Chapter 151: Battle Against Roark!

Words : 1105 Updated : Oct 8th, 2025

"Roooar..." Aerodactyl collapsed, completely losing its ability to battle! "CHA-MO!!" The one responsible for the swift takedown was none other than Sceptile—Ash's Sceptile! Even before arriving, Ash and his group had seen the commotion from afar. Sensing the urgency, Ash had immediately sent out Sceptile. With a burst of Quick Attack for acceleration, Sceptile closed the distance in an instant and struck with Leaf Blade! Only after that did the others catch up. Not too far away, Paul had been watching the entire sequence of events unfold. His eyes were locked onto the defeated Aerodactyl, his pupils constricting as he processed what had just happened. "This guy... Even his Sceptile is this strong?!" Paul clenched his fists, his gaze growing more serious. "Ah, thank you! You really helped us out," Roark, the Gym Leader of Oreburgh City, expressed his gratitude toward Ash and his friends. "That Aerodactyl belongs to Oreburgh City's Fossil Research Museum. It was revived using the restoration machine, but I never expected something like this to happen... Still, those thieves won't get away with this! Go, Cranidos! Retrieve the stolen machine!" Roark's eyes burned with determination. "Meowth, hurry up and think of something! The twerp is here! If we don't escape now, we're done for!" "Yeah, yeah! We've got what we came for! The only thing left is a clean getaway! Stop that Cranidos!" Jessie and James were ecstatic—they had never felt this confident before! "Meowth's got this!" Meowth smirked and pressed a button. A massive net shot out, completely ensnaring Cranidos! The Pokémon struggled fiercely, but the net tangled around its legs, causing it to stumble and fall. Ash stood at a distance, watching with an odd expression. Wait a minute... Wasn't this the scene from the original timeline? If his memory served him right, after getting caught in the net, Cranidos was supposed to evolve into Rampardos. But that event was supposed to take place after Paul had challenged Roark's Gym... Now, with Paul not having faced Roark yet... If Cranidos evolved now, Paul's Gym challenge would become significantly harder! "Cranidos! You can't lose to a bunch of thieves! Stand up!" Roark's passionate voice rang out, reaching Cranidos' ears. With a mighty roar, Cranidos erupted in blinding light! Whirr! The dazzling glow signaled evolution—Cranidos was evolving into Rampardos! "You... You finally evolved..." Roark was momentarily stunned before his face broke into a beaming smile! Rampardos flexed its powerful arms and easily tore through the net with one swift motion. "Now, Rampardos! Get that restoration machine back!" "Rampaaaardos!" Rampardos, now fully evolved, charged forward with astonishing speed! Paul, standing in the back, felt his heart sink. Cranidos had evolved... Which meant his strategy for the Gym battle had just become obsolete. A fully evolved Rampardos meant greater power, greater speed, and a much tougher challenge! Paul clenched his fists. "Damn it... This changes everything." Meanwhile, Team Rocket was in a complete panic. "Wahhh! That thing is charging right at us!" "James, do something!" "I—I am doing something! I'm panicking!" "Meowth, it's all up to you!" "Wha—ME?!" Before Team Rocket could come up with another scheme, Rampardos leaped onto their robot, wrapped its arms around the restoration machine, and ripped it free with brute strength! "Nicely done, Rampardos! Now use Zen Headbutt!" "RAMPAAAARDOS!" BOOM! Rampardos' Zen Headbutt landed squarely on Team Rocket's machine, completely obliterating it! "We're blasting off agaaaaaain!" Ding! And just like that, Team Rocket was sent flying once more, disappearing into the sky. The restoration machine was successfully recovered and safely transported back to the Fossil Research Museum. As a token of appreciation, Roark personally invited Ash and his friends on an exclusive tour of the museum. "Over here, this section replicates the prehistoric environment from millions of years ago. Inside, we have several revived fossil Pokémon—Kabutops, Armaldo, Omastar, and even Aerodactyl, once it's fully stable." Roark's enthusiasm was contagious. Dawn, never having visited a place like this before, was absolutely fascinated. "This is amazing! I've never seen so many fossil Pokémon in one place!" Anabel was equally intrigued. Unlike standard Pokémon training and battles, this was an entirely new side of the Pokémon world she had never explored. "Pika..." "Piplup..." Even Pikachu and Piplup were wide-eyed, marveling at the sights around them. "Ash, Paul, you're both here to challenge the Gym, correct?" Roark finally turned toward them, recalling what his Gym assistant had informed him. "Paul, you arrived first, so you'll battle me first. We'll schedule the match for this afternoon—just give me some time to wrap up my work. I sincerely apologize for the wait." Paul, however, shook his head. "Roark, let him go first." Roark blinked in surprise. "Him?" Paul's gaze shifted to Ash. "I want to observe his battle against you first. That's not a problem, is it?" It was clear that Paul had reconsidered his battle strategy after witnessing Cranidos evolve into Rampardos. He needed to reassess his entire approach. And the best way to do that? Watch how Ash handled the battle. Paul firmly believed Ash would win—he just wanted to see how. After all, Ash's choice of Pokémon for this battle was puzzling. So far, he had only seen Ash use Aipom, Turtwig, and an unknown Pokémon. Would Ash really use them in the Gym match? Or would he pull out powerhouses like Sceptile and Gengar? Roark considered Paul's request for a moment. "I don't have any objections. Ash, what about you?" Ash smirked slightly. "I don't mind at all." "Pika-Pika!" Ash had no issue letting Paul observe the battle. If anything, it would show Paul the massive gap between them. Dawn, however, pouted. "Ash, why are you letting him watch your battle? That guy is awful!" She still hadn't forgiven Paul for the way he treated his Pokémon. Ash chuckled, ruffling Dawn's hair. Caught off guard by the sudden gesture, Dawn's face turned slightly red. "Wh-Why did you do that?!" Ash simply smiled without answering. The afternoon arrived swiftly. Inside the Oreburgh Gym, the battle was about to begin! "The Gym battle between Oreburgh Gym Leader Roark and the challenger from Pallet Town, Ash, is about to commence!" "Each side will use three Pokémon. The battle will end when all of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokémon at will." "Let the battle begin!" -------------- T/N: Access 40 Chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals

Chapter 151: Battle Against Roark!

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