"Pidgeot, hang in there! Use Steel Wing to strike!"
Ash was surprised by his opponent's aggression, forcing a trade of blows with Thunder Fang. But his team was tough as well. As the former leader of the Pidgey flock, Pidgeot was also no stranger to trading blows. Against Thunder Fang, Pidgeot held on, and its two massive wings struck Aerodactyl's body with a thunderous crackle.
"Roar!"
Feeling the pain on its back, Aerodactyl became even more vicious, and its sharp teeth dug deeper into Pidgeot's flesh.
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot's attacks were just as relentless, and its Steel Wing strikes against Aerodactyl's back became more and more frequent.
Ultimately, the two-winged assault from Pidgeot gave it the clear advantage. Under such a fierce assault, Aerodactyl finally couldn't withstand the damage from Steel Wing. It was the first to let go and pulled away from Pidgeot.
"Use Feather Dance!"
Taking advantage of the moment, Pidgeot flew above Aerodactyl. A few feathers fell from Pidgeot's body and landed on Aerodactyl, carrying a strange energy that drastically lowered Aerodactyl's attack power.
"..."
Faced with this incredibly fast Pidgeot, Roark was at a loss for his next move. The damage from Steel Wing was far greater than the damage from the Thunder Fang that hit Pidgeot. This was mainly because he had underestimated Pidgeot's flying speed at the beginning; it was simply off the charts. Now, Aerodactyl was not in good shape. Even if he wanted to use Roost to recover, the ever-watchful Pidgeot would not allow it to heal in peace.
"All or nothing!" Suddenly, Roark's eyes became firm. He decisively gave Aerodactyl an order: "Use Roost!"
"Roar?" Aerodactyl hesitated, looking back at its trainer. This action made Roark frown. Because Aerodactyl was only recently revived, despite its power, they still lacked battle experience together. Luckily, Aerodactyl remembered how well Roark had treated it. After a moment of hesitation, it descended from the sky, folded its wings, and used Roost to restore its stamina.
"Use Quick Attack and Steel Wing!"
Looking at Aerodactyl glowing green on the ground, Pidgeot, with the high mobility from Quick Attack, appeared in front of it in an instant. This caught Aerodactyl, the ancient ruler, off guard. Although it had recovered a lot of its stamina from Roost, it was still on the ground, and it was too late to flap its wings and take off.
"Stay calm! Use Rock Tomb to shield yourself!"
Aerodactyl heard its trainer's voice and instinctively controlled its energy, creating layers of rocks around itself.
"Pidgeot!" Unfortunately, in the face of Pidgeot's steel wings, these rocks were cut apart in an instant, as if they were made of mud.
"Roar!" But even so, Aerodactyl had successfully used the gap to take off, escaping the range of Pidgeot's Steel Wing.
"Use Hyper Beam!" But Ash seemed to have anticipated his opponent's actions and immediately told Pidgeot to change its move. A sharp, deep purple energy sphere formed in Pidgeot's beak. With its Keen Eye ability, it locked onto Aerodactyl's position. It would be very difficult for Aerodactyl to dodge this attack with its own evasiveness.
Roark was naturally aware of this. After a moment of thought, he decisively gave his order: "Use Giga Impact!" He chose the equally powerful physical ultimate move, Giga Impact.
"Roar!" A spiraling energy orb appeared around Aerodactyl's body, channeling all of its energy for one final attack.
Boom! Boom!
Soon after, a thick purple beam of energy clashed with the orb surrounding Aerodactyl. The two ultimate moves were at a momentary stalemate.
"Huh? Aerodactyl's Giga Impact can withstand Pidgeot's Hyper Beam?" Ash couldn't help but frown at this. Pidgeot had already used Feather Dance to lower its opponent's attack, and with the Same-Type Attack Bonus for a Normal-type move, there was no way it should be losing a beam struggle.
Roark, on the left side of the arena, was also a bit confused. "My Aerodactyl has converted its Flying-type into a Normal-type. Even with Feather Dance lowering its power, with the Same-Type Attack Bonus, its Giga Impact should be stronger than the opponent's!"
Both sides were dissatisfied with the result, believing their own attack should have crushed the other.
"Pidgeot!" "Roar!" With both Pokémon roaring in anger, the beam struggle finally came to an end. In the end, Pidgeot's deep purple Hyper Beam broke through the energy orb of Giga Impact, sending Aerodactyl from the sky to the ground. A final Steel Wing attack served as the finishing blow.
"Aerodactyl is unable to battle! The gym leader must switch out their Pokémon!" The referee was stunned for a second before making his announcement. Although this Aerodactyl was a Pokémon Roark had recently revived, its strength was absolutely top-notch and a key part of his team. Yet it had been defeated so easily.
Paul was speechless. But he understood one thing: this Pidgeot had gotten stronger. Either Ash was holding back last time, or Pidgeot had a recent breakthrough in strength. Either way, it showed that Ash was very strong, strong enough that the gym leader had to use his real power.
"Wow! Is this what a gym battle is like? This is amazing!" Feeling the intensity of the battle, Dawn couldn't help but stand up and dance with excitement.
"Forcing your opponent to use their ace Pokémon, that's what I'd expect from you, Ash!" Brock's eyes narrowed, and he was genuinely happy for Ash, offering his heartfelt congratulations.
"That was great, Pidgeot. You've improved a lot these last few days!" Ash said, smiling and stroking the big bird, not holding back on his praise.
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot tilted its head, rubbing against Ash and enjoying the praise and affection from its trainer.
"A truly powerful challenger!" Roark comforted his Pokémon for a bit, then his gaze became even more fiery as he looked at Ash. It had been a long time since he'd encountered a challenger he was so satisfied with. The battle had awakened Roark's competitive spirit, and he subconsciously grabbed the Poké Ball of another one of his ace Pokémon.
He yelled excitedly, "Go, Rampardos!" With a flash of red light, a large, gray Pokémon with blue stripes on its tail, knees, and neck appeared before them. This was also an ancient Pokémon, the evolution of Cranidos. It was much bigger and was an expert at headbutting attacks, as evidenced by the white spikes on its head. Its two crimson eyes gave off an incredibly heavy sense of pressure.