After a flurry of punches and kicks, the two trusty Geodude under Roxanne's command went down exactly like cannon fodder!
Now that Diamond had awakened Battle Aura, every punch and kick it threw carried the power to shake stone itself!
Attacks enhanced with Battle Aura could drive its own life force straight into the opponent's body, making them especially deadly against the physiques of Rock-type Pokémon!
The underlying principle was complicated, but the short version was this: the harder a rock was, the easier it was for force applied through tiny cracks to make it break apart.
And Battle Aura, which came from Vital Essence, could seep very easily into the tiny fissures on the surface of Rock-type Pokémon!
That was why true Fighting-type Pokémon who had awakened Battle Aura could so easily counter Rock-type Pokémon!
After taking out the two Geodude with ease, Asher wore the confident smile of a straight-A student who had just solved a test with the textbook answer.
Faced with such a perfect answer, Roxanne showed the satisfied smile of a teacher watching a student succeed.
"Good! Very good! That's the right answer! Now, as long as you answer my final question, you can pass!"
Feeling that challenging the Gym was turning out to be much easier than expected, Asher said confidently, "Go ahead! Ask whatever you want, and I'll definitely give you the right answer!"
Roxanne smiled.
"Do you know what Pokémon are to a Trainer?"
A free point.
The corners of Asher's mouth lifted slightly.
Everything he had experienced since coming to this world made the answer fly out without a second thought.
"Of course they're your best partners!"
At that moment, a warm current passed through the hearts of Flare and Diamond alike. Their powerful Bond made them both turn toward Asher with perfectly synchronized looks.
Seeing such a moving scene, Roxanne started trembling with excitement.
"You... get zero points!!!!!!"
[Rotom! Your answer has provoked Roxanne!]
[Your relationship has dropped to: hopeless remedial student who will never graduate in this lifetime!]
"Huh?!!"
Asher was stunned, like someone finishing an essay test only to find out he was actually being graded on algebra.
Then Roxanne viciously announced the correct answer.
"The correct answer is... tools for battle!!!"
"What?!"
Asher got schooled all over again!
With her hair practically standing on end, Roxanne shouted, "You! You still don't have the resolve to become a professional Trainer! Best partners? With a mindset like that, all you can do is play make-believe with Pokémon! Nosepass, make him fail!"
Boom!
The moment Nosepass entered the field, it floated into the air and immediately used Secret Art: Train Tackle through magnetic force, hurtling straight at Diamond like a maglev train!
Asher had been ready for this. He already knew she would use that move, and he immediately unleashed his sacred three-word formula.
"Dodge it!"
A huge amount of complex information was transmitted straight to Diamond!
With a preemptive twist driven by Battle Aura, Diamond dodged Nosepass's charge through pure prediction!
It was like a bullet train roaring past at point-blank range, the violent gust slicing across Diamond's cheek!
But in the instant it barely slipped by, Diamond showed not a trace of fear. It gathered Battle Aura into its fist and slammed a brutal punch toward Nosepass!
Secret Art: Brick Break Punch!
A vast surge of Battle Aura rushed along with that strike and blasted straight into Nosepass's body!
Battle Aura, this power that could force its way into anything, struck Rock-bodied Pokémon with especially savage effect!
After taking the hit, Nosepass's body shuddered, clearly injured, but Roxanne burst into wild laughter!!!
In that instant, Asher was hit by the ominous feeling that he had fallen into a death trap!
Bzzzzz!
The fists floating at Nosepass's sides suddenly began to vibrate!
An invisible force rippled through the air!
This...
This was!
Magnetic Field Rotation!!!
Damn it...
A hundred horsepower!!
Secret Art: Nosepass Blast Punch!!!
Boom!
With an explosive roar, an unbelievably ferocious Secret Art was unleashed!
By using Earth-element power to forcibly alter the magnetic field around itself, Nosepass turned the arms that normally floated beside it through attraction into projectiles driven by magnetic repulsion, launching them like artillery shells with terrifying force!!!
Too strong! Too close!
The terrible fist came flying in after breaking the sound barrier. In that horrifying instant, Asher couldn't even manage to pull Diamond back into its Poké Ball!
All he could do was roar, "Diamond! Defend with everything you've got!!!"
But would shouting do any good?
No!
Because that explosive punch was faster than sound itself!
And yet, in that single instant, Diamond still sensed the frantic signal Asher was sending it.
Defend with everything you've got!
Faced with Asher's command, Diamond obeyed without hesitation!
It crossed both arms over its chest and tensed every muscle in its body, becoming as rigid as iron!
