Annihilape's second Rage Fist struck Clefable squarely in the face without any hindrance.
Protect could only be used once in a short time frame. Trying to use it consecutively caused the success rate to plummet off a cliff. Moreover, Whitney hadn't even had time to react to the fact that Annihilape could throw a second Rage Fist.
With the power and force behind that first punch, after being blocked by the Protect barrier, Annihilape should have been left panting in place, leaving him open to a counterattack from Clefable. How could a move of that caliber be used consecutively? It made no sense at all.
Yet the nonsensical happened anyway. Whitney had no time to make any other response before Clefable was struck directly.
A shrill cry echoed across the entire battlefield. Clefable's chubby body was launched like a hit ball, bouncing twice on the ground before rolling and crashing into the wall of the spectator stands at the edge of the field.
Clefable's body was embedded directly into the wall. Facing the battlefield, her eyes were swirling in circles. Clefable was unable to battle.
The entire Gym fell dead silent. The people in the stands even forgot to breathe. They stared with wide eyes at Clefable embedded in the spectator stand wall, and at Annihilape not far away, his fists still tightly clenched as dark purple energy slowly dissipated around him.
Just a moment ago, the spectators had been celebrating Clefable blocking one of Annihilape's attacks, only for Clefable to be sent flying the very next second. Before their brains could process what had happened, the battle's outcome had already been decided.
"Clefable is unable to battle! Annihilape wins!" The referee's voice broke the silence, raising his flag high.
"Thank you for your hard work, Clefable. Come back." Whitney recalled Clefable into her Poké Ball.
Although she'd had a type advantage in this match, just like in the previous match between Heracross and Kangaskhan, the outcome was completely different. If it weren't necessary for powering up Annihilape's move, Whitney even felt that Annihilape wouldn't have been hit by Clefable's moves at all.
After taking two consecutive attacks from Clefable, the power of Annihilape's Rage Fist had reached an exaggerated level. In the entire fight, Clefable had actually only been hit twice. Just two punches, and it was knocked out cold.
On one hand, it was indeed because Rage Fist was exceptionally powerful. On the other, Annihilape's base attack power was terrifyingly high.
After all, even when Clefable used Protect, Annihilape had almost shattered the barrier. Although he didn't break through, he managed to unleash a second Rage Fist without any startup or recovery lag. The gap in strength between the two was no longer as simple as a single minor tier on paper.
Ironically, when Ash had sent out a Pokémon two tiers lower than hers, he managed to secure a draw after a tough battle. Whereas she had used a Pokémon one tier lower than Ash's, only to be easily swept. This wasn't just a difference between Pokémon, but a difference between Trainers as well.
At this thought, Whitney couldn't help taking a deep breath, suppressing the lonely expression on her face.
"The battle isn't over yet! Next up is my ace. Take this, Ash!" Whitney pulled out her final Poké Ball and threw it out with force. "I'm counting on you, Miltank!"
As the light faded, a Pokémon significantly larger than an ordinary Miltank appeared in the center of the field. Her limbs were thick and sturdy, her pink-and-white body like a mini-mountain. Yet her round figure didn't seem clumsy at all. Instead, it exuded a sense of powerful pressure.
Miltank, a Normal-type Pokémon, and the absolute ace of the Goldenrod Gym.
Ash narrowed his eyes, taking in Miltank's information. Elite Four Peak. As expected of the Goldenrod Gym's ace, her strength was indeed on a completely different level from the other Pokémon.
This level was a touch higher than Annihilape's. Furthermore, Miltank had the advantage in stamina. Even though Annihilape had flattened Clefable with two punches, he had taken two super-effective attacks head-on, draining a lot of his own stamina. If Ash kept Annihilape on the field, it would be a tough fight.
"Annihilape, thanks for your hard work. Come back and rest." Ash pulled out a Poké Ball and recalled Annihilape.
Seeing this, Whitney raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're not planning to keep using Annihilape? The momentum behind those two punches earlier was quite frightening."
"Annihilape can still fight, but there's no need." Ash shook his head, pulling another Poké Ball from his waist and tossing it lightly in his hand. "Against Miltank, I have a more suitable choice."
If Rage Fist were still usable, Ash wouldn't mind letting Annihilape finish the match directly, but Rage Fist was sealed off now. Ghost-type moves had no effect on Normal-type Pokémon, meaning Annihilape couldn't use Rage Fist against Miltank. It was a pity. If he weren't challenging a Normal-type Gym today, he could have swept the entire team with Annihilape's buffed Rage Fist.
Still, it didn't matter. It was a good opportunity to let a Pokémon that hadn't fought in a long time stretch his limbs.
"A more suitable choice?" Whitney crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "Then I'll gladly take a look."
"I choose you, Infernape!"
Ash threw the Poké Ball. A flash of light erupted, and a red-and-white figure landed firmly on the field.
Infernape, a dual Fire and Fighting-type Pokémon, was covered in white and reddish-brown fur. The flame atop his head burned fiercely in the air. His arms hung naturally at his sides, looking both calm and brimming with explosive power.
"Infernape." Whitney murmured, combing through her memory for information about Infernape. Finally, she retrieved the data from a corner of her mind. "That's the Infernape from the Indigo Conference! His aura and state are completely different from back then!"
When it came to Ash's memorable Pokémon from the Indigo Conference, there were countless examples, but if one were to speak of those that left a particularly deep impression, Infernape definitely held a spot.
This was a Pokémon abandoned by someone else. In another Trainer's hands, he had been extremely weak, but once he came into Ash's hands, it was as if he had been reborn.
