Chapter 50: The Erupting Riolu
Even though the opposing Pokémon outnumbered their own side, in the eyes of the Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp, they still seemed somewhat lacking.
Leaving aside the fact that the Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp were inherently more evolved and at higher levels than the mostly unevolved Pokémon from Sunrise Valley, furthermore, the main forces of Sunrise Valley and Crescent Lake had been previously captured and imprisoned, and many Pokémon had also been poisoned. Looking at them now, most of the Pokémon had pale complexions, and their spirits weren't too high.
Sandslash mocked disdainfully, "No matter how well you arrange your lineup, look at your weakened state. How much fighting strength can you possibly have left?"
Looking around, even though the Pokémon from Sunrise Valley and Crescent Lake tried their best to raise their spirits, they still couldn't hide the Haggard (wilted/listless) look on their faces from the poisoning.
"That's not necessarily true." Rio smiled mysteriously and took out an item from his [Backpack]. "Not enough HP? Then just fill it up."
"What the heck is HP... What?!!"
Sandslash's eyes widened.
A green light emanated from the item in Rio's hand. The light, as if guided, automatically drilled into the bodies of the Pokémon beside and behind Rio.
"Ah, this is..."
Feeling the green light coursing through their bodies, the Pokémon were pleasantly surprised to find their depleted energy and stamina continuously recovering. In a short while, they were restored to their full strength.
"What is this? Such a magical thing!"
Not only did the ordinary Pokémon recover to normal in such a short time, but even the stronger Elite-level Pokémon did as well.
This magical scene made the Pokémon on both sides exclaim in amazement.
However, on the Sunrise Valley side, it was cheers of joy, while on the Toxic Swamp side, it was shouts of anger and resentment.
"'HP Recovery Pop,' this is a form of Rotom Power. It can instantly restore the full HP of all Pokémon in battle," Rio explained proudly.
"This is my ultimate trump card."
The Squirtle Boss, at the side, also showed a hint of a smile.
…
That day, after finishing the discussion of the action plan in Sunrise Valley, Rio had called out to the Squirtle Boss.
"Boss, let's have a spar."
The Squirtle Boss was puzzled. "We can, but isn't the most important thing now to get prepared? Isn't wasting time on sparring meaningless..."
Rio glanced at the display on his light screen: "[Pokédex]Battle Progress: 24/25"
"No, this might even be the most important step in the plan... Hopefully, something useful will come out of it..."
…
Seeing the opposing Pokémon gradually recovering their strength, the Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp could no longer hold back.
"Don't give them a chance to fully recover! Attack directly!"
Arbok, the command core of the Toxic Swamp side, raised its serpentine body and ordered the Pokémon to attack.
"[Horn Attack]—"
The Rhyhorn in the front rank shouted in a muffled voice, then, aiming the horns on their heads, charged forward forcefully.
The united Pokémon from Sunrise Valley and Crescent Lake naturally wouldn't sit idly by and let the enemy attack wantonly. The Water-type Pokémon in the rear, responsible for ranged support, immediately mustered their strength. Streams of water, thick and thin, shot out, plastering the faces of the charging Rhyhorn.
The remaining Pokémon also began to coordinate and engage in battle.
"Let's see, who should I fight..."
Rio summoned his armor from the [Backpack]. After equipping it fully, he zipped through the battlefield, searching for a suitable opponent.
Viewed from a bird's-eye perspective, a black figure weaved back and forth with ease, as if moving through an unmanned realm.
"I have to say, this set of armor Takuma made is really good."
Rio continuously fine-tuned the jet thrusters on his back while nimbly dodging the various moves being thrown around on the battlefield, pondering inwardly.
At the same time, he was also looking for an opponent. As a confident Pokémon with aspirations, his target naturally wouldn't be ordinary Pokémon. And so, he saw that enormous Elite Pokémon.
"It's you!"
Rio kicked off the ground and shot towards Nidoqueen.
"Roar! You mere ant dare to challenge me!"
Although Nidoqueen's temperament was relatively milder compared to Nidoking's, she was still enraged by Rio's provocation. Seeing Rio bouncing before her, she didn't hesitate to throw a punch downwards.
"Come on!"
In the past, Rio would definitely have used [Detect] to dodge the opponent's punch and then look for an opportunity to attack. But now, for some reason, the fighting spirit of a Fighting Pokémon boiled within his body. He didn't want to evade like that.
He wanted to meet force with force.
"The essence of fighting is—to advance without hesitation!"
Riolu's small fist, covered by the gauntlet, collided with Nidoqueen's heavy forelimb. As their fists met, "Bang!" layers of air waves exploded outwards.
"Ugh," Rio, being relatively small, was still at a slight disadvantage in this kind of power contest. After the collision of fists, he was pushed back a few steps by the recoil.
But what was Riolu's specialty?
It was speed!
The faster the speed, the more agile the movements.
Without waiting to fully stabilize himself, Rio forcefully pushed off the ground with both feet, clenched his left paw into a fist, and continued to swing it forward.
"Roar, roar!" Nidoqueen roared, exchanging punches with Rio, one after another.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang—"
The explosive sounds of man-made armor clashing against biological carapace were incessant.
Riolu's fists were covered by gauntlets, while Nidoqueen's fists had a sturdy shell. As they exchanged blows, the force was so great that Rio's fists, even within the gauntlets, were injured by the shock.
Even though waves of pain shot through his hands, Rio felt an exhilarating release of a pent-up feeling in his heart.
"Again!" Rio roared furiously.
With the furious shout, his right fist shot out again.
"My fists are fists that will pierce the heavens!"
He vented all the confusion since coming to the Pokémon world, the trust bestowed upon him by his companions, the anger from witnessing the valley's destruction, his love for fighting, and even that imposing aura that had unknowingly grown within him!
