232. Fire Blast
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"Vileplume is unable to battle! Hariyama wins!" the referee announced.
Rudy had already begun selecting his second Pokémon.
His fingertips brushed over the second and third Poké Balls before finally stopping on the fourth. He raised his hand and released the Pokémon.
A Jumpluff landed on the battlefield.
As a Grass- and Flying-type Pokémon, Jumpluff was not only immune to Ground-type moves but also resistant to Fighting-type moves.
Against Hariyama, Jumpluff was indeed a solid choice.
However, from Rudy's actions, Chris could tell that this Jumpluff wasn't his first choice after Vileplume's defeat. Instead, he had sent it out under the pressure of Hariyama's strength.
"Jump!!" Jumpluff chirped excitedly, twisting its three cotton-like appendages.
Its Chlorophyll ability was activated.
"Another Pokémon with Chlorophyll?" Chris smirked.
Robert's ace Pokémon was Venusaur, practically the signature of the Star Moon Gym. Every disciple of the Gym without exception had a Venusaur on their team.
Chris recalled that Venusaur also possessed the Chlorophyll ability.
"So, it's a Grass-type team, using Sunny Day and Chlorophyll to increase team's speed?" Chris's eyes gleamed with insight.
"Jumpluff, use Fairy Wind!" Rudy took the initiative to attack.
"Nah~!" Jumpluff leaped into the air and spun gracefully. Its cotton-like arms waved, summoning a gust of pink wind that rushed toward Hariyama.
Dodging wasn't an option.
And since Psychic-type moves dealt double damage to Fighting-types, this was a clever strategy.
"Return!" Chris swiftly recalled Hariyama with a Poké Ball before sending out Aggron to take the hit.
The pink wind enveloped Aggron.
It felt like a gentle breeze.
As a Steel-type, Aggron resisted Fairy-type moves. Not only was the attack ineffective, but it barely even left a mark!
Before Chris could counterattack, the crowd erupted into excited chatter.
"A Shiny Aggron!?"
The disciples of the Star Moon Gym stared in awe. They had never seen such a dazzling Aggron, especially following the appearance of a Shiny Hariyama.
Two Shiny Pokémon in a row!
It was a rare sight.
Many spectators looked at Chris with envy—and even jealousy.
Robert's family turned to Trevor, hoping for an explanation.
Trevor opened his mouth but then shut it. He wanted to say something about Chris, but the truth was… he had no idea. Chris had never told him anything about Shiny Pokémon.
"Aggron, use Rock Slide!" Chris commanded.
"Korah!!" Aggron let out a powerful roar. A dark portal formed high in the sky, and countless boulders rained down.
So Jumpluff had Chlorophyll and exceptional speed? Let's see how it handles this! No matter how fast it is, it can't escape an AOE attack that covers the entire battlefield!
And since Jumpluff was part Flying-type, Rock-type moves would deal double damage.
"Switch out!" Rudy was caught off guard, but he wasn't slow to react. Just as Chris had swapped Hariyama, he recalled Jumpluff and sent out Torterra to take the hit.
Torterra, a Grass- and Ground-type Pokémon, resisted Rock-type moves. But Rudy's real focus was on something else—his strategy against Aggron's quadruple-weakness to Ground-type moves.
However, Torterra didn't have the Chlorophyll ability, and its speed was slightly slower.
"Earthquake!" Rudy immediately commanded, countering Aggron's Rock Slide.
"We're using Earthquake too!" Chris responded.
Although he could switch Pokémon to resist the Earthquake, there was no need. In an official battle, it was rare for a Trainer to continuously swap Pokémon just to counter their opponent. He had to keep the pressure on.
Before the battle began, both Trainers had already selected four Pokémon out of their six available options. Changing strategies constantly wasn't feasible—sometimes, you just had to push forward.
In Pokémon battles, it wasn't uncommon to find yourself at a type disadvantage.
Torterra and Aggron unleashed Earthquake simultaneously. Violent shockwaves rippled across the battlefield, colliding at the center and canceling each other out.
Was Torterra weaker than Aggron?
Not necessarily.
Torterra had a higher level than Aggron, and its base Attack stat was comparable. Plus, as a Ground-type Pokémon, its Earthquake should have been even stronger. So why didn't it overpower Aggron?
The answer was simple—Chris's Aggron held Rock Horn!
A 25% Bonus was enough to even out the gap—maybe even surpass it!
"Solar Beam!" Rudy commanded, choosing to rely on a move Torterra specialized in rather than focusing on type advantages.
Under Sunny Day, the charging time for Solar Beam was reduced, allowing Torterra to absorb sunlight almost instantly. The tree on its back glowed golden as it rapidly gathered energy.
Just as it was about to fire, a dazzling burst of light flashed in front of it.
It was Hyper Beam!
Chris had commanded Aggron to counter with its own devastating ranged attack.
Torterra had no choice but to fire its Solar Beam against the incoming Hyper Beam.
The two beams of energy collided in midair, triggering a massive explosion. Smoke billowed like a dark wave, swallowing the battlefield in a thick haze.
For both Trainers and their Pokémon, everything was momentarily obscured.
However, for an experienced Trainer, this was the perfect offensive opportunity.
Both Chris and Rudy shouted the same command at the same time—"Earthquake!"
But while Rudy was attacking, Chris was countering, using Earthquake defensively to neutralize Torterra's move.
Chris had anticipated Rudy's strategy.
Once again, the two shockwaves clashed in the center of the battlefield.
But defense wasn't Chris's only plan.
Just three seconds later, a massive fireball tore through the lingering smoke. Aggron emerged, arms spread wide—engulfed in flames!
"A Fire-type move?" Rudy was stunned.
Wasn't Aggron weak to Fire? How could it use Fire-type moves?
Chris smirked. The answer was simple—Fire Blast.
Aggron was one of the Pokémon capable of learning Fire Blast through a TM, and in Chris's hands, it was proving to be an unexpected trump card.