Chapter 65: VS. Floatzel II! Part 1
Roark stared across the battlefield at Neptune, armed with his most powerful Pokemon, Rampardos. Having trained Rampardos ever since his battle with Diamond, Roark was confident that Rampardos could hold its own against Neptune's Floatzel, but he worried that the type advantage could come back to haunt him. Floatzel was older and more mature than Rampardos, meaning he was much stronger. It would appear that Rampardos, the bigger Pokemon, was David while Floatzel, the smaller Pokemon, was Goliath. Nonetheless, the battle would proceed.
"You don't have to do this Wake. I know that Neo Team Rocket manipulated and utilized your physical strength to input fear in other people. But it's almost over, Wake. You can fight this. I know you can." Roark clenched his fist, moistening his lips which became chapped in the cold weather.
Neptune raised a brow and said, "Wake? He's long gone now. I am Neptune. Admin for the great Neo Team Rocket. There is no stopping Neo Team Rocket or me! Floatzel, Aqua Jet!"
Floatzel's body was smothered by a spherical torrent of water as the Sea Weasel Pokemon leaped up and slithered down to Rampardos in midair. Rampardos looked up, awaiting instruction, but Floatzel collided with Rampardos's gut, sending the Head Butt Pokemon slamming into a wall.
Roark winced, but decided that now was the time to retaliate, "Scary Face!"
Floatzel landed back in front of Neptune as Rampardos broke free from the crater in the wall. It should its head, sending pieces of rock flying into every direction before staring at Floatzel with an intimidating face. Floatzel stared back, preparing to attack yet again.
"Hm. Floatzel seems to rely on speed. If I keep using Scary Face with Rampardos, it'll slow it down. But with me relying on that, it leaves Rampardos open for assault. Ah... I'll have to stay on the defense then." Roark adjusted his glasses as he leered back at Neptune.
Neptune wasted no time with his next attack, "Aqua Tail!"
Floatzel now darted at Rampardos on all fours, seemingly at a slower pace, yet still at an alarming velocity to which Rampardos could not keep up with. Floatzel's tails were shrouded in moist particles as it jumped up and whipped both tails across Rampardos face repeatedly, knocking the gently giant down onto the ground where the assault continued.
"Scary Face!"
Rampardos opened its eyes just as it looked up at Floatzel. After meeting orbs with the dinosaur Pokemon, Floatzel flipped up and landed away from Rampardos, still at an even slower pace than before.
Roark's plan was indeed working.
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Diamond shook his head as he came to. Apparently, he had fallen asleep due to his intense tiredness and the intensely freezing temperatures that had surrounded him throughout this long duration. He peered from behind the boulder as he observed that Neo Team Rocket was still in the process of drilling a hole in the cave wall. Things appeared to be going Neo Team Rocket's way as the hole grew less thick and led towards the outside.
"Instead of scaling Mt. Coronet naturally, they're going to just bust through a landmark? That's sick. They're damaging this natural environment for their personal gain. Mt. Coronet has been here ever since the beginning of time and they're shattering history." Diamond stood up and looked to his Ball pocket. One of his Pokeballs was missing!
Frantically, Diamond looked around, immediately discovering that Ronny's Pokeball had vanished into thin air. He looked yonder and found that the Pokeball had rolled towards the direction of the drill and rested at the bed of the cave, almost in the drill's destruction path.
Diamond's eyes widen, "Ronny!"
One thing Diamond wasn't sure about is what happened to a Pokemon when its Pokeball was destroyed. Crushed. Not wanting to find out, Diamond sprinted towards the Pokeball and unfortunately the drill as well. Almost instantly, the Neo Team Rocket Grunts picked out Diamond running towards the drill. However, Diamond was quick and agile and retrieving Ronny's Pokeball. He dove towards the ball and grabbed, but the drill neared him more and more. Luckily, the hole that Neo Team Rocket was big enough for him to run down. Alas, there was a dead end, leaving Diamond stuck to his imminent doom.
A Grunt informed Pluto, who was standing at the top of the drill, about Diamond's sudden appearance.
"Ma'am, the boy. He's back."
"I know!" Pluto said fiercely, her attitude growing by the day, "Use the drill to eliminate him. He's trapped with no means of escape. They showed no mercy to grandfather and now I will show no mercy to anyone who stands in my way."
"You heard the boss!"
"Fire the drill!"
With that said, the drill proceeded with no remorse for Diamond's life. Diamond cursed under his breath, feeling stupid for getting trapped in this predicament.
He stood there, shaking his head as the massive, destructive tool neared him slowly and steadily, making the way that more fearful, but making the escape that more possible. Diamond looked around for any form of a plan and when he couldn't come up with anything, he reverted to an old form of strategy.
"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to use some old school tactics: Beat 'em with your Pokemon!" Diamond said to himself, reaching into his pocket for all six of his Pokemon's Pokeballs.
After the Pokeballs emerged from his pocket, he tossed them each forward in unison, causing a burst of white light upon contact with the ground. The Pokeballs bounced back into Diamond's hands as he looked up at the drill and then at each of his Pokemon left to right from his view: Trident the Empoleon, Samurai 'Sam' the Gallade, Rose the Skuntank, Dexter 'Dex' the Pachirisu, Pilot the Yanmega, and Ronny the Riolu. Diamond had considered not using Ronny, but with the help of his veteran Pokemon, Ronny could gain plenty of experience. That is, if they survived.
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Floatzel continued the assault on Rampardos, despite the fact that its agility had decreased greatly. Rampardos was just too slow to keep up with the still nimble Floatzel. The Sea Weasel Pokemon nimbly jumped up and slapped it's aquatic tail across Rampardos's face, sending the large Pokemon crashing down onto the earth. It appeared that Roark wasn't even trying to accomplish anything. Not anything at all.
Neptune shook his head, offended by Roark's lack of attacks and counters, "What is wrong with you, boy? Do you fear me so much that I've intimidated into not attacking? We call guys in the ring like you wussies. Punks. Scaredy-cats for the playground kids. But, this shall end soon enough."
Roark bit his lip and shook his head, "Apparently you don't understand my reasoning behind my strategies. You see, I recall your matches in the ring when I was a little boy. Sure, you were my favorite wrestler, but I could easily point out your flaws. The only reason why you were so powerful is because you kept attacking and you had great endurance. However, times have changed and you've gotten older. You're unable to stay in the fight too long. As well your Floatzel. I've studied each of the Gym Leaders upon being appointed Gym Leader of Oreburgh City. Your weakness is endurance, so you try to get rid of your foes quickly. I'm sorry to say that Rampardos is sturdy enough to withstand your Floatzel's attacks. As a matter of fact, I'm
not sorry."
Rampardos stood up, stomping its clawed feet on the earth before roaring out intimidatingly.
Roark smirked, "You want offense? Fine with me,
Wake. Rampardos... Head Smash!"
Rampardos lowered its head and began a full on assault towards Floatzel. Scrambling its feet rather quickly for its size, preparing to completely dethrottle the opposing Pokemon for good.
(Next: Chapter 66: VS. Floatzel II! Part 2)
Author's Note: Short because I've hit the wall at this point of the story, sorry ;D