In just the span of a single Indigo Conference, he evolved from Chimchar all the way into Infernape, going from struggling against Mid-level opponents to being capable of fighting above his weight class against High-level foes. He was practically the definition of a monster.
Back then, Whitney had paid a little attention to Chimchar due to his unique nature. So even though a long time had passed, Whitney still remembered Infernape.
Ash nodded. "That's right. Infernape is a Pokémon I caught during the Indigo Conference. Although he rarely makes an appearance, his strength is by no means weak."
The last time Infernape had battled was against Drake at the Orange League arena. At that time, Infernape had only been at High level, but now, times had changed. Relying on his own hard work and desperate fight-to-the-death determination, Infernape had already reached Peak level.
All one could say was that while talent wasn't everything, combining talent with relentless effort truly created a massive gap between him and ordinary Pokémon. Back then, Annihilape's level had even been higher than Infernape's, but now Infernape had actually overtaken him.
"I can tell he's indeed strong, but my Miltank is no ordinary foe either! Miltank, Rollout!"
Whitney initiated the attack first. Miltank bent her limbs and curled her whole body into a sphere, then spun wildly. Her round body rolled toward Infernape at an unbelievable speed, gouging two deep ruts into the ground wherever she passed.
Rollout increased in power with each consecutive hit. The first hit had average power, the second doubled it, the third doubled it again. After five hits, almost no Pokémon could withstand it. This was Whitney's signature strategy.
"Infernape, dodge and use Mach Punch!"
Infernape shifted his feet, his body moving like a flash of red lightning to sidestep just as Rollout charged at him. Immediately after, his right fist glowed with white light, striking toward Miltank with lightning speed.
Mach Punch landed squarely on Miltank's flank with a heavy, dull thud. Miltank's body slid sideways several meters from the blow, but her Rollout didn't stop. Instead, she used the force to readjust her direction and rolled toward Infernape once more.
"What?" Ash frowned.
Mach Punch was a priority move, extremely fast. Although its power wasn't exceptionally high, it was super effective against the Normal-type Miltank. Yet that punch had dealt almost no damage to Miltank.
"It's useless." Whitney shook her head. "While in the Rollout state, my Miltank's balance and stability far exceed ordinary Pokémon. Normal attacks can't disrupt her rhythm at all."
Her Miltank possessed extreme defense, with relatively weaker offensive stats, but Rollout complemented that weakness perfectly. It could be said that while her Miltank's proficiency with other moves was average, her Rollout had reached absolute mastery.
Combined with her massive stamina and defense stats, under normal circumstances, opponents couldn't even deplete half of Miltank's stamina before being completely swept away by the fully powered Rollout.
As she spoke, Miltank's rolling speed increased further, her entire body almost blurring into an afterimage as she charged toward Infernape.
"Infernape, jump!" Ash immediately changed strategy.
Infernape pushed off hard with his legs, leaping high into the air. Flipping twice mid-air, he landed firmly behind the path Miltank had just rolled over.
"Now, Flamethrower!"
Infernape took a deep breath and spewed a column of blazing flames from his mouth. The heat was so intense it warped the air as it swept toward the rolling Miltank.
Flamethrower hit with precision, flames exploding across Miltank and engulfing her pink-and-white body. Yet the next second, Miltank rolled right out of the flames. Though her fur was somewhat scorched, her speed hadn't decreased at all. In fact, she was moving even faster.
"This is troublesome." Ash's expression turned serious.
Rollout didn't need to hit the opponent to become stronger. As long as the Pokémon remained in the Rollout state, its power would continue to increase. At the same time, this Miltank's Ability was Thick Fat, which halved the damage from Fire-type moves, rendering Fire attacks effectively resisted.
By now, Miltank's Rollout power had doubled twice, rivaling the power of an ordinary Flamethrower. If she rolled one more time, its power would likely rival attacks on the level of Hyper Beam.
"Now we're in trouble." In the stands, Brock frowned deeply. "Rollout becomes more terrifying the longer it goes. If Miltank reaches her fifth roll, even Infernape won't be able to take it."
"Ash will definitely find a way." Though Serena was also somewhat worried, she chose to trust Ash.
Misty said nothing, merely hugging Togepi tightly in her arms, her eyes fixed on Ash in the arena. Right now, Infernape had yet to unleash his true potential. If it was Ash, he would definitely find a way to draw out Infernape's full power and turn the battle around.
On the field, Miltank's Rollout speed had reached a point where it was difficult for the naked eye to track. Her body spun frantically against the ground, the whipped-up wind blowing debris and loose rocks flying in all directions.
A smile tugged at Whitney's lips. "Consider this payback for your Annihilape's Rage Fist earlier. Miltank, crush him!"
Rage Fist increased in power by taking hits, whereas Rollout was even more absurd, increasing in power based on the duration of use. Though not every Pokémon could execute it like Whitney's Miltank, maintaining the move uninterrupted by other attacks.
At Whitney's command, Miltank's spin reached its absolute limit, as if slicing through the very air around her. Her body slammed toward Infernape like a white meteor. In that instant, the ground cracked, the air trembled, and everything standing in her path threatened to be crushed to dust.
"Take it directly!"
This command caught Whitney completely off guard. Ash was choosing to have Infernape tank it directly? Rollout had already stacked to its fourth hit, making its power eight times greater than the original. Taking an attack of this magnitude head-on would be brutal.
Could Infernape also have a move like Rage Fist that boosted skill power after taking damage?
The instant Infernape heard the command, his feet planted firmly on the ground, and he crossed his arms before him in a defensive stance. He trusted Ash's judgment implicitly.