Chapter 216: Exhibition Match and The First Match

"RHY!"

Seeing that the drawing of lots had ended, the Rhydon was visibly excited.

While the contestants made their final preparations, it was almost time for the opening exhibition match between it and Torterra—a battle it had been eagerly anticipating for a long time.

When Phyllis announced that the next stage would be the exhibition match, the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause.

Torterra entered the battlefield first, crawling in through the designated contestant's tunnel and stepping onto the massive battle arena.

Due to the absence of Poké Balls, Torterra had no choice but to walk in person.

On the other side, Aven led Rhydon onto the battlefield. Rhydon entered the arena while Aven took his place on the trainer's platform.

This exhibition battle had one major goal: to showcase the importance of a trainer's command in a Pokémon battle. Therefore, Aven would be personally directing Rhydon in this match!

"Lord Aven is going to command the battle himself?"

"That's amazing! We finally get to see Lord Aven in action again. The last time was back in winter when he commanded the Gloom squad to defend the village."

As Aven took the stage, the villagers cheered. They still vividly remembered the scene of him leading the Glooms to protect their home.

"But the opponent is that Torterra, right?"

"I've seen Rhydon and Torterra battle many times. Rhydon always ends up losing."

"Could Rhydon actually win this time?"

The villagers whispered among themselves while turning their attention to Aven. Is a trainer's command really that important?

"A trainer's command…"

Pete stared intently at Aven, hoping to learn something from him.

After stepping onto the stage, Torterra glanced at the cheering audience and sighed quietly. Honestly, it didn't want to be here—but remembering everything Aven had done for them, it couldn't bring itself to refuse.

"RHY!"

Rhydon let out a thunderous roar, tightening the white bandana tied around its head. It was brimming with fighting spirit.

With anticipation from the villagers rising, the match officially began.

Rhydon stomped hard on the ground, unleashing Earth Power to create a jagged spike of earth—a customary opening move.

Torterra swiftly dodged. This had become their signature start-of-battle routine. After dodging, Torterra countered with Razor Leaf.

"Dig and dodge!" Aven suddenly commanded.

Pete was stunned. Normally, Rhydon would have taken the hit head-on without any attempt to dodge.

But this time, the drill on Rhydon's head spun rapidly, and in an instant, it dug into the ground and disappeared, avoiding the Razor Leaf attack.

Torterra immediately began sensing the ground's vibrations. As a Ground-type Pokémon, it could keenly detect seismic activity.

"Now—use Drill Run!"

The entire battlefield began to tremble as Aven gave the order.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Torterra began to soften and collapse as if turning into quicksand.

Torterra lost its footing and began sinking.

"TORR!"

Torterra roared and looked down through the sand. Beneath it, Rhydon emerged, its body enveloped in Ground-type energy. The drill on its head stirred the sand wildly, becoming the very core of the swirling vortex!

Pete's eyes widened. He had seen Drill Run in the trainer's battle manual and witnessed Rhydon using it before—but this combination with Dig had produced a completely different effect. It was as if it had become an entirely new move.

"TORR!"

Torterra, as the reigning local leader, sensed real danger from Rhydon.

It roared again, instantly gathering Grass-type energy and charging forward with Wood Hammer, choosing to attack head-on rather than retreat!

"Go! Drill Run!"

Following Aven's command, Rhydon unleashed its fully charged Drill Run.

Once again, Drill Run and Wood Hammer collided, resulting in a violent energy clash.

Bit by bit, the spinning drill bore through the green energy of the Wood Hammer, cracking it until it finally shattered completely.

Although Torterra held the advantage in raw power, its Wood Hammer had been used too hastily, making it no match for the fully charged Drill Run.

BOOM!

Torterra was blasted into the air!

"Rhydon—finish it with Stone Edge!"

Rhydon's body surged with Rock-type energy. Since mastering Ancient Power, its control over Rock-type moves had become stronger and stronger.

Sharp stones formed mid-air, shaped by Rhydon's will. They shot out like arrows!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of rocks tearing through the air rang out. Mid-flight, Torterra was struck repeatedly by the Stone Edge attacks, causing massive explosions.

BOOM!

With another loud crash, Torterra hit the ground hard.

It lay on the field, struggling to lift itself—clearly severely injured.

Before it could recover, Rhydon rushed up and delivered a crushing Rock Slide, slamming its fist down onto Torterra's shell.

The impact forced Torterra further into the battlefield, spiderweb-like cracks radiating outward.

After enduring multiple critical hits, Torterra finally collapsed. Its eyes shut tightly—it had lost the ability to battle.

The villagers were stunned. That powerful Torterra… was defeated by the Rhydon so quickly!

"Rhydon's gotten a lot stronger…"

A villager who had seen their past battles murmured to themselves.

Previously, even though the two always fought fiercely, Torterra would ultimately win. But this time was different.

"No. Rhydon has indeed improved—but the key was the change in strategy."

"Torterra barely had a chance to fight properly. It was forced into a head-on clash with Rhydon right from the start."

