"It's the Grass-type move, Wood Hammer!"
"Rhyhorn, use Rock Slide on the ground!"
Aven gave his command quickly. Wood Hammer had a quadruple type advantage over Rhyhorn!
Understanding instantly, Rhyhorn stomped its foot heavily on the ground, unleashing a burst of Rock-type energy.
In the next moment, the earth trembled and split open, sending a barrage of sharp stones shooting toward Torterra!
Torterra made no attempt to dodge, taking the attack head-on. As it broke through the wave of rocks, Rhyhorn's figure had already disappeared!
"Rhyhorn, use Rock Throw!"
At Aven's shout, Rhyhorn quickly formed a giant boulder and hurled it at Torterra!
Seeing this, Torterra whipped around, shooting a volley of leaves that shattered the incoming boulder midair and continued flying toward Rhyhorn at high speed!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The leaves struck hard, and Rhyhorn was sent flying!
"Rhyhorn!" Aven cried out in shock.
Boom! Rhyhorn's body hit the ground with a heavy thud.
…
Seeing this, Kevin sighed. He felt that the gap in strength between Rhyhorn and Torterra was still too great.
That Torterra was clearly a dominant beast of the Black Forest. Even in its crazed, irrational state, it still retained an immense amount of combat instinct.
And if this Torterra were in its normal state, even his own Rhydon might not stand a chance!
He had to act… Kevin made up his mind. But just as he was about to move, he suddenly saw Rhyhorn slowly rising again in the distance.
Rhyhorn looked up at the Torterra before it. In a daze, it seemed to hear its trainer calling its name.
Did I disappoint my trainer again…? Rhyhorn thought. It had worked so hard, all to avoid letting its trainer down.
At that moment, flashes of memory surged through Rhyhorn's mind—until they all condensed into one image: a burning carriage engulfed in flames, fire rising into the sky.
Kevin had already taken a step forward, prepared to order his Rhydon into battle.
But just as he did, a radiant light caught his eye!
Far off in the distance, Rhyhorn's body suddenly erupted with a dazzling glow—the unmistakable light of evolution!
"He did it… That final push!" Aven, watching from afar, slowly unclenched his tightly gripped fists.
For Pokémon, evolution was like a rebirth. Their life force leapt to a new level, transforming them completely.
Yet evolution was not easy. Like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, one not only had to find the gate, but also summon the strength to leap through it!
Throughout history, many Pokémon had long met the conditions for evolution, yet failed to take that final step.
And now, in the face of adversity, Rhyhorn had finally crossed that threshold and completed its transformation!
It actually evolved… Kevin stared at the glowing Rhyhorn in a daze, then glanced at Aven, remembering what he had said earlier.
Had Aven already known that Rhyhorn was on the verge of evolving? Could it be that he intentionally created this moment of danger to give Rhyhorn that critical breakthrough?
Off to the side, the other knights looked on with envy. Many of them also had Rhyhorns.
After years of fighting, many of their Rhyhorns had reached the evolution threshold…
But that last step—how many Rhyhorns in the entire knights' corps had ever made it through?
Now, they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
And when they thought about where this Rhyhorn had come from, they couldn't help but feel amazed.
ROOOOAR!!
With a thunderous roar, Rhydon appeared on the battlefield, its powerful presence radiating outward!
The energy it unleashed immediately caught Torterra's attention. Shrouded in gray mist, Torterra charged forward!
" Rhydon, try using that move!"
At Aven's words, Rhydon let out a deafening roar.
The drill on its head suddenly began to spin, stirring the air around it.
Ground-type energy gathered frantically, forming into the shape of a drill, spinning in sync with the drill on its head!
" Rhydon, use Drill Run!"
Aven shouted the command with confidence.
ROOOOAR!!
Rhydon roared and charged forward at full speed.
Energy surged around its body, trailing behind it in rippling waves like droplets of water.
In that moment, Rhydon became a drill, hurtling straight toward Torterra!
Time seemed to freeze.
Rhydon's Drill Run collided with Torterra's Wood Hammer.
But Drill Run looked as if it could pierce through anything. After a brief clash, the Wood Hammer shattered into countless glowing fragments of energy and dissipated!
Then, Drill Run hit Torterra directly, unleashing a terrifying wave of energy across the battlefield!
"What a terrifying attack!"
"What move was that? Drill Run?"
"Did it work? Did that Torterra go down?"
The surrounding knights were in a frenzy of speculation.
Rhydon's attack had truly stunned them. Whether it was the power of Earth Force or Drill Run, they had never seen such moves before—and the battle itself was a spectacle to behold.
Even Kevin's own Rhydon looked surprised.
It patted its armor-plated belly, seemingly wondering what would happen if it took a hit like that.
Gradually, the cloud of smoke and dust began to clear.
Rhydon r's panting figure was the first to come into view.
Then, Torterra appeared.
The massive beast was sprawled on the ground, eyes closed—completely unconscious.
"We won."
Seeing this, a smile spread across Aven's face.
ROOOOAR!!
On the field, Rhydon let out a triumphant roar, celebrating its hard-earned victory.
It was thrilled—its hard work had finally paid off. As a celebration, it decided it would run a hundred laps around the knights' camp!
"Rhydon, congratulations." Aven walked over and gently patted its armored side.
From the Rhyhorn that once pulled carts… to the Rhydon standing tall today…
Aven felt emotional. It was like watching his own child grow up.
ROOOOAR!!
Rhydon cried out joyfully in response, clearly still loving praise as much as ever.
"Congratulations." At that moment, Kevin walked over too.
Patting Rhydon, Aven smiled and said, "This is the result of Rhydon's own hard work."
Kevin immediately recalled the image of the Rhyhorn with the white ribbon, charging at the front lines of battle.
He nodded in genuine agreement—hard work truly does pay off.
(End of Chapter)