Chapter 21: Brock, a man with heart of rock
Blue and Leaf were surprised as they watched the battle unfold.
"Is he going all out?" Blue wondered as he looked at Brock, who was intensely focused and clearly enjoying himself.
He felt a bit irritated hearing that, as Brock treating Red better than him made him feel somewhat overlooked.
'Calm down, Blue' he reassured himself and continued watching the battle.
"Blue, isn't that Pikachu a bit stronger than I expected?" Leaf asked.
"Who knows? Red might have trained Pikachu pretty well," Blue shrugged.
Only Misty knew, but she wasn't going to say anything.
"Onix, use Sandstorm!"
Onix roared, and the environment suddenly changed. A sandstorm kicked up, causing Pikachu some discomfort. Onix's stats increased!
"Onix, use Rock Throw!"
Onix slammed the ground, sending a large boulder into the air, and then used its tail to hurl it straight at Pikachu.
Pikachu used Quick Attack to dodge, but still took some damage from the sandstorm.
"Dragon Breath!"
Onix breathed out a blue-green flame that struck Pikachu.
"Pika!"
Pikachu took the hit but got back on its feet. It used Quick Attack again, closing the distance to Onix.
"Don't give Pikachu a chance! Rock Tomb!"
Large rocks erupted from the ground and targeted Pikachu.
Pikachu dodged them repeatedly until one rock aimed directly at it.
She quickly used Iron Tail to shatter the rock, then created multiple copies of itself with Double Team.
"Onix! Use Rock Polish!"
But while Red was giving the order, he wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away. Pikachu suddenly increased its speed, moving like a flash.
Pikachu had used Agility!
Then Pikachu dashed forward and attacked Onix's body with Iron Tail.
Seeing this, Brock changed his command.
"Smack Down!"
Onix whipped its tail at Pikachu's Iron Tail.
But, of course, Rock-type moves aren't as strong against Steel-type moves.
Pikachu's Iron Tail prevailed, smashing a few rocks on Onix's tail.
Onix roared in pain.
"Onix! Dragon Breath!"
Onix unleashed flames at Pikachu, but Pikachu quickly dashed away.
Such a hassle!
With its small and fast movements, Onix's massive size was at a disadvantage.
There was only one way...
"Onix, use Curse!"
Onix stood still as a ghostly aura surrounded it. Its defense and attack stats increased at the cost of its speed. But that was enough!
"Onix, use Dig!"
Onix burrowed into the ground, causing the ground to shake. Pikachu began running randomly to avoid being hit by Dig.
After all, Dig is a Ground-type move, and Electric-types are always weak against Ground (unlike that one guy who managed to beat Ground-types with Electric...).
"Right now!"
Pikachu suddenly felt a loud rumbling beneath it!
She realized it was in Onix's strike zone!
Red ordered Pikachu to jump high, and just then, Onix emerged, nearly striking Pikachu.
Pikachu then used Iron Tail, hitting Onix's face two or three times!
Despite the high defense, which made the attack effective, Onix was still able to endure it.
"Smack Down!!"
Taking advantage of the moment when Pikachu was continuously attacking its face, Onix used its tail to slam Pikachu from behind.
PIKA!!!
The blow sent Pikachu flying to the ground.
The referee started moving to check, but Pikachu had already stood up.
Although her face showed she wasn't in great shape, it was clear that just one more hit could knock Pikachu out.
Red looked at Pikachu, fully trusting that she could do it. Pikachu, feeling Red's gaze, became even more determined.
For Red's love! I mean, for the attention Red is giving me!
Pikachu continued to use Agility! As she ran, she almost left afterimages behind her.
"Onix, use Rock Slide!"
Onix roared, and rocks appeared out of nowhere, falling like rain. Pikachu dodged and dodged, even using Iron Tail to shatter some of the rocks.
"Don't give Pikachu any chance!"
"Use it! EARTHQUAKE!"
Onix roared again, this time slamming its tail into the ground with all its might. Pikachu suddenly sensed danger, and Red instructed Pikachu to jump as high as she could. The ground started to crack and shake violently, but Pikachu managed to leap just in time to avoid the powerful attack.
"Right now! Smack Down!"
