"Onix! Use Tackle!"
Hearing the order, Onix twisted its massive body and slammed its enormous head toward Pikachu.
Pikachu frantically jumped left and right.
Terrified by Onix's overwhelming presence, it could only run around desperately, completely forgetting to counterattack.
Before long, Onix seized an opening and wrapped its enormous tail tightly around Pikachu.
"Good! Onix, use Bind!"
Under Onix's tremendous strength, Pikachu was completely immobilized.
Seeing his partner struggling painfully, Ash grew increasingly anxious.
"Pikachu! Hurry, use Thunder Shock!"
Hearing Ash's command, sparks began crackling from Pikachu's cheeks.
A powerful burst of electricity erupted from its body!
However, even though the electric attack struck Onix directly, it failed to inflict any damage whatsoever.
On the other side of the battlefield, Brock folded his arms.
"As a trainer, your methods are completely misguided."
"Do you seriously think you can defeat my Onix with nothing but an electric attack?"
"How naive!"
"Damn it!"
Ash clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
However, seeing Pikachu suffering more and more while remaining unable to escape, he finally shouted helplessly,
"Please stop! I surrender! I give up this match!"
Seeing Brock nod, Onix finally loosened its tail.
Pikachu fell toward the ground, but Ash immediately rushed onto the battlefield and caught it in his arms.
"Are you okay, Pikachu?"
With the battle over, Itsuki slowly descended from the spectator stands.
For a moment, he didn't know how to comfort Ash.
'Well, knowing Ash's personality, he'll probably bounce back in no time.'
Walking into the trainer's command area, Itsuki turned toward Brock.
Brock looked at Itsuki, recalled Onix, and took out another Poké Ball.
"Judging by your expression, you seem completely different from that previous challenger."
"Well, he's still a little immature right now, and his experience is somewhat lacking."
Itsuki smiled.
"But I believe that as long as he continues training and gaining experience, he'll eventually become a Pokémon Master whom everyone admires."
At that moment, Ash was carrying Pikachu back toward the spectator stands.
Hearing Itsuki's words, he suddenly turned around.
For the first time, someone had openly acknowledged his potential.
His eyes couldn't help but grow slightly moist.
'This guy...'
'He really believes in me that much?'
"Come out, Geodude!"
Brock threw his Poké Ball.
A flash of blue light appeared, and a round, rocky Pokémon with two thick, muscular arms materialized before Itsuki.
The Pokédex announced:
"Beep! Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Rock/Ground-type. It usually inhabits mountainous forests, where it buries half its body underground while observing passing hikers. Because it resembles an ordinary rock, careless travelers often accidentally step on it and trip."
Itsuki turned around.
His gaze shifted between Squirtle and Bulbasaur several times.
Finally, he looked toward Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur, I'm counting on you for this battle!"
"Bulba! Bulba!"
Whether it was the Water-type Squirtle or the Grass-type Bulbasaur, both had an overwhelming type advantage against Rock/Ground-type Pokémon.
Because both Water and Grass were super effective against Rock and Ground, their attacks would deal four times the normal damage!
In other words, regardless of which Pokémon Itsuki chose, this battle appeared to be a relatively easy one.
Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, Misty saw Ash returning.
She first gently touched Pikachu's forehead before turning toward Ash with a teasing expression.
"See? Unlike a certain idiot, Itsuki actually understands type matchups."
"Looks like he knows how to battle properly. Now that's what I'd call a qualified Pokémon Trainer!"
Surprisingly, Ash didn't argue back.
Instead, he carefully watched Itsuki's every movement. Get faster updates on g.com.
Perhaps because Itsuki had acknowledged his potential earlier, Ash had begun taking him much more seriously.
Once Bulbasaur and Geodude had taken their positions, the battle officially began.
"Geodude, use Tackle!"
Itsuki immediately shouted,
"Bulbasaur! Let's show him our new special move!"
"Use Razor Leaf!"
Before Geodude could get close, numerous glowing green leaves suddenly appeared around Bulbasaur.
The leaves shot forward at incredible speed, heading straight toward Geodude!
"Geodude! Hurry, dodge it!" Brock shouted.
However, Razor Leaf was simply too fast.
Even though Brock had issued the command, the attack still struck Geodude directly!
'It's super effective!'
An explosion erupted, filling the battlefield with thick smoke.
When the smoke cleared, Geodude wore an expression of obvious pain.
Seeing this, Brock immediately gave another command.
"Geodude! Use Rock Throw!"
Geodude raised both arms toward the sky.
In an instant, several enormous boulders appeared out of nowhere beneath the ceiling and came crashing down toward Bulbasaur!
The attack covered an enormous area.
Itsuki immediately realized that Bulbasaur wouldn't be able to avoid it with its current speed.
Without hesitation, he issued an order.
"Bulbasaur! Aim at those rocks and use Razor Leaf!"
Green light gathered once again.
Another barrage of Razor Leaves shot forward, colliding with the falling boulders!
Most of the rocks shattered under the attack.
However, countless smaller fragments continued falling, striking Bulbasaur's body.
Despite being hit by the falling stones, Bulbasaur remained standing calmly in its original position.
It was almost as though the damage it had suffered wasn't worth mentioning at all.