Pokémon: Reborn as Lucario

Chapter 132: The First Dynamo Badge

The view returned to the stage.

Míng Rìzhào and Rio had a common trait: at certain times, they would think of other things, and their minds would wander.

At the very moment the opposing Manectric's [Shock Wave] came rushing over, his own trainer was off in la-la land. Rio told himself he wasn't panicking at all...

...the hell he wasn't!

But fortunately, Rio belonged to the type of Pokémon with extremely strong self-initiative. After complaining about Míng Rìzhào in his heart, he then focused his mind on how to respond.

Aura Sphere was locked onto Manectric, and the lightning was also locked onto Aura Sphere. Therefore, no matter how Rio controlled the direction of the Aura Sphere, he couldn't avoid that relentlessly entangled lightning.

"Boom!" The Aura energy and the Electric energy collided, exploding into a thick cloud of smoke.

"Here it comes! Using smoke to cover its figure, then launching a surprise attack. I've seen this routine plenty of times!"

Rio had also played this routine quite a bit, so when the smoke obscured his vision, he cautiously retreated a few steps, guarding against a sudden attack from within the smoke.

Looking at the move list, Manectric will probably use its highest-level move, [Thunder Fang]. But that's a physical move. As long as I'm prepared to use [Detect] or [Counter], I should have a chance to gain the upper hand...

While Rio was still calculating in his heart, he heard his trainer, who had originally been daydreaming, shout, "Rio, use [Dig]!"

Huh?

Looking at the concrete battle stage under his feet, Rio wanted to curse.

It was common knowledge that Ground-type countered Electric-type. So, perhaps to deal with Ground-type Pokémon, the floor of this Electric Gym was not ordinary dirt but a high-hardness concrete mixture. Although it didn't matter to true Ground-type Pokémon, whose powerful Ground-type energy was enough to overturn this concrete floor, for a non-Ground-type Pokémon like Rio, using a Ground-type move would be extremely difficult.

Therefore, when Míng Rìzhào and Rio were discussing strategies for the gym, it wasn't that they hadn't thought of focusing on the Ground-type move [Dig], but looking at this concrete, they knew it wasn't possible.

But why expend so much energy to use [Dig] now? If it was to dodge [Thunder Fang], wouldn't using other blocking moves be a better choice?

Although somewhat baffled, the trust Rio and Míng Rìzhào had established before still made him choose to believe his trainer.

"Hah-yah!"

Concentrating all his strength in his fist, Rio slammed it onto the ground.

A shallow pit appeared, revealing the concrete mixture inside.

Claws popped out from his hands, and Rio began to dig with great effort.

Just as Rio had managed to dig a small hiding hole, he felt a numbness in his back.

"Awooo!"

Manectric's loud howl was accompanied by thousands of dazzling electric lights!

"Manectric, [Thunderbolt]!"

Different from what Rio had envisioned, Manectric had surprisingly used [Thunderbolt], which was a level lower than [Thunder Fang]!

"Holy crap! You have no martial honor! You were supposed to use the cover of smoke to launch a physical attack..."

Rio's somewhat indignant voice was drowned out by the deafening roar of thunder.

"Boom," "Boom," "Boom," "Boom." The blasting, mighty volts bombarded every inch of the stage. The piercing light of the lightning illuminated the entire gym incomparably brightly.

"My Manectric's specialty... is Special Attack."

Wattson enjoyed the familiar slight tingling sensation in the air and said with a loud laugh.

Míng Rìzhào frowned.

She had originally thought that a Pokémon like Manectric, which was extremely fast and had the buff of the Static ability, would fight by seeking close combat. But what was displayed before her and her Pokémon now was an opponent with formidable long-range attacks and a high chance of causing paralysis in close-range combat—an all-around opponent with no blind spots.

No matter what tactic they used, it seemed they couldn't effectively counter Manectric.

Since tactics weren't working, then...

"Rio, charge straight in!"

Míng Rìzhào decisively issued the command, while also giving Rio some instructions in her heart.

