Bang!
Aron landed an Iron Head squarely on Geodude, who was trapped by Rock Tomb, then used the recoil to spring away.
"Lucky, I guess—coincidentally locking down Geodude's movements," Steven exhaled and murmured.
Others might not realize it, but Steven knew perfectly well.
Aron's Rock Tomb achieving a controlling effect was entirely accidental, just happening to lock Geodude's arms in place.
Aron stood on the rock, observed carefully, then jumped to the ground, controlling the rocks to return to their original positions.
As the rocks slowly sank back down, Geodude lay unconscious on the ground.
That last Iron Head, carrying downward momentum, struck directly on its head, and the overwhelmed Geodude immediately lost its ability to battle.
"You have quite a good grasp of Rock Tomb as well," Roxanne recalled Geodude into its Poké Ball, offered it some comforting words, then said to Steven.
"Just lucky... just lucky..."
Only this time did Rock Tomb manage to produce a restraining effect.
"That guy is so strong! He defeated Teacher Roxanne's Geodude in one go!"
"That's because Teacher Roxanne uses different level Pokémon depending on the opponent's strength! Otherwise, she wouldn't lose!"
"That's true, but he's still really strong!"
The students' whispers inevitably grew louder, reaching the ears of both battlers.
"Luck is also part of strength," Roxanne said with a faint smile and pulled out her second Pokémon.
"My second Pokémon is this one!"
With a flash, a blue-bodied Pokémon with short limbs and a large red nose on its face appeared on the field in a burst of white light.
The Rock-type Nosepass!
"Launch a counterattack, Nosepass! Use Double Team and approach the opponent!" Roxanne waved her hand, issuing the command.
The squinting Nosepass slowly moved forward, continuously splitting into several identical copies as it advanced.
Steven looked at the five or six advancing Nosepass figures, considering a counter-strategy.
Aron's Rock Tomb lacked precision, only able to lock onto one target at a time, so the chance of hitting was one-sixth... well, now it's one-eighth.
If only he had Aura powers, he could easily determine which one was the real body.
"Then I'll just have to try this—use Metal Sound!"
"Aron!"
Aron's steel armor began to scrape against itself, emitting a piercing screech.
The noise halted Nosepass's advance, and it covered the spaces where its ears would be, its expression turning somewhat pained.
It worked!
As Metal Sound continued, not only did everyone present cover their ears, but even the Double Team copies released by Nosepass became translucent.
Clearly, Nosepass couldn't maintain Double Team in this state.
"Aron, get behind Nosepass!" Steven seized the opportunity, having Aron move into Nosepass's blind spot.
Due to its magnetic properties, Nosepass's large red nose always points north.
That's why it's called Nosepass.
"This tactic might work against wild Nosepass, but a Trainer's eyes become Nosepass's eyes from behind!"
Roxanne chuckled softly and called out, "Use Rock Tomb directly behind you!"
"Jump wherever you need to!"
Aron dodged Nosepass's continuously protruding Rock Tomb with casual leaps.
"A Trainer's eyes are still just a Trainer's—Nosepass wouldn't know Aron's exact location. It can only attack with this straightforward Rock Tomb!"
Steven stood with his hands in his pockets, a smile playing on his lips.
"Iron Head!"
"Protect!"
A translucent barrier appeared around Nosepass's body, blocking Aron's Iron Head.
"I don't believe you can use Protect twice in a row! Aron, continue with Iron Head!"
"Then endure it and use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne was confident in Nosepass's natural defense, even against a super effective attack with double damage!
Bang!
Aron crashed into Nosepass's back, but Nosepass was too sturdy, only stumbling forward two steps.
Just as Nosepass was about to counterattack, its body suddenly trembled.
It flinched!
"Iron Head does have a chance to cause flinching. This is troublesome now," Roxanne's delicate brows furrowed slightly, sensing the predicament.
"If I'm lucky, another Iron Head!"
"Aron!"
Aron quickly charged forward again, slamming into Nosepass's back!
As Nosepass's body trembled once more—a double flinch!
"My goodness, Aron, are you Jirachi reincarnated?" Steven uncharacteristically let out an incredulous remark, his astonishment genuine.
It's well known that the Serene Grace ability can greatly increase the chance of triggering a move's additional effects.
Quick quiz: who has both the Serene Grace ability and frequently uses the Iron Head move?
The answer is Aron! (Not really)
Getting two consecutive super effective Iron Head attacks for free, even the excellently defensive Nosepass found it hard to withstand.
After all, in terms of raw power, Aron was still stronger!
"Press the advantage—Iron Head!"
Just keep using Iron Head!
"Aron!"
Aron clearly got hooked on headbutting, continuing to give Nosepass a "back massage" with its head!
Bang—bang!
However, this time, Aron's "Serene Grace" didn't activate, and it was caught by Nosepass's counterattacking Rock Tomb, unable to move!
"Aron?!"
For a moment, Aron panicked.
"Well done, Nosepass!" Roxanne praised. "It's our turn to counterattack! Use Rock Throw!"
Nosepass, breathing slightly heavily from the three consecutive Iron Head attacks, still controlled its magnetism to lift a rock and hurl it toward the center of Rock Tomb!
"Why are you panicking? Just chew through the rock and you'll be free!" Steven said in exasperation.
You're usually so good at eating—why can't you think of it now?
"Aron!"
Oh, right!
Suddenly enlightened, Aron quickly bit into the rock trapping it, taking off a large chunk in one bite and devouring most of one rock in just two or three bites.
However, Aron didn't have time to actually eat it—only to bite it off and spit it out.
Boom!
Rock Throw smashed into the center of Rock Tomb, shattering the tops of the rocks!
Aron pushed with all its might, and its head emerged from beneath one of the rocks.
Rock Throw didn't fully hit Aron—instead, most of its force was blocked by Rock Tomb itself!
Roxanne's application of Rock Tomb was indeed impressive. It could be used both offensively and defensively, but when combined with Rock Throw, the effect wasn't as optimal.
"Use the final Iron Head!"
"Protect!"
Thud!
Aron's attack was blocked by Protect once again, and in frustration, it stubbornly endured its dizzy head and crashed into it again.
Nosepass, having just finished using Protect, wanted to use Protect again, but unfortunately, the consecutive Protect failed!
The reforming barrier shattered midway, and Nosepass was struck squarely in the back!
Thud—
Nosepass crashed to the ground, unable to battle!
"Aron!"
The somewhat disoriented Aron cheered happily.
Just a pile of rocks—how dare you challenge me!
Now it's time for me to enjoy my prize!
Aron shook its head, regaining a bit of clarity, and seeing the fallen Nosepass, it pounced!
But unexpectedly, a red beam of light was faster, recalling Nosepass.
Thump—
Aron fell flat on its face.
"Aron?!"
Where's my big trophy?!