Muscles tensed again and again; fists struck out again and again.
"Swish swish swish swish—"
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang—"
Punching speed, faster and faster! Faster and faster!
Punching power, stronger and stronger!! Stronger and even stronger!!
If pushed back, he immediately pushed forward; if his left fist was blocked, his right fist immediately followed up!
In an instant, fist shadows, almost invisible to the naked eye, formed an impenetrable barrier in front of Rio.
Combat tactics? There were no tactics! Only the most primitive form of fighting!
"Damn you, ant! How could you understand the great power of adults!"
Nidoqueen was furious. Whether it was size, strength, or even the most basic Pokémon level, she completely outclassed this Pokémon before her that she hadn't even taken seriously. But how was it that this Pokémon fought with increasing excitement, becoming stronger as it fought?
She didn't understand, so she was furious.
"Roar, roar, roar—"
Her rage-filled head could no longer express her anger with words, only frenzied roars remained!
Nidoqueen's fists were no longer enough for the battle. Her figure swayed, and her iron tail swept horizontally, scraping up a large patch of ground!
"Muda muda muda muda muda muda muda—" (Translator's note: "Useless, useless, useless..." - another JoJo reference, Muda being Dio's battle cry.)
Rio's legs formed a bow stance, firmly planted on the ground. At this moment, the iron tail swept over, crashing against Rio's legs, even emitting a metallic clang.
Steam rose. Brownish-red Fighting energy rapidly coursed through Rio's body like a游龙 (roaming dragon), exploding from Rio's fists!
Nidoqueen began to find it impossible to completely block Rio's punches.
Nidoqueen was not a Pokémon known for speed to begin with. Even if she could stalemate Rio punch for punch in the early stages, under Rio's increasingly fast and fierce punches, she gradually couldn't hold up.
Her footsteps faltered, and she finally couldn't help but retreat slightly.
"Chance!!!!!"
At this moment.
A sharp glint shone in Rio's eyes. Firming his bow stance, his right fist shot out like a spear, tearing through the air, thrusting out like a roaring, stunning comet.
Nidoqueen was stunned. She didn't have time to continue exchanging punches and hastily raised the shell of her left arm, intending to block this blow.
Unfortunately, what she didn't know was that Riolu's evolved form, Lucario, besides being a Fighting-type, also possessed the Steel-type, which was renowned as the sturdiest and hardest among Pokémon. Therefore, even though Rio hadn't evolved yet and Riolu was only a Fighting-type, the Steel-type energy hidden within his body was stimulated in this punch.
This punch made a faint silvery-grey light shimmer on the gauntlet, making it as hard as iron and rock, and it fiercely hammered onto Nidoqueen's arm shell!
"Bang!"
"Crack!" No matter how hard a biological shell was, how could it compare to steel? With a crisp sound, Nidoqueen's arm shell cracked with fine fissures, and fresh blood instantly seeped out from the cracks.
Nidoqueen cried out in pain, clutching her bloody arm and turning sideways to dodge.
"Again, again, again!!!"
Enemy retreats, I advance; enemy dodges, I attack.
Rio, his momentum surging, pressed the attack. Fists, elbows, and knees continued to strike out in rotation.
Nidoqueen was now completely overwhelmed by Rio. A storm of attacks continuously rained down on Nidoqueen, leaving the latter to only clumsily sway left and right, trying to use her shell to reduce the damage.
"Ssss..."
Suddenly, Rio stopped, pulled back into a stance, and took a deep breath.
Extreme motion turned into extreme stillness.
A drastic contrast. For a moment, the air seemed to solidify.
Nidoqueen, having been suppressed for so long, now thought Rio was tired and saw an opportunity. Without hesitation, she lifted her left foot for a [Stomp].
"[Detect]!"
No matter how much his blood boiled, a fighter must possess a calm heart to see through everything. Rio immediately used [Detect] to find the enemy's opening.
In Rio's vision, time slowed down as if caught in quicksand.
"It's here... [Quick Attack]!"
A Pokémon using the [Stomp] move must lift one foot to bring it down on the opponent. Lifting one foot means the center of gravity can only be on the remaining foot. Thus, Rio, sensing the space around him, his body glowing with a dazzling electric light, moved like lightning, instantly zipping behind Nidoqueen.
Nidoqueen, having committed to her move, had no time to turn around.
"Hah!" The residual electric light from [Quick Attack] still flickered around Rio. In an extremely fast instant, using his left foot as an axis, his right foot swung up from back to front. Twisting his body in a half-spin, he delivered a high kick.
It should be known that fighting isn't just about punches; powerful kicks are also major killing blows in combat.
His light body gave Rio extreme speed. His well-trained body gave his legs powerful strength. Moving like lightning, Rio felt the power in his body flow with unparalleled smoothness, finally channeling into that swinging right leg, kicking towards Nidoqueen's head with the force of a thunderbolt.
"Final blow! Divine Dragon's Hooked Claw!!!!!"
"Go down for me!"
The raised right leg drew an arc in the air. In a daze, Nidoqueen seemed to see a mystical creature galloping among the clouds, its hooked claw tearing down fiercely.
"Awooo—" Struck hard on the side of her head, Nidoqueen howled in pain and was actually sent flying!
It should be known that Nidoqueen weighed at least 60 kilograms. To be kicked away like a rubber ball, one could imagine how great Rio's strength was!
"Thud."
"Whew—" Rio landed lightly, letting out a long breath. The blood boiling throughout his body finally cooled slightly. White steam "hissed" from the gaps in his armor from the intense exertion.
This battle seemed to declare to this world:
I, Riolu, have arrived!