Moments ago, Rhydon had looked mighty and imposing. Now it was nothing more than a beaten dog.
Its fourfold weakness to Water, compounded by the rain, made Dragonair's Aqua Jet devastating.
Even Rhydon's formidable physical defense could not withstand it.
"Rhy..."
With a pained whimper, Rhydon's eyes began to spin, and it finally collapsed.
It had taken only one move to knock out Giovanni's lead Pokémon!
The guard serving as referee and everyone watching the stream stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"Did I see that right? Caster just one-shot Mr. Giovanni's Rhydon?"
"Four times weak to Water, plus the rain? Who could tank that? Rhydon lost to the type matchup, not because it was weak."
"First Extreme Speed, then Aqua Jet. That's two priority moves already. Add everything else, and Caster's Pokémon has a ridiculously deep move pool. Having that many options is a huge advantage in battle. One wrong read, and your opponent has you scrambling."
Caster had been a Trainer for less than a year, yet his Pokémon were already remarkably strong.
That was largely thanks to all the TMs he acquired while fishing. Every Pokémon under his command knew a wealth of moves, giving them an answer for nearly any opponent.
Caster was not surprised that he had defeated Giovanni's Rhydon.
It was only one of Giovanni's Gym Pokémon, not a member of his core team. In the anime, Gary's Nidoking and Arcanine had steamrolled Giovanni's Gym roster. Naturally, Caster could do the same.
"Young man, you're quite skilled."
Giovanni was not angry about his loss. If anything, his opinion of Caster had improved, and he even considered recruiting him. "What a talent," he thought. "If only I could put him to work for Team Rocket!"
Team Rocket was a massive criminal organization spanning Kanto and Johto, and it had flourished under Giovanni's leadership. Even so, a shortage of exceptional personnel severely limited its growth.
Not long ago, Clem, a Team Rocket special operative and captain of the R Project's execution force, had blundered into trouble and been personally arrested by Champion Lance.
That had stretched Team Rocket's personnel even thinner and had begun to interfere with Professor Sebastian's work on the R Project.
"Perhaps I should send someone to approach this boy after the battle."
Giovanni gazed down from his platform at Caster in the command box and thought, "If he's willing to join Team Rocket and work for me, everyone wins. If he refuses, I'll simply take his Pokémon."
As the head of a criminal organization, Giovanni had no qualms about stealing someone else's Pokémon.
He recalled his defeated Rhydon and sent out his second Pokémon. "Go, Nidoking!"
"Nido!"
With a roar, a powerfully built Nidoking appeared on the battlefield, its muscular frame radiating strength.
"Draa..."
Sensing danger, Dragonair immediately pulled back and put some distance between itself and Nidoking.
Both Nidoking and Rhydon excelled at close-quarters combat. Dragonair did not.
It had only gone toe-to-toe with Rhydon because it had never expected Extreme Speed to have no effect whatsoever.
Caster's original plan had been to bait out Protect with Extreme Speed, then seize the opening with Aqua Jet.
The plan had gone off the rails, but fortunately, the outcome had not.
The same trick would never work twice on a Trainer like Giovanni.
"Stone Edge!"
The battle resumed, and this time Giovanni attacked first.
"Nido!"
Nidoking gave a fierce roar. Rock-type energy surged around its body, rapidly taking the form of enormous stone projectiles that hurtled toward Dragonair.
"Draa..."
Dragonair had anticipated the attack.
A pale blue glow shimmered around it, and its long body twisted and wove through the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Nidoking's barrage was incredibly dense, but Dragonair was just as agile. It slipped past one attack after another as easily as an eel.
Once it had evaded Stone Edge, white light flashed twice across Dragonair's body.
Its power began to surge, and its agility and speed increased dramatically.
"That's the Dragon Tamer family's secret Dragon Dance technique!"
Giovanni's eyes narrowed atop the platform, his interest sharpening into cold suspicion.
Lance, Champion of both Kanto and Johto and a Pokémon G-Man, had been a persistent obstacle to Team Rocket for years.
Time and again, Lance's interference had disrupted the organization's plans and hindered its expansion.
Giovanni had studied Lance's methods carefully.
He knew there was no mistaking it.
"So this boy has ties to Lance or the Dragon Tamer family."
Giovanni's expression darkened. Any thought of recruiting Caster vanished as the boy's potential value was eclipsed by the threat he might pose.
Meanwhile, the battle continued below.
"Draa..."
Dragon Dance had raised Dragonair's Attack and Speed, but it did not lose its composure or rush into a reckless attack.
Instead, it raised its head and formed an azure sphere of water inside its mouth, then launched it with tremendous force toward the battlefield below.
Boom!
Strengthened by the rain, the sphere burst apart and became a great wave that swept across the entire arena, leaving Nidoking nowhere to dodge.
"Water Pulse? What terrifying power!"
From atop the platform, Giovanni regarded Caster and Dragonair with a cold, appraising stare.
Talent made a useful asset when it could be controlled. Otherwise, it became a threat to be contained.
A low hum filled the air.
Nidoking raised both hands, and a translucent barrier appeared around it. Like an immovable reef in a raging sea, it blocked Water Pulse completely.
As the water dissipated, Nidoking's Protect barrier vanished with it.
At that very moment, Dragonair flickered and shot across dozens of yards, appearing directly in front of Nidoking.
Extreme Speed!
Boom!
Extreme Speed had done little against the Rock-type Rhydon, but it struck Nidoking with considerable force and sent it staggering.
Before Nidoking could regain its footing, a massive torrent of water once again enveloped Dragonair, and the Pokémon surged forward with tremendous force.
Water-type move: Waterfall!
"Nido!"
With a cry of pain, Nidoking followed in Rhydon's footsteps and was driven backward by Dragonair's relentless charge.
Water-type moves dealt only double damage to Nidoking, rather than the quadruple damage they dealt to Rhydon.
But Nidoking's defenses were nowhere near as formidable as Rhydon's.
Dragon Dance had also boosted Dragonair's physical Attack, so Nidoking was not faring much better.
After a final series of agonized roars, Nidoking toppled like a mountain, making the floor tremble beneath it.
"Dragonair won again! Looks like Caster has the Earth Badge in the bag."
"Dragonair, let's go!"
"Caster, Mommy loves you!"
"Dragonair, when are you gonna evolve into Dragonite?"
Comments flooded the chat, filling the screen.
Giovanni studied the unscathed Dragonair and the triumphant Caster, his expression unreadable.
He first recalled Nidoking, then rose from the darkness and stepped fully into the light.
Looking down at Caster, Giovanni asked with a hint of amusement, "Young man, you're quite skilled. But I have absolute power on my side. Would you like to witness it?"
"Absolute power?!"
Everyone watching the stream was instantly intrigued.
What kind of Pokémon could possibly be called absolute power?