Chapter 138: Battle against Roxanne
Lillie and Sapphire finished shopping and were stunned by the sight of the extra person. Upon learning that N would also be traveling with them, the easygoing Sapphire immediately agreed.
Lillie looked at Ryan, and she could see something in his expression. He nodded, and Lillie didn't object.
Next, Ryan and the others arrived at the Rustboro Gym and found Roxanne preparing for class.
Roxanne, knowing there were two challengers, hesitated for a moment and said, "Then you can each battle one at a time. You can only use two Pokémon. But can I record it? I want to show it to my students as teaching material."
"No problem," Ryan and Sapphire said in unison.
"Ryan, I'll go first this time," Sapphire said.
Ryan nodded. He knew that Sapphire had diligently trained her Torchic and Aron along the way to improve her skills. Ryan and Blaziken had also provided a lot of help to Sapphire, and her skills were improving rapidly.
After the staff positioned the four cameras, the Gym battle officially began.
"Well, first up, Geodude!" Roxanne sent out Geodude as her first Pokémon.
"Aron, go!" Sapphire also sent out Aron, whom she had nicknamed.
"Sapphire has a strong advantage in a Steel-type versus Rock-type match," Ruby said from the stands.
"Not necessarily; it depends on the trainer's performance," N said calmly.
Ruby glared at N, but regardless of their discussion, the match was about to begin. The rock terrain would be quite challenging for Aron, as there were many boulders scattered around.
"Aron, Iron Head!" Sapphire shouted.
"Geodude, Rock Throw!" Roxanne called out.
Aron lowered its head and charged toward Geodude. Geodude punched the ground, shattering rocks into rubble that pelted Aron. But Aron, being a Steel-type with an iron body, offered exceptional defense and was unfazed by the rubble.
With a loud crash, Aron rammed into Geodude, sending it flying. Then, Rock Tomb pinned the immobilized Geodude, and Metal Claw followed, finishing off Geodude and rendering it unable to battle.
"Well, that combo works well," Ryan nodded.
This combo was inspired by Sapphire's frequent observations of Ryan's battle strategies. While Aron couldn't finish opponents as quickly, Sapphire had considered the coordination of moves. Although slow, it still caught Roxanne off guard.
Recalling Geodude, Roxanne sent out her Nosepass. But as soon as Nosepass entered the field, Aron was in immediate trouble.
Nosepass was a compass Pokémon, its large red nose possessing strong magnetic properties. Roxanne's Nosepass, presumably having Magnet Pull as its ability, should have even stronger magnetic properties. Tragically, Aron, with its steel body, was directly attracted to Nosepass's large red nose.
"Nosepass, Zap Cannon!" Roxanne shouted.
"Aron, hang on!" Sapphire was helpless. Aron was being pulled in, unable to even be recalled to its Poké Ball.
A Zap Cannon hit Aron at point-blank range, but it endured the attack. Aron was sent flying, only to be pulled back in again, and another Zap Cannon blast followed.
Ryan facepalmed: This is truly unstoppable! After all, Aron weighed less than Nosepass, so being pulled in was inevitable.
Under the barrage of Zap Cannons, Aron was rendered unable to battle. Sapphire, frustrated, recalled Aron and released her Torchic.
"Torchic, get behind Nosepass!" Sapphire instructed.
After the previous battle, she had discovered Nosepass's weakness: its nose could only point north and couldn't turn around!
Torchic immediately used Quick Attack, charging behind Nosepass. But the next second, Nosepass unleashed Magnitude, sending a powerful shockwave toward Torchic.
"Torchic, jump onto Nosepass and kick it down!" Sapphire's eyes lit up.
Torchic leaped high. With Blaziken as an example, Sapphire had greatly strengthened Torchic's legs. With a high leap, it dodged the shockwaves and landed on Nosepass's head. Then, with another jump, it landed behind Nosepass and delivered a powerful Double Kick, striking hard. Ember showered the defenseless Nosepass's back until it was unable to battle.
"Nosepass is unable to battle, so the winner is Sapphire from Littleroot Town!" the referee declared.
Roxanne reluctantly recalled Nosepass. Once Nosepass's weakness was discovered, it was basically over. Unless it evolved into Probopass, with three smaller units for attack and defense, it would remain vulnerable.
Sapphire happily accepted the Stone Badge and gave Roxanne a big hug. This was her first Gym Badge ever, so of course she had to commemorate it.
Then Sapphire returned to the viewing platform. Ryan leaped down from the stands. Standing at the battlefield, he looked across at Roxanne and said, "Gym Leader Roxanne, do you want to take a break?"
"No, let's continue. You can go first!" Roxanne said, releasing the first Pokémon to battle Ryan.
A massive Aerodactyl appeared above the field, its eyes fixed on Ryan. Ryan smiled and said, "Aerodactyl? I have an Aerodactyl as my main powerhouse, so I won't use a type advantage against you. Altaria, I choose you!"
"You have an Aerodactyl too?" Roxanne asked, puzzled. Then, a thought struck her, and she said, "Ryan from Pallet Town! Are you that Ryan?!"
"Yes. That's me," Ryan nodded. Altaria also took to the air, preparing for its first Gym battle.
"Oh, then I won't hold back," Roxanne said. "This Aerodactyl is a Pokémon resurrected by the recently developed fossil revival machine, and its combat power is also very high."
"Alright, then we'll attack first! Dragon Dance," Ryan said, "then Dragon Breath!"
"Ancient Power!" Roxanne commanded.
Altaria flapped its wings and performed Dragon Dance in the air, increasing its attack power. At the same time, facing the rocks heading toward it, it released dragon energy from its beak, which collided with Ancient Power in mid-air, causing an explosion.
Altaria instantly shielded itself with its wings, its cotton-like feathers immediately fluffing up, blocking the shockwave and debris. At the same time, the Cotton Guard greatly strengthened Altaria's defense.
"Power Swap!" Ryan commanded.
Altaria instantly fired a beam of light at Aerodactyl, and the light then returned to Altaria.
Ryan smiled, while Roxanne frowned. Dragon Dance, Cotton Guard, and Power Swap greatly enhanced Altaria's attack, defense, and speed while reducing Aerodactyl's advantages. Although Aerodactyl had the speed advantage, Altaria's cotton feathers were very effective at absorbing impact, making this a really difficult battle.
(End of Chapter)
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