Xia Huanao surprising everyone by releasing a Rockruff. Teacher Du had intended to send out his Ledyba, believing its four-times weakness to Rock-type attacks would give Xia Huanao's Diancie the upper hand. Little did they know, Xia Huanao possessed a Rock-type Rockruff in addition to Diancie.
As for Xia Huanao, his intention in sending out Rockruff was to gain experience and effort values. Little Princess and Guagua's effort values had already been maxed out, a tedious and time-consuming process. He wondered if the two points of special defense effort values from Ledyba would be useful for Ghost-cicada. Even with maxed-out defensive stats, it would still be a one-hit KO. He figured he might as well give them to Rockruff for completion. To Xia Huanao, six effort values and four effort values made no difference, so he might as well allocate two points to special defense.
Ledyba was accustomed to battles and was rather steady. Rockruff, on the other hand, had never seen so many people before. Instead of feeling intimidated, it seemed eager to play. Xia Huanao crouched down and petted Rockruff's mane, "Alright, alright, stop fooling around. We're about to battle, and the outcome will affect our lunch."
The word "lunch" snapped Rockruff back to attention, and it glared at Ledyba.
"Xia Huanao, Rockruff's gaze is quite fierce. I'll make the first move. Ledyba, use Sonic Punch!"
"A setup targeting Rock-type, is it? Rockruff, dodge the attack, and then bite him from behind!"
Rockruff leaped to the left, evading Ledyba's Sonic Punch, and then lunged from behind Ledyba, aiming for its wings with a bite. Ledyba's Sonic Punch attack was not fully executed. As Rockruff pounced, it took flight, evading the attempted grab.
Xia Huanao watched Ledyba, which now had a height advantage, "Come down if you dare. You're just a sitting duck in the sky."
Teacher Du understood. Ledyba's move set lacked long-range attacks. Flying-type moves wouldn't be very effective. While Sonic Punch was quick, it could be problematic during close-quarters combat.
"Ledyba, use Supersonic!"
Ledyba opened its mouth and emitted a soundwave. However, it had to be said, while it was still Supersonic, the initial range of the attack varied depending on the size of the Pokémon. Supersonic wasn't a point-source conical move, but rather a surface-emitted frustum.
Ledyba, at one meter forty, emitted a Supersonic that put Rockruff in a difficult position. Although it managed to dodge at the last second, Rockruff's forward lunge presented Ledyba with a golden opportunity to land a Sonic Punch.
"Ledyba, Sonic Punch again."
"Rockruff, let's dig to evade!"
Dig? No one present had heard of Rockruff knowing Dig. Even in Xia Huanao's move list, there was no mention of Rockruff being able to attack with Dig.
Xia Huanao watched as Rockruff rapidly dug into the earth and disappeared beneath the surface, explaining to everyone, "Rockruff doesn't know the move Dig, but that doesn't mean its nature doesn't allow it to dig."
A classmate asked, "What's the difference?"
Xia Huanao looked at Teacher Du, who signaled that a pause was acceptable. Xia Huanao then said, "The difference in Dig is that the Dig move we commonly refer to allows a Pokémon to dig underground to evade attacks and then emerge from below to strike. Rockruff's digging, however, is its instinct to bury bones. It lacks the ability to surprise attack, even if my Rockruff is skilled at digging…"
Teacher Du concluded, "It can only crawl out slowly. The pause is over, Ledyba, use Supersonic."
Xia Huanao understood that solid ground was a good medium for Supersonic. Moreover, due to the distance, by the time Supersonic hit Rockruff, its diffusion range would certainly envelop Rockruff. No matter how fast Rockruff dug, it couldn't escape the attack's range. However, Xia Huanao had his own countermeasure: "Rockruff, turn around and use Rock Throw to knock him down!"
Ledyba used Supersonic directly over the hole Rockruff had dug. It knew that using Supersonic at that spot had the highest probability of hitting Rockruff. But Rockruff hadn't moved, so as soon as it turned around, it could hurl stones upwards without even needing to aim, directly hitting its target.
A stone was thrown into the air, striking the aerial Ledyba and knocking it down. It landed directly at the entrance of Rockruff's hole, blocking it.
"Ledyba, jump out and use Sonic Punch!"
"Rockruff, tuck your head and bite him!"
Ledyba punched down from the opening. Rockruff, tucking its head, narrowly dodged the Sonic Punch. Of course, this was mainly due to Ledyba's short arms. A few more centimeters, and the punch would have definitely given Rockruff a black eye.
Just as Ledyba was retracting its fist, Rockruff opened its mouth and clamped down on Ledyba's glove. Ledyba was now unable to withdraw, and the two were locked in a stalemate.
