weakness: a quadruple weakness to Grass.

And Tsareena was pure Grass-type.

So she had a bit of a type advantage.

But their base stats? A whole different story.

The moment Swampert landed, Mei's heart sank.

Just looking at it, you could feel the raw power radiating from Natsume's Swampert.

She hadn't known in advance which Pokémon Natsume would use.

So all she could do now was adjust her strategy on the fly.

Once the battle started, there was no way she'd be able to keep up with both sides' lightning-fast actions.

She could only offer key commands at critical moments—serve as an anchor of sorts.

After all, no human could react faster than a Pokémon move.

In fact, Mei had hesitated slightly when choosing her lead Pokémon.

Should she have gone with Serperior?

That question nagged at her.

Tsareena's specialty was elegant, powerful kicks.

But her options were mostly either low sweeps from Fighting-type moves, or Triple Axel from the Ice-type pool.

Neither would be super effective.

If she had picked Serperior... maybe she could've taken Swampert down.

But from here on out, the battle was looking bleak.

If she sent in Tsareena, the best-case scenario would still be her forcing a win against Swampert at a steep cost in stamina.

And that was assuming everything went smoothly, with no mistakes.

Even so, Mei ultimately chose to send in Tsareena.

It was both an act of trust and a calculated decision—if Tsareena lost, she could at least wear down Swampert enough for Serperior to clean up afterward.

A Swampert at full strength wouldn't let Serperior set up with Leaf Storm that easily.

But if its stamina was low... there was still hope.

Mei kept her cool as she weighed her options.

Sorry, Tsareena.

Once this is over, I'll treat you to something delicious.

With a silent apology in her heart, Mei began thinking about how to maximize Tsareena's impact in this battle.

On the other side, Natsume simply exchanged a few brief words with Swampert.

"Just fight like we practiced."

"No need to rush the win. Play it safe, play it steady."

"Stat-wise, you've got the upper hand."

He didn't actually have detailed data on hand—but hey, no harm in saying it confidently.

At the very least, Swampert absolutely dominated in strength, defense, and stamina.

The only stat where it might lag behind was speed.

But once Natsume got his hands on Swampert's Mega Stone, even that one shortcoming would be a thing of the past.

Swampert listened quietly to Natsume's instructions, nodding wordlessly.

When Natsume finished, it let out a low growl to show it understood.

Since evolving, Swampert's temperament had become noticeably more composed.

In fact, even back when it had evolved from Mudkip to Marshtomp, it had already started to mellow out.

Compared to the way it used to bounce around wildly as a baby, it now resembled one of those calm, dependable senpai from a novel.

The kind who rarely smiles, but always steps up when it counts.

"The battle begins!"

The referee waved a small flag as he declared the start of the match.

The moment the battle began, Tsareena's eyes widened sharply.

An invisible aura of pressure burst forth from her petite frame.

Her Ability—Queenly Majesty.

It prevented opponents from using priority moves.

When used well, it could interrupt the opponent's rhythm in fast-paced battles.

But if overused, the opponent might adapt to it.

So timing and pacing were crucial.

Swampert, however, remained completely unfazed by the aura.

It was like a gentle breeze brushing across a hilltop—

utterly inconsequential.

Tsareena sprang lightly into the air, slicing her elegant leaf-blades as she launched a Leaf Blade attack.

Sharp green leaves, gleaming like blades, shot toward Swampert.

Mixed in among them were a few glowing, oversized seeds, hurtling forward—Seed Bombs.

Ever since training Serperior, Mei had grown fond of layering one move within another during battle.

It didn't always work, but when it did, it could really throw the opponent off mentally.

Yet despite the onslaught, Swampert showed no fear.

It calmly raised one thick arm, gently blocking the incoming barrage. The razor-sharp leaves, despite their speed, simply bounced off its tough skin, leaving behind nothing but faint white marks.

The embedded Seed Bombs detonated violently on contact.

Dark gray smoke and dust erupted, engulfing Swampert's upper body.