Rio, jumping out of the small hole, shook his tail, which he hadn't had time to pull in and had left exposed outside the hole.

The fur on the tail, having been zapped, was all standing on end fluffily.

So we're going for a reckless charge, huh? Fine, I like it!

Rio grinned, then pushed off with his feet, his figure shooting out like a rocket.

Not far away, Manectric adjusted its footing and continued to use [Thunderbolt].

"Hiss, this electricity really packs a punch."

Amidst the dense lightning, an agile figure weaved left and right, dodging through it. But there was simply too much lightning. Sometimes, when he couldn't dodge in time, he would be hit by a bolt of thunderous lightning, making Rio grit his teeth for a good while.

However, the pain of being hit by the electric current further stimulated Rio's tenacious fighting spirit.

"[Aura Sphere]!"

In the process of charging forward, Rio had no intention of just taking a beating. His feet never stopped, and his hands continuously fired multiple azure blue Aura energy projectiles.

Manectric, also because it was concentrating on unleashing [Thunderbolt], also endured several Aura Spheres with a low "whimper."

For a moment, the battle on the scene seemed to have become a contest of the two Pokémon's endurance.

Manectric, tanking the Aura energy projectiles, and Riolu, with smoke rising from his body from being electrocuted—the two Pokémon made the spectators in the venue involuntarily cheer for them.

It seemed like a long time, but with Rio's speed, charging up to Manectric only took a few extra seconds.

Looking at the opponent right before him, a sharp glint flashed in Rio's eyes.

At this time, he no longer cared about the lightning striking his body. He raised his right hand, and brownish-red Fighting energy emerged, winding around his palm to form the phantom of a blade.

"[Brick Break]!"

Rio, having finally gotten close, seized the opportunity to use his move. But before his hand-blade could chop down, the nimble Manectric leaped back, dodging it.

The "Leader" title's bonus not only shortened the preparation time for Manectric's move releases but also made its movements to evade opponent damage even more agile.

"Boom!" Lightning continued to bombard Rio.

He gritted his teeth and, withstanding the lightning, charged forward again.

"[Brick Break]!!"

Manectric dodged again.

"Damn it, this guy's speed is too fast!"

No matter how many times he tried, Rio's close-combat moves would be timely dodged by Manectric, which not only consumed a great deal of his energy but also caused him to continuously take damage from being attacked by lightning.

After another [Brick Break] was dodged, Rio found a gap in the lightning strikes to catch his breath.

This sign of fatigue was immediately caught by Wattson.

"Manectric, use [Thunder Fang]!"

Close combat was not only an opportunity for Rio, but how could it not be a good opportunity for Manectric as well?

Wattson immediately changed moves, having Manectric switch from [Thunderbolt] to the close-range, extremely intimidating [Thunder Fang].

Rio barely raised his right hand, attempting to counter with [Brick Break] again.

And the sea of electric light instantly converged. Then, Manectric opened its large mouth, its fangs sparkling with electric sparks, and bit down on Rio's raised right hand.

"Bzzzzzzzz—" A dazzling yellow light exploded again. The full power of [Thunder Fang] was unleashed on Rio's body.

"Urgh, oof..." Shaking all over from the electricity, Rio clenched his jaw, his eyes wide with anger, stubbornly refusing to fall.

The trouble was, the [Brick Break] he had intended to use, with his hand now bitten, could not be executed. The gathered Fighting energy could only spin around uselessly and then return to Rio's body.

Misfortunes never come singly. As the electric current coursed through Rio's body, a feeling of powerless numbness began to well up from within him.

His whole body was unable to move.

This feeling was not unfamiliar to him. A long time ago in Newmoon Forest, Flower (Vileplume) had made him experience the pain of various abnormal statuses with her various powders.

Paralysis—this abnormal status would cause a Pokémon's entire body to be unable to move due to numbness.

Some spectators outside the ring had already begun to shake their heads.

"Looks like it's over. This Pokémon is paralyzed, and Manectric also has the advantage. There should be no way to turn the situation around."

