First Battle: The Terror of Onix

Brock's younger brother Jiro was actually about their age, fifteen or sixteen.

Jiro had been forced to inherit the Gym and become its Leader.

But he was no pushover. After battling all kinds of trainers, his Pokémon had grown stronger than others of the same level.

That made him a tough Gym Leader to beat.

"Hello, trainers. First, welcome, and thank you for coming all this way."

"Pewter City is still developing, but there's plenty to see and do. If you like, stay a while."

"You came here for one reason: to challenge me to a Gym battle."

"The rules are simple. Choose at least three Pokémon and no more than six. I'll use the same number. Win more matches than I do, or even tie, and you win."

"That's all. We'll take challengers in order."

The first was an adventurer none of them knew.

Ito Hei murmured, "So that's why they checked how many Pokémon we had."

"That guy's prepared. He has five Pokémon, all Grass or Flying types."

"He should have a real advantage against Jiro."

But reality was harsh.

In less than ten minutes, the trainer came out looking battered and dejected. He hadn't won a single match.

"That was ridiculous! I couldn't even hurt them."

The second adventurer went in, then the third. After that came Ito Hei's turn.

Twenty minutes later, Ito Hei ran out, visibly excited. "I barely won!"

"I got the Gray Badge!"

"If my Rapidash and Ninetales hadn't outleveled his Pokémon, I might've lost."

"Be careful with his fossil Pokémon. Those things are monsters."

Fossil Pokémon?

They must be the ones hatched at the museum.

"Next challenger, Liu Xin."

Jiro stretched and asked, "Trainer, which Pokémon will you use?"

Three Pokémon. That was Liu Xin's entire roster.

Jiro also chose three Pokémon for the battle.

"So far, Ito Hei is the only one who's taken a Gray Badge from me. Can you do it too? I'm looking forward to finding out."

Liu Xin smiled. "I'll finish this quickly and take the Gray Badge."

"Confident, aren't you? Let's begin."

"Go, Omanyte."

Omanyte:

Level: 15

Attack: 150

Special Attack: 200

Another Pokémon with exceptionally high Special Attack.

Omanyte was a Water- and Rock-type Pokémon.

It looked rather like a snail, but also resembled the ancient ammonite. Its many blue tentacles were well suited for attacking.

A massive shell on its back protected it.

It was strong in both offense and defense.

"Onix, I choose you."

The moment the level-ten Onix appeared, both Omanyte and Jiro were stunned.

Jiro exclaimed, "Neither my brother's nor my dad's Onix is that big! Isn't this one a little absurd?"

"One sweep of its tail could crush my Omanyte!"

Liu Xin merely smiled. "Then let's begin."

Onix's stats appeared before his eyes.

Giant Onix:

Level: 13 (evolves at level 30 by absorbing a Metal Coat)

Attack: 180

Special Attack: 140

Defense: 180

Special Defense: 180

Speed: 30

Abilities: Rock Head and Sturdy (one-hit knockout moves do not affect Pokémon with this ability)

Gigantification trait: when hit by a physical move, Defense decreases and Speed increases

Moves: Rock Slide, Tackle, Harden, Brace

It seemed the gigantification trait made up for Onix's severe lack of speed.

In every other respect, this Onix was already close to perfect.

"Brace."

Omanyte drew its whole body inward first. Its Defense shot up, and its Speed rose with it.

"Water Gun."

A narrow jet of water shot toward Giant Onix like a blade.

The attack packed a punch, but Giant Onix barely felt it.

"Harden."

"Brace."

Onix used both moves together. A metallic sheen spread across its body, glinting silver.

The Water Gun struck, but failed to break through its defenses.

"Onix, sweep with your tail!"

Giant Onix swung its tail, blocking Omanyte's entire field of vision before bringing it down hard.

"Kick up sand to blind it, then retreat into your shell!"

Boom.

The impact blew the sand away, but Omanyte had managed to block the blow without taking a direct hit.

Even so, it had taken a tremendous shock.

That overwhelming strength was what made Giant Onix terrifying.

"Water Gun, rapid fire!"

Several jets of water struck Giant Onix at once.

Giant Onix watched impassively. Its outer layer only grew tougher.

Ting, ting, ting!

Water splashed across its body. None of the shots could hurt it.

Liu Xin decided to finish his opponent in one blow. "Rock Slide!"

"Use Rollout! Meet it head-on!"

Jiro was going all in. The outcome would depend on this clash.

A huge rock formed in front of Giant Onix, then hurtled toward Omanyte like a meteor.

Omanyte curled into a ball, small stones circling around it. From a distance, it looked like a little meteor itself.

The two meteors collided, one descending and the other rising, sending out a fierce blast of wind.

Bang!

The gust forced Liu Xin and Jiro back several steps. They could barely keep their eyes open.

Ding! Giant Onix used Rock Slide on Omanyte. It was super effective.

Ding! Omanyte used Rollout on Giant Onix. It was not very effective.

When the dust finally settled, the result was clear.

Omanyte had been knocked out in a single blow.

Giant Onix, meanwhile, looked completely at ease, with a hint of disdain in its eyes.

"You did well."

"Thanks for your effort."

Jiro recalled Omanyte and offered it a few words of encouragement before moving on.

Jiro said excitedly, "Now that was much more interesting than the last match."

"I hope that huge Onix isn't all you've got. That would be boring."

"My second Pokémon: Kabuto."

Kabuto:

Level: 20

Attack: 200

Special Attack: 230

It was also a Water- and Rock-type Pokémon.

Its brown shell was hemispherical, with two black dots on top that looked like eyes. But its real eyes weren't those dots. They were large and round, hidden in the dark area beneath its shell.

Its hard shell protected it. It closely resembled a horseshoe crab, a creature known as a "living fossil," except that it lacked the crab's swordlike tail.