"Gyarados, use Brine."
Ash had already guessed Brock's plan. Brock wanted to take advantage of the battlefield to increase the power of Geodude's Rollout. It seemed Gyarados had already put a lot of pressure on him.
Gyarados stared at the gray sphere rolling toward it and blasted a powerful torrent of water from its mouth.
The attack struck Geodude directly.
Being four-times weak to Water-type moves, Geodude tried to brace itself with its head to withstand the Brine attack. Even with its Rock Head Ability, it was completely useless.
It simply couldn't block the attack.
The powerful Brine smashed through Geodude like a landslide. Geodude was blasted away like a cannonball and slammed straight into the wall behind Brock.
"Pika—Pika!"
Pikachu winced sympathetically as it watched Geodude fly off. Even it could imagine how painful that hit must have been.
The entire arena fell silent.
The kids who had been cheering suddenly froze. Just a moment ago, Geodude had been battling on the field—how had it suddenly ended up embedded in the wall?
Looking at the large hole smashed into the wall, Brock frowned.
This opponent is tough.
He had never faced such a brutally overwhelming Trainer before.
"Return, Geodude."
Brock recalled it into its Poké Ball and said helplessly:
"Your Gyarados is really strong."
Geodude had been defeated in a single move. That was honestly absurd.
"I wonder… can it beat Onix?"
Brock sent out his next Pokémon.
Misty stared in shock.
Ash's Gyarados is this big?
Before, she hadn't really noticed because there hadn't been any large Pokémon around for comparison.
But now Onix was on the field.
Onix was already considered huge—but the Shiny Gyarados was even larger than Onix.
Being big was one thing.
But it was ridiculously strong too.
Ash really knows how to raise that Shiny Gyarados…
Misty suddenly felt very relieved.
Back then, giving that Shiny Magikarp to Ash had clearly been the right choice.
Pokémon: Onix — Lv.19
Ability: Sturdy
"Gyarados, use Scary Face!"
"Onix, use Rock Polish!"
Ash and Brock gave their commands at the same time.
One move reduced the opponent's Speed, while the other boosted its own Speed.
Did he see through my strategy?
Sweat started running down Brock's face.
Ever since he realized Ash wasn't an ordinary rookie Trainer, Brock had gradually raised the difficulty of the Gym battle, bringing out his true strength.
His original plan was simple:
Have Onix use Rock Polish to greatly increase its Speed so it could keep up with Gyarados. Onix's high physical and special defenses would allow it to endure Gyarados's Water-type attacks.
Once its Speed increased, Brock would have a strong chance of winning.
But Ash had seemingly predicted this and used Scary Face to reduce Onix's Speed, cancelling out the advantage.
"Twister!"
Gyarados roared as it twisted its massive body.
A violent tornado suddenly formed around Onix, instantly pulling it into the swirling vortex.
"Bind!"
Onix proved to be incredibly tough. It forcibly broke through the Twister and, with its boosted Speed, rapidly slithered toward Gyarados.
The scene suddenly became a little ridiculous.
The enormous Gyarados had been tightly coiled by Onix.
Ash couldn't help but laugh.
"I think using Smack Down would've been better than using Bind."
Onix looked like it was struggling just to hold Gyarados. It felt like Gyarados could break free with a single burst of strength.
You're basically giving me the opportunity…
"Gyarados, Brine."
Gyarados's eyes flashed with ferocity. A powerful surge of water gathered in its mouth before it fired the attack at point-blank range.
"Onix, dodge!"
Brock's expression changed instantly.
If Onix got hit by this attack, it would end up exactly like Geodude.
Too late.
Just as Onix released its hold on Gyarados, a massive force struck its body.
Onix was blasted backward, smashing through several stone pillars before crashing onto the ground—motionless.
Brock stared at Ash in disbelief.
His entire strategy had been carefully planned:
First boost Speed, then use Bind to restrict Gyarados's movement, and finally finish it with Smack Down.
Using a stat-boosting move first was meant to ensure that the attack wouldn't be easily dodged later.
But Ash had clearly seen through the entire plan, intentionally luring Onix in before striking with Brine when it had no time to evade.
"Ash from Pallet Town… you win."
Brock recalled the unconscious Onix and announced the result of the battle.
"What?! Big brother actually lost again!"
"The Onix he trained so carefully lost too!"
The children in the audience couldn't accept it.
Tears welled up in their eyes, about to fall.
"Hey, little brothers and sisters," Misty said gently.
"Your brother is amazing. And Onix is amazing too."
She kept comforting them with kind words until the children finally stopped crying.
Quest Completed!
Rewards obtained:
100,000 PokéDollars
Ability Patch ×1
Rare Candy ×5
Ash felt the Pokédex in his pocket vibrate slightly.
The reward money had probably been transferred.
"Ash, this is proof that you defeated me."
Brock took out a badge shaped like a cut diamond, colored gray like the Gym itself.
"The badge awarded for defeating a regional Gym Leader — the Boulder Badge."
"Thank you."
Ash accepted it and said modestly:
"Honestly, I had the advantage because of type effectiveness. Otherwise, the result might have been different."
Several children from the audience came down and glared at Ash.
After all, he was the Trainer who defeated their big brother's Onix.
"Ash, congratulations on getting your first Gym Badge."
Misty walked over and casually teased Pikachu.
Traveling companions…
A trace of envy appeared in Brock's eyes.
"Are you two traveling together?"
"Yes."
Ash nodded, glancing at Misty playing with Pikachu.
Brock took out a device and entered Ash's information.
"This is the Gym challenge prize for defeating Pewter Gym."
"30,000 PokéDollars."
"Ash, you're treating me to a big meal!" Misty declared happily.
Clearly, it was mooching time.
Later, at a restaurant.
"So Brock, you want to become the world's greatest Pokémon Breeder?" Misty asked while eating ice cream, her big eyes full of confusion.
Most Trainers she met wanted to become the strongest Trainer in the world.
"Yes," Brock replied calmly.
"I'm a little different from you two."
After saying that, both Brock and Misty looked at Ash.
At that moment, Ash noticed a familiar middle-aged man walking toward them from the restaurant entrance.
"Sir—"
Before Ash could finish speaking, the man removed his disguise.
He looked almost exactly like an older version of Brock.
The man's face was filled with guilt.
"Brock…"
"I'm sorry. I delayed your dream for so long."
"From now on, leave everything to me. Go with them and pursue your dream."
Brock fell silent for a moment before beginning to explain the Gym matters to his father.