Game Chapter 10: ??? (Patreon)

As Iono, full of confidence, set her character back on the road, chat exploded into lively debate.

[Looks like when the streamer hits the first Gym, it should be an easy clear!]

[No surprise—she’s pushing faster than Cynthia. Our Iono’s killing it, woo!]

[Hey now, Nana only left because of a mission. If she were playing, no way she’d be slower than Iono!]

[Yeah—wait a couple days till Nana’s back. She’s the Champion. In a game with real battle logic, how could she lose to a Gym Leader?]

…

Deep in Petalburg Woods, a story event triggers: an employee from Devon Corp is blocked by a Team Aqua grunt who steals his package. Iono, of course, comes to the rescue, battles the grunt, and recovers the parcel—earning a Great Ball as a reward.

After helping the Devon employee, Iono doesn’t rush out of the forest. She grinds levels with Joltik and Mareep until both hit the current cap—level 15—then leaves for the first Gym city: Rustboro.

It’s a thoroughly modern city—towering buildings, busy streets, the kind of bustle that dazzles the eye. The game again nails the city’s vibe, drawing gasps from viewers.

Iono heals briefly at the Pokémon Center, then, following the map, heads straight for the Gym doors, expectations written on her face.

As a Gym Leader, she’s used to others challenging her. Challenging someone else—even if it’s just a game—still feels new and exciting.

“I’m ready—let’s have a fierce Gym battle!”

She took a deep breath, eyes bright with anticipation.

Given how strong the Team Rocket NPCs were, the Gym Leader should be no pushover. The next fight might be tough.

But that’s exactly what thrilled her.

She stepped inside—only to be greeted by a sign:

[Rustboro Gym]

Beneath the name, a huge brown rock icon.

So it’s a Rock-type Gym??

Talk about bad luck. If she’d known, she wouldn’t have tempted fate earlier!

Iono’s eyes went wide; chat went wild.

[hahahahaha it really IS a Rock Gym!]

[Love how the streamer said, “There are so many Gym types; no way the first one is Rock or Ground,” lol.]

[Feels like the game is doing this on purpose. Knowing this dev, the Gym type probably adapts depending on the starter you picked.]

Iono glanced at chat, drew in a breath, and pep-talked herself:

“Rock-type isn’t scary! At least it’s not Ground.”

“We’re still early; Rock Pokémon rarely have Ground moves this soon.”

“Plus I’ve got two excellent Electric-types at the cap. They won’t lose!”

With that, she guided her character deeper inside.

A straight path laid over undulating stone led toward a high platform. NPCs lined the sides, as if waiting for her.

The moment she approached, exclamation points popped over their heads.

[You want to challenge Rustboro Gym? Let me see if you’re worthy!]

Battle engaged!

…

Three minutes later, Iono had cleared all the Gym trainers and stood before the platform.

What bugged her was that despite this being a Rock Gym, two trainers used Ground types—Sandshrew and Diglett.

Thankfully, as pre-Gym trainers their levels lagged several behind her team. After a few tense but manageable battles, she beat them all.

But a new worry followed—if even the Gym trainers were like this, would the Rock-type Gym Leader be packing a team full of Ground types too?

Headache incoming.

It wasn’t impossible; she’d heard of that Kanto Elite “Dragon” user whose team was mostly Flying types…

When she initiated the fight with the Leader “Roxanne”—a twin-tailed girl in a sharp suit—Roxanne’s first line let Iono exhale in relief:

[Rock-type Pokémon have sturdy, powerful hearts. Allow me to show you!]

With that kind of opener, pulling out Ground types would be rude, right?

Roxanne tossed a ball; white light flashed.

A strange, purple-bodied Pokémon appeared—its head like a blooming lily.

Even as Paldea’s Electric Gym Leader, Iono knew most Pokémon. But this one—she’d never seen it.

She glanced at the name: “Lileep.”

“Rock and Grass, then? Okay, Joltik—you’re up!”

She switched. Per the rules, your first swap in a Gym battle doesn’t consume a turn—matching real-life Gym challenges: Leader sends first, challenger responds.

Chat buzzed at the odd-looking Pokémon:

[Huh? What is that? Never heard of it.]

[Original to this game?]

[Whatever—Rock + Grass shouldn’t be that strong, and our streamer trained a Joltik. Bug beats Grass—perfect counter!]

