This time, Machop’s Leer didn’t work half as well. Recognizing the futility of charging towards such an agile opponent, Rhyhorn made his way towards Machop slowly, an unnervingly cunning glint in his eye. Rhyhorn was slowly backing the Fighting-type into the corner of the arena with the least boulders, giving Machop less places to hide behind. From what I’d seen, Rhyhorn was surprisingly adept at maneuvering his body, so this could be a problem for Team Lara.
Lara seemed to recognize it, too. “Move!” she shouted.
Machop’s eyes darted around frantically, but Rhyhorn was standing a dozen feet in front of him. Moving in either direction would lead to Rhyhorn charging. Roark’s Pokémon had Machop boxed in.
A smile tugged at Roark’s mouth. Adjusting his glasses, he ordered, “Rhyhorn, Bulldoze again!”
This time, Machop had nowhere to run. Rhyhorn stomped the ground, and the Fighting-type Pokémon stumbled, disoriented.
“Rhyhorn, Tackle!” Roark ordered, pointing a single finger at Machop.
Lara wiped a bead of nervous sweat off her brow. “Focus Energy!” she ordered. “Th—just do your best, Machop! Get up close and personal, but stay away from Rhyhorn’s horn!”
Machop closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When his ruby eyes snapped open again, they were full of calculating purpose. With renewed strength, Machop threw himself to the side, kicking up a spray of sand. Grabbing the stoney armor around Rhyhorn’s body with one hand, Machop reached down and threw up a shower of sand with the other.
Rhyhorn roared in fury and pain as tiny particles of sand landed in his eyes, bucking and twisting like an enraged bull. Machop’s hand was shaken loose, and Rhyhorn’s legs grazed Machop’s side as the Fighting-type tried to twist away, tossing him away several feet.
For a few moments, it seemed like Machop wouldn’t get up, but the Fighting-type did, tenderly holding his side. Lara and Machop locked eyes before Lara set her gaze on the still-blinded Rhyhorn.
“Revenge.”
Roark’s eyes widened as Machop slowly burst into a charge, cocking back his fist. An orange aura surrounded Machop’s arm as he delivered a brutal punch—just under Rhyhorn’s jaw.
The entire Pokémon’s head jerked back and Rhyhorn collapsed onto the arena sand, head lolling limply. Not a moment later, Machop let out a tired groan and collapsed not three feet from his opponent. Both Pokémon were out cold.
Roark took out a piece of cloth, wiping his glasses, as he frowned heavily. “Well, I was not expecting that…”
“Both Pokémon are unable to battle! Please select your next Pokémon!”
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Lara pressed her lips together uneasily, hand hovering over her remaining Pokéballs hesitantly. Finally, she placed her hand on the one she held on the side of the belt. Maeve recognized it as Swablu’s ball. Afi’s was snuggled in between both balls as Lara’s favorite Pokémon and ace.
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Both trainers, Roark and Lara, tossed their balls onto the field.
Roark’s Pokéball snapped open immediately, revealing an Onix that looked to be a little on the smaller side, around twenty-five or so feet in height. Still, the rocky snake-like Pokémon seemed to have a fighting spirit, opening its mouth and letting out a bellow that caused the surrounding boulders to shiver, as if they were scared. Lara gulped.
Swablu’s ball popped open. Alerted by the tremors in her ball, Swablu immediately rose high into the air, barely eight feet below the ceiling, which must’ve been over thirty feet tall. She was just barely out of Onix’s reach. The match-up almost looked comical, a hulking Onix against a tiny Swablu. Maeve gulped. Was this what she would have to face?
I should start revising my plans…perhaps we should add an extra week to let me rechallenge Roark after this and, hopefully, win.
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Onix swung his head towards Swablu and roared. The Psychic barrier around the arena flickered to life, protecting the spectators’ delicate human ears, but Swablu wasn’t as fortunate. The cloudlike Pokémon trilled in alarm, nearly falling from the sky, as the commentator announced the match. “3…2…1…go,” the teenager yawned, covering his mouth and nearly falling asleep on the last word.
Onix’s eyes sharpened into those of a battle-hardened fighter. As the rocky snakelike Pokémon shifted around to get into a ready stance, Maeve spotted an old scar running across the upper section of Onix’s body. The Pokémon’s rocky body crumbled away near the edges, making the wound seem half-healed.
“Rock Throw!” Roark shouted. Onix grunted an affirmative, wrapping his tail around a nearby boulder and heaving with his whole body to hurl it at Swablu. Swablu trilled in alarm, entire body going limp to plummet from the sky like a stone. The boulder whistled over Swablu’s head with less than an inch to spare, highlighting how close the match was to being over.
“Confuse it!” Lara shouted. Swablu chirped an affirmative, beating her wings and releasing a thick white Mist that spread over the arena, making the entire place resemble a foggy day. Then, from within the cover of the mist, a high, clarion song rang out, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Onix swung his head around, searching for the source of the song, but the Pokémon’s entire body went slack, face turning calm, as the last notes of Swablu’s Disarming Voice faded away.
“Snap out of it!” Roark shouted, squinting through the mist. “Har—”
Onix let out a panicked roar as Swablu became visible through the mist, jabbing viciously at Onix’s wounds with Fury Attack. The Pokémon’s dark pupils dilated, and he thrashed around uncontrollably, seemingly deaf to any of Roark’s commands. Onix slammed his head against the ground, but Swablu held on, hitting Onix’s weak point again and again until the Dual-type Pokémon shuddered, throwing Swablu off with one powerful shake. Onix’s breath came in and out as if it was suffering a panic attack, eyes unable to focus as it finally dropped onto the ground, eyes closing and breathing turning peaceful.
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The arena was quiet as Swablu gently landed on the ground, letting out a tired trill. Roark stepped forward across the arena sand before crouching down and placing his hand on Onix’s rocky head. Then, with a sigh, Roark returned the Pokémon to his Pokéball in a burst of white light before inclining his head slightly to Lara. “That was an impressive performance, though I’m afraid you triggered some…bad memories for Onix at the end.”
“I-I didn’t think that Onix would…react that way,” Lara mumbled, face slightly pale and jacket covered in a spray of sand from a shower that Onix’s tail had swept up.
Roark sighed. “Onix has had a long past. Well, you have one battle left to go. I’ll probably hand out another Coal Badge today…”
Lara’s eyes light up like two multicolored light bulbs, shining with hope and a newfound confidence. “I’d better live up to expectations then.”