Brock shoved his doubts aside. This was still a Gym challenge, and a Leader had no business grilling a challenger mid-battle. Questions could wait until later.
Still… it felt strange. Usually challengers peppered the Leader with questions, not the other way around. What kind of upside-down battle was this?
"A Pikachu that can use a Fighting-type move may be your ace," Brock said at last, his voice steady. "But let's see if you can get past this stage. Go, Onix!"
He hurled his second Poké Ball. With a blinding flash, the ground trembled as a towering Pokémon erupted onto the field.
A serpentine giant of boulders coiled forward, its eyes gleaming like chips of granite. The very air seemed heavier under its presence.
"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon," Ash's Pokédex chimed. "It tunnels through the ground at over 50 miles per hour, leaving behind winding tunnels."
Compared to Geodude, Onix was a whole different beast. At the same level, Onix outclassed its rocky cousin across the board, strength, size, endurance. And this Onix wasn't equal level. Its aura shimmered with even more power.
Ash grinned.
"Return, Pikachu."
"Pika-pi~!" Pikachu happily leapt back into its Poké Ball.
Ash snapped out his next Poké Ball with a flourish. "I choose you, Butterfree!"
"Free~~!"
Butterfree fluttered onto the field, its patterned wings gleaming under the Gym lights.
Brock raised a brow. "Butterfree again? Don't think the same trick will work twice. If you're planning another Sleep Powder, you'd better think twice."
"I agree," Ash said smoothly. Then he grinned. "That's why… Butterfree, String Shot!"
Butterfree fired a spray of glistening white silk straight toward the massive Rock Snake.
"Onix, Sandstorm!" Brock countered instantly.
He'd already predicted Ash's gambit. Sleep Powder was too slow to be safe here, if Ash had dared to try it, Brock was ready to call for Dig, then crush Butterfree with a Rock Slide on the rebound.
But String Shot was faster, harder to dodge. Brock had no choice but to shore up Onix's defenses. A whipping gale swirled across the arena, grains of sand spiraling upward into a storm. The harsh winds battered Butterfree, while Onix's body glowed faintly as the Sandstorm bolstered its special defense.
The threads struck true. Thick white silk latched across Onix's rocky hide. But Onix roared and thrashed, shattering most of the bindings.
Yet not all of them. Webbing had caught between its stone segments, clinging stubbornly where even its raw power couldn't shake them loose.
The sticky webbing clung stubbornly between Onix's rock segments. Each strand that held would sap just a bit of its speed and make it harder to coil or launch its attacks. Against a massive Rock Snake, every small restraint mattered.
"Onix, use Sandstorm!"
But then a chilling gust swept across the arena. The ground rumbled as Onix whipped its body, conjuring up a furious gale. Grains of sand and pebbles surged into the air, engulfing the battlefield in a brown haze.
The whirling vortex battered Butterfree immediately. Sharp sand stung its wings and eyes, forcing it to flutter unsteadily.
Ash shielded his face with one arm, grimacing. He'd studied like crazy these past few days with the help of the group chat, but this, this was new. He hadn't gotten to weather tactics yet.
"What… what does Sandstorm even do?" Ash muttered through clenched teeth.
He got his answer fast.
"Free~~!"
Butterfree cried out, buffeted by sand and stones. Its flight speed dropped, its vision blurred, and the powder it had used so effectively before would never carry straight in this gale.
Still, Ash clenched a fist. "Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!"
Misty nearly toppled over. "Idiot, not now! In this weather..."
Too late. Butterfree scattered shimmering blue-green powder into the storm. But the moment it left its wings, the wind shredded it apart, scattering harmlessly into the swirling sand. Not a speck touched Onix.
Brock's eyes flashed. "Now, Onix, Rock Slide!"
Onix roared, hurling jagged boulders from the storm. In the haze of sand, the stones blended perfectly, their trajectory almost invisible until the last instant.
Ash's stomach dropped. 'No… I messed up!'
"Butterfree, dodge!"
Butterfree's wings blurred desperately, and at the final second, it darted sideways. The boulders slammed down where it had been, smashing the arena floor into rubble.
Ash exhaled sharply, his forehead damp with sweat and grit. "That was too close. If that had hit… it'd be over."
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to calm down. "Sandstorm cancels out Sleep Powder, and Rock Slide nearly finished us… As expected of a Gym Leader."
Behind him, Misty thumped her chest with both hands, trying to steady her pounding heart. Her lips pursed as she glared at Ash's back.
Honestly, she didn't expect him to blunder like that.
But then again, he was still a rookie.