"Quick Attack…!"
More stones tore free from the ground as Rhydon hurled another Rock Throw. This time, Ash reacted instantly.
With Riolu's speed fully unleashed, his small body became a streak of blue, darting across the rugged battlefield. He zigzagged between broken rock pillars, vanishing and reappearing as dust clouds swallowed him whole. Using his size to his advantage, Riolu slipped through narrow gaps, his movements so sharp that even the cameras struggled to keep him centered.
While running, he snapped his palm forward again and again, releasing short-range bursts of Aura—imperfect [Vacuum Palm] strikes, not yet refined, but fast and disruptive. Some slammed into Rhydon's armor-like hide; others shattered against raised stone.
Rhydon planted its feet.
With a violent motion, jagged spikes of stone erupted upward—Stone Edge. The sharpened pillars intercepted the Aura waves, and, in the same motion, Rhydon swung through the formation, delivering a crushing counterattack.
Riolu twisted mid-sprint, barely slipping past the strike. The shockwave grazed his side, throwing him off balance, but he landed and kept moving, breath sharp, eyes focused.
"Hyper Beam..." Flint's command was calm—but the move itself was anything but. A terrifying concentration of energy gathered in Rhydon's mouth, light bending as power compressed inward.
"Dodge it!" Ash shouted.
But it was already too late. Their response was a tad bit slower.
Riolu was still running, his vision broken by towering rocks. The very terrain he'd used as cover now worked against him. He couldn't see Rhydon clearly—he only felt the pressure building, the heat swelling like an oncoming sun.
In that instant, memory surged.
[Pikachu.]
Riolu remembered the way his senior had once stopped a devastating attack—not by overpowering it, but by using the field itself. He remembered Ash explaining, late at night, how gym arenas were reinforced. How the tiles beneath the battlefield were designed to absorb the shockwaves of Elite-level attacks.
And how Magnitude had already shattered the rock above them.
The edge of a tile was exposed.
Riolu jumped.
Twisting his body in midair the way Pikachu had shown him, he focused everything into his fist and slammed it down. "Brick Break!" The punch struck the tile's edge at a precise angle.
Light swallowed the world.
The tile flipped upward violently, tilting just as the Hyper Beam fired. The beam struck the reinforced surface head-on, the majority of its destructive force dispersing upward in a blinding explosion instead of straight through Riolu's path.
"Riolu…!" Ash's voice came out raw.
To most, it was too fast—too chaotic to truly understand. Only the cameras, replayed later in slow motion, would show the exact timing. The perfect angle. The impossibly small margin. In that instant, Ash felt it.
His senses surged, heart pounding as something deep within him responded. He could feel Riolu—standing, alive, unbroken. Within the smoke, Riolu felt it too. Warmth spread through his chest, steady and fierce. Not pain. Not fear. Conviction.
At the same time, Froakie burst out of his Poké Ball without being called, eyes wide. Pikachu stiffened on Ash's shoulder. All three felt it.
"Quick Attack!" Ash's voice echoed through the arena.
Flint's gaze sharpened.
A blur shot out of the dust. Riolu exploded forward with terrifying speed, Aura flaring around his body like blue fire.
"Brick Break!"
The command landed clean.
Riolu's fist crashed into Rhydon's chest before the giant Pokémon could fully reset its stance. The impact rang out like a cannon, the force driving Rhydon backward, stone scraping against stone as its massive body slid and crashed into the arena wall.
For a heartbeat, silence.
'Ash...' Leaf eyes glisten at it. It was clearly like Ash, she knew. Making her realise how much Ash has grown over time. She felt the distance between them broadening, in terms of trainer skills, at least.
Then Rhydon growled and pushed himself upright again, legs trembling but locked in place.
"Rio~!"
Riolu stood tall despite his size, chest rising and falling, eyes burning. His body radiated fighting spirit, sharp and fearless.
"Rhy~!" Rhydon answered with a thunderous roar. The damage was clear now—cracks lined its rocky armour—but its tenacity was undeniable. Even Ash felt eyes twitching at it. But he knew it had to be like this, to be challenging.
"Well done, Rhydon," Flint said, eyes narrowing as he judged the distance between them. "Let's end this. Body Slam." The intention was obvious. Crush the smaller fighter with overwhelming mass.
"Detect… and then—" Ash cut himself off deliberately, leaving the rest unsaid. Flint caught it. His eyes narrowed further, but he didn't interrupt the command. This was a match now—no tricks, no hesitation. He wanted to see it through.
Ash grinned at it. He knew he could only count on the little guy.
Rhydon charged. To Riolu, the oncoming body felt like a living mountain. But as Ash's voice rang out, Riolu remembered the training. The pointing. The repetition. The countless times Ash had told him to trust timing over fear.
