Chapter 90: Evolution!

The labyrinth in the darkness seemed vast. After only a few steps, Gengar found itself at a dead end.
Gengar: “No way forward.”
Hu Yang: “...”
It really felt like exploring an underground cave in a game, groping in the dark.
Hu Yang thought for a moment and asked, “Check if the passage above is blocked.”
This maze shouldn’t be too complicated; otherwise, trainers would definitely curse it out loud.
Gengar floated up briefly, then quickly descended, saying, “It’s not sealed.”
So Hu Yang clung to Gengar’s back and floated from above, heading toward the maze’s deepest part.
Soon, he arrived at the door of a room faintly glowing through a crack.
Pushing the door open revealed a practice room that looked like a battle arena.
A dark-skinned, blue-haired young man stood bare-chested, fiercely sparring with a Machamp wearing black briefs and a golden belt.
Hot sweat streamed down Fujiki’s well-defined muscles and dripped onto the battle ground.
It was as if he had accidentally walked into some strange place.
At 24, he was the gym leader, standing 175 cm tall, and had been working out recently.
Hu Yang: “...”
Quite the eye-catching sight.
He never expected Fujiki to be a muscular man, much like Shiba.
But then again, trainers proficient in Fighting-type Pokémon often train muscles alongside their Pokémon.
Meanwhile, the battle reached its climax.
Machamp seized a moment when Fujiki was distracted and delivered a sweeping low kick. Fujiki immediately lost his balance and started to fall backward.
At the critical moment, Machamp swiftly reached out and grabbed Fujiki’s strong waist, preventing him from falling.
Hu Yang: “...”
Even more dazzling to witness.
The battle ended, and Fujiki nodded at Hu Yang before turning to grab two towels from a nearby bench. He tossed one to Machamp and casually wiped the sweat from his body with the other.
“Hello, brave trainer who has crossed the darkness. I’m Fujiki, the leader of this gym,” Fujiki greeted warmly.
“Hello, I’m Hu Yang from Orange City,” Hu Yang introduced himself, mimicking Ash’s style.
Fujiki smiled as he put on a jacket and said, “If you want the Boxing Badge, show me all your strength!”

At that moment, the referee arrived.
The challenger and gym leader took their positions.
The referee raised a flag and announced, “The challenger is Hu Yang from Orange City. The rules for the Fighting-type Gym battle are 2v2, with each trainer allowed only two Pokémon. The match ends when one side loses all their fighting capability!”
The whistle blew, officially starting the battle.
Fujiki threw out a Poké Ball: “I’m sending out Machamp first!”
Without hesitation, Hu Yang also threw out his Gible’s Poké Ball the instant Fujiki did.
This battle was primarily to give Gible some practical experience, testing the moves he had been training recently.
Fujiki glanced at the opponent’s Gible and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Generally, even among the same species, individual Pokémon vary in quality.
This difference often shows in their strength and size.
As an excellent trainer and gym leader, Fujiki could tell that this Gible was not only gifted but also perfectly nurtured.
“Interesting,” Fujiki thought. “A newcomer trainer capable of cultivating such an outstanding Pokémon is quite rare.”
“Use Shadow Claw and then Dragon Dance!” Hu Yang commanded Gible, preparing to boost its stats first.
“Bulk Up!” Fujiki ordered with practiced ease.
Fighting-type Pokémon lacked wide-range attacks, so instead of gambling on hitting the shadow clone, it was better to boost their stats while standing still.
But Gible had already used Dragon Dance first, so it would act a step faster than Machamp.
Hu Yang: “Dual Chop!”
Upon command, Gible and its shadow clone moved simultaneously, their finely honed teeth glowing with a layer of dragon energy.
At a distance from Machamp, Gible leapt high and sliced down from above.
“What a fast move!” Fujiki squinted; the Gible’s control over dragon energy was clearly far superior to an ordinary one.
He vaguely sensed this opponent was not a simple rookie trainer.
Fujiki’s interest piqued, and he quickly ordered a defense: “Dodge!”
But Machamp was a moment too slow; its body was grazed by the dual chop, and the hardened teeth left two clear wounds.
Machamp let out a pained cry but did not fall.
With the shadow clone’s effect ending, Fujiki launched a counterattack: “Low kick followed by Earthquake throw!”
Machamp’s movements were surprisingly swift. Its agile body dipped slightly as its leg shot out, knocking down the unsuspecting Gible.
Then it charged forward, arms locked tightly around Gible’s body, legs suddenly powering up as if to break free from the grip, and leapt into the air.

Seeing this, Hu Yang felt a chill. Was it true that the more gym badges one collected, the stronger the gym leaders became?
However, this was just the leader’s commanding skill; Machamp itself was not the leader’s main powerhouse.
That Machamp was still quite inexperienced.
Gible’s Dragon Dance followed by Dual Chop and Dragon Rage was enough to finish it off!
“Use full power Dragon Rage to end it!” Hu Yang ordered.
Held tightly in midair, Gible heard the command and immediately gave up struggling. Purple light surged over its body, and dragon energy erupted fiercely from its mouth.
At that moment, the Earthquake throw reached its peak height.
Machamp’s body was instantly shrouded in purple energy.
Under the fierce attack, Machamp winced, its hands involuntarily loosening slightly.
Seizing the opportunity, Gible wriggled free, leaned backward, and as it fell, a bright white light flared across its body.
That was… evolution!
Immediately after, the white light dispersed, and a sturdy Gabite appeared before Hu Yang.
“Machamp is unable to continue the battle. Challenger Hu Yang wins!” the referee raised the flag to announce the result.
Fujiki’s eyes remained keen with interest. At this moment, he was certain this opponent was no ordinary rookie trainer.
He recalled Machamp into its Poké Ball, planning to raise the difficulty just a little in the next match against this newcomer.
Hu Yang was not surprised by Gabite’s evolution.
He had captured Gible over eight months ago and had been nurturing it daily with top-tier nutrition.
Combined with rigorous training every day, Gible had long since accumulated enough energy to evolve.
Had it not been for the evolution locking its health, the landing from the throw might have caused both Pokémon to faint simultaneously.
Hu Yang did not want Gabite to enter the next battle with low health.
Therefore, he planned to send out Slowking next to test the power of the new moves he had taught it during this period, using Fujiki as the opponent.