Chapter 100: Rhyhorn on the Waves
"Zeraora, super-charged state," Ryan said. "Thunderbolt!"
Zeraora roared, its fur standing on end. Countless electric currents swirled around it, and then a powerful bolt of electricity suddenly unleashed, striking the struggling Marowak in mid-air.
Marowak fell to the ground, charred and incapacitated.
Ryan used a Poké Ball to capture the mid-level Marowak, then said, "The experiment is over. It's not immune, just very resistant."
Ruby nodded and recorded the information in her notebook. Rosa puffed out her chest and said, "See, I was right."
Ryan and Ruby had just been discussing Pokémon type effectiveness and immunity. Ryan and Ruby had determined that certain type matchups were indeed immune, such as Fairy-types being immune to Dragon-type moves, Normal-types and Ghost-types being mutually immune, and Ground-types being immune to Electric-type attacks.
Rosa, however, disagreed. She believed that nothing was absolutely immune to attack; it was simply a matter of attack strength. So, Ryan found a Ground-type Pokémon and released Zeraora to test the theory.
Initially, a Thunderbolt attack on Marowak proved completely harmless, with its HP bar barely budging. Rosa suggested that, similar to the principle of a lightning rod, Ground-type Pokémon could channel the electricity underground.
So Ryan had Zeraora knock Marowak into the air, then used another Thunderbolt. It helped somewhat, but not much. He estimated that even a single HP point would have to be broken down into dozens of pieces to calculate the minuscule damage.
Then, Ryan used a strategy he and Zeraora had devised together, using Charge to send Zeraora into a Super Charged state. This instantly increased the power of its Electric-type moves. While successfully defeating Marowak, the result was pyrrhic, with only a pitiful amount of damage dealt relative to the energy expended.
"That's true, but do you think it was worth it?" Ryan asked, recalling Zeraora.
"What do you mean?" Rosa asked.
"It means: Why waste so much power to defeat a Ground-type Pokémon when a single Water Gun can do the trick? The effort is completely disproportionate. Your theory is correct, but it's not practical in battle," Ruby said, closing her notes.
Ryan nodded. Why didn't so many professors point this out? Ryan assumed they knew the damage was infinitely close to zero, so why bother worrying about the exact amount? Simply summarizing it as immunity was simple and easy to understand, saving trainers from having to dwell on technicalities.
Rosa was embarrassed and said helplessly, "Okay, I was wrong."
Then the three of them set off. Ahead was a small city where they could buy some supplies. After all, Ryan was traveling with 13 Pokémon, and the food expenses were quite high.
"It looks like the road ahead is blocked by a landslide," Ryan said, checking the map. "According to the map, it seems we'll have to take a detour, which might delay us for two or three hours."
"Ugh. A detour," Rosa complained. "Why don't we just dig through it? That'll save time for future travelers. Ryan, your Tyranitar should be perfectly capable."
Ryan thought about it and it seemed to make sense. Besides, the blockage wasn't huge, only about ten meters. If someone were to clear it manually, it would probably take ages, but with a Pokémon like Tyranitar, who'd been crunching rocks since it was a Larvitar, it probably wouldn't be a big deal.
The three of them arrived at that section of road and found a young girl directing several Pokémon to dig a tunnel. Rosa smiled and said, "I didn't expect there would be such kindhearted people."
Ryan nodded and said, "Hello, are you also planning to dig a tunnel to the next city?"
"Huh? Hello," the girl said, turning around to see Ryan and the others. "I live in a small village nearby. My name is Emily. My grandmother sprained her ankle, and it's too inconvenient for her to climb over the mountain to the city to see a doctor every day. That's why I wanted to open up this tunnel so that she can travel more easily."
"Hello, Emily, we can help," Rosa said, taking Emily's hand affectionately.
"Really? Thank you so much," Emily said excitedly.
Ryan said helplessly, "In the end, it's still me who has to do the work."
He then released Tyranitar, and the others entered the tunnel Emily had started digging. Looking at Sandslash and Golem digging, Ryan wondered, "That's odd. Sandslash and Golem are both skilled diggers, but they're working rather slowly."
As he finished speaking, water dripped down from the rock wall above them as Sandslash and Golem dug, and then both Pokémon fled in terror without a backward glance.
Ryan and the other two frowned. Ruby coughed dryly and said, "You only caught these two Pokémon not long ago, didn't you?"
"Yes. I caught them just to dig the tunnel," Emily said.
No wonder, Ryan thought. Normally, trained Pokémon, even those weak to Water-types, wouldn't be so afraid of a little moisture. Only wild Pokémon who haven't been accustomed to Pokémon battles retain such primal fears.
"Actually, there's a Rhyhorn here that can dive underwater. I was planning to catch it so I could open the tunnel quickly. But it's so clever, I keep letting it escape," Emily said.
"A Rhyhorn that can dive?!" Rosa's eyes sparkled, probably because she was intrigued by the unusual behavior.
Ryan and Ruby sighed when they saw Rosa like this, knowing that they couldn't leave now. Rosa had the same expression when she caught the Teddiursa in the Ursaring territory last time.
"Tyranitar, start digging. Break any rocks you encounter," Ryan said.
Tyranitar nodded, and with powerful swipes of its claws, large amounts of soil and rocks were excavated. When it encountered larger, harder rocks, it used Stone Edge to shatter them into pieces. Emily also quickly asked her three Dugtrio to carry away the debris. With this division of labor and cooperation, they completed the tunnel in just twenty minutes.
"Thank you so much," Emily said gratefully, "this way my grandma can go to the city for treatment very conveniently."
"You're welcome. Can you tell us where that diving Rhyhorn is?" Ryan asked, glancing at Rosa, who was eager to investigate. He knew they would have to wait before heading to the next city.
"Come with me! I'll take you to where that Rhyhorn likes to hang out," Emily said. "Marill, listen for the Rhyhorn's footsteps."
Emily released a Marill, who flapped its large ears, carefully listening to the subtle sounds in the air.
A moment later, Marill led the group to a lake. Ryan and the others saw a single horn emerge from the water, followed by a Rhyhorn that slowly surfaced and began to feed on berries from a nearby tree.
"Serperior, Mean Look. Then Leaf Storm!" Rosa sent out her Serperior.
Mean Look prevented the Rhyhorn from escaping, and Leaf Storm sent it flying. At the same time, Serperior's Contrary ability activated, increasing its Special Attack.
"Hey, let's battle, Rhyhorn! I want to catch you!" Rosa said, waving her Poké Ball.
(End of Chapter)
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