42 Chapter 42: Intense Battle

"Come back, Slakoth, Rex, your command ability is truly outstanding!" 

Rex looked at Norman appreciatively.

The duty of a Gym Leader is to guide the trainers who come to challenge the gym in the right direction, so they can discover their own shortcomings and correct them.

The primary goal is not victory in battle, so the Pokémon they use for gym challenges are usually not their main Pokémon, or they don't use their main Pokémon to their full potential.

"You are too kind, I still have a lot to learn," Rex said modestly.

"Then let's start the second match. Go, Vigoroth!" 

Then, Norman released his second Pokémon.

"Go, Heracross!" 

Rex chose to recall Poliwhirl and sent out his second Pokémon.

"Oh, choosing to switch Pokémon, that's a good choice!" 

Seeing Rex changing Pokémon, Norman couldn't help but admire.

"You praised me. Heracross, use Megahorn!" 

Rex chose to directly launch an attack. Vigoroth is the evolved form of Slakoth, naturally very active, completely opposite to the Slakoth period, so Vigoroth is generally an aggressive type.

"Vigoroth, use Fire Punch in retaliation." 

Norman timely issued the command.

Then the two Pokémon collided. Heracross and Vigoroth began their back-and-forth attacks. Both Pokémon were heavy hitters, and each collision produced a loud noise.

However, Heracross had a clear advantage in physical strength. After several collisions, Vigoroth obviously couldn't hold on anymore.

"Vigoroth, use Icy Wind!" 

Norman also noticed that Vigoroth was at a disadvantage and directly changed the battle strategy.

Upon hearing the Gym Leader's command, Vigoroth sprayed out a large amount of ice and snow from its mouth. Heracross was blown back several steps by the Icy Wind, and some parts of its body began to freeze, looking somewhat awkward.

"Heracross, use Pin Missile!" 

Seeing this situation, Rex quickly commanded.

Upon hearing Rex's command, Heracross gathered a large number of needles and shot them towards Vigoroth.

Seeing the incoming Pin Missile, Vigoroth didn't wait for the Gym Leader's command and directly dodged to the side. However, in dodging, the blizzard also stopped.

"Vigoroth, continue using Icy Wind!"

"Heracross, use U-turn!"

Seeing that Norman wanted Vigoroth to continue using Blizzard, Rex directly ordered Heracross to use U-turn, forcing Vigoroth to defend.

"Vigoroth, grab onto Heracross!"

Upon hearing the command, Vigoroth pushed its arms and directly grabbed Heracross, and the two sides entered a grappling state.

Seeing this situation, Rex wasn't worried. Heracross had never been afraid of anyone in terms of strength.

"Heracross, throw Vigoroth into the air, then use Megahorn!"

Upon hearing the command, Heracross narrowed its eyes, and its physical strength exploded. It directly threw Vigoroth into the air and then its horn emitted a white light, charging towards Vigoroth.

"Vigoroth, don't panic, use Counter!"

While still in the air, Vigoroth, upon hearing the Gym Leader's command, immediately calmed down. As Heracross's Megahorn hit, Vigoroth used Counter to double the damage and return it.

Immediately, both Pokémon fell to the ground, but Heracross struggled to stand up.

Vigoroth was directly knocked back by the Megahorn, falling heavily to the ground, losing its fighting ability.

"Phew!"

Seeing Vigoroth lose its fighting ability, Rex finally breathed a sigh of relief. But now the match was at its most critical point. Norman's remaining Pokémon was a Slaking, a terrifying presence with a base stat total of 670.

If it weren't for its ability, Slaking, which made it lazy and prone to slacking off and not following the Gym Leader's commands, Slaking could even compete with Legendary Pokémon.

And Norman, the Gym Leader of Petelburg Gym, had initially overcome Slaking's shortcomings. He could make Slaking show a certain amount of strength in battle, a strength that could already rival the Elite Four of the League.

"Rex, you are indeed remarkable. Now it's up to you. Slaking!"

Norman now began to take Rex's strength seriously. Whether it was the strength of his Pokémon or his command ability, Rex didn't seem like a novice gym challenger. This made Norman somewhat excited.

Rex looked at the towering figure in front of him, feeling a strong aura emanating from it since it came out, making him feel helpless.

"Come back, Heracross!"

"Go, Poliwhirl!"

Rex chose to recall Heracross first and then sent out Poliwhirl.

"Poliwhirl, Bubble Beam!"

"Slaking, use Thunder Punch!"

Seeing Poliwhirl's Bubble Beam attack, Slaking directly withstood it, then approached Poliwhirl and used Thunder Punch with its right hand. This blow sent Poliwhirl flying, and then it fell heavily to the ground, losing its fighting ability.

"Indeed, very strong. Come back, Poliwhirl!"

Seeing Slaking's terrifying strength, Rex also became excited. This Slaking could be said to be the strongest Pokémon he had encountered since coming to this world.

"Come out, Swellow!"

Rex directly took out his trump card Pokémon. Heracross still needed some time to rest; otherwise, it might end up being knocked out by Slaking in one punch.

"Swellow, be careful. This opponent is very strong!"

Rex said to Swellow.

In fact, Swellow could sense the situation outside the Poké Ball and knew that the gorilla in front of it was indeed very powerful. So, it nodded to Rex, indicating that it understood.

"Your last Pokémon is Swellow. It's a bit troublesome!"

Norman said to Rex.

Slaking is not very good at dealing with fast opponents, but it's also difficult for opponents to cause significant damage to Slaking.

"Swellow, use Double Team, then Focus Energy!"

"Slaking, use Thunder Punch!"

Seeing Rex starting to strengthen Swellow, Norman also didn't want to sit idly by.

However, unfortunately, Swellow created too many duplicates, and even after Swellow finished strengthening, it still didn't hit the real body of Swellow.

"Swellow, use Air Slash!"

Rex didn't dare to let Swellow attack up close, as Slaking's terrifying attack power would result in severe injuries or even direct incapacitation if hit.

"Slaking, use Thunder!"

As Norman's trump card Pokémon, Slaking had an extremely rich move pool.

But with Swellow's speed, as long as it wasn't restricted by moves, such attacks couldn't hit it.

Afterward, Rex adopted a hit-and-run attack mode, continuously using Air Slash to attack Slaking. Although the damage caused was not high, it was extremely insulting to Slaking, leading to Slaking's anger constantly rising.

Rex also knew that this method was somewhat unsportsmanlike, but he really didn't have any other more effective attack methods.

"Come back, Swellow!"

"Come out, Heracross!"

After using Air Slash several times in a row, Rex felt that Swellow was already a bit tired, and its energy consumption was very high. So, he chose to recall Swellow first and then sent out Heracross, who had been resting for a long time.

Slaking had long been annoyed by Swellow's harassment. Now, upon seeing Heracross being replaced, it immediately became excited, thumping its chest with its hands and then quickly charging towards Heracross.

"Slaking, use Thunder Punch!"

Norman felt somewhat uncomfortable with Swellow's attack just now, so now he wanted to give Rex a taste of his own medicine.

"Heracross, hold on!"

Upon hearing Rex's command, Heracross crossed its front legs in front of its chest, assuming a defensive posture. Then Slaking's Thunder Punch hit directly. If Heracross hadn't used Endure in advance, it would have been knocked out by now.

"Heracross, use Endure!"

Rex commanded as Heracross was already somewhat mentally scattered.

"Boom!"

Upon hearing Rex's command, Heracross emitted a blood-red energy, and then Slaking was sent flying.

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(End of this chapter)