Chapter 43: Rock Field, Nidoking's Glory
In the third round, Ryan drew the Rock Field, while Lillie drew the Grass Field.
Ryan was scheduled for the first match of the morning, so he made his entrance early. His opponent was Wu from Cinnabar Island. Trainers who had managed to make it this far were generally quite skilled, so Ryan didn't underestimate his competition.
Today's atmosphere was more lively than yesterday, thanks to the support of his friends and Lillie's family. Although they had originally come for Lillie, they were also there to cheer Ryan on. After two matches, Ryan had won over many fans with his exceptional Pokémon battling skills, and his reputation was growing rapidly throughout the tournament.
As the bell rang, Ryan and Wu simultaneously sent out their Pokémon. Ryan chose Nidoking, while Wu sent out Dodrio. There was no significant type advantage between the two, so it all came down to individual skill and training.
"Dodrio, strike first! Use Tri Attack!" Wu shouted.
Dodrio leaped high into the air, closing in on Nidoking. All three heads launched fierce energy beams at Nidoking simultaneously, each head glowing with a different elemental power.
Ryan said calmly, "Counter with Horn Drill."
Nidoking roared and, with lightning-fast reflexes, grabbed two of Dodrio's heads in his powerful hands while allowing the middle head's attack to strike him. Then, the horn on his forehead began spinning rapidly like a drill, delivering a devastating Horn Drill attack that instantly knocked out Dodrio.
Standing over his defeated opponent, Nidoking raised his claws to the sky and roared triumphantly, demonstrating his overwhelming power. He remembered his promise to his beloved Nidoqueen: only when he won the championship would he propose to her, crowned in the glory of victory.
Wu recalled his Dodrio with a look of frustration and said, "Damn, you're as powerful as the rumors say. Go, Cloyster!"
A Cloyster appeared on the rocky battlefield, gazing at Nidoking with a determined expression. Nidoking beckoned with one finger, arrogantly signaling for his opponent to attack first.
Although Wu was annoyed by Nidoking's provocation, he remained wary of the Poison/Ground-type's strength and shouted, "Cloyster, Ice Beam!"
Cloyster unleashed twin flashing ice beams from the spikes on either side of its shell, aiming directly at Nidoking. Ryan commanded, "Dodge with Agility, then Thunderbolt!"
Thanks to his intensive speed training, Nidoking's enhanced speed allowed him to gracefully sidestep Cloyster's Ice Beam attacks. Surrounded by crackling yellow electricity, Nidoking unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning from his body at the Water/Ice-type.
The Thunderbolt successfully struck Cloyster, dealing massive super-effective damage. Wu shouted desperately, "Cloyster, hang in there! Use Spike Cannon!"
Cloyster retreated into its shell, which began glowing with white energy, before launching multiple sharp spikes at Nidoking in rapid succession. Ryan smirked and said, "If you can't hit accurately, you'll just overwhelm with numbers? How naive! Nidoking, finish this with another Thunderbolt!"
The Spike Cannon attack scattered widely, with only a few projectiles managing to graze Nidoking. The Drill Pokémon roared and unleashed another devastating Thunderbolt. The lightning struck Cloyster again, causing it to collapse in a cloud of black smoke with its shell opening wide, completely unable to continue battling.
"Cloyster is unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"Incredible! Ryan is truly worthy of being considered a tournament favorite! His strength is absolutely formidable! Wu only has one Pokémon left. What kind of Pokémon will he send out for his final stand?" the commentator exclaimed excitedly.
"Go, Hypno!" Wu sent out his final Pokémon. The Hypnosis Pokémon, Hypno, appeared on the battlefield with its pendulum swaying ominously.
Nidoking snorted disdainfully. He had trained extensively to resist psychic powers under Mewtwo's guidance, building up considerable mental fortitude. A mere Hypno's psychic abilities seemed trivial in comparison.
"Hypno, use Hypnosis!" Wu commanded.
Ryan didn't order Nidoking to dodge the attack. As Nidoking began to drift off to sleep, Ryan said calmly, "Sleep Talk."
Nidoking muttered incomprehensibly in his sleep, then suddenly stomped powerfully on the ground, sending devastating earthquake shockwaves through the rocky terrain that struck Hypno with tremendous force. Ryan chuckled to himself—Sleep Talk was quite useful, randomly selecting from the user's other moves while asleep, though its unpredictability could be both a blessing and a curse.
"Hypno, use Disable, then Psychic!" Wu shouted, believing he had found the key to victory.
Hypno's eyes suddenly glowed bright blue, and immediately a vast, psychic aura enveloped the Psychic-type. The aura spread rapidly, not only preventing Nidoking from using Sleep Talk again but also lifting him into the air with powerful telekinetic force, tormenting him with psychic energy.
Ryan watched calmly, noting one crucial detail: Hypno was running low on health but hadn't used Dream Eater to restore itself. Without that recovery move, it had no way to regain strength. When Nidoking finally woke up from his enforced slumber, Ryan said confidently, "End this with Megahorn!"
"Hypno, use Hypnosis again!" Wu called out desperately.
But Nidoking was too fast. He charged forward with his horn glowing intensely, slamming into Hypno and lifting the Psychic-type high into the air before hurling it back down to the rocky ground. Hypno's eyes rolled back as it hit the battlefield, completely unable to continue fighting.
Ryan recalled Nidoking, who was still roaring triumphantly toward the sky from the center of the field. He looked at the Poké Ball affectionately and said, "Sorry about that. I wanted to test the effectiveness of Sleep Talk in battle. I should have just had you use Megahorn from the start instead of letting you take unnecessary damage."
The Poké Ball shook gently in his hand, as if Nidoking was indicating he didn't mind. Ryan smiled warmly, stepped off the battlefield, and prepared for his post-match interview with the television crew. He knew that giving interviews would help more people get to know him and his team, which could be valuable for his future career as a trainer.
"Ryan, thank you for accepting our interview! Your Pokémon are all incredibly powerful. You consistently win matches using just one Pokémon, though you use different team members each time. Are you concerned that opponents might figure out your trump cards?" the female reporter asked, holding her microphone toward Ryan.
"Trump cards? I'd welcome someone forcing me to reveal them—otherwise, I'll be quite disappointed," Ryan said with confident swagger.
"Oh my! So your ace Pokémon are even stronger than what we've seen? Can you tell us a little more about your team?" the female reporter asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Certainly. For this tournament, I'm planning to use Charizard, Sylveon, Beedrill, Greninja, Nidoking, Gardevoir, Mewtwo, and Aerodactyl. I've just given you their names—I hope this helps my future opponents prepare properly so they can give me the exciting battles I'm looking for. My goal is nothing less than winning the championship," Ryan stated with calm determination.
The live broadcast generated an enormous response from viewers across the Kanto region and beyond. Trainers and fans were amazed by his confidence in revealing his entire team composition, and many began speculating about the true extent of his abilities.
After the interview concluded, Ryan reunited with Lillie and their friends from Alola. Lillie's third-round battle was scheduled to begin that afternoon, and everyone was eager to continue supporting both trainers in their championship runs.
(End of Chapter)
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