Chapter 143: The Art of Redirecting Force
After leaving Granite Cave, Ryan arrived at the Pokémon Center on Dewford Island. After restoring his Pokémon, Ryan and his companions journeyed to Dewford Island's famous beach, where the sun, sand, and waves were all quite beautiful.
Here, Ryan and his companions also spotted Brawly surfing. After all, it was hard not to notice him; Brawly was a bit of a celebrity on Dewford Island. There were still many fans following him around, and with his good looks and strength, he was always the center of attention.
Ryan and his companions waited for Brawly to finish surfing before heading over. Ryan said to Brawly, "Hello, I'm Ryan from Pallet Town. You are Brawly, the Dewford Gym Leader, right? Can you have a Gym battle with me?"
"Hey, you're that Ryan." Brawly's eyes lit up and said, "I watched the Silver Conference, and your Lucario really impressed me. I really want to battle with you and see if our Big Wave style can match your skills."
Looking at the enthusiastic Brawly, Ryan said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring my main team when I traveled to the Hoenn region. I only have newer Pokémon at the moment. I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"Is that so." Brawly said with some regret, "But there's nothing I can do about that. I accept your challenge, come with me."
After that, Brawly brought Ryan and his group to the Dewford Gym. Brawly stood at the battle arena and said, "Then let's start."
"Wait, how about I go first," Sapphire said hurriedly.
"No, I'll go first," Ryan said, shaking his head. "Sapphire, you're no match for Brawly yet. I'll battle him first, and you can get some experience watching."
"Oh, you see that I'm going all out?" Brawly said. "But don't worry, I'll go easy on the newcomer afterward."
"Let's finish this battle first," Ryan said.
The referee stepped forward and said, "Now, Ryan from Pallet Town challenges Brawly, the Dewford Gym Leader, to a Gym match. Each side will use two Pokémon, and the match will continue until one side loses all of their Pokémon. The Gym Leader cannot switch Pokémon. The match begins!"
"Go!" Ryan and Brawly threw their Poké Balls simultaneously.
Blaziken and Hawlucha appeared on the field. Ryan rubbed his chin and said, "Hawlucha, that looks a bit tough."
"Hey, my idol is Bruno of the Elite Four," Brawly said. "So, through training, I've captured all Fighting-type Pokémon that represent different martial arts. I've dabbled in Lucha Libre, which Hawlucha represents, but sumo wrestling is more my style."
Ryan nodded. He had read similar reports before. Hawlucha represented Lucha Libre, Hariyama represented sumo, Throh represented judo, Sawk represented karate, and his own Lucario represented general martial arts. That's why, when Ryan obtained his Lucario, he said it was the perfect Fighting Pokémon for him.
"Let's battle then," Ryan said. "Blaziken, Low Kick!"
Ryan looked at Brawly, who was serious. He wasn't going to hold back, so Ryan was going to battle with full intensity!
Blaziken charged forward with a low sweeping kick at Hawlucha, but Hawlucha blocked it with a Karate Chop. Hawlucha then leaped into the air, soaring above Blaziken, its form outlined by white energy. Then, Hawlucha swooped down on Blaziken.
Blaziken delivered an uppercut with Sky Uppercut, and it collided with Hawlucha's Flying Press. Blaziken triumphed in terms of power, but suffered a slight loss in terms of damage. Flying Press was unique—the only move with dual types when calculating type effectiveness, and its combination of Fighting and Flying was super effective against Blaziken.
Furthermore, Hawlucha skillfully followed Blaziken's punch momentum, flipping through the air before landing lightly, miraculously neutralizing most of the Sky Uppercut's damage.
"Haha, the art of redirecting force," Ryan said with a laugh. "When it comes to redirecting force and using the opponent's momentum against them, Lucario's Aura techniques are superior."
Ryan connected with Blaziken through their bond, and Blaziken abandoned his traditional fighting style, unleashing flaming fists and kicks in rapid succession, each one delivering tremendous force. Hawlucha tried to redirect the attacks, but the next second it was sent flying, slamming heavily against the wall, struggling to its feet.
Brawly was a little shocked. He said, "What's going on? Those attacks should be easy to counter!"
"My Blaziken's ability is Speed Boost. Its speed increases during combat," Ryan explained. "And if you want to redirect force, you must first be able to track the movements. Blaziken, Blaze Kick!"
In an instant, Brawly lost sight of Blaziken. When he next saw it, Blaziken had already kicked Hawlucha away, then quickly followed with a powerful roundhouse kick that sent it crashing to the ground, rendering it unable to battle.
"Come back, Hawlucha," Brawly said, recalling Hawlucha. "Forget speed-based battles. Go, Hariyama! Show him what it means to be immovable!"
A massive Hariyama landed on the field with a thunderous thud. Ryan saw its size and thought, well, the Thick Fat ability must be active.
Ryan's most frustrating ability to face right now was Thick Fat. It made Pokémon incredibly bulky, and Fire-type attacks were essentially weakened by half. It was particularly counterproductive to Ryan's speed-based attack style.
"Then, come back, Blaziken," Ryan recalled Blaziken. "Go, Metagross!"
Since speed-based attacks weren't working, let's try a different strategy!
Ryan said, "Bullet Punch."
The floating Metagross's arms glowed with metallic energy, and its body spun, repeatedly striking Hariyama with its arms.
Hariyama relied on its bulk to withstand Metagross's punches. It then grabbed Metagross's two front legs, ignoring the blows from its two rear legs. It used Metagross as leverage and threw it with Vital Throw.
Ryan was silent: "So there's also throwing techniques!"
Metagross used its psychic powers to stop itself in mid-air, preventing much damage. Then, with powerful psychic energy, it lifted Hariyama directly with Psychic. Once it had control, Metagross unleashed a Zen Headbutt that struck Hariyama hard.
As it sent Hariyama flying, it unleashed a second burst of Psychic, dealing massive damage.
"Surf!" Brawly declared.
In an instant, a massive wave engulfed the entire arena. Ryan and his companions, looking at their soaked clothes, simultaneously groaned in frustration!
But Hariyama also used the wave to approach Metagross, striking it with one Force Palm after another. Metagross, utterly furious, launched a Hammer Arm, sending Hariyama flying. Then, moving at high speed, a Zen Headbutt sent the defenseless Hariyama flying, smashing through the arena's walls and leaving it lying outside, unable to battle.
"Come back, Hariyama," Brawly recalled Hariyama, saying helplessly, "Still a bit short."
Brawly handed the Knuckle Badge to Ryan, who thanked him, took it, and said, "It seems your Hariyama isn't very good at redirecting force."
"Well, while its Thick Fat gives it strong defense, it makes it difficult to master agile techniques," Brawly said.
This made sense. After Ryan understood what he wanted to know, the next step was Sapphire's Gym match.
(End of Chapter)
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Power Stone or Review!
P@atreon/Soulforger (45+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01