At that moment, Battle Aura flooded through its taut muscles, making Diamond truly worthy of being called unbreakable!
Secret Art: Iron Body!!!
(The inspiration is Bulk Up, tensing the muscles to raise both attack and defense.)
...
At the Pokémon Center, Intensive Care Unit.
A white sheet covered what looked like the body of a humanoid Pokémon.
"Waaaaah... why... why did this happen?! I never should have let you battle!!!"
Inside the room, a young man in a hat was sobbing so hard it sounded like his grief could shake heaven and earth.
Losing a beloved Pokémon in battle really was a heartbreaking thing.
Seeing how devastated that young man looked, the other hat-wearing young man in the room felt his heart tighten too.
He looked toward the Pokémon lying in the bed beside him and thought to himself,
Diamond, you have to pull through!
Even now, Asher still couldn't forget the battle that had happened not long ago.
He had never expected that crazy woman Roxanne to possess such terrifying strength!
One hit!
With just one hit, she had dropped the Diamond he had painstakingly trained!
So much for Iron Body, it had been flimsier than a clump of dirt!
Luckily he had gotten Diamond to the Pokémon Center in time, or the consequences would have been unimaginable!
Even as he suffered in fear and worry, Asher couldn't help feeling shaken.
Why was the first Gym this terrifying? Weren't Fighting-types supposed to counter Rock-types?!
His level hadn't even been behind, so why had he lost again?!
But he quickly stopped dwelling on those questions and focused instead on waiting anxiously for Diamond to wake up.
Seeing Diamond lying unconscious, Flare was also incredibly tense!
If Diamond really died just like that... heh... then it would be back to just the two of them again!
"Ungh... ba..."
After a long wait, Diamond finally woke up, and Asher broke into tears of joy.
"Diamond, you finally made it through! I was so worried about you!"
Hearing that, Flare couldn't help shedding tears too.
Tears of disappointment!
At the same time, Nurse Joy entered from outside the room and pushed away the Pokémon covered by the white sheet.
The young man in the white knit cap and black-and-white sportswear immediately wailed in anguish.
"No! Let me see it one more time! That was my dad... that was my dad..."
Asher froze in shock and whipped his head around.
What the hell? Your dad died in the Pokémon Center?!
Flare perked right up too, full of anticipation and ready to hear the details...
Then the guy finally finished his sentence.
"That was the Pokémon my dad passed down to me!"
In an instant, Asher calmed down again.
Seeing how heartbroken the guy was, Asher couldn't help sympathizing with him.
He stood up, patted the other hat-wearing boy, who looked about his age, on the shoulder, and tried to comfort him.
"Hang in there, friend. A dead Pokémon can't come back to life. If your Pokémon were still alive, it probably wouldn't want to see you like this either."
The young man said emotionally, "B-but that was the Pokémon my dad gave me!"
Asher felt like he was picking up on something, so he cautiously asked, "Don't tell me your father..."
The young man wiped away his tears and choked out, "My dad... my dad..."
Asher's heart skipped a beat.
He had only wanted to comfort the guy, but instead he'd dragged out some deeply buried painful memory!
"My dad is on his way here right now..."
"Cough cough cough!!"
Asher nearly choked to death on the spot.
Damn it, this kid really needed to stop pausing for dramatic effect...
After steadying his breathing, Asher changed tack.
"Then have him give you another Pokémon!"
The young man mumbled, "I... I was actually on my way through Petalburg Woods, taking Route 104 to go see him, but then I got attacked all of a sudden!"
Petalburg Woods?
Asher frowned. Petalburg Woods had gone through a major cleanup not long ago, and he himself spent a lot of time around the outer areas. He hadn't seen any Pokémon over level twenty out there.
"What wild Pokémon attacked you?"
The young man shook his head, fear flashing across his face.
"It wasn't a wild Pokémon... it was a Pokémon bandit! A red-haired Pokémon bandit attacked me!"
A Pokémon bandit?!
Asher hadn't expected that out in the wilderness, besides wild Pokémon, there were dangers like that too!
Pokémon bandit was the general term for criminals who used Pokémon to commit all kinds of illegal acts.
They were a central force in disrupting League order, and the most dangerous kind of presence in remote areas!
Asher scratched his head. Since this guy had escaped with his life from someone that dangerous, he figured the kid was probably pretty capable himself.
"Oh right, we've been talking this whole time and we still haven't introduced ourselves. Nice to meet you, I'm Asher. And you are...?"
The young man shyly scratched his head.
"Um... my name is Brendan. Nice to meet you!"