"Go, Onix!"
Brock immediately sent out his signature Pokémon, Onix.
It is made up of many irregular circular boulders, with the gray stones getting smaller from head to tail.
The foremost stone is its head, which has its eyes and a horn on top.
As soon as it emerged from its Poké Ball, Onix let out a roar.
"What a miraculous creation!"
Yang Tao couldn't help but exclaim, Pokémon creatures truly are diverse and wondrous.
He also wondered if this Onix counted as a silicon-based lifeform.
Yang Tao also wanted an Onix, but not the ordinary ten-meter-long kind; he wanted a shiny Onix or a giant Onix.
Steelix, Onix's evolution, is incredibly powerful.
Yang Tao glanced at the eager Growlithe beside him, then placed the Caterpie that was perched on his shoulder onto the ground and said, "Go, Caterpie, it's time to prove your strength!"
"Squeak…"
Facing the enormous Onix, Caterpie remained full of fighting spirit.
Seeing Yang Tao send out Caterpie to battle, Brock immediately thought Yang Tao was an irresponsible trainer.
In reality, he was right.
Yang Tao had no idea how to command; he just let his Pokémon do their own thing, but now things were a little different.
He took down the Poké Ball from his waist, gently pressed it, and released the Slowking inside. As soon as it appeared, it surveyed the situation on the field like a leader inspecting work, hands behind its back, chest out, and head held high.
Poké Balls are not completely sealed; the Pokémon inside can still 'see' what's happening outside.
Sometimes, individual Pokémon can even emerge from the ball on their own.
"Slowking, you command Caterpie to defeat Onix. If it loses, you're up."
"No problem, leave it to me."
Slowking said confidently. As a Water/Psychic-type Pokémon, an Onix was an easy win.
Brock was surprised to see Yang Tao possessed a Slowking, which is a very rare Pokémon.
Not all Slowpoke wearing a Shellder can evolve into Slowking. Slowpoke are generally gregarious Pokémon, and there is only one Slowking in a tribe.
To become a Slowking, one must possess the qualifications of a king.
Slowking, with a regal flourish, waved its hand:
"Slow…" (Buff up!)
The constantly changing colored ring on Caterpie's body immediately emitted a faint glow.
"Onix, finish off this Caterpie with Iron Tail."
Onix heard the command and immediately swung its rocky tail behind it, rapidly striking towards Caterpie, looking as if it intended to flatten Caterpie into a pulp.
"Slow…" (Dodge, and continue to restrict its speed with String Shot.)
Caterpie used the most abnormal move in the entire Pokémon anime: Dodge.
Under the acceleration of time, Caterpie rolled its body and directly dodged Onix's Iron Tail.
"Use Rock Throw!"
Onix shook its body, and several rock fragments appeared out of thin air in the Gym, rapidly hurtling towards Caterpie.
Caterpie was not to be outdone; its white String Shot skill was as powerful as a fire hose.
This time, Caterpie didn't play any 'diffraction' tricks; instead, it aimed directly at Onix's body joints, clearly intending to restrict its movement.
Brock had never seen such a String Shot before and was utterly amazed.
"Rock Polish, Dig!"
In an instant, most of the white silk threads on Onix's body fell off, and then Onix shook its body and burrowed into the ground.
This time, Caterpie was a Muggle.
Although there was no type advantage between it and Onix, some things are naturally countered…
Given the size difference between the two, if it used Tackle on Onix, it might be the one getting hurt.
"Slow…" (You get down, I'm up!)
Caterpie heard Slowking's words and immediately activated its Run Away ability, escaping the battleground at an incredible speed and then perching on Yang Tao's shoulder.
Brock was about to speak when he saw Slowking, hands behind its back, walk into the arena. He instantly understood what was happening.
The ground beneath Slowking's feet suddenly broke open, and Onix burst out from underground, but while it emerged, its target, Slowking, stepped on a rock fragment and flew into the sky.
Unflustered, it looked completely at ease.
Then Slowking opened its large mouth.
Water Pulse!
Onix is four times weak to Water. After being hit by Slowking's Water Pulse, it immediately collapsed motionless on the ground, its eyes having turned into swirls.
Slowking landed on Onix's head: "Slow…"
(You're weak, practice more!)
Brock knew from the start that his Onix might not be a match for this Slowking, but he never expected to lose so quickly.
He pulled out a Poké Ball.
"Return, Onix."
Yang Tao waited for Brock to send out Geodude, but Brock showed no intention of pulling out a Poké Ball. Instead, he walked towards Yang Tao from the opposite side.
"Aren't there two Pokémon?"
Brock heard Yang Tao's words and smiled calmly, saying, "I concede. The strength of both Caterpie and this Slowking has earned my recognition."
"This is our Pewter City Gym Badge, please accept it."
With that, Brock pulled out a gray gem-like badge from his pocket and handed it to Yang Tao.
Yang Tao reached out and took the badge, then realized it was just a metal pin-on badge.
When he was a child, he thought these Gym Badges were special gems.
"Thank you then."
With that, Yang Tao prepared to leave, but Brock called out to him and said, "Although it might be presumptuous, I still want to ask about this Growlithe's diet…"
"What exactly does it eat to grow so big?"
Yang Tao smiled upon hearing this: "That's a secret recipe."
With that, he took out a bone-shaped training treat and threw it into Growlithe's mouth.
"I'm leaving now, I'm in a hurry to get to the next Gym."
"Alright, goodbye then."
Leaving Pewter City Gym, Yang Tao, wearing his never-wearing-out pants, once again rode Growlithe.
"Head east, to Mt. Moon to dig for some Moon Stones!"
He wasn't interested in Clefairy, but he was very interested in Moon Stones.
"Woof~"
Growlithe darted out like the wind, passing through the somewhat bustling Pewter City, once again attracting many people's gazes and exclamations.
Sitting on Growlithe, Yang Tao looked at the mod he had obtained this time, thinking about the Lich and the Ice Queen in the Twilight Forest.
'Presumably, the ability they mentioned to take them away must refer to entering a bucket-like mod…'
If he wanted to, he could now go to the Twilight Forest and bring out the Ice Queen and the Lich.
But…
What was the point of bringing out these two clearly problematic individuals?
'I'll have a good time in the Pokémon World first, then I'll go talk to the Ice Queen.'
No longer thinking about the Ice Queen and the Lich, Yang Tao looked towards the bald Mt. Moon in the distance.
"I wonder if I'll encounter any shiny Pokémon on Mt. Moon…"
lucky soy milk was due for an appearance again.