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Nidoqueen was sent flying out of the battlefield and slammed into the wall behind her. The tremendous force, combined with Nidoqueen's powerful body, directly created a gaping hole in the wall.
"Hmph!" Giovanni, witnessing this scene, recovered from his surprise. He lowered his head with a quiet chuckle, raised the Poké Ball, and recalled Nidoqueen.
"Do you think you can defeat me with such clever tricks?" Giovanni's sneer faded as he looked at Ash.
"It doesn't matter whether a method is clever or not. Even if it's unconventional, it still worked against you, didn't it?" Ash responded with a slight smile as he adjusted his cap.
"Haha! Let me show you what I'm sending out next!" Giovanni said, throwing another Great Ball.
Although he had called it a clever trick, he secretly hoped that Ash would continue to surprise him.
Boom!
"Rhydon!"
The Poké Ball opened with a flash, and a figure encased in iron-like armor appeared.
"Rhydon?"
Misty and the others were stunned when they saw this. Rhydon was a Ground-type, and its type was also weak to Squirtle's Water-type moves, so they were surprised to see Giovanni sending out Rhydon.
But Ash wasn't careless in the slightest. Although Squirtle's attack power had been enhanced, its condition wasn't very good. He needed to end this quickly.
"Squirtle, Aqua Jet with Ice Beam!"
Right from the start, he unleashed the combination move. Upon hearing the command, Squirtle released Aqua Jet again and shot forward. Then Ice Beam froze the water stream once more, and Squirtle rushed directly toward Rhydon.
"Drill Run!" Giovanni said coldly, and Rhydon immediately charged forward upon hearing the command.
As the heavy body sprinted across the ground—which was already full of cracks—rocks continued to fly up as Rhydon charged.
But those stones shattered automatically when they struck Rhydon's body, and Rhydon's speed was astonishing.
A blue light flashed from the tip of its horn, forming a powerful propulsive force along with its sprint.
"So fast! How can a Rhydon be that fast?!" Gary, who was watching the battle, looked surprised.
Rhydon was covered in armor and had short limbs, so it shouldn't be very mobile. He hadn't expected it to move at such incredible speed.
Boom!
In the center of the battlefield, both combatants rushed toward each other. Rhydon's sharp horn and Squirtle's icicle spear collided.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Ice crystals continued to spread, but Rhydon's horn proved more powerful. Drill Run kept impacting the ice like a drill.
Combined with the extreme speed from just moments ago, Ash didn't even have time for Squirtle to use Hydro Pump. Rhydon broke through the ice and passed directly through where Squirtle had been.
Squirtle quickly retreated into its shell, shifted its body slightly, and narrowly avoided the devastating blow.
Both bodies passed each other and fell from the air. However, because of its heavier body, Rhydon fell faster. It landed first and spun around suddenly. Ash immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Shock Wave!" Giovanni's mouth curved into a sneer.
"What?! It even knows an Electric-type move!" Hearing Giovanni's command, Misty and the others showed shocked expressions.
Crackle!
The moment Rhydon landed and turned around, electricity condensed on its horn, forming a sphere of crackling energy.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, the energy was released instantly. Squirtle was struck directly by Shock Wave's sphere of electricity before it could even hit the ground.
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle let out a pained cry. It was obvious that Giovanni, being skilled with Ground-type Pokémon, would naturally have countermeasures for type disadvantages.
Although Rhydon was a Ground-type Pokémon, it could learn many Electric-type moves to compete against the Water-type Pokémon that normally had an advantage over it.
Boom!
Lightning exploded in the air, and through the smoke, Squirtle's figure fell. Its shell landed on the ground, and after a moment, Squirtle's head and limbs hung out limply.
It was just one blow, but in Squirtle's current condition, it couldn't withstand any more. Seeing this, Misty and the other two behind Ash looked concerned.
Ash wasn't surprised. Given Squirtle's condition, defeating even Nidoqueen had been impressive. He recalled Squirtle with its Poké Ball.
"Thank you for your hard work, Squirtle. Now take a good rest!" After recalling Squirtle, Ash spoke gently to the Poké Ball.
Meanwhile, Rhydon on the battlefield was pawing at the ground with its feet, full of fighting spirit. Seeing this, Ash reached for another Poké Ball.
"Go, Venusaur!"
Throwing the Poké Ball, Ash sent out one of his main battlers for this Viridian Gym challenge. Venusaur landed in a flash of light. In terms of size, Venusaur stood much taller than Rhydon.
"Grass-type? Interesting! Rhydon, Drill Run!"
Venusaur was still a Pokémon that resisted Ground-type moves. And Rhydon wasn't only a Ground-type but also a Rock-type—both types were weak to Grass-type attacks.
"Rhydon!"
Upon hearing the command, Rhydon charged forward, and the ground trembled from the force of its running.
"Venusaur, Vine Whip!" After Venusaur heard the command, it unleashed its signature move. Six Vine Whips emerged simultaneously and lashed toward Rhydon all at once.
But in that moment, Rhydon—sprinting forward—kept shifting its body as it ran, dodging Venusaur's Vine Whip attacks with each movement.
The seemingly bulky body, while sprinting at high speed, continuously evaded Venusaur's Vine Whips.
"It seems Rhydon isn't just fast—it's also quite agile!"
Brock himself used Rock-type Pokémon. He knew that most of these Pokémon were slow, but this Rhydon was not only fast enough but also remarkably flexible.
Ash wasn't surprised. For Giovanni, most of the Pokémon caught by Team Rocket were used for commercial purposes or research.
Any Pokémon that Giovanni would use as one of his ace battlers definitely wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, Rhydon continuously avoided the Vine Whips and crashed directly into Venusaur.
"Venusaur!"
Venusaur let out a roar, and its massive body was forced backward under the impact.