Chapter 268: Vs. the Formula-Style Nidoking!
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"A formulaic style, huh."
Ash raised an eyebrow slightly. This style was somewhat similar to another one he had mentioned before.
The formulaic style meant that no matter the Pokémon, victory was achieved by strictly following an invincible formula.
The other was the opposite: no matter the commands, victory was achieved entirely through an invincible Pokémon.
Ash had named this strategy the Grandma Style.
"If you inherited Brother Red's powerful Pokémon, even my grandmother could command them and win."
Red: "?"
*Rumble*
Nidoking stomped its foot, and the entire ground trembled slightly. Ash quickly refocused on the battlefield. His eyes darted as an idea struck him.
"Hmph, I refuse to believe your formula has a counter for everything."
"Cranidos, use Ancient Power!"
He commanded loudly.
"Aaargh!!"
Cranidos swung its small arms. A grayish-brown light coated its body as energy burst forth, condensing into several rocks around it before shooting forward.
"A long-range Rock attack, is it? Haha, there's actually a formula for this."
James, holding his formula, was unperturbed. It already showed the optimal strategy for dealing with hard projectiles; he just had to follow it.
"Nidoking, use Iron Tail!!"
No matter how hard they were, could they be harder than steel?
A silvery sheen coated Nidoking's tough, purplish-brown tail, turning it into an Iron Tail. It whipped its tail violently at the incoming rocks, shattering them into fragments without any resistance, its momentum immense.
In fact, due to the disparity in power, the Iron Tail even sent countless pieces of debris flying back.
*Clatter, clatter, clatter*
The debris rained down on Cranidos's grayish-blue body, inflicting a series of heavy, albeit minor, impacts.
Ash's expression remained unchanged as he commanded again:
"Cranidos, use Ancient Power!"
"Aaargh!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Cranidos once again formed several rocks and hurled them forward.
James sniffed a rose and sneered,
"Oh? Has my formulaic style already beaten you stupid? Hmph, then just use Iron Tail again!"
"Niiido!!"
As a metallic gleam shone, the rocks from Ancient Power were once again shattered and sent flying back.
Cranidos didn't try to dodge, taking the full brunt of the counterattack with its small body.
"Don't lose to it! Keep using Ancient Power!!"
Ash's voice was filled with unwavering determination, and Cranidos was the same. The color of its blood-red pupils gradually deepened as it unleashed Ancient Power once more.
But this time, things were finally different. Just as James was about to taunt and counterattack again, right after the rocks from Ancient Power had left its body, several flashes of red light flickered across Cranidos's small, dinosaur-like body.
*Shing!* *Shing!*
*Shing!* *Shing!* *Shing!*
This was the light symbolizing a stat boost, and a full five flashes lit up at once!
Staring at the debris sent back by Nidoking, Cranidos was no longer a punching bag. It lowered its head, kicked off with its hind legs, and charged to the side, evading all the fragments.
"Did its speed increase?"
James frowned. The Cranidos before him seemed to have become much swifter, its muscles looking more robust.
*Pokédex Beep*. "Ancient Power. The Pokémon gains primeval power. There is a chance it may raise all of the user's stats."
Meaning, its Attack, Special Attack, Defense, Special Defense, and Speed can all be raised by one stage.
But the chance was low. Ash had to try multiple times to trigger it, and getting it once in three tries was quite lucky.
"You idiot Pokédex! We're not the villains, you don't need to explain so much to our opponent!"
Ash casually stuffed the Pokédex back into his pocket. He already knew about this move and didn't need an explanation.
This Nidoking's level was much higher than his Cranidos's. Without boosting its own stats first, the battle would be far too difficult.
"No, this isn't enough."
Ash's eyes swept over the cratered ground. The Viridian Gym was originally an ordinary battlefield, but now it looked more like a rocky ruin, somewhat reminiscent of the Pewter Gym.
*In that case, I can use that move too...*
He pointed with his thumb and commanded:
"Cranidos, use Rock Polish!"
This was the move the prehistoric Aerodactyl had used back at the bottom of the pit in the Grand Canyon.
By grinding itself against the surrounding rocks, it made its body more agile, significantly increasing its speed.
As a fellow Rock-type prehistoric Pokémon, the move wasn't difficult for Cranidos to learn. Ash, having copied it before, used his double-copy ability to have Cranidos master it quickly.
James hastily commanded:
"You're too greedy! Did you think I'd let you power up for free? Nidoking, use Sucker Punch!"
Nidoking nodded and charged on all fours. Its enormous body, once it started running, was like a fast-moving tank, its presence overwhelming.
The attack looked immense, but Cranidos kicked off the ground. Relying on its small frame and cunning speed, it barely dodged the Sucker Punch, which struck nothing but air.
Immediately after, Cranidos leaped high as if diving into a pool, shifting its body to land headfirst. It then performed a full Armstrong-style pinwheel on the ground. Not just its skull, but every part of its body rubbed against the ground in the spinning motion, polishing itself.
"How could it possibly dodge Sucker Punch!?" James was dumbfounded.
"I thought that move was supposed to strike first as long as the opponent makes a move! How could it be dodged?"
*Pokédex Beep*. "Sucker Punch will only strike with priority if the opponent is using an attacking move. If the enemy uses a status move, it can naturally be avoided as long as the enemy's speed is high enough."
The Pokédex clarified.
Rock Polish is not an attacking move.
With the boost from Ancient Power, Cranidos's speed was just barely high enough to dodge Sucker Punch.
"Aaargh!!"
After its pinwheel spin, Cranidos pushed off the ground with its head and bounced to its feet. Its entire blue-gray body now shone with a faint luster, having been thoroughly polished.
*Shing!*
*Shing!*
The boosting light that shone on its body was deep in color, signifying a large increase.
Seeing this, Ash finally revealed a triumphant smile. His expression then hardened as he roared, "It's our turn to attack! Cranidos, use your best Iron Head!!"
"Aaaarrrgh!!"
Cranidos lowered its sapphire-like, domed head. The color changed abruptly, its blue skull instantly taking on the silvery, metallic gleam of Iron Head. Then, it kicked off with its hind legs and charged fiercely toward its target.
If Nidoking ran like a heavy tank, then Cranidos now charged like a nimble little steel cannon.
(end of chapter)