In theory, the Pokemon provided by the Trainer Assessment Center for the second phase will listen to examinee orders. Though, there was no guarantee they would fully listen to your command.
'This test is very difficult,' Hisoka secretly complained while working out a plan in his mind.
If it was Rhydon, the evolution of Rhyhorn, the test would undoubtedly be much easier.
Meanwhile, he had to fight against an evolved Pokemon with a type advantage over his chosen Pokemon. Unknown to Hisoka, many trainers failed to pass this test. They had to retake this test several times before they finally succeeded.
"Hitmonlee, Double Kick!"
The examiner initiated an attack, not giving Hisoka much time to plan. The first round was meant to test the trainer's response when they are in a disadvantageous situation. An Elite Trainer must have a strong mentality.
"Lee!"
Hitmonlee pushed his legs against the ground. Then, it instantly crossed the 20 meters distance and swung a heavy kick on Rhyhorn's flank.
It was impossible for Rhyhorn to dodge because of its slow speed. Once it was hit by the opponents' first kick, what came next was another kick. It would cause Rhyhorn to be seriously injured due to its weakness against the Fighting-type move and might be forced out of the battle.
"Rhyhorn, Stomp on the ground now!" Hisoka shouted.
He had to resolve the opponent's first attack before proceeding with his next move.
"Rhyhorn!"
It slightly raised its foreleg following Hisoka's command. And when Hitmonelee's kick was about to hit, it stomped on the ground, causing it to tremble.
Shake!
The strong shaking on the ground made Hitmonlee unable to stand still, interrupting its attack. It could only retract its leg and immediately leave the affected area.
It did this without even waiting for its trainer's command, purely relying on its battle experience. And it was the right decision, in Hisoka's opinion. Because even if he continued with the kick just now, it would fall to the ground because of its unstable center of gravity caused by the ground shaking. Then, it would be in a vulnerable position, an easy target for its opponent, Rhyhorn, to charge at.
Hisoka didn't waste this opportunity and immediately ordered, "Rhyhorn, use Dig!"
If he wanted to win this fight, he had to make a quick decision. The longer he hesitated, the more advantages his opponent would get.
As a Ground-type Pokemon, Dig is its inborn move. But, because of its large size, it was much slower for it to dig into the ground when compared to Diglett or Sandshrew.
"Hitmonlee! Use Jump Kick!" The examiner said quickly.
He saw through Hisoka's plan and immediately tried to stop it. His Hitmonlee had the upper hand against the slow-moving Rhyhorn, but once the opponents burrowed into the ground, Hitmonlee would be sitting duck. There was no way for him to attack the opponent with its close-combat moves. He also knew that Hisoka was trying to delay the fight to disrupt Hitmonlee's battle rhythm.
"Lee!" Hitmonlee shouted.
It jumped forward at the opponent with his leg extended. As it reached the opponent, he slammed his foot at the Rhyhorn, who was burrowed halfway into the ground.
"Rhyhorn!" it uttered a painful roar.
Rhyhorn had already tried its best to dig as fast as possible, but when it was about to go underground, Hitmonlee managed to land a kick on its rear.
Although Hitmonlee's kick caused a lot of damage to Rhyhorn, it was not enough to knock it out. It then disappeared into the hole.
"Damn it!" The examiner gritted his teeth in anger.
He didn't expect Hisoka to be so familiar with this Pokemon. Besides being taken advantage of by his opponent, he also disrupted his Pokemon's battle tactics.
The man then took a deep breath to think about the current fight. His Hitmonlee didn't know a single long-range move.
'Do I need to switch to a Fire or Water-type Pokemon to force it out of the hole?' he thought.
In fact, the best option to deal with an underground Pokemon was to use Earthquake, the Ground-type move. Earthquake will do more damage to an underground Pokemon rather than the one on the surface because of the intense vibration it causes in the ground.
'Vibration?' a light bulb went off in his head.
A few seconds later, the man looked at Hisoka and loudly said, "Kid, I admit that you're a really good trainer. But, do you think that Hitmonlee can't do anything to your Pokemon?"
...
"Try me bitch." (AN: Insert meme. Lol)
...
Hitmonlee, use Bulk Up, and then Mega Kick on the ground near the hole!"
Hitmonlee nodded to the man's order and began to put his hands on its chest. Then its body became surrounded by a crimson aura before converging to its legs.
Bulk Up, like Sword Dance, is a special move that increases the strength of a Pokemon. Moreover, it was proficient enough in using the move that it let it focus on its legs rather than the whole body reinforcement, which was a waste of energy. Since Hitmonlee is better at kicking moves, why would it need to strengthen its entire body?
After that, Hitmonlee stood several meters taller with its legs covered in a crimson aura. In addition, its leg's muscles were much thicker than before. With a single look, you'll know how terrifying the strength was contained in those legs.
Then, it jumped into the air as its right leg glowed in metallic blue light.
Boom!
The right leg kicked on the ground with great force, causing the ground to shake violently. There were even a few cracks on the ground due to the heavy force of Hitmonlee's kick. It was a combination move of Bulk Up and Mega Kick to simulate an Earthquake-like effect.
"Roar!" Rhyhorn's painful cry came from inside the hole.
It appears that it had suffered a lot of damage from Hitmonlee's powerful attack.
Seeing that his tactic worked, the man smiled and praised his Pokemon, "Great job!"
"Lee!" It nodded its non-existent head.
"Let's do it again, Hitmonlee! Mega Kick!" he continued.
'It's now!'
Hisoka, who had been silent all this time, immediately said, "Rhyhorn! Rush out of the hole and use Take Down!"
Rhyhorn, covered in dust with several cracks on its rocky hide, suddenly came out of the hole as it charged at the opponent at high speed. Then, it slammed its whole body on Hitmonlee's torso with great force.
"What!" The examiner shouted in surprise.
This kind of reckless attack was not within his consideration at all. Instead, he thought that Hisoka was trying to launch a sneak attack from the ground.
Meanwhile, Hitmonlee was in the air when Rhyhorn's attack came. It could not dodge the attack and received the full brunt of Rhyhorn's full-body charge.
"Lee!" Hitmonlee screamed in pain.
It was pushed back for several meters before Rhyhorn knocked it down on the ground. After that, Hitmonlee tried to stand up a couple of times under his trainer's loud encouragement. But unfortunately, it couldn't and finally fell to the ground unconscious.
...