Chapter 131: Petalburg Gym Battle vs. Norman
Norman helped Ruby untie the ropes. Ruby rubbed the sore spots and said, "I'm not helping you act again next time. That hurt."
Ryan smiled, patted Ruby's shoulder, and said encouragingly, "Come on now. You did great."
In reality, everything that had just happened was staged by Ryan and the others. After all, Ryan still hoped Team Magma and Team Aqua would quickly awaken Groudon and Kyogre. Otherwise, how could Ryan and his friends have conveniently overheard their conversation? How could Ryan, with his natural Healing Power, have succumbed to Courtney's threats?
After retrieving their Pokémon and restoring them with Healing Power, Ryan and Ruby entered the ruins and found Professor Cozmo. Seeing that Professor Cozmo was fine, Ryan and Ruby yawned and returned to the Pokémon Center, promising to visit him again tomorrow.
After the power was restored, Ryan and Ruby finally slept soundly.
The next day, Ryan and his four companions found Professor Cozmo. They arrived at the ruins and opened a secret passage. Entering the passage, Ryan and his companions encountered the Pokémon he'd been wanting to see—Relicanth.
This Pokémon was the only missing entry for his Hoenn Pokédex quest. After all, the previous lottery draws, combined with Kris's captures, had helped Ryan obtain nearly every Pokémon in the Hoenn region.
Because of this, the system's reward was modest—a mere 1,000 point . But even a small amount was still valuable, and Ryan wasn't complaining.
After bidding farewell to Professor Cozmo, Ryan and his companions left Oldale Town and returned to Petalburg City.
They then arrived at the Petalburg Gym. Mitsuko urged them to come inside quickly. After lunch at the Petalburg Gym, the main event—the Gym battle—began.
Ryan and Norman stood in the battle arena. Since Sapphire was also challenging him, Norman decided to have one-on-one matches to determine the winners.
Throwing Poké Balls, Slaking and Hariyama appeared on the field.
"Oh, you're still choosing Hariyama to counter Slaking?" Norman laughed.
"No choice. My main team is back home, and without a type advantage, I'll probably lose this round," Ryan said seriously.
Over the past two weeks, Ryan had fully understood Norman's strength. With his current Pokémon, challenging Norman meant he was likely to lose, but how would he know without trying?!
"Hey, is Ryan really that strong?" Sapphire said, tugging at Ruby's shirt.
"Very strong. He recently fought Lorelei, one of the Elite Four, and the result was a draw," Ruby said seriously, pulling out her notebook and beginning to record observations.
"Let me see!" Sapphire snatched Ruby's notebook without hesitation and began to read carefully.
Ruby glared at Sapphire but decisively gave in.
"Hariyama, Vital Throw!" Ryan commanded.
"Slaking, Bulk Up!" Norman said.
Hariyama hurled itself directly at Slaking. With a roar, Slaking assumed a bodybuilding stance, his muscles bulging as he took the blow.
Slaking dusted off his chest and lay down with a look of disdain. He was rather lazy, willing to defeat his opponent lying down rather than stand up and fight.
"Bulk Up!" Ryan wasn't about to waste such a prime opportunity to strengthen himself. He enhanced Hariyama's attack and defense while building momentum.
"Smart move, but you underestimate my Slaking!" Norman nodded. "Hammer Arm!"
Slaking rose and charged at Hariyama. With a powerful strike, he sent Hariyama flying, crashing through a training dummy. Hariyama, panting heavily, stood up. Ryan winced. Hariyama was already badly injured.
"Oh, it seems your Pokémon has been well-trained lately. It didn't go down immediately," Norman said, watching Slaking lie back down and Hariyama struggle to its feet.
"I won't let your Slaking hit again! Hariyama, Low Kick!" Ryan declared.
Hariyama, with all his might, struck Slaking's knee. While dealing damage, his Reversal energy instantly erupted, sending another wave of fighting energy blasting through Slaking's leg.
Slaking had previously been unfazed by the kick, but the explosive damage from Reversal at low HP instantly overwhelmed him, and he clutched his knee and roared in pain.
"Hariyama, another Reversal!" Ryan shouted.
Slaking stood up. Despite the pain in his knee, he immediately launched a Hyper Beam at Hariyama. However, Hariyama's speed had increased significantly, and the Reversal call was merely verbal communication; his real connection with Hariyama relied on bond power.
Hariyama dodged Slaking's Hyper Beam with Quick Attack, then delivered a Close Combat, immediately following with Reversal.
A powerful explosion blasted Slaking, sending him flying and rendering him unable to battle!
As Hariyama watched the incapacitated Slaking, it cried out. A glow emanated from its body, and it began to evolve—wait, Hariyama doesn't evolve further. Ryan checked Hariyama's stats in confusion and saw that it had reached a new power threshold from the intense battle experience.
However, Hariyama's triumph was short-lived before it felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground, unable to continue.
Ryan sighed: After all, Hariyama had been fighting at critically low HP for so long, so it's normal for its stamina to be completely depleted.
Norman recalled Slaking and handed Ryan the Balance Badge, saying, "That was an excellent match. Your Hariyama is well-trained. Slaking hasn't had a challenging opponent in a while, and he's gotten a bit careless. It seems I need to give him some special training."
"Mr. Norman, can I ask which Pokémon are your main team?" Ryan asked, accepting the badge. After training with Norman for two weeks, he hadn't seen his strongest Pokémon.
"Snorlax, Kangaskhan, Delcatty, Spinda, Slaking, and Vigoroth," Ruby said as she walked over. "Those are Dad's six main Pokémon. Unfortunately, they're being temporarily taken care of by family back in Johto while we're settling in. We'll transfer them here once things are stable."
Norman smiled and patted Ruby's head. "That's right, Ruby. We've only just moved to the Hoenn region, and there's a lot to arrange. So, it's best to let the main team train back home first. We'll bring them over once we're settled here."
Ryan nodded in understanding. Next, it was Sapphire versus Norman. Norman sent out Slakoth, while Sapphire sent out her Torchic.
Needless to say, Torchic was dominated by Slakoth, and Sapphire was defeated soundly. While Sapphire's strength was decent, it was far inferior to Ruby's or Ryan's. This was why the strict Norman wouldn't give her a badge.
Holding the fainted Torchic, Sapphire said seriously, "I'm no match for you right now, Mr. Norman. I'll go traveling, and when I'm stronger, I'll challenge you again."
Norman nodded. After all, he was a principled person, so he wouldn't go easy on Sapphire in a Gym match just because she was his good friend Professor Birch's daughter.
"By the way, Ryan," Norman stopped Ryan as he was about to leave. "That Ash who left Pallet Town with you came here not long after you departed. He told me to tell you he's waiting for you at the Ever Grande Conference."
Ryan rubbed his chin and asked, "Oh, really? Did he come alone?"
Ryan thought about May, wondering if she had joined Ash on his journey or if something had changed.
"No," Norman said. "He's traveling with a girl, but I don't know who she is."
Ryan: !!!...
(End of Chapter)
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