The next morning, Ash Ketchum and Misty left the Pokémon Center and arrived at the Pewter Gym.
After registering at the front desk, they were led to Brock's location by a Gym Trainer who had been instructed by Brock in advance.
Deep inside the Pewter Gym.
The "Rock Heart" Arena.
The air was stagnant as lead, filled with the cold, hard scent unique to minerals.
The massive circular field was paved with countless neatly cut grey-white rocks, each with sharp edges, gleaming with a matte finish under the high-power searchlights overhead.
Several coarse rock pillars towered at the edge of the field, their shapes hideous and imposing, casting heavy shadows.
The entire space was astonishingly empty; footsteps landing on the ground stirred up dull, short echoes that were immediately swallowed by a deeper silence.
This was a very, very large competition venue.
It didn't look like a battlefield a rookie Trainer should be using at all.
Ash Ketchum and Misty stood at the entrance as the giant stone doors slowly closed behind them, emitting a heavy grinding sound and cutting off the light from the outside world.
"Is this... the 'Rock Heart'?" Misty's voice lowered subconsciously, her orange ponytail looking particularly striking under the pale light of the searchlights.
It felt much larger than the arena in Cerulean City.
She looked around, feeling as if she had been thrown into the abdominal cavity of a giant beast.
This was definitely not a place where ordinary rookies should come.
Was this a violation of the rules?
Or was there some special reason?
Although Gym Leaders were theoretically required to abide by League regulations, as local bosses, they still had a high degree of freedom.
As long as there was a suitable reason that made sense, a mere violation wasn't a big problem, and the League couldn't really do anything about them.
"Pika..."
Pikachu crouched on Ash Ketchum's shoulder, its small body tense. Its bright black eyes vigilantly scanned this overly chilling space, while its cheek pouches sizzled, emitting a few thin arcs of electricity to dispel the oppression in the air.
It sensed an unusual aura.
A formidable enemy!
There were many strong powerhouses around.
At the other end of the field.
A figure stood tall, as if rooted in the rock.
Brock crossed his arms over his chest. His face, cold and hard like rock, was sharply defined in the interplay of light and shadow, his eyes calm as a deep pool, without a single ripple.
The only problem was that for a 15-year-old boy, he looked like he was 35...
Being so premature, one wondered how Brock felt about it.
His gaze pierced through the space, firmly locking onto Ash Ketchum, who had just stepped into this "Rock Heart".
No pleasantries, no opening remarks, only a silent, heavy scrutiny that pressed down like a mountain.
"Pewter Gym Leader, Brock."
The low voice echoed through the empty arena, carrying the texture of grinding rocks. "I accept your challenge."
A referee wearing a Gym uniform walked expressionlessly to the edge of the field, his voice sounding clearly through the loudspeaker:
"Gym Challenge rules: A one-on-one elimination match using two Pokémon each. The Challenger may switch Pokémon at any time; the Gym Leader may not. The match ends when all of one side's Pokémon lose the ability to battle. Battle start!"
Crisp and efficient, without the slightest sloppiness.
The atmosphere instantly tightened to the extreme.
"Understood!" Ash Ketchum took a deep breath, suppressing the slight palpitation of stepping into an arena of this level for the first time, and his eyes instantly became sharp.
He raised his hand abruptly, the Poké Ball at his waist opening. "I choose you! Sea Rogue!"
Under the gazes of everyone, the Golden Gyarados was released.
"...A golden Gyarados?" Brock felt surprised.
Using a Water-type Pokémon to fight a Rock-type Gym was indeed the correct approach.
It was just that most rookie Trainers didn't have any powerful Water-type Pokémon, and Gyarados, as one of the strongest Water-type Pokémon among the common species, was already considered quite rare.
But this kind of golden Gyarados...
Well, Brock had never heard of a Gyarados being gold.
This was extremely rare, no less so than those endangered Pokémon species.
"In that case, I will be using Onix!" Facing the golden giant beast released by Ash Ketchum, Brock also released a giant monster.
His Onix was even a size larger than the Gyarados.
Ash Ketchum rubbed his chin and made a rough estimate.
The Golden Gyarados was 7 meters long and weighed three tons.
The Onix before him didn't look like a specially bred variety, but judging by its size... an Onix of about 9 meters should weigh around 30 tons.
Fighting in close quarters would be overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
Non-biological Rock-type Pokémon were indeed too strong for rookie Trainers.
Weight was power; their baseline combat capability was too high, and they were unafraid of poison.
Realistic Trainer battles were troublesome; many factors had to be considered, and size and weight were also parts of the battle that needed consideration.
Otherwise, there would be no need to divide combat sports like boxing into weight classes.
"ROAR—!!!"
The Golden Gyarados's massive body coiled on the grey-white rock field. Its scarlet-gold scales reflected blinding halos under the overhead lights, and its crimson dragon eyes were deadlocked onto the even more massive grey-brown rock snake in front of it.
The air was filled with mineral dust and the faint scent of water dissipating from the Gyarados's body.
Strictly speaking, this kind of rock terrain was not suitable for Gyarados's performance.
The most suitable combat environment for Gyarados was still in the ocean.
...This was a bit awkward, but Gym Challenge matches were never fair.
Because humans needed an oxygenated ground environment to live, the underwater environment most suitable for Gyarados could not possibly be the competition venue.
Even in the Cerulean Gym, battles were mainly fought on the water's surface, not underwater.
Similar to this was the Flying-type.
Except for specialized Flying-type Gyms.
Normal Pokémon Gym arenas simply did not support Flying-type Pokémon pushing their speed to the maximum for sustained high-speed cruising.
"Sea Rogue, Water Gun!" Ash Ketchum's voice pierced the dull air.
The purpose of the Water Gun was to wet the entire field.
This had already been discussed before the challenge match.
"Roar?" The Gyarados's huge head jerked up, its throat pulsed, and a thick column of water blasted out!
Splash—!
Although the water column shot towards Onix, there was basically no chance of it hitting.
Onix hated water very much, so it would actively dodge even without Brock's command.
Water splashed everywhere!
The turbid water flow was like a rushing creek, instantly spreading madly along the cracks and depressions of the rocks.
Crystal-clear water droplets danced under the lights, quickly staining large swathes of grey-white rock into a deep, wet black.
"Hmph?" At the other end of the field, on Brock's rock-hard face, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Water?
Not to attack the Onix?
He instantly saw through Ash Ketchum's intent.
"Want to use the entire field as a conductive medium to create an environment for that Pikachu?" Brock's voice was deep and steady, revealing no emotion. "Not a bad idea."
As for why Brock could guess Pikachu... Ash Ketchum's Pikachu was not kept in a Poké Ball; anyone with eyes could see it.
Seeing an Electric-type Pokémon, and a Water-type Pokémon spraying water everywhere... wasn't the objective very clear?
"A pity. Your Gyarados won't last until then."
"Onix!" Brock's command was like rocks crashing together. "Rock Tomb! Restrict its movement space!"
Gyarados could fly, but this high-speed flight could only be described as floating above the ground.
"Siaaang—!" Onix emitted a dull hiss, its massive tail carrying the force of a landslide, smashing ruthlessly onto the ground in front of Gyarados's side.
"Boom! Rumble—!"
_____
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