"Come out, Swellow!"
After recalling Gastly, the unexpected Rex directly released his ace Pokémon, Swellow.
Rex had a reason for doing so. Rapidash's speed was too fast. Among his remaining Pokémon, only Swellow could outspeed it, and as a flying type, Swellow was immune to many of Rapidash's attacks.
"Darn it, Rapidash, use Fire Blast!"
Upon seeing Rex release Swellow, Flannery felt a bit annoyed. Her Rapidash was more proficient in close-range combat, and as a gym leader, she couldn't switch Pokémon, making it a bit difficult.
"Swellow, dodge, then use Air Slash!"
In Swellow's eyes, the Fire Blast heading towards it seemed too slow. With a slight flap of its wings, it easily dodged the attack, then retaliated with Air Slash, leaving a scar on Rapidash's body.
"Rapidash, use Bounce!"
Following the command, Rapidash quickly ran, reaching its maximum speed before leaping towards Swellow in the air.
"Swellow, Wing Attack!"
Rex thought, *You're trying to strike a flying bird from the ground? If you succeed, can you write this into the textbooks?*
Although Rapidash's Bounce was fast, it was still within Swellow's capabilities to evade. Before Rapidash reached its highest point, Swellow used Wing Attack, continuously slicing into its body. Rapidash let out a cry of pain and couldn't maintain the Bounce skill, falling straight to the ground.
"Come back, Rapidash!"
Flannery couldn't let Rapidash fall from such a height; it would surely be severely injured. She had to recall it into its Poké Ball, but this also meant Rapidash couldn't participate in the battle again.
"Come out, Camerupt!"
Following Rapidash, Flannery released her fourth Pokémon.
"Camerupt is a Pokémon that lives in volcanic areas. Its hump on its back erupts every ten years, but it can also erupt when angry, earning it its reputation. The humps on its back are made from bones and occasionally spew out magma stored within, reaching temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius. When the magma inside increases, it will start to shake, followed by a massive explosion."
Rex wasn't very familiar with Camerupt, so he immediately took out his Pokédex to learn more about it.
"Come back, Swellow!"
"Come out, Machop!"
Rex recalled Swellow and then released Machop.
Flannery found it a bit strange to see Machop appear, but she had seen this unique Pokémon yesterday and knew that Rex had such a Pokémon.
"Machop, charge forward and use Brick Break!"
"Camerupt, use Stomp!"
Machop didn't choose to face head-on. With a strong push from its legs, it charged towards Camerupt, easily avoiding the effects of Stomp.
"Bang!"
Machop used Brick Break directly on Camerupt's head. This hit made Camerupt take a few steps back, its face suddenly flushing red as if it was hurt.
"Camerupt, use Eruption!"
Following Flannery's command, the two volcanic vents on Camerupt's back began to boil, with a large amount of magma churning inside. Then, the two humps on its back turned red.
"Machop, come on, continue with Brick Break!"
Rex knew he had to attack quickly; otherwise, when the humidity in the air increased due to Camerupt's skill, the power of fire-type skills would be greatly weakened.
Machop's second attack was just landing when it was hit by a massive eruption of lava. It flew out, hitting the wall of the battle arena and losing its combat ability.
"What terrifying power!"
Rex couldn't help but be amazed. There were few Pokémon that could withstand such power.
"Go, Poliwhirl!"
After checking on Machop's condition and realizing that it was severely injured but still able to hold on, Rex let it rest in its Poké Ball for the time being. After all, the battle was still ongoing.
"Poliwhirl, use Rain Dance!"
Rex was tired of having the weather controlled by the opponent and now wanted to take control himself.
After Poliwhirl successfully used Rain Dance, a dark cloud appeared in the sky, and light rain began to fall, instantly dispelling the heat on the battlefield. Even the two humps on Camerupt's back returned to normal.
"Camerupt, use Earthquake!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, Flannery knew she had to react quickly; otherwise, when the moisture in the air increased, the power of fire-type skills would be greatly reduced.
"Poliwhirl, jump up, then use Bubble Beam!"
After evolving, Poliwhirl's leg muscles became very developed, allowing it to jump higher and stay in the air longer, easily avoiding the Earthquake attack.
Camerupt was directly hit by Poliwhirl's Bubble Beam. In the rain, and with Camerupt's 4x weakness to water due to its fire attribute, this hit immediately incapacitated Camerupt.
"Well done, Poliwhirl!"
Rex praised.
After landing safely, Poliwhirl gave Rex a look that said, "Leave it to me, no problem."
"Come out, Torkoal!"
As Torkoal emerged, the dark clouds that had been hovering in the sky dissipated, and the scorching sunlight shone down on the battlefield, making Rex feel a bit parched.
"Drought!"
Rex said somewhat dejectedly.
Although he had gained control of the weather, he didn't expect Torkoal's ability to be Drought. With this, Poliwhirl's proficiency with Rain Dance couldn't compete.
"Poliwhirl, use Mud Shot!"
Now, due to the effects of Solar Power, the battlefield was extremely dry. Water-type skills were weakened, so Rex switched to using Ground-type Mud Shot, hoping to inflict some damage on Torkoal.
"Torkoal, use Flamethrower!"
Unfortunately, the Flamethrower powered by Drought was astonishingly strong, directly breaking through Poliwhirl's Mud Shot and incapacitating it. Additionally, Poliwhirl was now in a state of burn due to Torkoal's Flamethrower.
After a fierce struggle, Poliwhirl ultimately couldn't defeat Torkoal, which was basking in the sunlight. However, Torkoal also didn't have an easy time and expended a lot of energy.
Now, both sides only had two Pokémon left. However, due to Torkoal being weakened by Poliwhirl, Rex still had a slight advantage.
"Go, Heracross!"
Rex's fifth Pokémon was Heracross, although its attribute was somewhat unfavorable since Bug type was weak against Fire type. However, since Torkoal wasn't in perfect condition, it wasn't an impossible battle.
"Heracross, use U-turn!"
Rex had to seize the opportunity of Torkoal's slow movement speed. Quick attacks were necessary; otherwise, if it was hit by
its Flamethrower, Heracross would be severely wounded.
"Torkoal, use Iron Defense!"
Flannery knew that Torkoal couldn't dodge this attack, but with its enhanced defense from Iron Defense, Heracross's attack wouldn't be able to budge it.
"Heracross, use Brick Break!"
Rex was somewhat scratching his head now. With the enhanced defense from Iron Defense, Heracross wouldn't be able to defeat it in a short time. He could only rely on attacking skills to drain its energy.
"Torkoal, use Flamethrower!"
This time, Heracross didn't completely dodge, and one side of its body was hit by the flames. It was injured, and it also became burned due to the fire being 4 times effective against it. However, Heracross's ability was Guts, which temporarily boosted its attack power. But it needed to defeat Torkoal before its energy was depleted.
The battle had turned into a tug of war. Both sides engaged in fierce combat, testing the endurance and patience of the Pokémon.
In the end, Heracross, with its tenacious perseverance, battled Torkoal to a draw, both losing their fighting abilities.
"Come out, Magcargo!"
"Swellow, come out."
Now, both of them only had one Pokémon left, and the outcome between them would determine the final winner of this gym challenge.
(End of this chapter)