Chapter 87: Battle against Marcus
"No need, I'll provide you with some pills. As for the money, you can give what you think is fair. I need to keep some for myself to deal with emergencies," the old man said. "But I have one condition. First, you fight Marcus, three on three. If you win, I'll give you the pills, but if you lose, I won't."
Ryan looked at Marcus, who said with a bitter expression, "Old man, I'm the champion of the local tournament! Asking Ryan to fight me is clearly unfair to him."
"Didn't you say you have invincible defense? Give it a try," the old man said, then walked out of the house into the open clearing.
"Please, Marcus," Ryan said, patting Marcus's thick shoulders.
"Ryan, be gentle with me," Marcus said with a grimace.
The two of them stood in the clearing. Ryan sent out Mienfoo. Marcus said, "Shuckle, let's go!"
Looking at Marcus's Shuckle, Ryan nodded. Shuckle is a very extreme Pokémon, with a combined defense of 230, a mere 10 attack, and only 5 speed. But if used well, it can be incredibly effective.
"Shuckle, strike first, Power Split!" Marcus shouted.
"Forget about going first at that speed. Focus Blast," Ryan said.
Mienfoo used Focus Blast, launching the energy sphere at Shuckle. Shuckle, being incredibly slow, couldn't dodge it. Taking the Focus Blast was super effective, and it also interrupted Shuckle's Power Split.
"Shuckle, Gyro Ball!" Marcus shouted.
"Dig underground to avoid it," Ryan said.
The Gyro Ball move's attack power increases the slower the user is compared to the target. With Shuckle's 5 speed, the damage from its Gyro Ball was simply explosive, potentially defeating Mienfoo in a single strike. So Ryan had no choice but to have Mienfoo dodge.
Shuckle suddenly began to spin at high speed. Though its movement was slow, the high-speed rotation it created demonstrated the devastating power of this attack. Mienfoo dug underground to avoid the attack, preventing a direct confrontation.
"This is trouble. If Mienfoo gets hit by that attack, he'll probably be knocked out immediately," Ruby frowned.
"Don't worry, it's Ryan. He should have a solution," Rosa expressed her confidence in Ryan.
"Mienfoo, knock it high into the sky, then Drain Punch!" Ryan had no choice but to take a gamble.
The rapidly spinning Shuckle was suddenly sent flying into the air. Mienfoo emerged from underneath, clutching his reddened right hand, then fixed his eyes on the falling Shuckle. He sprinted to where Shuckle would land, punching repeatedly. The Drain Punch effect took hold, and Mienfoo became more and more energized. He used the hidden power technique Ryan had taught him, and there was a cracking sound. Shuckle's shell was visibly fracturing.
"Come back, Shuckle!" Marcus said in distress, recalling his Pokémon. "Ryan, don't you know how to hold back?"
Ryan scratched his head in embarrassment. He'd discovered that when working with Mienfoo, it was easy to get carried away and lose control of the intensity.
"I forgot to tell you, Shuckle is my team's food supplier. If you hurt Shuckle, the next two will go berserk. Go, Snorlax!" Marcus said.
"Snorlax!" A clearly overweight Snorlax appeared in the clearing. Its massive frame and thick layer of fat meant that a single punch from Mienfoo would likely be absorbed entirely by Snorlax's bulk. But Snorlax's fierce gaze was fixed on Mienfoo, and Wei wouldn't allow Ryan to recall his Pokémon.
"You actually hurt our Shuckle! Unforgivable!!!" Snorlax unleashed ten times his normal power, leaping forward and crushing down on Mienfoo with mountain-like pressure. Truly, a glutton's protective instincts shouldn't be underestimated. Ryan watched the overwhelming force of the attack and shouted, "Get out of the way! Mienfoo!"
Mienfoo immediately left his position, leaping over Snorlax and delivering a flying knee strike to Snorlax's back. However, the thick layer of fat cushioned the impact. If Mienfoo hadn't mastered the hidden power technique, he wouldn't have been able to penetrate Snorlax's fat layer at all.
"Body Slam!" Marcus shouted.
Snorlax stood up without a scratch, then slammed into Mienfoo with immense force, sending him flying.
"Aura Sphere!" Ryan shouted.
Mienfoo instantly gathered an Aura Sphere and launched it at Snorlax. After hitting Snorlax, it was deflected by Snorlax's belly, causing only minor damage that didn't even register as painful.
Ryan was instantly at a loss. This thick layer of fat was simply too much. His attacks were completely ineffective!
U-turn! U-turn! Ryan reacted instantly and shouted, "U-turn!"
Now that he had more resources, Ryan had invested heavily in buying all the technical machines available. It's safe to say that Ryan's Pokémon had the most comprehensive move sets in the entire region. With U-turn, Mienfoo slammed into Snorlax and immediately returned to his Poké Ball. The next Pokémon to appear was Beedrill.
"Perfect! Physical attacks won't work on you, so let's try piercing attacks!" Ryan shouted, "Beedrill, Mega Evolution!"
Ryan instantly triggered Mega Evolution, something he hadn't used in a while, but Marcus 's Pokémon was worth it. Mega Beedrill transformed into a streak of light, piercing Snorlax's hide with its drill-like stingers.
"Snorlax, Body Press!" Marcus shouted.
Snorlax immediately fell backward, but Mega Beedrill had already repositioned and struck Snorlax with additional Poison Jab attacks. Then, a large amount of venom was injected into Snorlax's system through Mega Beedrill's stingers. The poison was taking effect!
"Damn, flying around is so annoying! Snorlax, Yawn!" Marcus shouted.
"Finish it, Venoshock!" Ryan said.
Snorlax yawned, and a drowsy atmosphere swept through the arena. But Beedrill's stinger pierced Snorlax again, triggering Venoshock that dealt massive damage to the poisoned Snorlax, draining its remaining health. Then Beedrill fell into a deep sleep from the Yawn.
"Come back, Snorlax!" Marcus said. Ryan tossed him a Pecha Berry. Marcus thanked him and gave it to Snorlax to cure the poison.
"Ryan, you're truly strong. But my travels over the years haven't been in vain. This is my ace. Don't think I'm only capable of defense. Enter the battle, Slaking!" Marcus said, recalling Snorlax and sending out his trump card, Slaking.
"Then enter the battle, Togepi," Ryan said.
A cute Togepi appeared in the clearing. It was the male of the two Togepis; Ryan had given the female to Lillie back in Alola. Rosa and Ruby shuddered at the sight of Togepi.
If there was one Pokémon among Ryan's team that they least wanted to face, it would be Togepi. This Togepi had incredible luck. Fighting Togepi was complete physical and mental devastation.
"Togepi, Metronome!" Ryan laughed, thinking to himself: Finally, I get to feel like the luckiest trainer alive!
"Here it comes," Ruby and Rosa thought with looks of resignation.
The Metronome move is unique; it randomly selects from nearly every move that exists in the world. That's right, nearly all of them! It's a completely luck-based move. With good luck, it's a miracle move, but with bad luck, it might not do anything useful at all.
After using Metronome, a void opened up and swallowed Slaking whole—it was Darkrai's signature move, Dark Void! Slaking fell into a deep slumber.
Marcus's eye twitched. How was Togepi so fast? Ryan chuckled, not wanting to tell him that he had equipped Togepi with a Quick Claw.
"Togepi, keep using Metronome!" Ryan laughed.
Togepi also smiled happily, wiggling its fingers. But this smile filled Marcus with dread!
(End of Chapter)
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