Chapter 118: Lillie Arrives, Miyuki's Smeargle
The next day, Ryan had a bye. He arrived alone at the Silver Town Airport and waited in the terminal.
It was almost ten o'clock when a plane flew over. Only after it landed at the airport did Ryan clearly see the Aether Foundation logo on the plane. Ryan walked over, and the cabin door opened, revealing a pretty figure. Seeing Ryan approaching, Lillie smiled, waved, and called out, "Ryan! I'm here to cheer you on!"
Ryan smiled and gave Lillie a hug. Then he said, "Don't you graduate at the end of the year? Why are you here so early?"
"Ta-da~" Lillie said, pulling a certificate from her backpack. "I graduated early. I'm an honor student!"
Ryan smiled and patted her head affectionately. Lillie had clearly picked up some of his expressions. Ryan waved to the people from the Aether Foundation, and they waved back. After all, this young man might become part of their organization's future, so they definitely needed to build good relationships.
Ryan brought Lillie to the hotel in the Athletes' Village. As they pushed open the door, Celebi and baby Rayquaza rushed over, complaining to Ryan that he hadn't brought them along.
Lillie excitedly picked up Celebi, nuzzling her cheek against it. Ryan then noticed the matching pendant he'd sent her around her neck.
Rosa and Ruby also greeted Lillie; the four of them didn't find the room too cramped.
The next day, the final preliminaries began, and Ryan's opponent was Miyuki. He chose Nidoking, Weavile, and Aerodactyl.
The attack order was then decided, with Ryan taking the lead, sending out Nidoking.
Miyuki smiled and said, "Ryan, I know you're strong, but can you beat my Smeargle?!"
Miyuki sent out her Smeargle. Ryan frowned. Smeargle were rather tricky Pokémon. After all, they had the Sketch ability, which allowed them to copy Pokémon's moves at any time. And unlike in the games, where you could only sketch a limited number, a well-trained Smeargle possessed a vast range of moves, and it was impossible to know exactly what they had learned.
"Smeargle, Spore," Miyuki said.
The tip of Smeargle's tail turned green, and with a casual stroke through the air, a puff of light green powder blew towards Nidoking.
"Nidoking, Flamethrower to burn them," Ryan said.
Nidoking incinerated the spores with a column of fire, then directed the flames towards Smeargle. But Miyuki chuckled and said, "You fell for it! Smeargle, Sacred Fire!"
Smeargle calmly lifted its tail, as if this was a familiar technique. The tip of its tail turned crimson, and with a flicker through the air, a streak of white flame pierced Nidoking's Flamethrower, then burned through it like wildfire, blasting straight at Nidoking.
Nidoking tried his best to dodge but was still struck by the flames, losing half his health. Ryan frowned. This Sacred Fire clearly carries Origin Power, but Smeargle doesn't possess any of its own. Could Smeargle have copied the essence of the flames themselves?
And then there's Nidoking—now so devoted to Nidoqueen that his strength was clearly not what it was during the Indigo League. It seemed he'd need more training! He couldn't let himself get complacent, or Nidoking wouldn't be able to keep up with the team.
"Earthquake," Ryan shouted.
Nidoking stomped his foot on the ground, sending a powerful shockwave towards Smeargle. But Smeargle quickly used Protect to block the Earthquake, and then another blast of Sacred Fire struck Nidoking.
Ryan was about to call for Protect, but when he remembered the trace of Origin Power in the Sacred Fire, he knew it couldn't be defended against. Then, the only option was a direct assault!
"Nidoking, Stone Edge! Defend yourself!" Ryan declared.
Nidoking roared, slamming his arm into the ground. A massive wall of rock erupted from the ground beneath him, forming a barrier that blocked the Sacred Fire.
Then, Nidoking sensed an opening, and his horn began to spin rapidly as he charged at Smeargle with Horn Drill. Smeargle continued to blast Nidoking with Sacred Fire. Nidoking charged forward, but ultimately, unable to withstand the intensity of the Sacred Fire, he collapsed.
"Nidoking is unable to battle, Smeargle wins," the referee declared.
Ryan recalled Nidoking and, looking at Miyuki, said, "Your Sacred Fire should be the one you copied from Entei."
"Yes, that's right. I was fortunate enough to meet Entei during my travels, and Smeargle was lucky enough to sketch Sacred Fire, turning it into my trump card," Miyuki said.
"Really? Well, as a sign of respect, I'll send out a stronger one too. Go, Aerodactyl!" Ryan declared.
The massive Aerodactyl soared across the sky, showcasing the majestic presence of this ancient ruler of the skies!
"Haha, looks like Ryan needs to get serious," Ruby said.
"Yeah," Rosa said. "I didn't expect that Smeargle to possess Entei's Sacred Fire. That caught Ryan off guard. But now that Ryan is serious, there's no way Miyuki can defeat him."
Aerodactyl had now grasped Origin Power, successfully ascending to Pseudo-Legendary status. This was supposed to be part of completing the legendary Pokémon quest, but due to the discovery of Arceus's Plate fragments, the legendary Pokémon power levels were reclassified, and the system requirement became a Third-Class Legendary. Aerodactyl had to slowly work its way up from there.
The Origin that Aerodactyl had comprehended was solidity—as strong as stone, impervious to any interference. This manifested as complete type resistance, reducing all super-effective damage to neutral damage, granting Aerodactyl exceptional defensive capabilities.
"Aerodactyl, rapid-fire Hyper Beam! Let it experience overwhelming power!" Ryan called out.
Aerodactyl opened its mouth wide and launched a barrage of Hyper Beams at Smeargle. Smeargle had no time to counterattack and could only desperately dodge. It was eventually struck by the Hyper Beams, rendering it unable to battle.
"Impossible! Why doesn't your Aerodactyl have recharge time when using Hyper Beam?" Miyuki said in disbelief.
Ryan smiled but said nothing. Ever since he'd seen Flame Charge used creatively at the Battle Tower, he'd been thinking about modifying other moves. For example, Hyper Beam—weakening its power to achieve unlimited use without the recharge drawback. Theoretically speaking, while it shouldn't be super effective against Rock or Steel-types due to Normal-type resistances, a barrage of Hyper Beams would still be quite intimidating.
The original power of Hyper Beam was 150, but after the modification, it was only 80. While less powerful, it had no recharge drawback and could be fired repeatedly, making it a truly cost-effective option.
Miyuki recalled her Smeargle and released a Jumpluff. Ryan continued to use Aerodactyl. Although Jumpluff was no match for Aerodactyl, its use of various powder moves and healing techniques sparked Ryan's interest.
After giving Jumpluff the respect it deserved, Aerodactyl dispatched it with a single Fire Fang.
Finally, Miyuki sent out her ace Venusaur, whose rooted turret tactics also greatly intrigued Ryan. Even he was considering whether to catch a Bulbasaur and train it.
After all, this rooted turret strategy, if combined with the Thick Fat ability of Mega Venusaur after Mega Evolution, was indeed an excellent strategy.
But this Venusaur didn't have the Thick Fat ability, and Ingrain restricted Venusaur's movement, so it could only become a target for Weavile, and was decisively defeated by Weavile.
(End of Chapter)
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