The pool at the center of the battlefield had completely vanished, buried beneath layers of jagged stone. The entire arena had transformed into a rough rocky terrain filled with uneven gravel and protruding boulders, becoming a battlefield perfectly suited for Rhydon.
"To completely alter the entire battlefield into terrain advantageous to himself… how can such a move even exist? Is this Mega Rhydon some kind of Legendary Pokémon?"
Joe stared at the drastically altered field with an ugly expression. Her Kingdra could still continue fighting, but its mobility had been completely crippled. On this rocky terrain, it had essentially become a stationary target.
For the first time, she truly understood Ash's strength.
The rumors outside hadn't been exaggerated at all. In fact, they might have understated him. Thinking back to how she once believed the stories were blown out of proportion, Joe suddenly found herself feeling ridiculous.
She had been thoroughly beaten awake.
"Rock Fist," Ash ordered again.
Mega Rhydon roared as thick layers of stone instantly wrapped around both of its arms, forming massive rocky gauntlets. Just by looking at them, one could tell how terrifying both their offensive and defensive power were.
"Kingdra, use Bubble Beam to block its vision!"
Since Kingdra could no longer evade properly, Joe could only prevent Rhydon from getting close.
"Woooo!"
A stream of shimmering bubbles burst from Kingdra's mouth, rapidly covering most of the battlefield and obscuring Ash's line of sight. For a brief moment, Mega Rhydon lost sight of its target.
"Don't panic. Attack toward one o'clock."
Ash calmly reassured his Pokémon. Mega Rhydon was participating in a Gym battle for the first time, so some nervousness was understandable.
At the same time, Ash's Sharingan spun silently within his eyes, instantly locking onto Kingdra's hidden position through the obscuring bubbles.
"ROAR!"
Hearing Ash's command, Mega Rhydon stopped hesitating. It threw a devastating straight punch toward the one o'clock direction.
The massive Rock Fist smashed directly into Kingdra.
"WOOOOO!!!"
Kingdra cried out miserably as the attack landed. The damage from Rock Fist was no less severe than being struck by a falling mountain.
"Kingdra!"
Joe's face paled as she looked toward the impact site. Only then did she realize her mistake.
Ash possessed Aura abilities just like her.
Blocking his vision was meaningless.
In truth, even without Aura, Ash still possessed the Sharingan and Rinnegan. Both dōjutsu granted terrifying perception abilities. Ordinary visual obstruction meant absolutely nothing to him.
"Since we can't dodge, then attack! Kingdra, use Dragon Pulse!"
A blue sphere of energy condensed before Kingdra's mouth before erupting into a powerful beam that shot straight toward Mega Rhydon.
"Hm?"
Ash suddenly noticed something odd about Joe.
She was completely different from the arrogant young lady from earlier. The current Joe was calm, focused, and composed like a true professional trainer.
Such a drastic shift in personality shouldn't exist unless the previous attitude had been an act.
Still, Ash didn't think much about it. He was only here for the Gym challenge. Once the battle ended, he would leave. As for the so-called engagement between them, he had no intention of caring about it.
BOOM!
"ROAR!"
Because Ash had been briefly distracted, Dragon Pulse managed to graze Mega Rhydon's abdomen.
Fortunately, Mega Rhydon's reflexes were fast enough to avoid taking the full impact. Otherwise, the damage would have been severe.
Dragon Pulse was one of the Dragon-type's most powerful techniques. Its destructive force was naturally terrifying.
Ash's Pokémon generally possessed exceptional autonomous reaction speed, but Mega Rhydon's enormous body inevitably reduced its mobility slightly. That was why the attack had managed to clip it.
"Earth-Style, Rock Coffin."
Recovering instantly, Ash gave another command.
Rock Coffin was an Earth Release technique that manipulated surrounding stone to imprison and crush the target.
"ROOOAR!!!"
Mega Rhydon bellowed as the rocky terrain around Kingdra suddenly trembled violently. Massive slabs of stone erupted upward from every direction before rapidly closing in around Kingdra.
In less than three seconds, Kingdra had already been trapped within the crushing rock prison.
"WOOOOAHHH!!!"
Painful cries echoed throughout the arena.
"Kingdra, get out of there quickly!"
Joe shouted anxiously.
Although Kingdra could still move somewhat after leaving the water, its mobility on land was pitifully slow. Under the pressure of the surrounding rocks, escape became almost impossible.
"WOOO… AH!!!"
Kingdra desperately struggled, trying to force itself free from the crushing prison. But the intense pressure made it impossible to exert strength properly.
Finally, after one last painful cry, Kingdra collapsed unconscious.
"The Kingdra has lost its ability to battle! Mega Rhydon wins! Gym Leader, please send out your next Pokémon!"
The moment Kingdra lost consciousness, Kabu immediately raised the green flag.
At the same instant, the stone prison surrounding Kingdra shattered apart like fragile paper, revealing the unconscious Pokémon within.
This wasn't a life-or-death battle.
Otherwise, Kingdra would have been crushed into a mangled corpse instantly.
"So strong…"
Joe stared blankly at the defeated Kingdra.
"I really underestimated him…"
She never imagined her Kingdra would lose so thoroughly.
Throughout the entire battle, she had been completely suppressed.
If the battlefield had remained a water arena, perhaps Kingdra could have stood a chance. But on a rocky field like this, defeat had been inevitable from the very beginning.
If Gym Leaders were allowed to switch Pokémon mid-battle, Joe would have done so immediately.
After all, she wasn't stupid. No matter how arrogant she might be, she wasn't brainless.