Iono commanded Joltik to use Bug Bite.

Deep green light flashed—“It’s super effective!” popped up.

But contrary to expectations, Lileep’s HP bar barely budged.

Iono’s eyes widened again.

So tanky??

A burst of prismatic light fired from Lileep’s head and struck Joltik.

[Lileep used Confuse Ray!]

[Joltik became confused!]

Worse followed: deep-blue motes kindled beside Lileep and sank into its body.

[Lileep restored HP with its Leftovers!]

Its already barely-scratched HP climbed right back up.

Iono: ???

Bulky is one thing—why the passive healing?

Bro, how am I supposed to break this?

…

What happened next was inevitable.

Confused, Joltik was dismantled by Lileep. With Lileep’s sky-high dual defenses, max EVs/IVs, and Leftovers, neither Bug Bite nor Electro Ball could push through—sometimes Lileep even ended up with more HP than before.

And confusion made Joltik smack itself now and then—salt in the wound.

Lileep finished Joltik and was still at full HP. Mareep was no match and fell quickly.

Chat detonated:

“Haters speak! 1v2—oh wait, sorry, the streamer got 1v2’d.”

[Who said Gym Leaders would be easy? Jinxed it hard, haha.]

[First time I’ve seen a single NPC mon sweep the player. Even with just two in party, that’s unheard of in Battle Road. This game is brutal!]

[Yep, the Leader’s packing Crad—uh, Lileep. Tanky, control, and healing—who beats that?]

Iono had lost to the Rocket trio earlier in a 1v2, which was fair. But now her two mons got swept by one.

While chat marveled at the difficulty spike, Iono steadied herself, marched out of the Center, and stopped at the Gym doors.

“As you saw, this Roxanne is… interesting.”

“But it’s fine—I’ve got a plan.”

“—We’re sticking with the Thunder Wave strat!”

“Since Lileep isn’t Ground or Electric, it can’t be immune to paralysis.”

“And judging by its bulk, it’s probably slow—both Joltik and Mareep moved first just now.”

“So we do what we did to Koffing and Ekans: open with Thunder Wave and fish for paralysis procs.”

She laid it out for chat. Old trick, sure—but in a game this hard, you use every tool you’ve got.

Also, that “Leftovers” reminder made her check items—her two Pokémon could hold things too. She didn’t have any fancy ones, but she’d picked up a few Oran Berries on the road. Equipped, they auto-heal a bit when HP drops.

Not much, but better than nothing.

Berries set, she challenged Roxanne again.

…

This time, the plan landed. Joltik’s Thunder Wave paralyzed Lileep, stopping it from landing Confuse Ray. For several turns it barely acted; the one Confuse Ray it tried even missed.

An Electro Ball slammed Lileep and finally pushed its HP into yellow—below half.

“Nice—keep it up!”

Chat refreshed:

[Smooth, streamer!]

[Four paralysis procs in a row? Iono’s luck is cracked!]

[No-hacks just vibes?]

[This might be the run—at least we’ll see the next mon!]

Iono, brimming with confidence, queued Electro Ball again. From the pattern so far, Lileep didn’t seem to have any move that threatened Joltik—just Confuse Ray and Mega Drain.

Even if Mega Drain landed, Joltik’s Grass resistance would make it a scratch, and Lileep wouldn’t heal much. Grind it down, hope for a few more paralysis turns, and Joltik should carry two-thirds HP into the next fight.

She fired Electro Ball. It hit, shaving another small chunk—modest but meaningful.

Paralysis flickered over Lileep—but it didn’t seize up.

From experience, that meant paralysis didn’t stop it this turn.

She wasn’t worried—per her analysis, next would be Mega Drain. Even on hit, little damage, little heal.

Then—unexpectedly—Lileep raised its head and a shaft of white light poured down onto it.

“What move…?”

A bad feeling.

Prompt popped:

[Lileep used Synthesis. It recovered HP!]

Bathed in radiance, Lileep’s HP shot back up to two-thirds.

Another prompt:

[Lileep’s Leftovers restored a little HP.]

Blue motes danced—more healing.

Staring at Lileep’s nearly full bar, then at Joltik’s nearly empty PP, Iono froze at the screen.

“????”

She suddenly felt like ending the stream…