Sakura didn't care that Ash was right beside her. Although her words were very tactful, Ash still heard the disdain in them.
"It's not like that!"
Xiao Xia quickly retorted. She couldn't let her sister think she liked Ash; that would be too unlucky!
"All in all, to protect the reputation of the Cerulean Gym, only I can battle now!"
Xiao Xia looked at Sakura very seriously. After all, giving away badges like this would make others view their Gym poorly!
"That's true. Only your Pokémon still have the ability to battle."
Sakura was a bit helpless, having already given them away, but what could she do? This was her own sister.
"Ash, you know, right? You're going to battle me!"
Xiao Xia leaned close to Ash, pointing at him with a fierce expression.
"Kirlia. (And me!)"
Shiny Kirlia reminded Xiao Xia that she was still there. If there was a battle, she couldn't be forgotten.
"Huh? Shiny Kirlia, why are you here alone? Where's Yu Feng? Speaking of which, where's Brock?"
Seeing Shiny Kirlia, Xiao Xia realized that Yu Feng and Brock were not with Ash.
She had wondered why Ash looked so strange, as if something was missing.
"Brock said he was going to buy something. Yu Feng was taken by Jenny halfway, saying she had something important to discuss with him."
Seeing Xiao Xia looking at him, Ash recounted what had happened earlier.
"So, you're here to battle the Gym on Yu Feng's behalf?"
"How about I give you the blue badge, and we don't fight?"
Hearing Ash's explanation, Xiao Xia stammered as she looked at Shiny Kirlia, her tone filled with nervousness. She had seen Yu Feng and Shiny Kirlia's morning training sessions.
Don't let her small body fool you; she could punch a tree apart.
Then thinking about her Staryu's body... Ugh, she couldn't even imagine!
"Kirlia. (What do you think? I finally got to hold my brother's Poké Ball.)"
Shiny Kirlia spun an enlarged Poké Ball on her fingertip, mimicking Ash's motion as she swung her arm forward.
"It looks like there's no other way. Please go easy on me; I still have to battle Ash."
Xiao Xia saw Shiny Kirlia's actions and knew this battle was unavoidable. With the opponent like this, avoiding the fight wasn't her style either.
The two... oh, no, one person and one Pokémon, stood on opposite sides of the battle stage. Since it was a Gym battle, the field advantage was currently with Xiao Xia.
"So, a Gym battle allows a maximum of two Pokémon. Is that alright with you?"
Xiao Xia looked at Shiny Kirlia somewhat nervously. After all, this was her first Gym battle against a Pokémon.
"Kirlia. (No problem.)"
Shiny Kirlia gave an OK gesture, then looked seriously at Xiao Xia opposite her.
"Alright, my Pokémon is this one! Go, Staryu!"
Seeing that Shiny Kirlia understood her meaning, Xiao Xia, as a Gym Leader, sent out her Pokémon first.
A five-pointed starfish with a red crystal in its center appeared on the battlefield.
"This is!"
Ash, watching from the side, couldn't help but open his Pokédex and scan Staryu's information when he saw the new Pokémon.
"Pokémon, Staryu. It is hermaphroditic, both male and female, so it can form romantic relationships with anyone."
"That explanation sounds disgusting."
Ash's expression changed; Staryu's description made him feel disgusted.
"Everyone has the freedom to love! What's it to you!"
"Alright, we'll ignore that Ash guy. Send out your Pokémon!"
Xiao Xia angrily refuted Ash's opinion, then suppressed her displeasure and looked seriously at Shiny Kirlia. After all, it was Shiny Kirlia she was battling, not Ash.
"Kirlia. (Let me see, you're the one!)"
Shiny Kirlia looked at the three Poké Balls in her hand and picked out the most reliable one.
A Shiny Hatenna, as if wearing a pointed hat, appeared on the field.
"Hatenna?"
The Shiny Hatenna that came out was about to jump into Yu Feng's arms, but found that Yu Feng wasn't beside her. Instead, that blue-haired old monster was in front of her, making her a bit confused.
"Kirlia! (What are you so confused about? Big brother needs a Gym badge. He's busy, so he sent me!)"
Shiny Kirlia was very angry at Shiny Hatenna's confusion. What was wrong with it being her? It was as if she couldn't command them!
"Hatenna!"
After hearing it was to get a Gym badge for Yu Feng, Shiny Hatenna became slightly more serious. If it weren't for Yu Feng, who would listen to her commands?
"Then I won't be polite and will attack first! Staryu, use Tackle!"
The Staryu on the field rushed towards Shiny Hatenna, who was still arguing with Shiny Kirlia, like a boomerang, hitting her and knocking her into the water.
Shiny Hatenna struggled for a long time before returning to the floating board. She looked angrily at the Staryu that had ambushed her, her cheeks puffed out in anger.
"Kirlia! (That's what you get for arguing with me! Quickly use Thunder Wave!)"
Shiny Kirlia slapped her leg. See how serious the consequences of not listening were? She should have sent out Charmander; even if it had a type disadvantage, it was obedient.
Shiny Hatenna reluctantly began to attack Staryu with Thunder Wave. Waves of golden light spread outwards. Staryu, under Xiao Xia's command, dodged the Thunder Wave attacks.
Unfortunately, Staryu was a beat slow in reacting and was directly hit by Thunder Wave.
"Staryu! Good thing it was just Thunder Wave."
Xiao Xia was worried for a while watching Staryu get hit by an Electric-type move, but after realizing Staryu was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, a direct hit from an Electric-type move would have taken half of Staryu's health.
"Staryu, use Swift!"
Xiao Xia now knew she couldn't engage this Hatenna in close combat. Who knew if it was hiding an Electric-type move? Most of Yu Feng's Pokémon were Psychic-type and very difficult to deal with.
Many rapidly spinning energy stars shot out from Staryu's red gem, striking towards Shiny Hatenna.
Shiny Hatenna was not to be outdone. With a wave of her hands, Magical Leaf appeared out of thin air, precisely knocking away the Swift stars coming at her. There were even many leftover Magical Leaf attacks that hit Staryu.
"Oh no! Staryu, jump into the water!"
Seeing Staryu get hit by a Grass-type move, Xiao Xia couldn't let it stand there and take hits. She could only have it use the field advantage to enter the water first, then look for an opportunity to ambush.
Staryu jumped towards the water, but halfway through, a flash of yellow light suddenly appeared on its body, and it instantly dropped vertically onto the floating board. It was the paralysis effect triggering.
Seeing this, Shiny Kirlia's eyes lit up. This was a good opportunity!