Chapter 181: Doubles Match
Ryan and his group left the Space Center. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Although they're a bunch of incompetent teammates, at least we know what we're dealing with.
This Deoxys isn't too strong. After the League Conference is over, I'll take Rayquaza to space to deal with it. As for the meteorite problem, Lillie, how is the guild's collection of those specific Pokémon going?"
Lillie took out a notebook from her backpack and checked it. She said, "Pretty good. We have almost a thousand of them in total. It should be enough. But I'm a little worried—can the two Rayquazas, adult and baby, absorb all the power from the meteorite?"
Ruby waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, those Aron have incredibly strong teeth, and their evolutions, Lairon and Aggron, have even stronger jaws. With the help of other Pokémon to break down the meteorite's structure, there shouldn't be any major problems."
"The real question is how the Pokémon can survive in space. That's the big issue," Sapphire said.
"Right, so our next target is Psychic-type Pokémon. Try to capture as many as possible. There's no limit to species, but they must have very strong psychic abilities to maintain a psychic barrier. At the same time, we'll ask the League for a large supply of oxygen. We can't handle everything ourselves—let them pay for it and provide supplies."
Lillie nodded, making some notes in her notebook, then said, "Okay, the guild mission has been sent out. Next up is the Gym Battle for you and Sapphire, Ryan. Tate and Liza may be young, but they're perfectly in sync and have strong coordination skills."
Sapphire patted Ryan's shoulder casually and said, "It's a doubles match—I'll leave it to you, Ryan. I'll just cheer from behind."
Ryan said helplessly, "If you do that, they definitely won't give you a badge. Mossdeep Gym tests coordination, after all. If you don't participate properly, they have every reason to refuse you a badge."
"Oh," Sapphire said dejectedly.
Then, the group arrived at Mossdeep Gym. Entering the gym, the first thing they saw was a futuristic scene with planets floating in the air, mimicking outer space.
Tate and Liza were training with their Solrock and Lunatone. Seeing Ryan and his group enter, Tate excitedly said, "Great! We have challengers. We're Tate and Liza, the Gym Leaders of Mossdeep. Don't think we're easy targets just because we're young."
"We're very strong," Liza said.
Tate: "If you want to get the badge—"
Liza: "Just defeat us."
Tate: "It's a doubles match."
Liza: "You must send two Pokémon to fight us."
Tate: "We're using Solrock and Lunatone."
Liza: "Send out your Pokémon. We won't lose."
Looking at the two working so well together, Ryan said, "I'm Ryan from Pallet Town, and she's Sapphire from Littleroot Town. This time, there are two challengers. So, let's make it a two-on-two. If you lose, you give us the badges. How about that?"
Tate: "Okay, so you send out your Pokémon first."
Liza: "No matter what, we won't lose."
Ryan glanced at Sapphire, who nodded. Then Sapphire sent out Blaziken, and Ryan sent out Dragonite.
Tate: "Lunatone, Hypnosis!"
Liza: "Solrock, Trick Room!"
Solrock's Trick Room instantly enveloped the entire battlefield, shattering Sapphire's plan for a quick strike with Blaziken. Lunatone then focused its psychic power, firing hypnotic beams at Blaziken and Dragonite.
Ryan smiled: Finally, for once, Trick Room wasn't working against him!
"Dragonite, Water Pulse, interrupt Lunatone's Hypnosis!" Ryan said.
Dragonite, feeling a surge of power within the Trick Room, felt its speed skyrocket far beyond normal. It instantly opened its mouth and launched a massive water pulse, sending Lunatone flying and crashing hard into a floating planet prop.
Tate: "Oh no! I forgot Dragonite is naturally slow!"
Liza: "Then change strategies. Solrock, Psychic!"
Solrock immediately used Psychic to push back Dragonite, while Blaziken launched a Flamethrower at Lunatone. But Lunatone had recovered and used its own Psychic to deflect the flames. Solrock, not wanting to miss this opportunity, immediately used another Psychic to repel Blaziken.
Blaziken took two steps back and glanced at Dragonite, who nodded. Blaziken immediately kicked toward Dragonite, who leaped onto Blaziken's legs. Blaziken launched Dragonite into the air with a powerful kick.
Light cyan dragon energy erupted from Dragonite, transforming into a fierce dragon in mid-air. The Dragon Rush swooped down and slammed Lunatone to the ground, giving it no chance to react. Although Blaziken was repeatedly knocked back by Solrock's powerful telekinesis, it coordinated with Dragonite to pin down Lunatone.
But Lunatone was still capable of fighting and was struggling to get up.
Tate: "Oh no! Solrock, protect Lunatone!"
Liza: "Solrock, protect Lunatone! Use Psychic to control Dragonite!"
"Too late! One more Water Pulse!" Ryan said.
Although Solrock quickly controlled Dragonite with Psychic, Dragonite opened its mouth and launched another stream of water at Lunatone.
Tate: "Explosion!"
Lunatone was decisive. The second before losing its ability to fight, it used Explosion. Dragonite had no way to escape and had to withstand the massive blast head-on. Blaziken took the opportunity to strike Solrock with a Sky Uppercut, sending it flying.
After the explosion subsided, Dragonite stood panting beside the fainted Lunatone. Its tough hide had cracked slightly, but it had managed to block the blast. Dragonite roared to the sky, and light instantly enveloped it. When the light faded, a Shelgon, now encased in an even thicker shell, appeared on the field.
Tate reluctantly returned Lunatone. Now, only Solrock faced Shelgon and Blaziken.
The Trick Room dissipated, and Sapphire immediately called out, "Blaziken, Blaze Kick!"
Blaziken instantly transformed into a fireball, rapidly closing the distance and slamming into Solrock. Liza quickly commanded Solrock to rise higher, dodging Blaziken's Blaze Kick, while simultaneously directing Solrock to use Rock Slide on Shelgon, hoping to defeat it and continue the battle.
But how could Sapphire let that happen? Blaziken swiftly returned to defense, kicking its legs in the air and knocking down all the rocks targeting Shelgon. Shelgon took the opportunity to fire a Water Pulse directly at Solrock, dealing massive damage and taking away the last of Solrock's HP.
Seeing Solrock fall, Ryan reached out and high-fived Sapphire. The two had successfully defeated Tate and Liza and obtained their seventh badge!
Liza reluctantly returned Solrock and said, "We lost."
Tate: "As agreed, we'll give you the badges."
Liza: "If there's a next time—"
Tate: "We definitely won't lose."
After that, the two took out badges and handed them to Ryan and Sapphire respectively.
Ryan took the badge, looked at it, and smiled: Only Sootopolis City left!
(End of Chapter)
[+100 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (30+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01