Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Continuous Battles
After a full night's rest, morning brought a quick wash-up and fed Pokémon. Ace packed his belongings and, with his Pokémon, stepped into Cerulean Cave.
The origin of Cerulean Cave wasn't clear. From its shape, it appeared to be a karstic cave, formed by soluble rocks and limestone. Through dissolution, stalactites and stalagmites had formed.
Due to its humid and dark environment, Cerulean Cave housed a diverse range of Pokémon. To survive in such an unsuitable habitat, these Pokémon's abilities were far above average.
Not long after entering, a Golbat flew overhead.
"Ice Beam!"
A Poké Ball was thrown, Lapras landed, and an Ice Beam precisely hit the Golbat from its mouth.
The extreme cold invaded Golbat's body. Golbat quickly used its internal power to resist the cold. Ice Beam formed thin layers of ice on Golbat's body but failed to freeze it solid.
"Safeguard!"
The moment Ace saw Golbat inhaling, he immediately commanded Lapras.
Safeguard and Golbat's Supersonic were unleashed simultaneously, successfully nullifying the confusion status of Supersonic.
Seizing this opportunity, Lapras fired another Ice Beam, successfully freezing the Golbat.
The Golbat, now an ice block, fell to the ground, incapacitated.
Ace recalled Lapras, moved the Golbat to one side, and continued deeper into the cave.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
A rumbling sound echoed. A group of Graveler rolled over from a distance. Ace quickly retreated, creating space, then threw a Poké Ball. Weepinbell emerged.
"Vine Whip!"
Two Vine Whips shot out. Compared to the slender Vine Whips of its Bellsprout form, Weepinbell's physique had improved significantly; even its Vine Whips were thicker, about the size of a thumb.
The Vine Whips fiercely struck the leading Graveler, making it spin rapidly in place like a top.
The leader stopped, but the Graveler behind it didn't. They crashed into the rapidly spinning Graveler, were caught by the spinning force, and were immediately flung away.
Their formation instantly shattered.
"Now! Zubat, Supersonic!"
With their formation broken and unable to react in time, the Graveler were instantly confused by the Zubat that rushed out using Supersonic.
"Weepinbell, Vine Whip!"
"Zubat, Steel Wing!"
Zubat quickly charged out, while Weepinbell's two Vine Whips acted like flexible arms, fiercely striking the Graveler.
Steel Wing harshly struck, sending the Graveler scattering in all directions. In just a short while, these Graveler fled with their heads down, while a few lay slumped on the ground, incapacitated.
"Continue."
Ace recalled Weepinbell and Zubat, took a deep breath, and continued deeper into Cerulean Cave.
While Ace was battling inside Cerulean Cave, Ash and Misty emerged from Mt. Moon's tunnel. Exhausted from their battle with Team Rocket, they were both weary.
Misty invited Ash to rest at her place, and Ash readily accepted. The two set off together towards Cerulean City.
Ace, deep within Cerulean Cave, had no idea that Ash and Misty had returned. He was currently deep inside the cave. Compared to the pitch-black Diglett's Cave, Cerulean Cave had a kind of faintly glowing fungus, so it wasn't overly dark.
Before Ace now were two Rhyhorn.
Rhyhorn somewhat resembled dinosaurs, with gray bodies and a very sharp drill horn on their foreheads, which was their most potent weapon.
Being called a Rhyhorn was enough to show their temperament and capabilities.
In Ace's estimation, the aura of these two Rhyhorn was no weaker than the Nidoking he encountered on Mt. Silver.
However, there was only one Nidoking, while there were two Rhyhorn standing before Ace now!
"Troublesome..."
Ace felt a headache. Such formidable opponents weren't something he could contend with head-on right now. As for escaping, it wasn't very realistic either. They had already locked onto him; if he tried to flee, they would immediately pursue.
"Let's try it."
Ace threw a Poké Ball, and Lapras and Weepinbell appeared before the two Rhyhorn.
"Roar! Roar!"
The sudden appearance of Lapras and Weepinbell completely enraged the two Rhyhorn. They stomped fiercely on the ground, and several rock spikes shot out from the earth, rapidly assaulting Lapras and Weepinbell.
"Lapras, switch positions! Weepinbell, Powder!"
Weepinbell immediately leaped onto Lapras's back. At that moment, Lapras sprayed Ice Beam, instantly coating the already damp ground with a layer of ice.
"Crack, crack..."
The rock spikes pierced through the ice, but this greatly reduced Rhyhorn's attack power. Seizing this opportunity, Lapras slid on the ice, swiftly dodging Rhyhorn's attack with Weepinbell on its back.
With a turn of its body, Weepinbell opened its mouth, scattering a large amount of powder towards the two Rhyhorn.
With the two Rhyhorn's almost snail-like speed, there was no way to dodge such a wide-area powder attack.
"Thud."
One Rhyhorn collapsed, falling into a drowsy sleep, but a pained expression occasionally flickered across its face.
The other, however, was somewhat stiff, but showed no other special effects.
"First, deal with one... I can fight!"
Ace's hopes rose as he looked at one Rhyhorn, now asleep and poisoned.
But the next moment, the other Rhyhorn delivered a heavy punch to the fallen Rhyhorn. The Rhyhorn cried out in pain and woke from its slumber.
"They can play like that too?"
Ace's mouth twitched, looking at the "instantly awake" Rhyhorn. He could only silently note this trick, that could instantly end the sleep status.
The sleep status was over, but the poison status wasn't so easily removed.
One was poisoned, one was paralyzed. With status conditions inflicted, he could probably outlast the poisoned one if he dragged the fight out!
The two Rhyhorn also clearly understood this. Their horns began to spin at high speed. The airflow was drawn in by the spinning horns, and gradually two whirlwinds formed.
"This can't be..."
Ace watched as the two whirlwinds gradually merged, forming a tornado. He immediately cursed under his breath, then rushed towards Lapras, leaping onto its back and firmly hugging its neck.
A fierce wind struck, almost sending Ace flying. If he hadn't held onto Lapras's neck tightly, and if Lapras wasn't heavy, they probably would have been blown to who knows where.
"They can use Horn Drill like that... I've made a note of it!"
Ace roared loudly, and Lapras also let out a whimper. Ace's arms and Weepinbell's Vine Whips were tightly wrapped around its neck, almost strangling it.
The wind subsided, and Ace could finally catch his breath.
But when he looked up, the two Rhyhorn had vanished without a trace. The entire cave had been ravaged by the fierce wind, and besides the sound of falling rock fragments, there was no other sound!