"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Golem's mighty roar echoed throughout the arena, shaking the ground beneath. This massive, rounded boulder exuded aggression, as if challenging Lucario directly, without mercy.
"Luca!" Alex called out loudly, his voice full of determination. His eyes followed every movement of Lucario on the battlefield.
Lucario gently swayed its front and back limbs, performing some warm-up moves. Having shed the ultra-heavy protective gear, it seemed reborn — much faster and more agile than before. A wave of relief surged through its muscles, allowing it to unleash its full hidden power.
Despite being 14 levels below Golem, Alex felt no inferiority. He understood that level was only part of the battle.
"Type-wise, Rocky's Fighting type counters Golem's Rock type, while Golem's Ground type counters Rocky's Steel type," Alex murmured to himself as he observed and calculated.
"Golem's speed is definitely slower than Rocky's, but its attacks hit hard. It's very likely to use wide-area moves like Earthquake. We must be extremely cautious."
In his mind, he quickly devised a balanced battle plan, mixing defense and counterattack.
Level indicates overall power, but victory depends on many factors: Pokémon types, trainer's reactions, tactical move use, battlefield terrain, and even luck.
Of course, if the power gap is too wide, no strategy matters.
There's a saying: "Before absolute power, all plans are just zeros."
But the important thing is that absolute power is very rare; even small advantages can be decisive.
"Alex challenges Rustboro Gym Leader Roxanne — Round Three begins!" The referee raised the flag and officially announced the new round.
As the whistle blew, Roxanne didn't hesitate: "Golem, use Earthquake!"
Golem stomped the ground with tremendous force, its huge body seeming to channel the earth's energy.
Deep cracks rapidly spread across the arena floor, radiating an imposing power.
Earthquake is an AOE (area-of-effect) move, dealing damage indiscriminately and extremely powerfully.
"Rocky, speed up and start dodging!" Alex's face was serious as he guided Lucario to prepare.
"Luca!" Lucario immediately began dodging, moving nimbly in all directions before the Earthquake cracks could reach him.
Freed from the ultra-heavy gear, Lucario's speed was unleashed, completely surpassing the opponent.
It successfully dodged Golem's first attack.
"Lucario's so fast!" Roxanne couldn't hide her surprise.
"It's nearly twice as fast as before!" she thought in disbelief.
Previously, when Roxanne battled with Probopass, she noticed the ultra-heavy gear Lucario wore.
But Roxanne, like most others, didn't know much about Lucario. They thought it was just a natural body feature or some decorative accessory.
The match continued intensely. Roxanne suppressed her surprise and ordered again: "Golem, approach Lucario and use Earthquake!"
Golem took two steps forward and unleashed another Earthquake.
At the move's epicenter, cracks reappeared and spread over the battlefield.
Alex frowned but firmly reminded Lucario: "Rocky, dodge to the side."
Earthquake is a wide-range move but drains a lot of energy. If Golem overuses it, it'll tire quickly.
Lucario exploited its superior speed to keep dodging skillfully.
Trainers in the stands whispered among themselves.
"Although Lucario dodges well, they say long-term defense leads to loss. This can't last forever."
"Right, Golem uses Earthquake continuously; although it loses energy, Lucario also wastes a lot avoiding."
"I don't think Lucario will win this round." Two "knowledgeable" trainers discussed.
"I'm no strategist, but I feel Lucario will lose!" a passerby interrupted.
"Because its opponent is Roxanne's main Pokémon!" the person added.
"I bet Roxanne will win!" Many around supported.
Those two trainers fell silent, unable to argue.
This logic fit most people. Golem is Roxanne's first-tier main fighter. How could it lose?
This was also the majority opinion in the audience.
"Go, Alex! You can do it!" May crossed her arms, praying for her friend.
"Luca~" While dodging, Lucario was struck by a fist-sized rock.
This was the third time Lucario got tangled in the scattered debris on the battlefield.
Fortunately, Lucario still avoided Golem's Earthquake attacks.
The arena was littered with rubble and small stones everywhere.
Roxanne chose to have Golem use Earthquake repeatedly.
Though Golem's energy was depleting, its attack frequency slowed significantly.
Lucario was nearly cornered, forced to dodge in panic.
From the start, Alex hadn't once ordered Lucario to attack actively.
"This is unusual!" Roxanne, who had lost once before, wasn't easily fooled again. She watched the battle carefully.
"Close enough now, Rocky, use Aura Sphere!" Alex finally decided to strike.
"Luca!" Lucario stopped dodging, clasped its hands before its chest, formed a large Aura Sphere about the size of a basketball, and threw it at Golem.
Roxanne remained tense, calmly ordered: "Golem, use Protect!"
Compared to Probopass, Golem had fewer energy-based moves.
Most of its power came from physical attacks.
Therefore, Golem couldn't use Tri Attack to counter Aura Sphere like Probopass.
Golem's physical defense was very high, but its special defense was average.
If hit by energy moves, Golem would suffer significant damage.
Roxanne could have ignored defense and kept using Earthquake, but she didn't.
In this situation, Golem had already cornered the opponent, so she wanted to maintain the advantage by defending and holding her ground.
As Roxanne shouted the command, Golem began generating a protective shield.
At the same time, Alex ordered: "Rocky, rush Golem and use Stone Edge!"
"Luca!" Lucario stomped strongly on the ground, leaving deep footprints, then charged the opponent.
The moment Lucario counterattacked, Roxanne guessed Alex's plan.
But it seemed a bit too late!