Chapter 209: Challenging the Elite Four (Part 4)
Bruno’s expression was filled with disbelief at the sheer power of Annihilape’s punch.
"How is this possible? My Hitmonlee—defeated in one punch by an Annihilape? Am I having a nightmare?" Bruno muttered, dazed.
"Annih~" Annihilape, seeing no new opponent after its victory, let out a deafening roar at Bruno.
"Elite Four Bruno—please send out your next Pokémon quickly. My Pokémon is getting impatient. If you don’t, it might decide to target you instead," Rio said, also reminding him.
Elite Four Bruno? Rio thought, feeling the phrase sounded a bit odd.
"Good work, Hitmonlee—but don’t worry. Victory will be ours in the end." Bruno recalled Hitmonlee and threw his second Poké Ball.
"Steelix—I trust you to secure this win!"
With a flash of light, a Level 65 Elite Four–talent Steelix appeared. Its enormous size made Annihilape look like a tiny ant.
"Steelix—Iron Tail!" Bruno struck first.
"Steel~" Steelix raised its whip-like tail and swung it hard at Annihilape. But just as it was about to connect, Annihilape caught the tail with both hands—then slammed it down with one fist.
BOOM! Under Bruno’s trembling gaze, Steelix’s tail was driven straight into the ground. Then Annihilape leaped up and threw a punch straight at Steelix’s face.
"Steelix—Crunch!" Bruno shouted.
Two seconds later, with teeth shattered, Steelix was sent flying backward into the wall. Steelix wasn’t defeated, though—it struggled to rise using sheer willpower.
Bruno couldn’t accept this—how could his Steelix be so thoroughly dominated by an Annihilape? Rio was equally dissatisfied—why hadn’t Annihilape one-shot Steelix despite the type advantage?
He checked Steelix’s stats more closely.
[Pokémon: Steelix]
[Level: 65]
[Talent: Elite Four]
[Ability: Sturdy]
[Gender: Male]
[Moves: ----]
Seeing the Sturdy ability, Rio understood. This ability prevented a one-hit knockout, no matter how powerful the attack—even from a legendary. In that case, two punches will do.
Just as Rio thought that, Annihilape—still enraged—threw a second punch at Steelix.
"Steelix—Rock Tomb!" Bruno refused to give up.
"Steel~" Steelix hurled massive boulders to block Annihilape’s path.
"Annih~ Annih~" But Annihilape shattered each boulder midair like watermelon, punching through them with ease. Within four seconds, it reached Steelix and delivered a blow to its head. Steelix collapsed.
Bruno’s second Pokémon had fallen. He looked at Annihilape, beating its chest and roaring for a third opponent—then suddenly laughed softly.
"So strong—incredibly strong. It makes my blood boil. I finally understand why he could clear Champion’s Road in a day." Bruno’s fighting spirit surged. "I want to win—I have to win! This is the battle I’ve been craving. Even if I can only take down one or two of his Pokémon, I’ll fight for it!"
"Come out, Machamp—let’s fight side by side and crush this Annihilape!"
With a flash of light, Bruno’s strongest Pokémon—a Level 66 Machamp—appeared. Its gaze was fierce as it gestured at Annihilape with all four arms.
"Mach~" — Come on, you monkey—let’s see what you’ve got!
Five seconds later, Machamp was embedded in the wall, defeated.
One minute later, the entire battle was over. All six of Bruno’s Pokémon had fallen. Annihilape, still unsatisfied, beat its chest, craving more. Bruno wasn’t angry—just a little disappointed, but mostly impressed. This was a perfect Fighting-type Pokémon, exactly his style. Its only downside was that its rage was hard to quell. After defeating all six of his Pokémon, its anger still hadn’t subsided.
Bruno looked at Rio, curious to see how he’d handle it. Annihilape’s rage was a ticking time bomb—if mishandled, it could turn on its trainer.
On the other side, Rio sighed as he watched Annihilape’s lingering anger. There was one human-shaped Pokémon present—Bruno—but letting Annihilape vent on a future Elite Four member wasn’t something a future Champion should do. Reluctantly, he tossed out a Poké Ball.
With a flash of light, the Red Gyarados—who had been waiting eagerly in its Luxury Ball—appeared.
"ROAR!!!" — Brother Monkey—hit me!
"Annih~" Annihilape spun around and threw a punch at the Red Gyarados.
Bruno stared in disbelief. He never imagined Rio’s solution was to release his own shiny Gyarados to take the punishment. Isn’t he afraid that one day the Gyarados will turn on him? Gyarados were known for their temper, after all.
A minute later, Annihilape’s anger was fully vented. Rio fed the Red Gyarados a Revival Herb and continued forward.
"I’ve seen the strength of your Pokémon—now, shouldn’t you train yourself?" Bruno’s voice came from behind as Rio passed him.
Rio paused and looked back. Bruno’s gaze was full of longing—if Rio didn’t know he was a dedicated training fanatic, he’d have been alarmed and guarded. "I’ll think about it—if I need to, I’ll come find you," Rio said with a polite smile, then stepped into the corridor leading to the third chamber.
Bruno’s training lifestyle—punching mountains with bare fists and living in the wilderness for months—was not his idea of a good life. That would be worse than death.
"Take your time—I’ll make sure you get as strong as me!" Bruno didn’t catch Rio’s subtle refusal, instead taking it as a sign of interest. As Rio walked away, Bruno dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups. He decided to do two thousand push-ups as penance for his defeat.