Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

The concrete pillar in Conkeldurr's hands displayed immense power, and many of its moves relied on the pillar for execution.

"Aura Sphere!"

Lucario leapt backward several times, steadying itself before forming a light blue Aura Sphere between its hands.

"Hammer Arm!"

Bruce waved his hand, when facing a move like Aura Sphere, which never misses, the best counter was to clash with a move of equal force.

Conkeldurr raised its concrete pillar high, like a baseball player preparing to swing. As the speeding Aura Sphere approached, Conkeldurr hurled the pillar forward with all its might.

Instead of striking the Aura Sphere at close range, it flung the concrete pillar outward.

Bruce clearly anticipated that if Conkeldurr struck the Aura Sphere directly, even if it shattered the sphere, the resulting explosion would still cause it some damage.

Thus, he had Conkeldurr use Hammer Arm to throw the pillar instead.

With Hammer Arm covering the concrete pillar, it no longer seemed like a mere weapon but rather an extension of Conkeldurr's arm.

The pillar and the Aura Sphere collided with a deafening boom, resulting in a sudden explosion. The concrete pillar was blasted away, spinning through the air uncontrollably.

The power of both moves was evenly matched.

"Don’t let it get the concrete pillar!" Julian shouted.

The concrete pillar was Conkeldurr's most powerful weapon, and it could be said that half of its strength relied on it.

Lucario spread its arms wide, forming a white bone staff.

"Extreme Speed!"

With a swish, Lucario instantly closed the distance and appeared right in front of Conkeldurr. It thrust the bone staff at its opponent's chest with a sharp, precise angle.

Caught off guard, Conkeldurr had no choice but to temporarily abandon the spinning pillar in mid-air. It raised the pillar still in its hand to block Lucario’s strike.

However, Lucario's assault didn’t end there—this was only the beginning.

The bone staff danced in Lucario's hands, spinning and stabbing from every direction—front, back, left, right, up, and down—like a long spear, aiming for Conkeldurr's vital spots with every strike.

At first, Conkeldurr was able to keep up with its single remaining concrete pillar. However, as time dragged on, it began to struggle. Conkeldurr wasn’t a fast Pokémon—it relied on overwhelming power, not speed or precision.

Its chest, abdomen, waist, and throat—four vulnerable spots—were soon struck by Lucario's bone staff.

Lucario: 'It’s over.'

With a sharp gaze, Lucario gripped the bone staff tightly and lunged forward, aiming a powerful finishing blow at Conkeldurr’s chest.

"Conkeldurr, Counter!" Bruce shouted.

Clenching both fists, he hoped Conkeldurr could withstand the strike.

Perhaps it was truly in response to its Trainer’s will—Conkeldurr actually managed to block the seemingly fatal blow.

Lucario: 'This isn't scientific.'

Looking at the still-standing Conkeldurr, Lucario showed a surprised expression, and in the next second, a surge of overwhelming power erupted from Conkeldurr’s body.

[Counter: The user returns double the damage it received from the opponent’s physical attack.]

Of course, the prerequisite for using this move was that the user had to remain standing—and the opponent had to land a physical hit.

Under the effect of Counter, Lucario was sent flying backward, it landed heavily on the ground, sliding more than ten meters before coming to a stop.

Lucario: 'I just hit myself… but doubled.'

"A pity."

Watching Lucario slowly rise to its feet, Bruce let out a faint sigh. He retrieved a Poké Ball and recalled Conkeldurr who had fainted.

"You did great."

Bruce spoke softly to the Poké Ball.

After using Counter, Conkeldurr hadn’t immediately collapsed. It had stubbornly stayed conscious, wanting to see if its opponent had fallen. However, upon witnessing Lucario stand back up, it finally succumbed to exhaustion and fainted.

"Luca~"

Lucario looked at the Poké Ball in Bruce's hand with respect.

It admired Conkeldurr’s spirit—the sheer willpower to keep fighting despite its body being at its limit.

"Maybe this is the bond between a Trainer and their Pokémon," Julian said silently.

To answer its Trainer’s call, Conkeldurr's will had surpassed the physical limits of its body.

After this battle, Conkeldurr’s strength would surely reach a new level.

"Lucario, return."

Julian recalled Lucario and then sent out Steelix.

Pokémon: Steelix (Steel/Ground)

Level: 70

Potential: Blue

Ability: Rock Head

Item: Metal Coat

Gender: Male

Moves: Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind, Rock Throw, Autotomize, Iron Tail, Dragon Breath, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Crunch, Harden, Smack Down, Sand Tomb, Stealth Rock, Screech, Slam, Sandstorm, Dig, Stone Edge, Curse

TMs: Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Protect, Wide Guard, Heavy Slam, Breaking Swipe, High Horsepower, Body Slam, Dragon Pulse, Rollout, Drill Run, Rock Blast, Bulldoze

Egg Moves: Defense Curl, Double-Edge, Head Smash, Dragon Tail

---

As soon as Steelix appeared, its eyes locked onto Bruce with a piercing gaze.

Steelix: 'No matter who it is, I’ll crush them for my Trainer—and then have a feast.'

It was full of fighting spirit.

Julian nodded in satisfaction, though he had no idea what Steelix was really thinking.

Half a minute passed, but Bruce still hadn’t sent out his fourth Pokémon.

Just as the referee was about to remind Bruce to send out his next Pokémon, Bruce suddenly said, "I forfeit, I concede this match."

Having lost three battles in a row—and with all three being his strongest Pokémon—Bruce wasn’t afraid of losing three more. Instead, he had simply accepted his own shortcomings.

His remaining three Pokémon were only at mid-Elite level, and from the sheer presence of Julian’s Steelix alone, it was obvious that its strength was on par with the previous three Pokémon Bruce had faced.

With such a large power gap, continuing the battle would be meaningless—his remaining Pokémon wouldn’t gain any valuable experience from it.

Looking at Bruce who turned to leave, Julian actually felt a bit disappointed.

Bruce’s strength was just right for Julian’s current rank. Their battles could last for over a dozen rounds, allowing both sides’ Pokémon to grow stronger through the exchanges.

However, Julian was unaware that Bruce’s last three Pokémon were far weaker than the first three. If he had sent them out, Steelix would have completely steamrolled them.

Steelix: 'To win without even fighting—I’m so f***g awesome.'

Pleased with itself, Steelix stretched its body even straighter, almost forming a right angle. It didn’t seem the least bit concerned about twisting its back.

"Alright, don’t get cocky."

Seeing Steelix practically radiating smugness, Julian chuckled silently and recalled it into its Poké Ball.

He then instructed the staff to begin repairing the battlefield.

Even though only three battles had taken place, more than half of the field was already in ruins.

After all, this was a national-level gym, where Elite-level Pokémon were regularly sent out. When the field was damaged, repairs alone cost at least a few millions.

If the battlefield was completely destroyed, rebuilding it would require over one hundred million.

That was why gym challenges—especially at national-level gyms—were never cheap. Each match easily racked up tens of millions in damages.

*****

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/ReduxMagister