With Nidoking’s entrance, the brawl escalated to a greater intensity as the battle changed from one of evasion to one of domination.

  Rushing forward with a reckless full-on charge, Aggron slammed directly into Nidoking. The impact was significant and resulted in portions of its armor chipping but Nidoking was unharmed as the blow had been absorbed by the barrier it had constructed in response.

  From behind, Machoke then stomped down with a Bulldoze striking Aggron on the rear.

  Intending on retaliating, Aggron charged up an Iron Tail which Nidoking interrupted by grabbing onto its tail. The Predator then turned and struck back with a powerful Metal Claw which briefly gazed Nidoking’s face as he stepped back to evade, accidentally easing his grip.

  Continuously the three exchanged brutal blows with Aggron gradually gaining an edge from its vicious strikes. Nidoking served as a commendable bulwark but that wouldn’t last as minor injuries began to rapidly accumulate while Machoke assisted but was unable to inflict any significant damage. He refrained from sending Staravia and tasked Maestro to wait for his signal.

  From afar, deep tremors shook the chamber as another battle initiated but nobody was at leisure to take notice.

  Amidst the brawl, Harrison finally took action. Extracting the potent type energy from within and with some assistance from the Dragon Fang, Harrison then raised his arm. His Poketch then reacted and shifted to a custom mode, adjusting and rearranging itself to reveal a sphere where the display was supposed to be. Infusing tremendous power, three different strands of energy formed on the previously transparent ball.

  Emanating immense power, he then tapped the sphere with his finger and shouted, “Mega Evolve!”, forcing Aggron to pause.

  Turning its eyes away from the approaching sandstorm, Steelix intended on advancing. But before it could slither forward, a powerful Dark Pulse left the sandstorm and struck hard. The Titan then flinched as the malice from the Dark energy gave it pause.

  Incompetence. Dereliction of Duty. Shame.

  The Snake frowned as it seemed to know exactly who came to confront it. A Pokemon intimately familiar with its duty as Guardian of the Oreburgh Mine.

  In response, a harsh bright searing white sphere of energy then gathered at Steelix’s maw. Immediately, the Steelix launched the Hyper Beam directly at the sandstorm.

  The powerful beam of energy sped towards the sandstorm, scattering all the dust obscuring the Pokemon within. It penetrated the sand veil and struck nothing as the energy flew past the elements. The sandstorm soon crumbled as it was no longer maintained.

  Astonished, Steelix immediately began to reassess its surroundings but it was already far too late. The ground shifted and Steelix slightly tilted but before the Iron Snake could reorient itself, the cave floor burst open as Steelix was struck square in the jaw. Disoriented by the great impact, it attempted to stabilize itself but the green kaiju didn’t relent. Lunging forward with full force, Steelix toppled and had its head slammed deep into the cave floor.

  Unwilling to continue, the Steelix could only glare at the Tyranitar from below but didn’t resist. Any further struggle would only be to its disadvantage.

  The kaiju then turned and no longer paid any heed to the defeated Snake.

  The Predator was bewildered as what could possibly undergo Mega Evolution? The Abra wasn’t mature enough and needed to evolve more than once. The Machoke was likewise inadequate. The only candidate was Nidoking but did it even have a Mega form?

  It did not even question the legitimacy of the action as the fierce purple energy of ascension conspicuously surged from the Trainer in waves.

  Unsure of the target, the Aggron no longer cared and harsh searing white energy gathered at its maw. The Predator intended to lock onto the Trainer but saw a faint, hovering silhouette with 5 levitating spoons and locked eyes with it. They started glowing a mystical lavender.

  It then made a gesture and Aggron’s vision vanished as the radiant light of a beacon flashed from the Poketch, completely blinding it.

  In the next moment, Harrison snapped before swiftly rolling to the ground to dodge the Hyper Beam unleashed by the Aggron in a panic. The beam easily bore holes through layers and layers of dense rock but missed its mark.

  The bluff had paid off.

  Aggron then keeled over when bathed in psychic waves as its innards seemed to turn inside out. Guard Swap.

  Swiftly, Nidoking unleashed a tremendous Earthquake atop Aggron, shattering the ground like a meteor impact.

  Machoke then moved in with a barrage of blows, striking ruthlessly and ceaselessly with abandon. Each strike leaving a deep dent in the Predator’s armor.

  Liquid metal spewed forth from the Aggron’s lungs as every single Thrash, Brick Break, Bullet Punch, and Close Combat caused far greater pain than it had ever experienced. The barrage of blows did not cease but it still had a chance.

  In a desperate bid, Aggron reacted and grabbed onto Machoke and slammed its head and horns straight into the bodybuilder’s torso. The impact bore deep into Machoke, bruising its chest, and shattered most of its ribs before fainting the Pokemon in a single blow.

  The Aggron then groaned slightly from the headache which had been dampened by Rock Head.

  Harrison grimaced as the Aggron regained its eyesight and stood up with great difficulty. Only Nidoking left. The Steel type then seemed to laugh maliciously.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Purple spirals of energy then emerged as the concentration of power intensified around the Predator.

  Harrison’s eyes then widened in shock as the phenomenon was exactly what he had imitated. But there was no Trainer and no Keystone!

  The purple energy of ascension then surged before enveloping the metal monstrosity in a bright light.

  The Aggron then emerged, completely covered in thick steel plating and without any trace of weakness.

  Nidoking stood back in shock as the surging power intimidated it. The horned dinosaur braced for the worse.

