The crowd surrounding me was huge; bigger than any crowd I had ever seen at a gym before. Their cries and roars were deafening, and I almost was afraid for a moment. I'd never battled with that big of a crowd watching me in a gym battle before, and Salazzle was utterly exhausted from her time rounding up the Wooloo with me, which was definitely not ideal.

Being the dual Poison/Fire type she was, she would have twice the advantage over Milo's partners, and the only other Pokemon I had that could combat his Pokemon was Skrelp. But, he was very fragile, and would be at a slight disadvantage being on land AND being a Water type as well as a Poison type.

So, I pulled out a Tamato Berry and offered it to her, which she gratefully accepted and scarfed down. Now full, I put her back in her luxury ball to rest for a short while, took a deep breath and walked out onto the field.

"Hello again," Milo greeted me as we met on the pitch. I nodded in return, and gave a small smile. "Don't want to speak today, huh?" Milo chuckled. "You must be plotting away one heck of a strategy."

You have no idea. I just shrugged, turned and sashayed to the other side of the field.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," the announcer boomed, evoking another round of cheers from the audience. "Let us commence the first Gym Battle for Challenger Dharmira!!! Give her a hand!!" As the audience screamed their approval, I looked back at Milo. He smiled warmly at me, before launching an ultra ball onto the field and releasing a Gossifleur.

"And Milo sends out his Gossifleur! Who will Dharmira call forth to challenge his first Pokemon?!"
"Espeon, let's go," I yelled, throwing her luxury ball onto the field.

Espeon was one of the few Pokemon I had on me that could be found in Galar; if I used someone like Skrelp or Shelgon, people might give me unwanted attention because of my rare partners. And I was not stupid enough to draw attention to myself so soon in the game; that would come later. "And Dharmira responds to the challenge by sending out an Espeon," the announcer yelled. "I wonder how this will play out!"

Dan, the blonde man from before, came floating down to the field on his Aegislash and stood there, waiting. It took a moment to realize the horizontal black and white stripes meant he would be the referee.

"Alright; BATTLE BEGIN!!!"

"Gossifleur, use Magical Leaf, now," Milo ordered, and immediately glowing foliage surrounded his Pokemon. "Espeon, let's kick this off strong with Future Sight," I responded. Espeon's eyes glowed bright blue, and immediately portals opened up above us. Spheres of psychic energy the size of bowling balls materialized and flew into them before they winked out of existence.

I barely had the time to praise my partner before Magical Leaf came flying at us like an army of green bullets. "Dodge it, Espeon!" I yelled, and she leapt over them. But, they immediately stopped, turned tail and came racing back, and Espeon cried out as they struck her in the side.

"And it's a direct hit for Milo's Gossifleur!! Will Espeon be able to continue?!"

"We're tougher than we look," I shouted in the direction of the speaker's box, and the crowd went wild. "Espeon, use Psychic!!"

Espeon's eyes lit up again, but this time, Gossifleur squeaked as she was lifted off the ground by an invisible power and slammed back into it repeatedly. This continued for minutes, repeatedly tossing the poor Grass type all around the stadium like a ragdoll. Crashing into the walls, throwing her to the floor and spinning her around, then repeating the process all over again. After I was satisfied, I put up a hand to signal Enough.

Dropping Gossifleur, Espeon trotted back over to me and I rubbed behind her ears. "Good job," I whispered, giving her much affection for her effort. Dan zoomed over to where the Pokemon was laying, dazed and unmoving on the field. "Gossifleur is unable to battle," he shouted.

The stadium was in total shock over what they had just seen. They had just witnessed a challenger pound the life and soul out of another Pokemon with no remorse or stroke of mercy. "What a powerful Psychic type Pokemon," the announcer boomed, hurrying to restore energy to the crowd. "If this kind of power keeps up, Champion Leon might be in for some trouble!"

"You're not playing around, are you?" Milo asked, forcing a grin. I just smiled and shrugged back, feeling a bit shrewd. "I just might have to Dynamax if I want to win this battle!" And with that, he launched another ultra ball onto the field and released the same Pokemon I had seen the first day we met.

"Eldegoss," I whispered, examining the fluffy Grass type. Milo's last Pokemon he uses in Gym battles. He usually Dynamaxes her once she's on the field, and she knows Max Overgrowth and Max Strike.

"Espeon, return," I commanded, putting her back in her luxury ball. Murmuring an endearment, I grabbed another luxury ball and chucked it onto the battlefield. I regretted not letting Salazzle rest longer, but I didn't trust anything but super-effective moves against an opponent with a skill I had never dealt with before. Besides, I was curious to test out Dynamaxing myself, and Salazzle was the most versatile of all my partners.

"Come on, then," Milo commanded, sucking his partner back into its capsule. "It's Dynamax time! You're about to be uprooted!" Red particles erupted from his Dynamax band and surrounded the yellow and black striped Pokeball, making it grow and transform into one of white and red. Giving it a small pat and a grin, he turned and flung it as far as he could; being built the way he was, it went soaring FAR.

