"Cubone, Smack Down!"
Cubone let out a sharp cry and swung the bone in its hands at the Magnemite floating in the air.
The bone didn't leave Cubone's grip, but a jagged Rock-type projectile split off from the strike and shot forward like lightning toward the target.
CLANG!
Rock against Steel—not very effective—but Smack Down's special property took hold, forcibly knocking Magnemite from the air to the ground.
By then, Cubone had already raced to Magnemite's landing spot. Without a word, it brought its foot down in a Stomping Tantrum.
Ground-type energy surged and burst outward, dealing quadruple damage to the Electric/Steel-type Magnemite.
Cubone followed through with a smooth swing of its bone, striking Magnemite squarely and finishing the fight.
Cubone—80 wins in a row!
It had been half a month since Ethan captured the Graveler.
During that time, aside from routinely uploading baseline intel on Oreburgh Town, Ethan had focused entirely on training Cubone.
Cubone battled five to six times a day, mostly against wild Pokémon that lived in the rocky mountains.
"Rock Mountain" sounded like a single peak, but it was actually a chain of connected rocky ridges.
As Ethan ventured deeper, they began to encounter more than just Geodude, Sandshrew, and Onix.
Magnemite, Bronzor, and Nosepass started appearing one after another—and each ultimately fell to Cubone's bone club.
With Stomping Tantrum and Smack Down learned from Graveler, Cubone's combat toolkit was finally taking shape.
To think that just over a month ago, Cubone was panting after a 400-meter run—its progress had been remarkable.
Of course, Cubone's rapid growth had a price: Ethan had burned through all of his resources.
Add in the "tuition" he'd promised Graveler, and outside of some points, he was completely out of cash.
His pockets were truly empty!
Making money was urgent, and for a Trainer, the fastest method was—without question—selling Pokémon.
Ethan was with Team Rocket; selling Pokémon didn't faze him. He could move them through internal channels—safe and convenient.
So, Magnemite—capture!
As for Graveler, which had served as Cubone's part-time teacher, Ethan kept his word and released it.
After letting Cubone rest briefly, Ethan pressed farther into the rocky mountains.
Before long, another Bronzor drifted lazily into view. Even when it spotted Ethan and Cubone, it just stared blankly.
Bronzor, a Steel/Psychic Pokémon, was one of Sinnoh's rarer signature species.
And anything with Psychic typing tended to be valuable.
Ethan didn't hesitate. He had Cubone, boosted by Curse, use Bonemerang.
The first throw struck true, dealing heavy damage—Ground-type attacks hit Bronzor hard.
But this wasn't the outer rim anymore; the dopey-looking Bronzor wasn't nearly as weak as it seemed.
Blue light flared from Bronzor and wrapped around Cubone, lifting it into the air and holding it there.
The move—Confusion!
"Screech, then Smack Down!" Ethan called, steadying the suddenly panicked Cubone.
Cubone scraped its little claws frantically along the skull helmet it wore.
SKREEEE—SKREEEE—
The ear-splitting noise gave Ethan goosebumps, and Bronzor's concentration wavered; its Confusion was on the verge of collapsing.
With its control weakened, Cubone had its opening!
It swung the bone; a sharp rock projectile smashed into Bronzor, slamming it down to the ground.
Then came Stomping Tantrum + Bone Club!
Bronzor's faceplate dented inward; it had no strength left to resist.
A Poké Ball flew out—capture successful!
Ethan bent to pick up the ball, ready to praise Cubone—when the ground suddenly trembled beneath his feet.
"Cubone!"
At his call, Cubone sprinted back and lowered its body to stay balanced.
The very next second, a massive head burst out from where Cubone had been standing, a blinding metallic gleam flashing across its surface.
"GRAAAAH!!!"
The earth-shaking roar announced the arrival of a colossal figure, towering as high as a three-story building.
Onix!
An Onix that could use Iron Head!
Ethan swallowed hard, slipping two Pokéblocks into Cubone's hand without making it obvious.
The furious Onix had almost certainly been awakened by Cubone's Screech.
In that moment, all the so-called "base stat values" seemed absurd.
Faced with such an enormous creature, even a simple Tackle from it wasn't something most Pokémon could endure.
At lower levels of battle, a Pokémon's natural physique could matter far more than strategy.
But Cubone was not without strength—its hard training over the past weeks was its greatest weapon!
And now, Onix was charging straight at them.
The silver glow on the horn atop its head left no doubt—it was preparing Iron Head!
"Since when does Onix know Iron Head…?" Ethan's mind flashed with doubt, but there was no time to dwell.
As he backed away, he shouted: "Stomping Tantrum!"
"CUBONE!!"
Though small, Cubone now stood steady and resolute.
Brownish Ground-type energy swirled around its stubby legs, surging wildly.
BOOM!
The stomp unleashed rippling waves of Ground energy, sweeping toward the charging Onix, disrupting its balance and slowing its momentum.
Onix faltered—then roared even louder, even angrier.
But Cubone wasn't finished. It hurled a Bonemerang straight at the glowing horn atop Onix's head.
BANG!
The Bonemerang struck—but at the last moment, Onix jerked its head, so the blow landed on its skull rather than the horn.
The thick bone spun back, missing its intended angle, and whirled past Onix's side.
Cubone leapt up to catch its returning weapon, sighing with relief.
Nearly all of its strength depended on that bone. If it hadn't returned… there'd be no battle left to fight.
But Onix, gritting through the pain, lunged forward once again, horn glowing—another Iron Head!
Ethan's mouth curled into a grim smile. This Onix was too confident. Its "hard-headed" reliance on one move only gave Cubone more chances.
"Stomping Tantrum!"
"Cu-bone!!"
Another pulse of Ground energy rippled outward, slowing Onix even further.
The massive creature was reduced to a crawl, as slow as a lumbering tortoise.
Ethan decided not to risk a direct clash. He ordered Cubone to keep up the Stomping Tantrums.
CRACK—
Only then did Ethan notice that cracks were spreading rapidly across the rocky ground—widening, stretching outward on their own.
A bad feeling struck him.
The next second—
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!!
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