Xia Huanao smiled at Teacher Du, "Teacher Du, I'll take the victory in this battle. Rockruff, use Rock Throw!"
Ledyba was not only unable to retract its fist but also unable to attack. Anyone who has punched knows that if your fist is caught by an opponent, you can't attack until you break free. Ledyba was also in a hunched-over position, making it difficult to exert force. It couldn't use its other fist for a Sonic Punch.
Rockruff's situation was different. Hiding in the pit provided significant defense against Ledyba's line of sight and attacks. Furthermore, because it was biting Ledyba with its mouth, Rockruff's paws had freedom of movement. It would be ridiculous to miss throwing stones at this range.
As expected, Rockruff, from within the pit, flung several stones, successfully knocking Ledyba down. Xia Huanao then told Rockruff to release its bite, "Alright Rockruff, let go. The battle is over."
Rockruff's bark echoed from the pit. Xia Huanao had intended to reach in and pull Rockruff out, but Rockruff seemed to be enjoying digging in the school field for the first time and was reluctant to come out. Xia Huanao relented, "Alright, you can dig for a bit longer. But don't make the hole too big."
With Xia Huanao's permission, Rockruff began constructing its underground "Great Wall." Meanwhile, Xia Huanao glanced at Teacher Du, "Teacher Du, I'll take responsibility for any damage Rockruff causes to the field."
Teacher Du waved his hand, "It's fine. Our school has plenty of contingency plans. I recall a certain year's students who used a Steelix to dig tunnels, nearly ruining the entire field. The school is quite accustomed to it."
Xia Huanao found it hard to laugh at such an anecdote. His seniors were certainly unique, letting a Steelix dig holes in the field.
"Hmm? If that's the case, Teacher Du, our school's swimming pool wouldn't happen to be…" 138 Reading Network
"Yes, it was built on the foundation of that Steelix's pit. Though I must say, that student had good aesthetic sense. Building a swimming pool there didn't disrupt the school's overall layout."
This was the first time the students had heard such a story, and they immediately started discussing it. Meanwhile, several teachers called for them to analyze the battle that had just occurred.
The discussion about the battle was very lively, and even Xia Huanao offered some of his own insights. The analysis of the battle alone took up an entire class period. During the break, Xia Huanao said to Bai Lan, "Teacher Bai, can I ask Zhang Hong for a favor?"
Bai Lan nodded, "Is it something troublesome?"
"No, it'll be done soon and won't delay class."
"Alright, then go ahead."
Xia Huanao called over Zhang Hong, "Old Zhang, listen to me, you need to go now…"
Zhang Hong was taken aback, "Ah, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Of course. Just trust me. Am I the kind of person who jokes about important matters?"
Seeing Xia Huanao and Zhang Hong huddled together whispering, classmates familiar with them felt a chill run down their spines. Something was definitely about to happen. It had been like this before. Although Xia Huanao was the class monitor and academically gifted, whenever Zhang Hong sought his advice, or he proactively offered advice to Zhang Hong, it usually meant someone was in for trouble.
Zhang Hong turned and left, while Xia Huanao went to the hole Rockruff had dug. "Rockruff, I've opened a bag of beef jerky. I'll place the jerky on the ground. You need to dig underground, find the location of the jerky, and then come out to eat it. Understand?"
After speaking, Xia Huanao brought his ear close to the hole Rockruff had dug. Rockruff's voice came from the opening. Xia Huanao smiled and placed a piece of jerky on the ground, "Alright, you can start looking now."
The break passed quickly. Soon, the fourth period, the last of the morning, was about to begin. Just as the students were about to head to class, a dark shadow appeared in the sky, capturing everyone's attention.
A student looked up and asked, "What kind of Pokémon is that? It looks like it's flying so high."
Perhaps hearing the student's voice, the dark shadow in the sky swooped down towards the ground, generating a powerful gust of wind that kicked up dust and sand. Xia Huanao was even blown onto his backside by the storm.
When the wind subsided, everyone opened their eyes to see a fierce-looking, one-eyed man dismount from a Charizard. He scanned the surroundings and then spotted Xia Huanao, who was dusting himself off. "You brat, where do you think you're running to? Do you think you can escape? Let's battle! I'll get revenge for my father and son!"
Xia Huanao was speechless, "This is really beyond explanation. You're desperately insisting on fighting me, aren't you?"
"Otherwise? Hurry up and send out your Pokémon, or I won't be polite."
Just then, Zhang Hong walked over, carrying a box. "Hey, Boss Xia, who have you provoked out here again?"