Tsareena landed and broke into a run.

From her mouth, seed-shaped energy bullets fired out like a machine gun, rapidly pelting Swampert's position.

One by one, the seeds pierced through the lingering smoke, detonating again and again on impact.

The opening combo unleashed a relentless barrage, shifting the crowd's impression of the sweet-looking girl on the field.

They had assumed she was the soft and cutesy type.

But her combat style? Ruthlessly aggressive.

It wasn't prejudice—it was just that many female Trainers tended to prefer a more strategic, gradual approach.

Building up advantages step-by-step to claim victory.

Charging in with this kind of all-out assault right from the start? That was far more common among male Trainers.

If it didn't work this time, they'd just try again next round—and again after that.

The important thing was to keep fighting.

"Hoo—"

As if bored of the ineffective attacks, Swampert gave a grunt and swung its arm forcefully.

The billowing smoke was blown away in an instant by the gust.

Taking a deep breath, Swampert's muscles tightened all at once.

Then with a thunderous stomp, its whole body shot forward like a cannonball aimed directly at Tsareena.

As it launched, the ground beneath it began to tremble.

Earthquake.

A massive shockwave rippled outward with each step Swampert took, shaking the entire battlefield.

Tsareena tried her best to keep her footing, but the overwhelming force left her struggling.

Her blinding speed, once difficult to track with the naked eye, was now noticeably slowed.

That gave Swampert a clear lock on its target.

With the momentum of a charging football linebacker, Swampert surged forward, a juggernaut of force headed straight for Tsareena.

The next second—

a colossal blast of dust and debris filled the air.

It swallowed the entire battlefield.

Spectators craned their necks, trying to peer through the cloud, as if they could somehow see what was happening inside.

Then, out from the smoke—

a small figure burst forth.

Sliding across the ground and carving deep marks with her feet, Tsareena finally skidded to a halt.

Clutching her arm, scraped and bruised, she wore a look of lingering fear on her face.

That was close.

Way too close.

If that charge had landed clean...

Tsareena didn't doubt for a second she would've been sent flying straight into the stands.

Forget finishing the battle—

she might not have even stayed conscious.

First the Earthquake, then the full-force tackle that followed.

If she hadn't delayed it slightly with a last-minute move, she'd have taken the full brunt.

As the dust slowly cleared, Swampert yanked its embedded arm free from the ground.

When its charge had narrowly missed, it had followed up with a Hammer Arm.

A brutal move where the user slams the target with a heavy limb or pincer—the higher the opponent's remaining HP, the stronger the damage.

So even though it hadn't hit clean, the glancing blow had still done significant harm.

According to Natsume's strategy, Hammer Arm was designed to be Swampert's opening move.

It was most effective when the opponent still had plenty of health.

Now, Tsareena's arm was burning with pain.

Gritting her teeth, she widened the distance between them while continuing to chip away at Swampert's stamina with ranged attacks.

But Swampert remained calm throughout the barrage.

It raised its arms to shield its face, guarding its vulnerable spots.

At the same time, it used Growl and Earthquake intermittently to disrupt Tsareena's tempo.

Then, whenever it found an opening in her assault, it would counterattack.

After several exchanges, both sides were clearly wearing down.

But Tsareena's stamina was depleting faster.

She had to keep moving at high speed to dodge attacks, all while staying mentally locked in—her nerves stretched thin.

Finally, after one of her evasive moves was interrupted by Earthquake, a flash of light flickered in Swampert's eyes.

It gave her no time to recover.

With practiced precision, it shifted its stance, opened its jaws, and unleashed a massive torrent of water—

Its signature move from training: Hydro Cannon.

The overwhelming force of the blast slammed into Tsareena, engulfing her entirely.

Struggling against the rushing current, Tsareena barely managed to lift her head above the water.

Only to see a massive shadow looming over her.

As she forced her eyes open, she saw Swampert standing directly before her, arm raised high.

There was a flicker of crimson in its eyes.

The next moment—

BOOM—

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