Onix once again swung its tail at Pikachu, but Pikachu was ready. Her tail began to glow, transforming into Iron Tail, and she struck back at Onix's tail. Sparks flew as the two tails collided.
As mentioned before, Rock-types are always weaker against Steel-types.
This time, Onix's tail shattered into pieces. Onix roared in pain and collapsed to the ground. The arena shook as dust and sand flew everywhere.
Onix had fainted!
The referee, who was also Brock's younger brother, was too shocked to speak.
Onix had lost to an Electric-type Pokémon?! And it even had a Ground-type advantage!
Brock's younger brother could hardly believe it, but the truth was undeniable. Onix had fallen right in front of him.
Pikachu, exhausted, collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Then she got up and headed back to Red. Without a word, she jumped straight into Red's jacket to rest.
Brock approached Onix, gently touching its head and whispering his thanks. He recalled Onix and then looked over at his younger brother.
Brock's younger brother, startled, looked at Brock and had no choice but to announce the result.
"Onix is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!"
"Congratulations, Trainer Red, for defeating Gym Leader Brock!"
Hearing this, Red happily patted Pikachu's cheek. Normally, this would have given Red an electric shock, but Pikachu was too tired to generate any electricity.
"I've lost, and to acknowledge your victory, I'll give you this..."
Brock opened a box containing many Gym Badges. He took one out and handed it to Red.
"This is the official Pokémon League Badge, the Boulder Badge," Brock smiled.
Red took the badge, looked up at the three people on the upper floor, and smiled.
Red had won his first badge!
"And wait, please take this as well!"
Brock reached into his bag and pulled out a disc.
"Wait, big brother?! That's our family's exclusive move?!" Brock's younger brother exclaimed, trying to stop him.
"It's fine. This young man has talent, he deserves it," Brock said as he patted his younger brother's head.
"But..."
"Brother, I'm not someone who values fame or wealth, and I don't care whether I'm weak or strong. If I believe someone deserves something, then they deserve it!"
"So, Red, please take it."
Red took the disc and looked at Brock.
"This is TM39, Rock Tomb. You've seen its power in the battle!"
Red happily accepted the items. After a bit of conversation, all four of them headed outside.
"Congratulations, Red!" Leaf roughly ruffled Red's hair.
Blue didn't say anything, but deep down, he was genuinely congratulating him.
'He's really strong. I want to see how he handles my Gym,' Misty thought as she stared at Red.
"To be honest, I thought you were going to lose! You really surprised me!" Leaf exclaimed.
"Hmph, if you couldn't beat the first Gym, you wouldn't be worthy of being my rival," Blue scoffed as he walked ahead.
"I'm leaving now, no time to hang around with you guys."
'Especially Leaf, you better keep her in check, Red!!!'
Blue waved goodbye to everyone. Red turned to look at Leaf.
"Huh, what is it?"
"..."
"Am I not supposed to go? Pfft," Leaf chuckled, then moved closer to Red.
Her face was just inches from Red's.
"Now that you're here, I won't go alone anymore. Besides, I'm not as lonely as Blue~"
So, she decided to stick with me. Great.
Pikachu sensed a potential threat! She definitely needed to find a way to keep Red away from this girl!
So, the three of them headed to the Pokémon Center. Suddenly...
[I've awakened!!]
"?!"
"What's wrong, Red? Why are you just standing there?" Misty asked.
"..."
Red continued walking, staring at the text in front of him.
[Ah, sorry for disturbing you. Honestly, I thought I'd sleep for a lot longer.]
[Because, you know, every time a player wins a battle, the energy increases.]
[And finally, my energy is full!]
"..."
[Host, still as silent as ever…]
[But that's okay! I get it! You must be curious about how the player managed to gather enough energy, right?]
[That's why I have this!]
The system immediately created a display screen.
[Even though there's only one person online right now, they've gathered quite a lot of energy!]
[I wonder what they've been up to… oh, oh no….]
"...?"
[Host, I suggest you watch this...]
The system zoomed in on the screen and started playing it.
A house was burning intensely.
There were many small Pokémon huddled together.
And a man was being beaten up by a red-haired boy.
WAIT, WHAT?! CUCKMASTER?!
WHAT THE HECK IS HE DOING??
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