Gary looked at Excadrill.
Level 31 against level 49—an eighteen-level gap. The difference wasn't small, but Gary still wanted to give it a try.
"Excadrill, this Garbodor's level isn't low. It might be stronger than you. Do you still want to test yourself?" Gary asked.
"Drill!"
Excadrill cried out. It had wanted a stronger opponent for a long time.
"Good spirit, but my Garbodor won't lose," Roxie said, taking the initiative. "Garbodor, use Body Slam!"
Garbodor leapt up, its bulky shadow falling over Excadrill's head.
"Don't rush to dodge. Wait until Garbodor is about to land, then evade and counter with Earthquake," Gary ordered.
Roxie frowned slightly. She didn't understand what Gary was thinking. Excadrill clearly wasn't fast enough on its own—if it waited until Garbodor was already falling, there shouldn't be time to escape.
But when Garbodor was still two meters above Excadrill, the mole Pokémon vanished.
Bang!
Garbodor slammed into empty ground.
"Drill!"
Excadrill reappeared five meters away, swung its steel claws, and pounded the ground. Earthquake waves spread outward and struck Garbodor with tremendous force.
"Garbo—!"
Garbodor cried out in pain.
Although the level gap between the two sides was large, Excadrill had the EX Sand Force Ability boosting its power, and it was holding Premium Soft Sand as well. Together, the power of its Ground-type moves rose by 110%.
With that multiplier, Earthquake reached a power of 210. Even with the level difference, it still dealt serious damage.
"What?! It actually has speed like that… I thought its Ability was Mold Breaker. Then could it be…" Roxie was stunned, suddenly thinking of a possibility that shouldn't have been possible.
"Don't get close to Garbodor. Just attack with Earthquake from a distance," Gary ordered.
As long as Garbodor never got a chance to land a hit, there was a path to victory. Besides, as a Steel-type, Excadrill was completely immune to Poison-type moves.
Without its Poison-type attacks, a Poison-type Pokémon's offensive threat dropped by a third.
"Body Slam!" Roxie ordered quickly.
Garbodor lunged at Excadrill again, but Excadrill was simply too fast. After releasing another Earthquake, it dodged away at once.
"Stone Edge!"
Excadrill summoned sharp stone blades. Countless rock shards struck Garbodor. They didn't deal as much damage as Earthquake, but they still chipped away at it effectively.
"Use Clear Smog to disperse the Sandstorm!" Roxie ordered.
The three pipes on Garbodor's right arm spat out a large amount of thick white gas that swept across the field and suppressed the Sandstorm. It couldn't overwrite the weather completely, but it could hold back the flying sand for a time.
This was the first time Gary had seen Clear Smog used to defend against a Sandstorm. It couldn't replace the weather, but as long as Clear Smog was continuously released, it was enough to stop the sand.
"Dig!"
Bang!
Before the Clear Smog could reach it, Excadrill burrowed underground.
"You really know how to run." Roxie watched Excadrill disappear into the earth. For the moment, she had no way to deal with it.
Garbodor needed to keep releasing Clear Smog to resist the Sandstorm, which made it difficult to handle Excadrill at the same time. It was stuck in a completely passive position.
Seeing that Roxie wasn't issuing any new commands, Gary knew Garbodor had no way to hit an underground opponent. That meant there was an opening to finish it off.
"Excadrill, use Horn Drill for a sneak attack from below," Gary ordered.
"What?!"
Roxie was caught off guard.
Even if Horn Drill didn't knock the opponent out instantly, it would deal heavy damage as long as it landed.
"Garbodor, use Stockpile!" Roxie shouted quickly.
"Garbo!"
Garbodor took a deep breath, its body swelling as it braced itself.
Bang!
Just as Garbodor finished using Stockpile, the ground beneath its feet split open. A metallic drill burst out at an angle, striking Garbodor in the lower abdomen and flipping it onto its back.
"Good opportunity! Attack with Earthquake!" Gary ordered immediately.
Roxie struck back at once. "Hyper Beam!"
Even flipped over, Garbodor condensed an orange orb of energy in front of the three pipes on its right arm.
Seeing this, Excadrill swung its steel claws to pound the ground, but Hyper Beam finished charging first.
The orange orb turned into a beam of light and shot straight at Excadrill just as the Earthquake waves spread outward.
Boom!
A cloud of black smoke rose. Excadrill was blasted backward, but it didn't go down. It had endured Garbodor's Hyper Beam.
Garbodor, meanwhile, was left frozen by the recoil from Hyper Beam and couldn't fight back.
"Excadrill, Earthquake again!" Gary ordered.
"Drill!"
Despite the heavy damage it had taken, Excadrill swung its steel claws and slammed the ground with everything it had left.
The Earthquake waves surged out and struck Garbodor once more.
"Garbo!!"
Garbodor wailed, its eyes rolling into spirals.
"Garbodor is unable to battle. Excadrill wins!" the referee announced.
LV31 → LV32!
Excadrill's level rose by one at that moment.
"So awesome!"
"That Excadrill defeated two of Roxie's Pokémon in a row!"
"It's too strong! Come on, sweep her three-to-zero!"
The audience cheered loudly for Excadrill, thrilled by the battle. They were happy to cheer for whichever side gave them a good show.
Gary listened to the cheers from the stands, but he knew a full sweep was unlikely.
Garbodor's Hyper Beam had done a lot of damage to Excadrill.
And in the anime plot, Roxie had been the last Gym Leader Ash challenged. She chose her Pokémon based on the challenger's strength.
"Looks like you're really strong. But my performance isn't over yet."
Roxie recalled the defeated Garbodor and sent out her third Pokémon.
"Watch my final act—go, Toxtricity!"
[LV48 Toxtricity – Elite]
Toxtricity appeared with plenty of flair. Its body was covered in purple scales, and the crest running from the back of its head down to its neck crackled with golden lightning.
Gary was a little puzzled.
Toxtricity was a Poison- and Electric-type Pokémon. Both of its own types were completely ineffective against a Ground/Steel-type like Excadrill.
Unfortunately, Toxtricity could still learn moves of other types. Given Excadrill's current condition, winning was basically impossible. Even with its speed, Excadrill couldn't avoid sound-based attacks.
"Excadrill, good work. Come back and rest."
Gary took out Excadrill's Poké Ball and recalled it without hesitation.