So instead of dodging… Riolu ran straight at it. The outcome seemed obvious to everyone watching. Even the stands felt it—anticipation tightening like a held breath. And in that moment, a deadly silence fell over the entire arena as all eyes locked onto the two charging figures.
Rhydon jumped.
The sheer weight of its massive body distorted the air itself as it came crashing down, a living meteor aimed straight at Riolu. The shadow swallowed the smaller Pokémon whole, the ground beneath already beginning to fracture under the inevitable impact.
But at the very last instant—
Riolu moved.
His body slid past Rhydon's descending leg by a hair's breadth, feet pivoting smoothly as he shifted from southpaw to northpaw. His stance snapped into place with unnatural precision, muscles coiling tight despite his size.
Time seemed to stall.
Riolu's fist tightened.
[Counter.]
"Riooo~!"
"Rawr~!"
Two voices roared at the same time, one sharp and piercing, the other deep and thunderous. The collision came with a deafening boom, a shockwave ripping outward in a violent ring. Dust and debris blasted into the air, swallowing the arena whole.
And then—
Silence.
The dust slowly cleared. A huge figure flew out of view, crashing hard against the far end of the battlefield, stone scraping loudly before finally going still.
At the centre of it all stood a tiny body. Riolu remained upright, fist still clenched, arm trembling violently. Red droplets slid down from his knuckles, dripping onto the shattered ground beneath him. "Riolu…!" Ash was already moving.
He sprinted across the field, heart pounding, not sparing a single glance toward Rhydon. He knew. That attack wasn't something even Rhydon could simply stand back up from.
Ash dropped to his knees and caught Riolu just as the little Pokémon's legs gave out, pulling him close without hesitation. "You did it," Ash said quietly, voice tight. "You really did it."
"Rhydon, unable to battle. Ash is the winner of this set." The referee's declaration rang out clearly, cutting through the stunned silence.
On the stands, Yellow shot to her feet, breath caught in her throat. Ralts sat quietly in her arms, wide eyes fixed on the battlefield. It was the first time the little Pokémon had witnessed something like this—raw will colliding head-on. Its tiny fist curled unconsciously, emotions rippling softly outward.
"Ash…"
Then the cheers erupted.
Loud, unrestrained applause and shouts burst from Yellow's side and beyond. The girls were on their feet, hearts racing, completely swept up in the thrill of the battle. How could they not be? That final exchange had been nothing short of overwhelming.
Even Flint clapped. A slow, genuine smile stretched across his face as he watched Ash cradle Riolu. Respect shone clearly in his eyes.
Ash, meanwhile, had already begun channelling Viridian Essence, a soft green glow seeping into Riolu's injured hand, easing the damage little by little. As soon as he stepped off the battlefield, he reached into his bag and pulled out a Hyper Potion.
It had cost a fortune.
But to Ash, there was no hesitation.
If not now, then when?
The spray hissed softly as he applied it carefully. "Raul~…" Riolu's eyes fluttered open. Ash smiled down at him, exhaustion and pride mixing together. "Well done. Rest well. We'll talk later, alright? Go to sleep."
"Rau~…" Riolu murmured softly, reassured. His eyes closed again, his body finally relaxing. Ash returned him to the Poké Ball, knowing the capsule would keep him stable for now. "Froa~!" Ash looked up to see Froakie hopping forward, eyes bright, body tense with excitement.
Watching that fight—especially that final counter—had lit something fierce inside the little Water-type. Ash couldn't help but grin.
"Heh."
"Hah!" Flint laughed heartily, clearly amused as Froakie jumped into the arena without waiting to be called. He didn't mind it at all. Pokémon weren't tools—they had hearts. "Alright," Ash said, straightening up.
"Let's do it, buddy. I'm counting on you."
"Froa~!" Froakie chirped confidently, chest puffed out as if saying he wouldn't disappoint.
Flint nodded, his expression turning serious once more. "This one's strong, Ash. Be careful." He reached for his Poké Ball.
"I call you out—Solrock." A floating, sun-shaped Pokémon emerged, its rocky body glowing faintly as it hovered silently above the ground. Its eyes remained closed, unmoving, as if in deep meditation.
'Rock and Psychic. Solrock.' Ash remembered the type clearly, though he frowned slightly. It wasn't a common choice. Something about it always felt… off.
Solrock's eyes slowly opened. A narrow slit revealed a piercing psychic gaze, pressure washing over the arena like invisible heat. Whether it could even be called alive was debatable—its presence felt alien, detached.
"Use Double Team," Ash ordered immediately. Froakie split into multiple afterimages, scattering across the field. "Teleport." Solrock vanished.
Froakie stiffened for half a second—
Then jumped. A dark orb ripped through the space where he'd been standing moments earlier, missing him entirely. Ash's eyes sharpened.
Just like before.
Froakie had felt it.
[Leaf Image.] Here...