Among Pokémon, judging strength is quite simple. Before a battle even starts, if they haven't met before, they size each other up—first by physical build, then by aura.
Once the battle begins, it doesn't take long to see who the winner will be.
From height alone, Blaziken clearly towered over Rhydon.
In terms of aura, years of intense training and battles gave Blaziken a commanding presence. Its strength looked formidable.
However, seeing that the opponent's build was relatively "lean" compared to its own bulky muscles, Rhydon still believed it would win as easily as always.
"Raaawr!"
With a fierce roar, Rhydon launched the first attack without hesitation.
In its simple mind, there was no such thing as waiting for a challenger to move first—victory is what matters.
Its powerful tail swept to the side, smashing into the nearby rock wall, knocking loose a barrage of large boulders that came flying at Blaziken. This was the move Rock Slide.
"Kick them apart, then use Swords Dance."
Blaziken extended its long legs, delivering dozens of rapid kicks with a speed too fast for the naked eye, shattering the flying rocks one by one.
Then, twisting its body, it raised both claws skyward and slashed downward in a cross-motion. Its entire aura surged, looking almost like an awkward dance.
"Four point three seconds. Seems like Scyther's training really paid off."
Silas nodded slightly, estimating the time it took Blaziken to complete Swords Dance. It was about the same as during practice, far better than the original ten-plus seconds needed to charge up. At the very least, it was now viable and meaningful in real combat.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Charge in—use Brick Break."
Fire-type moves weren't particularly effective against Rhydon, but Fighting-type moves were much better at dealing damage. And with the boost from Swords Dance, that damage would be even more devastating.
As for the power difference between the two…
Blaziken kicked off the ground, launching itself toward Rhydon at high speed.
Rhydon was taken aback—the Blaziken was fast. It had still been watching that "weird dance" from earlier.
But years of battle experience kicked in, and it instinctively turned its body, swinging its glowing, metallic tail—Iron Tail—with dazzling white light.
Blaziken's calm eyes remained locked onto Rhydon. Its reaction was fast. In the past, Blaziken might have been caught off guard by such a swift counter and fumbled its response. But now, things were different.
With a smooth leap during its forward charge, Blaziken vaulted up to the cave ceiling with little effort, thanks to its excellent jumping ability.
Rhydon's Iron Tail missed completely, slamming into the rock wall instead, kicking up dust and small stones. Its massive body tilted from the force.
Hanging from the cave ceiling using its powerful abdominal muscles, Blaziken seized the moment and leapt downward.
Using the force of its fall, Blaziken's claws glowed white as it struck Rhydon's shoulder.
Thud!
Rhydon was slammed down onto its rear, letting out a cry of pain. It hadn't expected Blaziken to hit so hard. Its muscles weren't even that bulky, yet the impact was agonizing.
Blaziken shook its claws slightly—what a tough armor. Should've aimed for the limbs instead.
At the same time, its legs didn't remain idle. A quick double kick landed straight onto Rhydon's unguarded yellow-striped underbelly.
Rhydon's entire body was knocked back, dragging across the ground and leaving a deep trench.
Blaziken charged forward, preparing to follow up with a Low Sweep—a combo it had mastered back when it was still a Combusken.
"Trip it."
Silas's command came, and Blaziken immediately switched moves.
It delivered a powerful kick to Rhydon's left knee joint just as it tried to get up.
Boom!
Rhydon had just taken a Brick Break earlier and hadn't even prepared to stand before it was struck again and again in a flurry of attacks, making it feel dizzy and disoriented. This Low Sweep was particularly devastating.
The move itself was a Fighting-type attack, giving it a natural advantage over Rhydon's Rock typing. Moreover, Low Sweep increases in damage the heavier the opponent is. With Rhydon weighing over 200 kilograms, it crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud and let out a painful roar.
However, it wasn't going to admit defeat that easily. Its tough hide and strong defenses allowed it to endure the barrage.
Lying on the ground, its hands began to glow white. Slamming both fists into the earth, Rhydon triggered a tremor that shook the entire battlefield.
Silas raised an eyebrow. Earthquake triggered through the use of Hammer Arm, huh? While its power was reduced, using it at this moment was certainly well-timed.
Blaziken, which hadn't yet pulled back its leg, was left standing on one foot. The sudden tremor made it wobble, struggling to maintain its balance.
"Roar!"
Rhydon let out a deafening cry. Using both its arms and legs, it lunged forward. Despite having evolved into a bipedal Pokémon, it hadn't forgotten the quadrupedal movements from when it was still an Rhydon's pre-evolution. It moved with surprising agility.
It charged forward with overwhelming momentum, ramming its entire body toward the swaying Blaziken.
"This is the moment! Flame Charge!"
Silas's eyes flashed as he issued a new command.
Blaziken, which had been staggering, suddenly stabilized. With a quick shift of strength in its standing leg, it leapt out of the way of Rhydon's charging attack.
Head Smash may pack tremendous power, especially when unleashed by a Pokémon like Rhydon, and it looked downright unstoppable. But once initiated, it was nearly impossible to change direction—a clear weakness, especially in a relatively enclosed space like this battlefield.
Rhydon's eyes widened as it watched Blaziken cleanly step out of range. Its own body continued barreling forward, slamming hard into the wall.
A searing wave of pain coursed through Rhydon's body. More than the impact itself, what baffled it most was how Blaziken had stabilized so suddenly. Just a moment ago, it had looked completely unbalanced.
In the past, whenever Rhydon used the combo of Earthquake followed by Head Smash, opposing Pokémon would always lose control of their bodies and get blown away by the follow-up hit.
Even this time, though it had only triggered Earthquake through Hammer Arm, the outcome should have been the same.
But that question quickly disappeared from its mind—because Blaziken had just unleashed Flame Charge.
A force far more terrifying than before exploded from its limbs, and with a mighty strike, Rhydon fell unconscious and lost the ability to battle.
Silas tossed out an Ultra Ball. With a flash of red light, Rhydon was drawn into the ball.
If he had used a standard Poké Ball, the internal space might not have withstood the pressure. Heavy Balls were a bit excessive and expensive in this case. Thankfully, while doing side jobs to earn extra cash in the past, he had prepared a variety of Poké Balls tailored to different kinds of Pokémon. Though it had cost a fair bit, it was proving useful now.
He walked over to the now-still Ultra Ball. His expression was a bit strange.
"Don't you remember me at all, Rhydon?" he muttered. "We've met before, and I even came back specifically to settle the score."
Picking up the Ultra Ball, he released the unconscious Rhydon once more.
.....
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