Bursting open once it got far enough, with a huge cracking and roar of wind, Eldegoss grew in size until she towered over all of us, and her cry shook the very stadium floor. Red clouds surrounded her fluff, and a storm of crimson swirled over our heads, even though we were inside. The crowd went wild with joy, screaming and stomping their feet to some sort of chant; perhaps a regional anthem of some sort.

"Alright, Salazzle, let's Dynamax!" I hollered, copying how Milo did it. I returned Salazzle to her luxury ball, and to my delight, my Dynamax Band reacted without any further instructions. As soon as my own Pokeball had grown to look like Milo's did, I turned and drop-kicked it as far as it would go. I sent a silent apology in the direction the huge ball traveled, as I didn't know if Salazzle had been rattled around in there upon impact.

The ball burst open once it hit the ground (courtesy of my incredible inability to kick things very far), and Salazzle grew in size the same way Eldegoss did earlier, until she stood at the same size as the Grass type. "Alright, Eldegoss, use Max Strike!" Milo ordered, and Eldegoss complied. Cracks opened up from underneath Salazzle, and a huge beam of light shot out of the ground the colors of blue, yellow and white all mixed together into a spiral.

"Salazzle, Max Flare, now!" I hollered, calling the Fire-type Max Move to the forefront of my mind. Salazzle sluggishly got down on all fours, and opened her mouth. From it spewed a huge bullet of fire that consumed Eldegoss in a huge column of flame when it hit her.

But, when the smoke cleared, the Grass type was, astonishingly, still standing. The lights in the arena had turned harsher, and I immediately started sweating in my long-sleeved uniform. I had forgotten Max Flare triggered intense sunlight.

"Eldegoss, Max Overgrowth," Milo ordered. Three ginormous seeds were spewed from Eldegoss' head fluff, hitting the ground around Salazzle. They immediately grew into huge blades of grass and chubby mushrooms made of green energy, which exploded and triggered the grass on the field to go haywire, some of the turf being lifted off into the air.

Max Overgrowth triggers Grassy Terrain, which heals Grass types standing on it. Sure enough, as I looked to Eldegoss, its wounds had started to heal. "Salazzle, Max Ooze, before Eldegoss can heal itself!" Salazzle roared, and a huge column of purple sludge erupted from under the Grass type, coating it in poison. It looked like it was near its end, and even the terrain it was standing on did next to nothing to heal it.

Then, just as I had predicted, the portals opened back up, raining Psychic energy down on the Grass type, who squeaked under the barrage of attacks. When the smoke cleared, Eldegoss was back to its regular size and had fainted. "Game over," I breathed, as Salazzle shrank back down as well and came running to me.

"You did amazing, Salazzle!" I praised her, scanning over her various bruises and cuts from the fight; a few here or there, but altogether nothing of dire importance. A quick visit to Nurse Joy would easily heal her battle wounds. "We've gotten our first gym badge. Now, our journey can really start!"

"You've got some really strong Pokemon with you," Milo grinned, jogging over to me. "I look forward to seeing your progress in the Gym Challenge."
"Thank you," I smiled. "I had a lot of fun battling you! It was my first time in a Dynamaxed Pokemon battle, actually."
"Well, you're a real natural! Here; as proof you've defeated this Gym, I give you the Grass Badge!"

After we shook hands as a show of goodwill, I took my badge from him and let Salazzle and Espeon admire it once we got back to the locker room. After all, to the winners go the spoils. "Ooh, it's so shiny," Meowsie cooed, admiring her reflection in the gilded surface. "Don't get too attached to it," I warned, shrugging my usual disguise back on. "Remember, the gym challenge is merely a formality for what we're actually here for."

"Gee, I guess it slipped my mind; you only told me that a billion times," she drawled sarcastically. She hopped off the bench she was sitting on, clambered onto my shoulder and gave me back the gym badge. "But seriously, can I keep it? This would be some great stuff to make earrings out of."
"You don't even wear earrings!"
"Well, not yet; I haven't had an excuse to!"

I silenced her and put Meowsie back in her luxury ball as we entered the lobby once again. I let out Espeon, and I allowed myself a fast smile when I caught a glimpse of Clemantis on her hands and knees, searching for her Dynamax Band under couches. "Dharmira, wait!"

I turned to see Milo jogging towards me. "Here; another gift to help you defeat Nessa!" He handed me a Move TM, which contained the move Magical Leaf. "It's something I give all the challengers who manage to defeat me," he explained when he saw my confused look. "Promise me you won't hold anything back when you're battling Nessa; she isn't called the Raging Wave for nothing, you know!"

"Sure thing," I smiled, before turning and waltzing out the doors of the gym, my mission now set into motion.