  His hands clenched in rage. They were so close but it was all over. The deep injuries they had created still remained but even without Mega Evolution, the Predator had been difficult to harm. Now that its defenses were bolstered, they would be lucky to get a scratch in.

  With its eyes locked on Harrison, the Mega Aggron didn’t let go of its caution. Perhaps, that silhouette was an illusion but it definitely felt real. And now that it was pure Steel, it could more clearly tell that there was definitely something off with this human. The Mega then took a step forward.

  The deep mystical eyes from a different time then seared into its mind. The power it had glimpsed from another time finally reacted as an overwhelming psychic force detonated, wiping clean the Aggron’s thoughts and consciousness. Its potent malice and intentions erased like chalk from a whiteboard.

  As the Aggron desperately struggled against its own complete mental shutdown, a dark mass rushed forward and struck the Mega Aggron with full force. The Giga Impact sent the Mega Aggron flying and embedded its fainted form deep into the wall like a cave painting.

  Stunned by the sudden development, Harrison could only stare at the Rampardos in shock.

  “Glad … I … made it in time”, a gasping voice said between deep breaths.

  Harrison turned to find Roark who couldn’t stand up straight after all the running.

  He then stared at the formidable Rampardos for a while and said aloud, “How are you still the first Gym Leader when you have a Pokemon that can one shot a Mega Aggron?”

  Rampardos shook its head in response.

  Roark laughed and said, “I can’t use him until the Challenger has at least 5 badges. And Rampardos disagrees. It seems your group already did most of the work”

  He then patted Harrison on the back and said, “You did well. We’ll handle the rest”

  Harrison then sighed in relief as the ordeal was over. He had not expected to be involved in a harrowing battle before having even obtained his first badge.

  He then asked Roark, “How often does something like this happen?”

  To which the Gym Leader responded, “If an incident like this was common, children would never be allowed to leave their house”

  Soon after the battle, Maestro descended from its hiding place among the rain clouds. Rather than going towards his Trainer, the Kadabra decided to investigate the distortion it sensed. And right where the sensation was the most concentrated, an innocuous spoon resided. Maestro then picked up the bent spoon it had sensed and compared it to the one it had just attained from its recent evolution. The peculiar twisted spoon dwarfed his new one in telekinetic power by entire magnitudes.

  Moments later, Harrison directly teleported out of the mine and rushed Nova to the Pokemon Center while Roark closed the Oreburgh Mines for obvious safety reasons.

  He waited at the desk while focusing on getting the adrenaline out of his system. Without imminent danger keeping him distracted, he began to brood. He might have commanded them well but other than that, his contribution was minimal. If only they were stronger. Perhaps if Magikarp had already evolved.

  The door then finally opened after nearly half an hour passed.

  “Your Luxio is in critical condition and might be bedridden for a week”, Nurse Joy grimly stated after leaving the medical examination room. If she hadn’t been notified by Gym Leader Roark of the severity of the situation, she would have chastised the Trainer for not noticing the level disparity. It was on the level of attempting to fight a Garchomp with a Marill but worse.

  In reality, Level 1s stood no chance against anything and had the high possibility of leading to the revocation of a Trainer’s license. Such carelessness would place restrictions on their ability to be an Official Trainer and might even ban them from having Pokemon as no Trainer in their right mind would pit infants against full-grown powerhouses. Harrison’s action wasn’t as severe but it was definitely ill-advised.

  “The Machoke you brought in will also be down for a week. We might have Full Restores but even they can only do so much”

  Noticing her disapproval, Harrison nodded while acknowledging his incompetence.

  That was no victory. It was merely survival and if Nidoking had not intervened, the results would have been far worse.

  “Please notify me when either of them regain consciousness”, he briefly stated before turning to leave.

  Gavin and Christine then hurried into the Pokemon Center.

  “Are you all right?” “Ralts!”, Christine and the Pokemon stated in tandem.

  “That was fast”, he stated, slightly surprised as the two had been evacuating quite a number of Pokemon which likely required Rangers to get involved.

  “The Rangers came to handle it. And most of them were Pokemon that belonged on the surface so there weren’t really any issues for us to deal with”, Gavin stated as a rocky blue boulder with red minerals trudged alongside him.

  “And where did you get a Boldore in Oreburgh of all places?”, Harrison asked as it seemed very out of place.

  “It was hiding in the tunnels”, Gavin said with a shrug.

  The Aggron was definitely unusual as well but it seemed that technically any Pokemon could be anywhere. They weren’t confined to their region but they wouldn’t be a common sight or expected like those native to the place.

  He then supposed a rare Pokemon wasn’t a rare encounter but more akin to finding a wandering nomad away from h-

  “Ralts!”, the Pokemon then asked impatiently, intentionally interrupting his thought process.

  “...The Aggron has been taken care of. I managed to stall for enough time for Roark to arrive but… it was definitely far more than I could handle”, Harrison stated after some hesitation.

  “Seems like it. Sorry for not being able to help”, Gavin said with a sigh.

  “Ralts”, the green empath agreed.

  “It’s fine. We all just started-”, Harrison began.

  “Then, that’s even more reckless”, Nurse Joy said as she walked towards the group.

  “I won’t say to wait for help but focus on escaping while you’re still developing. Trained and Mature Pokemon bounce back from losses and injuries better and pushing the little ones just because they need experience won’t lead to proper growth”, she said with crossed arms.

  “And the Pokemon were more urgent but you should get yourself checked”, Nurse Joy said as she raised Harrison’s arms. His sleeves were absolutely shredded and there were a few minor bruises which went down his arm.

  “I’m-”

  “I insist”, Nurse Joy firmly stated.