"Meganium, huh? One of Johto's starter Pokémon."
Grey raised an eyebrow, not expecting Erika to have a top Gym-level Meganium.
Still, in terms of type matchup, this Meganium had no advantage at all against Heracross.
And in terms of raw strength, the two were evenly matched.
[Pokémon: Heracross]
[Type: Bug/Fighting]
[Level: 56]
[Ability: Guts]
[Moves: Omitted.]
Heracross was the middle brother of the Guts Trio.
Its strength fell somewhere between Machamp and Conkeldurr.
As for where Machamp and Conkeldurr came from, Grey had evolved them through link trades after returning to the dojo.
And since all three of those Pokémon had the Guts Ability, Grey called them the Guts Trio.
...
Grey and Erika looked at each other.
Then Erika attacked first.
"Meganium, Razor Leaf!"
Erika wanted to test whether Meganium could deal effective damage to Heracross.
"Megi~"
Meganium raised its head, and the petals around its neck suddenly spread open, releasing a refreshing scent of greenery.
The instant it lifted its head, countless sharp-edged leaves shot out from between the petals!
Shk shk shk!
The Razor Leaf attack sliced through the air, sealing off every possible route of retreat for Heracross in a fan-shaped spread.
Heracross neither dodged nor flinched. It simply crossed its thick forearms in front of its body.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The leaves crashed against its shell in a shower of metallic impacts!
Sparks flew everywhere, yet Heracross's armor didn't even gain a single white scratch.
It even casually flicked its antennae and shook off the leaves stuck in its joints.
"This is bad!"
Erika inwardly realized the situation had taken a bad turn.
Heracross clearly wasn't taking Meganium seriously at all.
And the worst part was... it had every right not to.
Under normal circumstances, if Erika saw a situation like this, she would have resorted to status tricks and underhanded tactics to saddle the opponent with conditions.
If it had been some other Pokémon, that would have been fine.
But the problem was that there was a very high chance Heracross's Ability was Guts.
Erika didn't dare gamble.
If Meganium used Poison Powder and ended up poisoning Heracross, and that successfully triggered Guts, then her whole team would probably get steamrolled.
But as things stood, Meganium's Grass-type moves couldn't deal effective damage to Heracross.
And if they fought in close quarters, Heracross would probably have the advantage there too.
For a moment, Erika was caught in a dilemma.
"Gym Leader Erika, if you don't start giving orders soon, I'm going to make my move."
Grey spoke with a smile.
He was going easy on her, making sure she wouldn't lose too humiliatingly.
At the sound of that, Heracross swung its arms a little, then raised its brows at Meganium.
It looked so much like Grey that it was like the two had come from the same mold.
"Megi..."
Meganium frowned, suddenly feeling like the Heracross across from it was plotting something suspicious.
Then Meganium turned its head and looked at Erika, urging her to start giving commands already.
"Meganium, use Sunny Day!"
Erika could only place her hopes on the weather.
Her thoughts had already shifted to the rest of her Pokémon.
As for Meganium?
At this point, it had basically become a sacrificial piece meant to chip away at Heracross's HP...
"Megi~"
Meganium cried out to the sky. The stamen-like feelers on its head and the petals around its neck burst with dazzling light at the same time, and countless motes of light swirled together in the air.
Bmmmm...
The low vibration caused by the resonating energy made even the field barriers tremble faintly.
Then Meganium whipped its head sharply, and a brilliant sphere of light nearly two meters wide shot into the air and hovered beneath the dome like a miniature sun.
The blinding radiance illuminated the entire battlefield so brightly that even the referee had to raise a hand to shield his eyes.
Sunny Day!
"A weather move. Not bad."
Grey nodded heavily.
And at that exact moment, Heracross began to move.
"Hera!"
Heracross smashed the ground beneath its feet and turned into an afterimage as it charged straight at Meganium.
At the same time, an orange-red glow began leaking from the gaps in its shell.
Burn status!
Erika's pupils contracted sharply.
She knew exactly what that meant.
Heracross's Ability was probably really...
Guts!
As if to confirm her suspicion, those burn marks—which should have weakened its attack—were instead acting like fuel, causing Heracross's power to surge visibly!
"Is it holding a Flame Orb? If I'd known, I would've had Meganium rush in and use Knock Off..."
Erika felt a stab of regret.
If Meganium had closed the distance with Heracross from the very start, maybe it could have prevented Heracross from entering burn status.
But it was too late now.
She could only try to patch things up with her other moves.
"Now! Meganium, use Weather Ball!"
Seeing that Heracross was fighting in an aggressive, open style, Erika decided to go all in and trade damage for damage.
"Megi~"
Meganium understood immediately and nodded.
A colorless ball of energy condensed in front of it, but under the blazing sunlight overhead, that energy sphere instantly transformed into a scorching fireball wrapped in roaring flames!
"Stone Edge!"
Before Meganium could launch Weather Ball, Grey's command rang out.
A layer of grayish-brown energy covered Heracross's body, and countless sharp stones formed out of thin air, all launching at once toward the Weather Ball!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The jagged rocks tore through the air with explosive force.
Seeing this, Meganium whipped its head, and the flaming Weather Ball rolled out like a bowling ball!
After slipping past several Stone Edge projectiles in succession, it struck Heracross dead-on.
Dust exploded. Smoke billowed everywhere.
And Stone Edge hit Meganium as well.
With the boost from Guts, the power of that Stone Edge was extremely impressive.
"Megi..."
Because the dust cloud had suddenly burst outward, Meganium could no longer see where Heracross was.
"Megahorn."
Grey's command floated over lightly.
The moment Erika heard it, she hurriedly searched for Heracross's position while shouting, "Meganium, Frenzy Plant!"
Rumble!
Meganium slammed its front feet down, and the entire battlefield shook violently.
Countless vicious thorny vines burst out from underground. Their surfaces were covered in spikes, and in an instant they formed a cage!
This was Frenzy Plant, the ultimate Grass-type move, but at this moment it was being used as a defensive measure.
The thick vines intertwined into an airtight wall, each one carrying enough force to punch through steel plate as they twisted toward the dark silhouette in the dust cloud.
Erika's choice was crystal clear.
She would rather cut off her own route of retreat than let that burning monster get close!
Only...
Rip!
Heracross burst out of the dust cloud. Its horn glowed with blue light as Bug-type energy erupted violently and drove straight through the center!
The Frenzy Plant collapsed the instant the two made contact.
And by the time Heracross smashed through the final barrier, Meganium was already frozen in place, panting from the move's recoil.
Bang!
The glowing horn slammed heavily into Meganium's abdomen, and the Bug-type energy tore straight through its body.
Meganium let out a cry as it was sent flying backward, gouging a deep trench across the battlefield...
There are still three chapters left. My fingers still hurt.
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