Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 89: Seel, Shellder, and Seaking

Hearing that the Sensational Sisters had pinned their excuse on Gary, Asahi couldn't help but laugh.

"Gary?"

Daisy sensed something off in Asahi's tone, but she had no choice but to stick to Lily's story.

"Yes, he's the strongest challenger we've faced recently. We fought hard, but in the end, we lost to him!"

Violet, who had remained silent, also nodded repeatedly.

"But I saw him in Lampur City over ten days ago. At that time, he even showed me his badges… Your Pokémon couldn't possibly have been injured for over ten days and still not recovered, right?" Asahi said playfully.

"Besides… shouldn't Gary's name be in the Gym Challenge records? If you're going to lie, at least come up with a better excuse."

"Like saying you were attacked by Team Rocket… That would be much more believable."

As Asahi finished speaking, the auditor beside him handed over Cerulean Gym's challenge records. At the same time, footage of Gary's battle at the gym played on a projector.

Although Gary had only used a Pidgey, the battle had been a complete one-sided beatdown. The Sensational Sisters' performance was practically a textbook example of what not to do in a battle.

It was brutal.

Busted.

The sisters' faces turned pale.

They never expected the League evaluator to actually know Gary.

The assessment hadn't even started, and they had already left a terrible impression. They were doomed.

Asahi, however, didn't dwell too much on their deception. The security cameras, along with Green's notes, had already recorded everything.

Once Green finished recording, Asahi spoke up. "I'll report this to the League, and they'll decide the consequences. For now, you need to prepare your Pokémon and complete the assessment."

"But…"

"No 'buts.' If you're going to claim your Pokémon are still unable to battle, Nurse Joy and her Chansey are right outside in the medical van." Asahi cut them off.

He had no intention of wasting too much time in Cerulean City, so he had prepared everything in advance.

Hearing this, the Sensational Sisters finally lost all hope.

Dragging things out until Misty returned was no longer an option. They had no choice but to face the assessment head-on.

---

After some treatment from Nurse Joy, the sisters' Pokémon were fully healed.

After some deliberation, they chose their strongest Pokémon for the assessment.

But when Asahi and Green saw their choices—Seel, Shellder, and Seaking—they were speechless.

Green turned to Asahi and whispered, "Are they serious?"

Among the three, the only one with any real battle capability was Seaking.

Seel and Shellder? Even Team Rocket grunts wouldn't bother using them.

Compared to Vermilion Gym's trainers, Cerulean Gym wasn't even in the same league.

"This is the real strength of Cerulean Gym," Asahi remarked.

Unlike Green's disbelief, he wasn't surprised at all—he had already expected this.

If they had pulled out a strong Pokémon, Asahi would have started wondering if they had secretly joined Team Rocket.

"These are the Pokémon you're using?" Asahi asked, following protocol for final confirmation.

"Yes…"

"Then let's begin."

With that, Asahi tossed a Poké Ball.

"Yee!"

A lively Mudkip appeared on the battlefield.

Since capturing it, Asahi had mostly focused on training rather than actual battles. Facing these rookie-level opponents was the perfect chance to let Mudkip get some real experience.

"That's… a Mudkip? One of the Hoenn region's starter Pokémon?"

The Sensational Sisters might have been weak as trainers, but because of their involvement in water ballet performances, they frequently attended regional events. As a result, they recognized Mudkip immediately.

It didn't seem very high-leveled…

Maybe the evaluator was going easy on them?

Otherwise, why would he use such a low-level Pokémon?

A glimmer of hope appeared in their hearts.

However…

Ten minutes later.

After both Seel and Shellder were knocked out, the Sensational Sisters realized the truth.

Asahi had no intention of going easy on them.

Desperately, they sent out their last and strongest Pokémon—Seaking.

Their only remaining hope.

---

"Mudkip, use Rock Smash."

"Seaking, dodge!"

Smack!

Mudkip's attack landed cleanly on Seaking.

Seaking tried to counterattack with its sharp horn, but Mudkip dodged effortlessly and struck again.

"Seaking, use Horn Attack!"

Seaking dove underwater, attempting to strike from below.

But Mudkip's head fin, acting like a radar, detected the attack in advance. It easily avoided the move and countered with another Rock Smash.

That brief moment of resistance was the only highlight of Seaking's performance.

After that, it was completely overpowered.

Even when it tried to hide underwater, Mudkip dragged it right back out.

In the end, Seaking was beaten until it couldn't move.

Daisy, who had been commanding, was stunned.

She couldn't understand.

Seaking was at a higher level—so why did Mudkip win?

The Sensational Sisters, who had zero tactical understanding and believed only in level advantages, were baffled.

Meanwhile, Green could barely watch anymore.

If she hadn't seen it for herself, she wouldn't have believed Cerulean Gym's trainers were this bad.

Not just weak Pokémon, but also terrible battle strategies. Most of their commands were actively making things worse. They would've been better off letting their Pokémon fight on their own.

How could Cerulean Gym be this pathetic?

Asahi recalled Mudkip and turned to the referee.

Still in shock, the referee hesitated before finally announcing:

"Seaking is unable to battle. Mudkip wins. All of Cerulean Gym's Pokémon have been defeated—"

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