Chapter 60: Roxanne

"Alright, let's call it a day for now!"

Rex halted the exhausted Machop and the relaxed Heracross from their sparring.

In the afternoon training, Heracross still dominated Machop with its raw strength. After allowing Machop to counterattack, it could block Machop's moves and then counter with throws.

However, Machop also gained something from the sparring. After being thrown multiple times, it learned to hold back a bit with each punch, preventing Heracross from taking advantage of openings.

As the sparring progressed, it became increasingly difficult for Heracross to throw Machop to the ground. The main reason for this situation was Machop's high talent in combat, followed by the fact that Machop's strength was still relatively low, so the improvement in strength was quite noticeable.

The next morning, Rex arrived punctually at the Rustboro Gym, where he was greeted by the same receptionist from yesterday.

"By the way, whenever our Gym Leader Roxanne conducts Gym challenges, she usually invites some students from the Trainer School to watch. Do you mind?"

The receptionist seemed to remember something and asked Rex.

"That's fine, I don't mind!"

Rex had no objections to having people watch the match. After all, during the League, the audience would be vast and diverse, so it was good to get used to it in advance.

Led by the receptionist, Rex arrived at an indoor arena. Many students were already seated on the surrounding platforms. Upon seeing Rex enter, they began whispering among themselves.

"This challenger doesn't look much older than us. His strength must not be that great!"

A boy with short hair said to the girl next to him.

"I think so too. I bet Gym Leader Roxanne can defeat him quickly."

A chubby boy agreed.

"I think this guy looks handsome, so he must be strong!"

A girl who seemed to be a bit superficial argued.

"Pfft, he must be all looks!"

A cool-looking boy sneered.

"Alright, students, quiet down. Our Gym challenge is about to begin!"

At this moment, a ponytailed girl with large eyes walked over and addressed the observing students.

As her words fell, the arena fell silent, with the students stopping their conversations in unison.

"Sorry for the rudeness of my students. I am Roxanne, the Gym Leader of Rustboro Gym. Welcome."

Roxanne extended her hand with a hint of apology.

"No problem. My name is Rex, from Fallabor Town. Nice to meet you."

Rex wasn't bothered by the words of some kids; he wasn't that fragile. After shaking hands with Roxanne, he introduced himself.

"In that case, let the challenge between Rex from Fallabor Town and the Rustboro Gym's Gym challenge begin! The match will be in a 2v2 format, and the challenger can switch Pokémon midway, but the Gym Leader cannot."

A middle-aged referee announced as both parties took their positions.

"Come out, Geodude!"

"Come out, Machop!"

With the words of the two, their Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.

"Wow, why does his Machop only have one arm?"

"Yeah, it's so pitiful."

"What's wrong with this guy? How could he let a disabled Machop participate in the Gym challenge?"

Machop's appearance caused a stir in the crowd.

Even Roxanne, the Gym Leader, was surprised. She had never encountered a challenger using a disabled Pokémon before and couldn't understand Rex's reason for doing so.

Many people thought that Rex was seeking attention, otherwise, why would he make such a move? It was disrespectful to Rustboro Gym!

"Rex, let me confirm one last time. Are you really going to let Machop participate in the battle?"

Roxanne asked solemnly.

"Yes, I'm sure"

Rex responded firmly.

"In that case, Geodude, use Rollout!"

Seeing that Rex didn't make a mistake with his Pokémon selection, Roxanne no longer hesitated and began to command Geodude.

With Roxanne's command, Geodude started rolling, and as time passed, its speed increased.

"Machop, Focus Energy, then wait for the right moment!"

Rex also issued timely commands.

Immediately, a strange aura enveloped Machop, and its spirit entered a highly concentrated state.

After a period of acceleration, Geodude felt that the time was ripe and rolled towards Machop.

"Now, Machop, use Brick Break!"

Rex didn't let Machop dodge because the longer Geodude rolled, the faster its speed and the greater the impact it would cause.

Watching Geodude rolling rapidly towards him, Machop showed no fear in its eyes. It quickly covered its left hand with a layer of Fighting-type energy, which was the prelude to using Brick Break.

"Boom!"

As Machop's Brick Break struck Geodude rolling towards it, a powerful force lifted a lot of dust, obscuring the view of both sides, making it temporarily impossible for people outside to see their situation.

After a while, as the smoke gradually dispersed, the first to show up on the field was Machop, whose left hand was trembling slightly but with a determined gaze. Following that was Geodude, which had already fallen on the ground unconscious, apparently losing its fighting ability.

"Wow, this Machop is so powerful! It defeated Roxanne's Geodude with just one hit!"

"Yeah, it's so unexpected!"

The students outside the field were also shocked by Machop's strength. They knew how powerful Roxanne's Geodude was when it rolled.

"Machop is very powerful, you've raised it well, Rex!"

At this point, Roxanne no longer fretted over Machop's right arm's disability but truly acknowledged its strength.

"Come out, my partner!"

After retracting Geodude, Roxanne released her second Pokémon.

"To Nosepass, the Compass Pokémon. Its big nose is a powerful magnet that can determine directions based on the nose's direction. The magnetic nose always points north. Because magnets repel each other, Nosepass can't get close to each other."

Rex took out the Pokédex and looked up information about Nosepass.

"Machop, do you want to come back and rest for a while?"

Rex asked Machop, who was panting slightly.

The blow it just received from the collision with Geodude actually caused considerable damage to Machop, so Rex wanted it to rest in the Poké Ball for a while.

Machop shook its head, indicating that it could continue to battle.

"Well then, Machop, charge ahead!"

Seeing Machop's resolute attitude, Rex didn't insist.

"To Nosepass, Rock Tomb!"

As Nosepass activated its move, countless boulders appeared in the sky and rained down towards Machop.

Although Machop tried its best to dodge, it was still hit by the boulders and got trapped among them. However, Machop didn't give up. It used Rock Smash to break through the boulders blocking its way and continued to charge towards Nosepass.

"Nosepass, Rock Blast!"

Seeing that Rock Tomb didn't completely trap Machop, Roxanne issued a new command.

Only to see solid rocks condensing in front of Nosepass's nose, and then quickly shooting towards Machop. In total, three rocks were shot before they stopped.

Facing the rapidly flying boulders, Machop didn't dodge but continued to charge forward. Then, it used Rock Smash to shatter the rocks flying towards it.

Unfortunately, after shattering two rocks, its left arm was already too weak to use Rock Smash again. When faced with the third rock, Machop was hit and sent flying, falling heavily to the ground, losing its fighting ability.

"Come back, Machop, you did well!"

Rex recalled Machop and then praised it.

In today's battle, Machop indeed demonstrated its extraordinary strength and showed its prowess! Fearless Machop brought great shock to everyone present, and they couldn't understand why a physically disabled Machop could possess such fighting spirit.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Suddenly, all the students spontaneously burst into enthusiastic applause, cheering for Machop's performance!

"Go, Heracross!"

After the field returned to quietness again, Rex released his second Pokémon.

At this moment, Heracross also looked a bit excited. It had witnessed Machop's brilliant performance from the Poké Ball and felt happy for this newly acquainted little brother.

Thank you to the readers for their support!

(End of this chapter)