"If they had battled the same way as before, Torterra would've won again."

Pete's eyes glinted as he explained to a nearby friend. He then looked toward Aven. Clearly, everything had gone exactly as Aven planned!

"So, this is what trainer command is really about? Incredible… truly incredible!"

Pete's eyes sparkled, and he instinctively tightened the grip on the trainer's battle manual in his backpack.

The villagers' reactions varied, but Aven had achieved his goal: he had successfully demonstrated the importance of a trainer's role in battle. The patrol members now took that role seriously.

After a brief moment of shock, the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers, celebrating the thrilling battle. It had clearly been a successful exhibition match.

Aven smiled as he listened to the cheers, then turned his gaze to the battlefield—now utterly wrecked by Rhydon's onslaught—and rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"RHYDON!"

Rhydon let out a victorious roar.

"Rhydon, help move Torterra off the battlefield."

Rhydon nodded happily, walked over, and began dragging Torterra offstage.

'Thank goodness I won'

Rhydon thought, glancing at the unconscious Torterra and the cheering crowd. It breathed a sigh of relief.

Link rushed over with a bottle of healing potion and helped Torterra drink it to stabilize its condition.

Then, Petilil entered the stage, dressed in a white lab coat. The leaves on its head glowed with life energy, which it placed gently on Torterra's body.

As the healing energy worked its magic, Torterra's wounds quickly began to mend, and it slowly opened its eyes.

Ugh… What happened? Torterra looked up in confusion, quickly recalling the earlier battle. Its pupils shrank.

Seeing this, Rhydon proudly gave a thumbs-up, prompting Torterra to roll its eyes and lay down to enjoy Petilil's healing.

"Rhydon, don't get lazy."

"Once you've recovered, you're responsible for fixing the battlefield."

Seeing Rhydon reveling in victory, Aven handed over another healing potion with a reminder.

After hearing what Aven said, the Rhydon looked back at the battlefield that he had destroyed beyond recognition, and scratched his head in confusion.

After a short rest, Rhydon returned to the arena and used Earth Power to repair the ground, followed by Ancient Power to reinforce it.

After this round of labor, Rhydon was panting heavily—it felt more exhausted than it did from the battle itself.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at the contestants who were eager to try below the stage, hoping that they could restrain themselves a little.

At this moment, everyone in the field set their eyes on Petilil and Rhydon.

Seeing how quickly Torterra recovered under Petilil's care, they were both surprised and excited.

Before the competition began, Aven had promised that Petilil would provide healing for injured Pokémon throughout the matches, so trainers wouldn't have to worry about their partners getting hurt.

And with Rhydon repairing the battlefield so efficiently, that concern was also eliminated.

Looking at this scene, Aven nodded in satisfaction. Though the conditions were modest, everything necessary was in place. This Pokémon League tournament should proceed smoothly.

"Whew… it's almost my turn."

Pete closed his eyes, mentally reviewing his opponent's information.

Whether by coincidence or intent, he had been assigned to the first official match. His opponent was a patrolman who used a Weepinbell.

Pete remembered him—one of the newer members of the patrol. He likely wasn't very strong.

Once everyone was ready, Phyllis's clear voice rang out, announcing the first match of the Fruitvale Village Knight Selection Tournament. The two competitors entered the battlefield amid cheers from the crowd.

Both Pokémon took their positions on the field while their trainers stood at the command zones.

"Now, the first match of the Fruitvale Village Knight Selection Tournament is about to begin. Both sides, please prepare."

Since there were no qualified referees yet, Aven took the role himself. His presence energized the battlefield—everyone wanted to impress him.

At his signal, both contestants nodded solemnly, their gazes locked on each other.

As the command to start was issued, Pete immediately shouted:

"Gloom, use Acid!"

Caught off guard, the opposing trainer failed to react in time, and his Weepinbell took the hit directly.

Sizzle! The Acid corroded the ground and struck Weepinbell, making it groan in pain.

Even though Weepinbell had Poison-typing, the Acid still did real damage.

Just as I thought—launching the first attack gives me the upper hand, Pete thought excitedly as he glanced at Aven, who seemed pleased and said nothing.

Aven nodded in approval. Pete showed strong battle instincts, and his Gloom had already mastered Acid—a promising sign.

Pete then ordered another Acid attack.

This time, the opposing Weepinbell reacted by bouncing out of the way and countered with Sleep Powder.

Unfortunately, the trainer hadn't read Aven's trainer manual carefully—Sleep Powder doesn't work on Grass-types.

Pete smirked and continued the assault. The enemy Weepinbell, having just used Sleep Powder, couldn't dodge the next attack and was hit again.

Engulfed by the powder, Pete's Gloom remained completely unaffected and followed up with one final Acid attack, blasting the opponent across the field.

"Weepinbell is unable to battle. Victory goes to Pete and his Gloom."

Aven glanced at the fainted Weepinbell and raised a small flag, following the traditional League referee style to declare the match over.

A new era… had begun!

(End of Chapter)