"Rhyperior, use Take Down!!"
The stone wall created by Rock Tomb was shattered by Pikachu's Iron Tail. With danger and pressure bearing down upon him once more, Mr. Morkel's fighting spirit was thoroughly ignited as he immediately ordered Rhyperior to launch a counterattack.
"ROARRR!!"
"Pikachu, quickly use Reflect and defend yourself!" Seeing Mr. Morkel launch his offensive, Ash hurriedly gave Pikachu a defensive command.
Faced with the immense pressure Pikachu was exerting, it wasn't just Mr. Morkel who had found his courage—Rhyperior itself had transformed its fear into an unyielding fighting spirit.
Receiving its Trainer's command, Rhyperior's eyes flashed crimson as two streams of white vapor burst from its nostrils. In the very next moment, its massive body charged forward like an armored heavy-duty truck, crashing toward Pikachu, who was still suspended in midair.
BOOM!!
Crack—Crack!
Although Pikachu managed to use Reflect in time to defend itself, Reflect merely reduced the damage taken—it couldn't completely nullify the attack.
Furthermore, Reflect's damage reduction effect could only function at its maximum potential if the energy barrier remained intact. Once the shield was broken, there was naturally no way it could provide its full fifty percent damage mitigation.
Rhyperior was Level 55, only three levels lower than Pikachu. Moreover, as the ace Pokémon of a veteran professional Trainer, its mastery over Take Down had also reached the Mastered level.
Launching its furious counterattack, Rhyperior sent Pikachu—unable to gain leverage while airborne and protected only by Reflect's barrier—flying backward with tremendous force.
"PIKAAA!!"
"Rhyperior, continue pursuing it! Use Stomping Tantrum!!"
Seeing Pikachu blasted away by Take Down, Mr. Morkel immediately became excited and invigorated, loudly issuing another command while thrusting his hand forward.
However, Ash and Pikachu had no intention of giving Rhyperior another opportunity.
Previously, they simply hadn't expected Surf to fail in breaking through Rock Tomb's stone barrier.
Rather than immediately ordering Pikachu to retreat, Ash had chosen to greedily press the advantage a little. Since Surf's quadruple-effective damage hadn't landed successfully, he intended to make up for it with Iron Tail's double-effective damage instead.
Unfortunately, Iron Tail had only succeeded in destroying the stone wall without harming Rhyperior itself. Before Pikachu could follow up with another Iron Tail, Rhyperior had already launched its counterattack.
But after this exchange, Ash had already thoroughly probed the depths of Rhyperior's capabilities.
From this point onward, Mr. Morkel and Rhyperior wouldn't be gaining another advantage against Pikachu.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to widen the distance, then counterattack with Aura Sphere!"
Watching Rhyperior charge toward Pikachu like a runaway truck, Ash calmly seized the perfect moment and issued his next command.
Rhyperior charged forward at full speed, raising one of its enormous pillar-like front legs before viciously bringing it crashing down upon Pikachu.
BOOM!!
"Pikaaaa—!!"
Yet in the very last instant before being trampled, Pikachu executed an elegant roll to evade the attack before immediately activating Quick Attack.
Pushing off the ground with its hind legs, Quick Attack instantly took effect. Combined with an explosive burst of speed and its trademark zigzag footwork, Pikachu effortlessly disengaged and created a safe distance.
Before Mr. Morkel and Rhyperior could even react, Pikachu had already moved on to executing the latter half of Ash's command.
Coming to an abrupt stop after reaching a safe distance, Pikachu spun around and brought its forepaws to its waist, adopting the familiar stance of gathering energy for an Aura Sphere.
In the next moment, a volleyball-sized Aura Sphere was launched directly toward Rhyperior at tremendous speed.
BOOOOM!!!
"ROARRRGH!!"
Aura Sphere was a Fighting-type move. Against Rhyperior's Rock typing, it dealt double-effective damage. Pikachu's counterattack was both swift and ferocious, while Rhyperior's massive body made evasion extremely difficult.
With a base power of 120, although it lacked the 1.5x Same-Type Attack Bonus, the move's proficiency bonus combined with its double-effective damage multiplier was more than enough.
After taking Aura Sphere head-on, even Rhyperior—with its extraordinary defenses—couldn't suppress a pained roar.
"Rhyperior!!"
Mr. Morkel never expected that the slight advantage he had just fought so hard to establish would be overturned in the blink of an eye.
Watching Rhyperior howl in pain after being struck by Aura Sphere, panic immediately flashed across his face as he called out anxiously.
Ash, however, had no intention of relaxing his offensive simply because his opponent was worried.
Once he seized an opportunity, his fighting style was simple—grow stronger as the battle progressed and become fiercer with every attack.
"Pikachu, use Rain Dance!!"
The momentum of the battle had completely shifted. While Mr. Morkel's rhythm had been disrupted, Ash's own tempo was becoming smoother and more oppressive. Seeing the rainfall beginning to weaken, he immediately ordered Pikachu to refresh it.
As a Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon, Rhyperior was four times weak to Water-type attacks. Although Surf couldn't deal damage unless it successfully broke through Rock Tomb's defenses, Rain Dance was entirely different.
As a weather move descending from the heavens and covering the entire battlefield, Rain Dance continuously dealt stable and significant damage that Rhyperior simply couldn't avoid through conventional means.
Furthermore, the rainy weather provided Pikachu with consistent and powerful buffs.
Until this battle concluded, Ash had absolutely no intention of allowing the rain to stop.
"Pika~!"
Receiving Ash's command, Pikachu once again launched a misty sphere of water vapor toward the dark clouds overhead. The sphere ascended into the sky before bursting apart with a soft pop.
The dark clouds that had begun dispersing rapidly gathered once more, becoming thicker and heavier than before. The weakening rainfall immediately returned to its original intensity.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
Pitter-patter...
"..."
"..."
"ROOOOAR!!"
Within the steadily falling rain, Rhyperior—already injured by Aura Sphere—grew increasingly miserable and uncomfortable.
"Pikachu, use—"
"Rhyperior, quickly use Rock Tomb for defense!"
Seeing Ash about to issue yet another offensive command, Mr. Morkel no longer cared about the infuriating rainfall overhead and hurriedly ordered Rhyperior to defend itself.
"ROAR!!"
This time, Rhyperior's defensive response was exceptionally swift.
However, neither Mr. Morkel nor Rhyperior noticed one crucial detail—Ash's command had abruptly stopped halfway through, and a faint smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips.
They had fallen for it.
Ash's unfinished command had been nothing more than a feint.
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T/N:
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