Amid the roaring cheers of over seventy thousand spectators, Ryuuske burst out laughing and commanded,
"Then let's give the crowd what they want—charge, Gabite! Dragon Claw!"
As if unleashing the excitement from its fresh evolution, Gabite let out a thunderous roar to the sky and charged straight through the falling boulders summoned by Onix.
"What?! It's charging in directly?!"
Brock was shocked. He had assumed Gabite would dodge the incoming boulders, not recklessly barrel through them. His plan to follow up with a series of moves was instantly disrupted.
"So fast!! Gabite looks like a phantom blur out there!"
The commentator shouted in excitement.
With a fearsome grin like a shark bearing its teeth, Gabite stared at the falling rocks with contempt. Back when it was just Gible, it would crush these kinds of rocks daily with its teeth during training.
These boulders, though now falling with powered momentum, were nothing more than that. Now that it had evolved, its body had become leaner and much more agile—far surpassing the speed it had as its rounder former self.
It is the Earth Dragon, and dragons run wild on land.
There was no resistance. As if slicing through tofu, Gabite's blade-like fins carved the falling boulders into chunks. Panic flashed in Onix's eyes—before it could even react, Gabite had already torn through its move and appeared right beside it.
"Harden!"
Seeing Gabite's terrifying speed, Brock instantly realized Onix had no chance of dodging. He decisively gave the order to take the hit head-on.
But—
"Even using a move, it's too slow. Double Slash, then Dragon Claw!"
Ryuuske's command rang out just as Brock finished speaking. Gabite no longer needed to rely on biting to execute Dragon Claw. It raised its dual blades high, radiating a chilling energy that distorted the air itself. Just as Onix's rocky exterior began to glow, signaling the Harden activation, Gabite's blades slashed with such rapid precision that they left a blur in the air, targeting each of Onix's segmented joints.
With a stylish landing, time seemed to freeze.
Then—
A blood-curdling cry pierced the silence. Onix's body split into seven or eight segments. Its rocky structure had been completely severed at the joints during that brief exchange. With a thunderous crash, the pieces slammed to the ground. Onix's eyes shut—it had completely lost consciousness and the will to fight.
Total silence. You could hear a pin drop.
The arena of seventy thousand was frozen in shock. No one even noticed the commentator's mic hit the floor. From start to finish—excluding the few seconds of Gible's evolution into Gabite—the battle lasted under ten seconds, exactly like Ryuuske's performance during the prelims.
But this wasn't the prelims.
This was an official gym battle.
And his opponent wasn't some badge-less rookie. This was Brock, a Rock-type expert and one of Kanto's eight official Gym Leaders—someone famous throughout the region. Even if that Onix wasn't Brock's main Pokémon, it was still one he had personally trained. After seeing Ryuuske's data and Gible's evolution, everyone expected an intense, evenly matched battle.
But the outcome was utterly shocking.
A few seconds of stunned silence—then...
A deafening explosion of cheers erupted.
Raspy roars shook the arena as if they'd collapse the stadium. This was Pewter City, and the crowd should've been full of Brock supporters. But like a knockout in a boxing match, everyone loves a clean, brutal display of power. No frills, no tricks—just pure force ending the battle in one blow. It was exhilarating.
"AAAAHHHH—!!"
"So satisfying!!"
"That speed was insane!!"
"Ryuuske—!"
"Ryuuske—!"
"Ryuuske—!"
The waves of cheering became rhythmic, almost like a chant. The screams of the girls were especially piercing—so loud that Ryuuske half-wondered if they were using Dragon Pulse. Unlike the start of the match, when people were shouting Brock's name, now all seventy thousand were calling his.
"Incredible, just incredible!! As a commentator, I feel so useless—this battle didn't even give me a chance to say anything!" the announcer exclaimed. "The referee has ruled: Gabite wins! Onix is unable to battle! Wait—data is coming in now… the entire match lasted 7.8 seconds.
This is not just a Pewter City record, not just a Kanto record—possibly a world record for fastest gym victory by a rookie trainer! I don't know if anyone will ever beat that, but I do know no one has ever been faster than Ryuuske up till now. Just like his Gabite—he's insanely fast!"
"A shining new star has appeared! I've become a total fan of Ryuuske and can't wait to see the rest of his Gym Challenge journey. But unfortunately, according to League rules, rookie trainers are only allowed one-on-one matches. Though it may sound harsh, for Brock… this loss might be hard to swallow. Look, his face is even darker now!"
"Ahahaha—!"
The crowd burst into gentle laughter at the commentator's jab.
Brock's face did look darker—but then again, his skin was already pretty dark to begin with. If you weren't paying attention, you might not even notice.
With a wry smile, Brock raised his hand to acknowledge the crowd.
As a Gym Leader, he had to be a role model. Even if he felt frustrated, he had to carry himself with dignity. Witnessing a record-breaking moment was inspiring—except when you were the stepping stone. Unless you were a saint, it was impossible not to feel a little bitter.
"Just my luck… why did I have to be the one…" he muttered.
He could already imagine the internet blowing up with criticism of him as a Gym Leader.
Sure, Ryuuske was strong—but still just a rookie. Losing in under ten seconds? That was hard to justify. It might even be said that he'd embarrassed the entire Kanto Gym system.
Even though online comments wouldn't affect his job as a Gym Leader, keyboard warriors exist in every world.
To be continued…