"Defense counterattack! Bastiodon, use Metal Burst!" Byron shouted.
Bastiodon converted the damage it had just suffered into Steel-type energy. A translucent red Metal Coat flashed across its body, and then it spat a silver sphere of light from its mouth.
Whoosh!
Bang!
Metal Burst struck Rhyperior head-on.
"Rhy...!"
Rhyperior let out a cry of pain. This was considerable damage. Metal Burst returned 1.5 times the damage Bastiodon had just received, meaning the attack's power had come from Rhyperior itself. On top of that, it was real damage.
"Very good! Follow up with Flash Cannon!" Byron ordered, taking advantage of the opening.
"Rhyperior, use Horn Drill to rush over!" Gary ordered.
Rhyperior quickly charged forward. The horn on its forehead shone with white light, lengthening by more than a meter and turning into a huge white drill. It pierced straight through the Flash Cannon instantly, leaving Rhyperior completely unharmed.
"So it's Horn Drill. Unfortunately, my Bastiodon has no weaknesses! Use Iron Head!" Byron ordered.
Bastiodon stopped firing Flash Cannon. Silver Steel-type energy covered its body as it charged forward quickly.
"Stop the attack and catch Bastiodon for me!" Gary ordered.
Hearing the command, Rhyperior stopped charging, took a defensive posture, opened its arms, and waited for Bastiodon to hit it.
"My Bastiodon isn't so easy to catch! Bastiodon, use all your strength and knock Rhyperior down!" Byron said.
Just now, Steelix had been caught by Rhyperior, but Byron was still very dissatisfied. He didn't believe that Rhyperior could also catch his Bastiodon.
Bastiodon accelerated and slammed into Rhyperior.
Bang!
Rhyperior was forced back by the impact, but it immediately grabbed Bastiodon with both hands. It caught hold of the row of silver steel spikes on Bastiodon's shield, halting its momentum despite being pushed back slightly.
"What! It actually caught it!" Byron said in disbelief.
Bastiodon shook its head and struggled to break free, but it couldn't do it at all. Even ten Bastiodons would not be rivals of Rhyperior.
"Bastiodon, use Flash Cannon!"
"Dynamic Punch!"
Byron and Gary issued their commands at the same time.
Rhyperior swung its fist, covering it with a layer of transparent Fighting-type energy.
Bastiodon sensed the threat. Silver light began to gather in the gaps of its mouth, ready to fire a beam.
Bang!
But Bastiodon was still too slow. Rhyperior's fist struck Bastiodon squarely in the face. The violent impact caused the Steel-type energy that had been condensing in Bastiodon's mouth to dissipate. Bastiodon's gaze became unfocused, and it fell into confusion.
"Not good, it's confused!" Byron said.
He knew the additional effect of Dynamic Punch. A confused Bastiodon would be unable to properly deal with Rhyperior, especially with the two Pokémon so close.
"Circle around Bastiodon and use Dynamic Punch!" Gary ordered.
Bastiodon's defense was indeed terrifying, especially its face shield. It was incredibly hard. Despite only possessing Gym-level strength, it had withstood several attacks from an Elite-level Pokémon. That alone showed just how strong its defense was.
Rhyperior moved around Bastiodon and struck it with another Dynamic Punch.
Byron also gave an order, but the confused Bastiodon merely fired off a Flash Cannon at random. Then, before it could do anything else, Rhyperior's Dynamic Punch struck it directly, knocking it to the ground.
Without the protection of its face shield, Bastiodon could not withstand an attack from an Elite-level Rhyperior. It was unable to rise again.
"Bastiodon has lost the ability to battle!" the Gym referee announced. "All three of Gym Leader Byron's Pokémon have been defeated. The winner of this Gym battle is Gary!"
The Gym battle had come to an end.
"You defeated the Pokémon I'm proud of. I acknowledge your strength, so I'll hand this over to you." Byron generously took out the Mine Badge and handed it to Gary.
"Thank you."
Gary accepted the badge.
[Ding! The mission has been completed. The reward has been delivered to the space backpack.]
After receiving the Mine Badge, Gary did not stay for long. He left the Gym, released Garchomp, and flew toward the easternmost part of the Sinnoh region.
As he soared through the sky, Gary checked the reward he had received for completing this Gym mission.
[Best Peat Block: Can be used on an Ursaring with potential below Legendary level. Potential level +1!]
"What? Why is it another evolution item?"
Gary felt a headache coming on. He did not want to catch too many more Pokémon at the moment, but this damned system kept giving him evolution items.
After using a Peat Block, Ursaring could evolve into Ursaluna. There were two forms of Ursaluna: the ordinary form from the Hisui region, and the Bloodmoon form.
Both forms required a Peat Block to evolve, but Bloodmoon Ursaluna also needed to evolve under a full moon.
The two forms of Ursaluna were similar, but their Ability distributions were different. Ordinary Ursaluna was a physical attacker, while Bloodmoon Ursaluna was a special attacker.
Bloodmoon Ursaluna possessed the exclusive Ability, Mind's Eye. Its effect was similar to Scrappy, and it also allowed it to ignore reductions to its opponent's evasion. In reality, Bloodmoon Ursaluna could use its mind to see through all illusions and confusion.
Bloodmoon Ursaluna also had to possess its exclusive move, Blood Moon. It had a power of 140 and no negative effects. It simply could not be used twice in a row, which was still very good.
However, if Gary had a choice, he would definitely choose ordinary Ursaluna.
The main reason was that ordinary Ursaluna could possess three different Abilities, while Bloodmoon Ursaluna had only one. Giving up three Abilities for one exclusive Ability and the Blood Moon move was a loss no matter how he looked at it.
"I'll consider it if I get the chance."
Gary did not want to catch an Ursaluna. The main reason was that it simply wasn't handsome enough and didn't suit his style.
"System, exchange the permanent, self-selecting Steel-type move learner for Steel Beam."
There were not many Steel-type moves, and only a few of them could be learned through move learners. Steel Beam was the strongest special Steel-type move among them.
[Ding! Move redemption successful.]
Two hours later, Garchomp arrived at Sunyshore City.
Sunyshore City was a famous harbor city in the Sinnoh region, and it was also the only route to the Lily of the Valley Conference.
The entire city used solar energy to provide its power. The person responsible for building all of this was Volkner, the Gym Leader of Sunyshore Gym.
This was also why the inspector responsible for Sunyshore City did not dare interfere with its power system. He could only hand the matter over to the Elite Four, who had greater authority to deal with it.
Volkner himself was a Trainer whose strength was not inferior to that of an Elite Four member. He was also a highly skilled technical expert. If he became willful, no one would dare to interfere with him.
"Garchomp, come back and rest."
After landing at the entrance of the Pokémon Center, Gary recalled Garchomp. He then mounted Cyclizar and rode toward Sunyshore Gym.