Because Ash no longer needed to personally look after the Pokémon sent in by customers of his Move Mastery Shop, he had once again increased the number of orders he accepted.
Each batch now accepted forty-five Pokémon, and the move-learning period had been shortened to just three days. The customers simply assumed that Ash's mysterious psychic powers had improved once again, and as consumers, they were naturally delighted by the change.
Even his former competitors, who had once worried that Ash would steal their business, no longer held any objections. After all, Ash's Move Mastery Shop was merely a small workshop in comparison to the enormous move-learning industry—it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Moreover, compared to the business Ash took away, he had brought far more business opportunities to the industry as a whole. The orders he couldn't possibly handle would ultimately flow into their stores anyway.
Toward Ash, there were certainly still many who envied him, but as time passed, there were even more who felt grateful for the prosperity he had brought to the entire industry.
Of course, that was merely a side story.
Returning our attention to the battle itself, upon seeing Ash send out Pikachu—a Pokémon whose typing was disadvantaged against Rhyperior—Mr. Morkel didn't feel even the slightest bit pleased. Instead, his expression became even more solemn.
However, as a professional Trainer, Mr. Morkel wasn't about to surrender simply because Pikachu possessed moves capable of countering Ground-type Pokémon. Moves were merely tools in battle—every technique had ways to be countered or neutralized.
"My Rhyperior isn't weak!" Mr. Morkel encouraged himself inwardly.
Thinking about the fame and recognition that would undoubtedly follow if he managed to defeat Ash's Pikachu, the fighting spirit within him immediately reignited.
"Ash! Ash! Ash!"
"Ash! Ash! Ash!"
"..."
"..."
Seeing that both sides had already sent out their Pokémon, the audience erupted into cheers for Ash.
"Go, Ash!"
"Go, Ash! ×3"
"Good luck, son!"
Among them, Clarissa, Gary, Green, Aunt Mihoko, and Ash's mother Delia, who sat in the front row of the spectator stands, cheered especially loudly.
"Battle Start!"
As soon as the referee confirmed that both Trainers had sent out their Pokémon, he loudly announced the beginning of the match amidst the thunderous applause of the crowd.
"Rhyperior, today's opponent, Mr. Ash, is an incredibly powerful Trainer, so stay focused."
Although his words were polite and humble, Mr. Morkel's opening attack was anything but gentle. Knowing full well how troublesome both Ash and Pikachu were, he immediately launched a fierce offensive.
"Let's begin by saying hello to our opponents—use Earthquake!"
"ROOOARRR~!"
Rhyperior raised one of its enormous stone pillar-like legs high into the air before violently stomping down onto the battlefield. Right from the start, it unleashed the Ground-type ultimate move Earthquake, clearly intending to deny Pikachu any opportunity to use Surf.
However, Ash was far from easy to deal with.
After all, thanks to the countless battle analyses uploaded online by tactical commentators, the information regarding his Pokémon had long since become public knowledge. Consequently, nearly every opponent came prepared with highly specialized strategies designed specifically to counter his team.
Facing increasingly challenging battles had, in turn, forced Ash himself to unlock even greater potential.
Like Mr. Morkel's current strategy—launching an aggressive opening attack that left Pikachu no opportunity to strike while simultaneously using a battlefield-wide move to negate Pikachu's greatest advantage: its speed and mobility.
This wasn't the first time Ash had faced such tactics.
And a simple move like this wasn't nearly enough to leave him helpless.
"Pikachu, use your tail to prop yourself up!" Ash calmly issued his command.
"Pika~!"
The tip of Pikachu's spring-shaped zigzag tail immediately hardened like steel before it stabbed into the battlefield. Using its tail as support, Pikachu lifted its entire body off the ground.
BOOM!
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Rhyperior's massive stomp instantly caused the earth to tremble violently. Terrifying seismic waves surged throughout the entire battlefield as enormous cracks spread across the ground like spiderwebs.
The attack's destructive power was undeniably terrifying.
Unfortunately for Mr. Morkel, it failed to inflict any meaningful damage upon Pikachu.
After all, Earthquake dealt its greatest damage when opponents remained firmly planted on the ground. With only the tip of Pikachu's tail making contact with the battlefield—and that tail possessing a spring-like structure—the amount of force transmitted was negligible.
"Pika! (^▽^)"
With its tail still planted in the ground, Pikachu swayed back and forth like a spring-powered toy mouse. Once the seismic tremors subsided, it effortlessly pulled its tail free before performing an elegant somersault and landing safely back upon the battlefield completely unharmed.
Ash had timed everything perfectly.
The moment Pikachu landed, his counterattack command was immediately issued.
"Pikachu, use Rain Dance!"
"Pika~!"
Responding enthusiastically, Pikachu skillfully performed the familiar motion of gathering energy before firing a misty sphere of water vapor high into the sky.
As one of Ash's ace Pokémon, Pikachu wasn't required to study Attribute Theory as deeply as Greninja. Nevertheless, memorizing the basic type-effectiveness chart and becoming thoroughly familiar with the Pokémon encyclopedias of every region were mandatory lessons.
The moment Mr. Morkel sent out Rhyperior, Pikachu had already analyzed its opponent's information.
Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon.
What Abilities did it commonly possess? At what level did it evolve? How should one approach such an opponent?
Ground-types countered Electric-types, meaning Pikachu was at a type disadvantage. Therefore, determining how to fight this battle became critically important.
Rhyperior's Ground- and Rock-type combination was four-times weak to both Water- and Grass-type attacks.
Among Pikachu's Grass-type moves, it only knew Grass Knot. While Grass Knot was exceptionally effective against massive opponents like Rhyperior, it was easiest to land when the target was charging at high speed. Moreover, it was generally only effective the first time. Once the opponent became wary of it, opportunities to use it successfully became exceedingly rare.
Therefore, Grass Knot alone couldn't serve as Pikachu's primary offensive option in this battle.
That left Water-type attacks as the obvious answer.
Among Pikachu's Water-type techniques, it possessed both Rain Dance and Surf. As for how to optimally utilize those two moves together, Pikachu was already highly experienced.
Beyond exploiting Rhyperior's four-times weakness to Water, Pikachu could also target its secondary Rock typing with Steel Tail or the Fighting-type Aura Sphere for super-effective damage.
Alternatively, it could utilize the combination of Rain Dance and Electrify to place Rhyperior into both the Electrified and Conductive states, transforming its next attack into an Electric-type move.
Once Rhyperior's type advantage was neutralized, Pikachu possessed absolute confidence in overwhelming its opponent through explosive power, superior mobility, battlefield control, and tactical versatility.
For Pikachu, this battle had only just begun.