Sensing her Pokémon's tension, Roxanne immediately spoke up to soothe it.
"Don't be afraid! Use Rollout to charge in!"
"Gra-vel!"
Hearing its trainer's voice, Graveler's courage surged. The confidence of a Gym Leader's Pokémon returned as it tucked its four arms inward and began rolling forward with a thunderous roar.
At the same moment, high above, Steelix twisted its massive body. Its bronze-cast eyes locked onto the rolling boulder, and its tail ignited with a brilliant silver light.
"Iron Tail!"
Whoosh!
The sound of the tail slicing through the air was a literal boom, moving like a whip at terminal velocity—a mere silver blur chasing down the rolling Graveler.
"Use the rocks to jump!" Roxanne shouted.
Without hesitation, the rolling Graveler slammed into a massive jagged rock. Instead of shattering it, it used the rock's natural curve as a ramp, launching itself high into the sky!
BOOM!!
The Iron Tail pulverized the jagged rock Graveler had just occupied, sending shrapnel flying in a cloud of dust.
"Heavy Slam!"
"Fire Punch!"
Kashiwagi and Roxanne commanded simultaneously.
Steelix roared, its body twisting as a silver halo of energy rippled across its metallic hide like liquid flame. It lunged toward Graveler, which had reached its peak height. Steelix's massive horizontal steel segments spun like the blades of a windmill, providing a burst of propulsion that turned the giant snake into a screaming locomotive.
Facing this ferocious assault, Graveler did the unthinkable: it manually halted its rotation mid-air. It raised its thickest pair of arms, locked them together, and—as they ignited with roaring flames—slammed them down onto the incoming Steelix!
The two collided with a violent crash!
BANG!!
A thunderous explosion of fire and smoke billowed outward. Both trainers shielded their faces from the grit. As the dust settled, Graveler was back on the ground, surrounded by broken rocks, struggling to push itself up.
Floating above, Steelix looked down. There was a scorched mark on its forehead, but its expression remained calm; its breathing hadn't even quickened.
It was clear that even a super-effective move hadn't done much damage. Roxanne realized this was the result of a massive level gap; this Steelix was far beyond the expected strength for a second badge challenge. Is he a trainer from another region? she wondered.
Knowing Graveler had only survived thanks to its Sturdy ability, she shouted, "Get close! Use Self-Destruct!"
"Gra-vel!" Graveler roared in response, rolling toward Steelix without a second thought. Its body began to glow with a blinding, incandescent white light—a terrifying surge of energy was brewing.
Kashiwagi remained calm. He had predicted this. "Use the move we practiced back home! Sand Tomb!"
"ROAR!"
Steelix let out a deep, muffled growl. Its horizontal segments began to spin rapidly. The loose sand on the ground was drawn up into the air, swirling around Steelix's body like a vortex.
In an instant, a roaring cyclone of sand formed just as the white light on Graveler's body erupted. The sand condensed inward, forming a literal Shield of Sand!
A piercing light filled the arena, accompanied by a tremor that shook the ground. A shockwave of debris and smoke expanded outward like a visible wall of air. Fortunately, since Graveler's level wasn't exceptionally high, the shockwave only ruffled Kashiwagi's clothes.
The smoke was quickly dispersed by a sudden gust.
Kashiwagi and Roxanne looked in to see an unscathed Steelix twisting its segments. Below it lay Graveler, its eyes swirled into spirals, smoke rising from its body.
The "Sand Tomb Shield" had worked. The inspiration for this move came from Ash Ketchum; Brock had learned the principles from Ash and then passed the technique on to Kashiwagi. After a week of practice and a lot of extra work back in Pyrite Town, Steelix had finally mastered it.
"Graveler is unable to battle! Steelix wins!" the Drone Rotom announced.
"A beautiful display of technical skill!" Roxanne praised, recalling Graveler to its ball. "To perfectly defend against Self-Destruct... your Steelix's control is remarkable."
"Your Graveler was impressive too. It's usually impossible to stop a Rollout so abruptly, isn't it?" Kashiwagi offered some mutual praise to keep the rapport high.
Roxanne smiled softly. "You worked hard, Graveler. Now, for my final Pokémon, please show me your full strength!"
She threw the ball. Pop! A flash of white light revealed a Pokémon that looked like the Easter Island-esque(Moai) — Nosepass.
Kashiwagi quickly recalled Steelix and sent out the long-waiting Mawile.
"Careful! This one can turn freely!" he shouted. Roxanne's Nosepass was trained to manipulate its own magnetism, allowing it to face any direction without being bound by the "always facing north" rule.
As she landed, sparks of electricity naturally flickered around Mawile's body, and her feet drifted off the ground.
Roxanne was impressed. Another Magnet Rise? That move isn't easy to teach.
"Rock Tomb!" Roxanne raised her hand. Nosepass stomped its foot, and stone pillars erupted around Mawile!
"Dodge upward!" Kashiwagi commanded, having studied Roxanne's patterns. Mawile ascended rapidly, leaving the Rock Tomb to crash into empty air.
"Use those rocks as platforms! Iron Head!"
"Maw-wile!"
Mawile chirped and, to Roxanne's confusion, kicked off a rising rock pillar with incredible force!
CRASH! The rock shattered, and the explosive force turned Mawile into a blurred shadow. Nosepass couldn't track her.
"Protect!" Roxanne shouted. She could see Mawile, but Nosepass couldn't, so she opted for defense.
However, Mawile didn't attack from the front. She zipped past Nosepass, charging straight toward the Leader's stand where Roxanne stood!
Roxanne flinched as Mawile twisted in mid-air and kicked off another rock near her, sending shards flying. It was a feint—Mawile was attacking from behind!
"Iron Defense!" Roxanne yelled.
But it was too late. Even though Nosepass's magnetic nose had locked onto Mawile's location, it couldn't activate the move in time.
DONG!
A dull, bell-like thud echoed as Mawile's massive second jaw slammed Nosepass into the ground!
"Ice Fang—wait, didn't it have Sturdy?" Kashiwagi blinked, seeing Nosepass's eyes already spinning.
The Drone Rotom broadcasted the final result: "Nosepass is unable to battle! Mawile wins! The winner of this Gym challenge is Kashiwagi!"