"Yeah, what a real pity. Just one step away from getting the badge."

"For a young girl of her age, to put up such an exciting match is already very good."

"I hope she goes back and sums it up properly. She should be able to win next time."

The people behind them began to leave the venue one after another. But Xiao Yu still stared intently at the field, not leaving.

Because she discovered that Míng Rìzhào's face did not show any panic from Rio being suppressed, but still wore a calm and composed expression!

"Rio, can you move?"

Míng Rìzhào asked in their telepathic communication.

"S-still... okay... hiss... this guy... is really... biting... me hard."

Rio's intermittent voice came back.

"Very good. Then grab him! Don't let him use his speed to escape!"

Míng Rìzhào's eyes lit up.

"It was so hard to get a chance to control him. How can we let such a good opportunity slip away!"

Rio gritted his teeth. His bitten right hand suddenly yanked downwards, directly clamping Manectric's head with his arm and body!

"Awoof? (Pokémon Language) What are you doing?"

A panicked sound came from Manectric's mouth. Since it was still biting Rio's hand, it sounded like gibberish.

Rio threw a small bottle with his left hand, and then brownish-red Fighting energy re-emerged on his left hand.

At some unknown point, the paralyzing current on his body had vanished without a trace.

"Finally caught you. Now you can't dodge."

He "grinned ferociously."

Manectric panicked, frantically shaking its head, trying to break free from Rio's restraint.

But it was all in vain.

Rio raised his left fist, surging Fighting energy enveloping it.

"[Rock Smash]!"

"Bonk," "Bonk," "Bonk." A continuous stream of punches landed on Manectric's head until it had "@" eyes. Only then did he release the Manectric, which was no longer able to battle, and then collapsed on the ground.

"Was that... a Paralyze Heal?"

Wattson glanced at the small bottle Rio had thrown and instantly identified what it was.

"Baiting Manectric into close combat, then immobilizing Manectric's movement, then using a Paralyze Heal to remove the paralysis status, and finally succeeding in a counterattack."

Wattson said with relief, while recalling the fainted Manectric.

"It seems you and your Pokémon have both grown quite a bit."

"An exciting match!"

All the spectators in the venue broke into applause. The little kid, Xiao Yu, cheered with particular enthusiasm.

Waiting for the applause and cheers to subside slightly.

Wattson stepped off the battle stage and stood on the display platform behind the stage, beckoning to Míng Rìzhào.

"Click!" A white light flashed from a Poké Ball, and Ruru reappeared.

Míng Rìzhào, with Ruru supporting Rio, and her two Pokémon, walked onto the display platform with excited faces.

Uncle Wattson once again showed his signature big laugh.

"I, Wattson, the Electric-type Gym Leader of Zidian City, acknowledge the strength of challenger Míng Rìzhào, and hereby declare the Gym Challenge a success!"

"And, I award the Electric-type Gym—the Dynamo Badge!"

A female apprentice holding a tray walked onto the display platform.

On the tray, a pink cloth cushioned a shiny badge that rested quietly on top.

The badge was circular, with two small lightning bolts carved diagonally. A small bead was embedded in the center of the circle. A faint electric light seemed to flow inside the bead. The overall color of the badge was golden yellow, representing the leap and brilliance of lightning.

"The Dynamo Badge!"

Míng Rìzhào carefully picked up this first Gym badge of her life, her hands even trembling slightly.

"So this is... a Gym badge?"

Rio and Ruru stood on their tiptoes, staring intently.

"You can keep this badge in a special badge case. Then you can use your phone's scanning function to write the record of obtaining the badge into your electronic trainer card. This way, you won't need to take out the badge every time."

Wattson explained to Míng Rìzhào.

"Finally, let's take a photo together, haha!"

A camera descended from the gym ceiling. Amidst Xiao Yu's shouts of "Wait, I want to be in the photo too!", "Click!" a photo recorded the scene of Míng Rìzhào obtaining her first Gym badge. Among them, the Dynamo Badge she held in her hand shone brightly.

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