[Frogadier VS Geodude.]
The referee announced that the two sides were in place, waved the flag in his hand, and declared: "The battle begins!"
As the master of the gym, Roxanne gracefully gave up the first attack and let John attack first.
John was not polite. "Frogadier, Quick Attack!"
As soon as the voice fell, Frogadier's figure vanished, rushing to Geodude's side like lightning, raising his hand to pick up the Cut he had just learned!
A kunai radiating a dazzling light appeared in his hand, slashing diagonally! From the bottom right to the top left, it seemed to be cutting Geodude in half!
"Harden!" Roxanne hurriedly commanded, surprised by Frogadier's speed.
"Dude~" Geodude crossed its arms in front of it, and a silver light flashed across its body as its defense increased.
"Ding!" A crisp collision sound rang out.
The sharp kunai slash hit Geodude, as if it had struck solid iron, splattering embers, but…it didn't seem to have any effect.
Geodude's defense was already very high, and with Harden's boost, it was no surprise that John couldn't break through.
Thus, John's real offensive move was not Cut.
"Bubble Beam!"
Without any warning, Frogadier shot a stream of bubbles directly at Geodude, sending it tumbling to the ground at Roxanne's feet.
[Defeated Geodude LV17, gain experience 340]
One hit KO.
Roxanne opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.
John's Frogadier was incredibly fast, both in movement speed and the speed of its moves.
With such a swift Bubble Beam, Geodude couldn't dodge, even from a distance.
But while Frogadier could take out Geodude at the beginning of the battle, he still had to use Quick Attack and Cut to test the waters first.
So this opponent in front of him was clearly strong, yet so cautious?
Roxanne guessed correctly.
John had indeed let Frogadier use Quick Attack to close the distance out of caution.
But it wasn't just a test; he felt that getting closer was safe, as even if Geodude could react, it couldn't evade.
In Pokémon battles, Frogadier was still in a position to secure a win at close range with its type advantage.
"Stable fighting style," Roxanne commented after a moment, releasing her second Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball opened, and a behemoth fell from the sky.
"Boom!" The ground shook with the arrival of this Pokémon.
It was an Onix!
John noted the level from its head: LV20.
The range that could be challenged was only a 4-level difference.
"Onix, use Rock Slide!" Roxanne was no longer humble and took the initiative to attack.
"Nix~~" Onix let out a low growl immediately.
A circular black hole appeared in the sky above the battlefield, and fist-sized rocks rained down from it.
"Bubble Beam!" John ordered without hesitation.
Under the AOE skill Rock Slide, dodging was pointless.
Frogadier had no defensive skills, so it was a matter of trading blows to see who would fall first.
Frogadier opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of water, forming a line of bubbles that volleyed towards Onix.
Unlike Geodude, Onix was so massive that it couldn't dodge, which was why John hadn't let Frogadier get closer.
"Rock Tomb!" Roxanne had already made her move.
Three enormous stones suddenly dropped in front of Onix, blocking the Bubble Beam.
"Boom!"
Deep gouge marks appeared on the boulders, but they didn't penetrate.
Rock Tomb was an offensive move, yet Roxanne used it defensively—a combination of offense and defense.
"Quick Attack!" John began to strategize for the next round of attack.
Frogadier's figure flickered again, darting through the barrage of rocks and racing toward Onix.
"Dragon Breath!"
Onix opened its mouth and spewed forth a thick, dark green flame that swept across the battlefield.
Frogadier, advancing forward, could only brake suddenly and leap back to avoid the Dragon Breath.
"Iron Tail!" Roxanne continued her relentless assault.
Onix's massive body twisted, and its enormous tail glinted with silver light, sweeping toward Frogadier like a steel blade, scattering the Rock Tomb in front of it.
"Cut!"
In midair, Frogadier condensed a shimmering kunai in its hand to block the attack.
But the defense was obviously ineffective, and in the next second, Frogadier was slammed into the side wall by Onix's Iron Tail.
"Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Dragon Breath, and Iron Tail—this Onix has built a system," John muttered to himself.
"Can we continue to fight?" he wondered, watching Frogadier as it slid down from the wall.
"Frogadier! (╬￣Ware￣)" Frogadier stood up immediately.
"Good perseverance, but I suggest it's better not to be stubborn," Roxanne kindly reminded. Even if Onix was enormous, even if its strength was not overwhelming, the power of Iron Tail's weight alone was quite terrifying.
To fight again could result in more than just injury for Frogadier.
Ignoring Roxanne's advice, John raised his hand to direct.
"Frogadier, use Water Pulse!"
"Kalu!!!" Frogadier looked up and shot out a column of water.
The jet of water spun around in a circle, generating a strong impact.
"Rock Tomb!" Roxanne quickly countered.
Three giant rocks fell from the sky and landed in front of Onix to intercept the water pulse.
The next second, a loud bang resonated.
The Water Pulse tore through the rocks, striking Onix behind them.
"So powerful?!" Roxanne gasped, momentarily speechless.
Of course, it was stronger. In terms of species strength, both Frogadier and Greninja had higher Special Attack stats than Physical Attack.
John chose to cultivate Frogadier into a dual-threat Pokémon precisely because of its balanced attack capabilities.
Onix fell suddenly, the ground trembling beneath it.
[Defeated Onix LV20, gain experience 800]
As a Rock/Ground-type Pokémon, Onix took four times the damage from water, and even the aftermath of the Water Pulse that ran through the Rock Tomb was enough to take it down in seconds!
This move was initially meant to be a "surprise" that John planned to use against Roxanne's last Pokémon