Chapter 197: The Battle of Attack and Defense
The third match ended quickly. The difference in strength between the two was still significant. One was a novice trainer using Milotic, and the other was a man in his thirties using Electivire. The Electivire had far more combat experience than the novice trainer, and its type advantage was also a complete counter. It defeated Milotic in three moves.
"Sigh, the gap is too big," Lillie said after watching the match end.
"There's nothing we can do. Who told the League to throw out such a big bait?" Ruby said.
Ryan said, "I've seen Sapphire's opponent. She's also a strong veteran trainer named Mina. She was the runner-up in the Johto League eight years ago. She shouldn't be underestimated."
"It's alright, Sapphire can handle it. As long as it's not too much of a type disadvantage, this match should be fine," Ruby said.
The fourth match started quickly. Sapphire was battling a woman who looked very young. Of course, she only looked young; she was almost forty. But her combat experience was undeniable. It was just a matter of whether Sapphire could withstand the pressure.
With the referee's signal, the two released their Pokémon. Two flashes of light appeared, and two dinosaur-like Pokémon appeared on the field.
"Interesting, a battle of attack and defense?" Ryan chuckled, looking at the two Pokémon.
Ruby sighed, "A Rampardos versus a Bastiodon, what a coincidence."
Rampardos was one of the Pokémon Sapphire obtained from the breeding center. Compared to its pre-evolution, Cranidos, the evolved Rampardos was much larger, with a gray body, blue stripes on its tail, white spikes on the sides of its head and feet, red eyes, and three toes.
Bastiodon was Mina's Pokémon. Its face resembled a hard stone shield, very much like a Triceratops. Its head was gray with yellow and black stripes, yellow eyes with black pupils, and spikes above and below its eyes. A row of blunt white spikes ran along its black back. Its back, legs, and tail were gray, while its body was mainly yellowish-brown. Its toes and all the spikes were white.
Both Pokémon are fossil Pokémon from the Sinnoh region, but they met on the Hoenn battlefield. Type-wise, Rampardos is at a slight disadvantage, being a pure Rock type, while Bastiodon is a Rock/Steel type, which is super effective against Rampardos. However, Bastiodon's offensive capability is incredibly weak, and how it, specializing in defense, will deal with the powerful Rampardos becomes a major point of interest.
"Rampardos, Iron Head!" Sapphire said.
Rampardos roared, lowered its head, and rammed its hard skull directly into Bastiodon, which instantly blocked with Iron Defense.
"Bastiodon, Metal Burst!" Mina said.
Bastiodon's body emitted a metallic sheen, then it opened its mouth to create a white spherical energy ball in front of it, absorbing Rampardos's attack before launching the energy ball, hitting Rampardos directly at close range and sending it flying.
"Hmm. Metal Burst is a great move for Bastiodon. Just like my Wobbuffet, it reflects the opponent's attack. And Bastiodon's ability is Sturdy, able to withstand a one-hit KO; the force of the reflected attack is absolutely terrifying," Ryan said, stroking his chin.
Lillie nodded and said, "If I were commanding Bastiodon, I'd probably use the same moveset. And Bastiodon also has Taunt; if I'm not mistaken, next up is Taunt, forcing Rampardos to use only attack moves."
"Next, Taunt," Mina said.
Bastiodon looked at Rampardos disdainfully, as if mocking its weak attacks. Rampardos was instantly enraged, gritting its teeth and charging at Bastiodon.
"Perfect! I want to see how long you can defend! Rampardos, Earthquake!" Sapphire shouted.
Mina frowned instantly. Earthquake is 4x super effective against Bastiodon; even if Bastiodon can defend, a hit would likely be fatal. She immediately said, "Bastiodon, we'll use Earthquake too!"
Rampardos and Bastiodon stomped the ground simultaneously, the powerful shockwaves colliding and instantly shattering the entire battle arena. But Rampardos's attack was no joke; its 165 Attack stat gave it innate destructive power. While Bastiodon's Earthquake reduced some of the damage, Rampardos's Earthquake still successfully hit Bastiodon, inflicting immense damage.
"Damn it, Bastiodon, Metal Burst!" Mina exclaimed.
"How could I let you succeed, Rampardos, another Earthquake!" Sapphire shouted.
Bastiodon opened its mouth, creating a white sphere of energy in front of it, but Rampardos was going all out, stomping the ground heavily again. The powerful shockwave struck Bastiodon once more, causing it to lose its footing. The Metal Burst sphere of energy deflected, grazing Rampardos's body without causing significant damage.
"Good opportunity, Rampardos. Give it one last Head Smash!" Sapphire shouted.
Rampardos charged toward Bastiodon. Its massive skull glowed with energy, and a powerful headbutt slammed into Bastiodon's shield face, taking away its last bit of health and rendering it unable to battle.
"Bastiodon is unable to battle, Rampardos wins. Therefore, the winner is Sapphire from Littleroot Town!" the referee announced at the opportune moment.
Sapphire excitedly rushed over and hugged Rampardos, laughing, "Rampardos, you did a great job!"
Rampardos happily squinted its eyes, enjoying the cheers. Mina recalled Bastiodon, shook her head helplessly, and left the arena.
Ryan and the others also met up with Sapphire, first congratulating her on her victory, and then checking the competition schedule. Ash's match was in the afternoon, so they'd wait until after lunch to watch it.
As for the Mercenary Guild member's match, it was tomorrow; they could go watch then too. According to Ariana's description, this operative named Dragonair was quite skilled at commanding Dragon-type Pokémon.
After lunch, the group went to the second arena in Group E, where they met up with Brock and Serena. Ruby, however, didn't see Morrison and asked, "Where's Morrison?"
Brock replied, "Morrison's match starts in a little while, so he didn't have time to cheer for Ash."
The group then sat down to watch the matches. The first few matches were evenly matched, but nothing particularly outstanding. Soon it was Ash's turn to battle.
Ash's opponent used Hitmonlee, and Ash sent out Pikachu to lead the charge. The legendary 50/50 matchup in Pokémon battles—what kind of performance would Pikachu deliver? This gave Ryan a bit of anticipation.
But to Ryan's disappointment, under Ash's command, Pikachu swiftly and decisively used Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, and Electro Ball to take down Hitmonlee. The speed and efficiency made Ryan wonder if it was really Ash!
Seeing Ryan's somewhat shocked expression, Brock laughed and said, "Ash has been working hard to surpass you, Ryan. He's been training relentlessly, all so he can fight you."
Ryan smiled and said, "This competition is going to be interesting; it'll probably be quite fun."
(End of Chapter)
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