"Damn it!" Koizumi cried out in disbelief.
"One move! Just one Dragon Tail, and Emboar goes down in seconds! I'm telling you, John's Steelix is definitely part of his main lineup! Its combat power rivals his Garchomp!"
"Who dares say John is just some new Gym Leader without credentials? This right here is all the credentials he needs!" shouted another fan, pointing excitedly at the battlefield.
The arena was alive with noise—some cheering for John, others defending Koizumi. Amidst the commotion, Koizumi stood frozen, staring blankly at his Emboar lying defeated in the crater. The scene defied all his expectations.
Had Emboar really been defeated so easily?
While Emboar's defense wasn't its strong suit, its physical endurance was beyond question. Yet somehow, his battle-hardened Pokémon, in peak condition, had been taken down by a single Dragon Tail from Steelix.
Koizumi wondered if lack of sleep was causing hallucinations. Maybe Emboar had eaten something that weakened it? Or perhaps as ridiculous as it sounded, had John's Steelix been enhanced illegally before the match?
He almost wanted to slap himself to confirm this wasn't some absurd nightmare.
"Trainer Koizumi, please send out your second Pokémon," the referee reminded when he noticed Koizumi still hadn't moved.
Koizumi snapped back to reality as if waking from a trance. He hastily grabbed his second Pokeball and released it.
The Pokémon that appeared was Gyarados!
Its enormous azure body floated impressively in mid-air, projecting ferocity and power. But compared to John's red Gyarados seen in previous matches, this ordinary Gyarados seemed unremarkable. In size, coloration, and apparent strength, everyone present could see the gap between the two Gyarados with the naked eye.
Koizumi's Gyarados roared fiercely at Steelix in warning, but the steel serpent remained completely unfazed.
From the Gyarados's behavior, experienced trainers in the audience recognized its Ability must be Moxie—gaining attack power after defeating an opponent. An ability best suited for sweep strategies, not for being sent as a second Pokémon after one has already fallen.
It was clear Koizumi had chosen Gyarados purely for its type advantage against Steelix.
"Surf!" Koizumi commanded immediately, launching what should have been a devastating attack.
Gyarados roared skyward, summoning a five-meter-high blue wave that rose from the ground and surged powerfully toward Steelix.
John remained calm, raising his hand casually to issue his command. "Rock Slide."
"STEELIX!" This time it was Steelix's turn to bellow.
Darkness appeared in the sky above the battlefield as a circular void opened, seemingly connected to another dimension. Countless sharp rocks rained down from this portal—each not particularly large, but with edges sharp as nails.
While the density of Steelix's Rock Slide might not match what spectators had seen from other Rock-type specialists like Ben or Aggron, it was still an overwhelming sight.
The two large Pokémon had no hope of dodging each other's wide-area attacks. They could only exchange blows and hope to deal more damage than they received.
In theory, Gyarados's Surf should inflict double damage against a Steel/Ground Pokémon like Steelix. Similarly, Steelix's Rock Slide would deal double damage to Flying-type Gyarados. The only advantage Gyarados should have was the Same-Type Attack Bonus from using a Water move—that's what Koizumi was counting on!
But when the turbulent tide slammed into Steelix, Koizumi's eyes bulged in disbelief.
The surging water crashed against Steelix's body as if hitting an impenetrable dam, the waves breaking harmlessly against its obsidian hide.
Wasn't Steelix supposed to be vulnerable to Water attacks?
Even considering Steelix's naturally high physical defense, its special defense wasn't particularly remarkable. That's specifically why Koizumi had instructed Gyarados to use Surf—a special attack move despite not being Gyarados's forte.
So why wasn't it causing any damage to Steelix?
Another reality-defying scene unfolded before him, and Koizumi's mind nearly crashed from confusion. One thought echoed through his head: I don't understand!
John showed no surprise whatsoever. His Obsidian Steelix possessed a rare ability called "Waterproof," rendering it immune to Water-type moves. Koizumi could have brought Kyogre with Origin Pulse and still failed to cause water damage, though the sheer force of such an attack might have been another story.
Unfortunately for Koizumi, he had a Gyarados, not a Legendary.
While Steelix emerged completely unscathed from the Surf attack, Gyarados's massive body suffered the continuous onslaught of falling rocks from Rock Slide. Where smaller Pokémon might take only three or four hits from such an attack, Gyarados's enormous frame endured hundreds of impacts.
Its Flying typing made each rock strike penetrate deeper, and the pain nearly drove Gyarados into an uncontrolled rage.
With a tremendous crash, Gyarados finally collapsed under the barrage, its massive body slamming heavily onto the battlefield floor, stirring up waves from its own Surf attack that hadn't yet receded.
Steelix hadn't been defeated in seconds, but Gyarados had.
The corner of Koizumi's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
John simply crossed his arms, mentally tagging Koizumi's Gyarados as "fragile." While Steelix didn't have the Rock type, the damage effect of Rock Slide was still devastating at 200% effectiveness.
And that wasn't even the whole story. Beyond the power boost Steelix gained from absorbing a treasure-grade Hard Stone during its time as an Onix, John's collection of Gym Badges provided an additional 30% boost to Rock-type moves: the Stone Badge from Rustboro Gym in Hoenn, the Boulder Badge from Pewter Gym in Kanto, and the Cliff Badge from Cyllage Gym in Kalos.
In the future, when John collected all regional Gym Badges, his Pokémon would be able to use non-natural type moves with the same effectiveness as their natural types.
Calculated this way, perhaps Koizumi's Gyarados wasn't particularly fragile—John's Steelix was simply overwhelmingly strong.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! Steelix wins!" the referee announced, confirming what everyone could clearly see.