"Clear Smog!"
Seeing Riolu rapidly closing the distance, Sadie calmly issued her command.
A purplish-brown mist instantly spread outward from Houndoom's position. Just from its color alone, anyone could tell that the rolling poisonous fog was dangerous to make contact with.
At this stage, Riolu hadn't yet evolved into Lucario, meaning it lacked the Steel-type that would grant immunity to poisonous gases.
"Vacuum Wave! Blow all that poison gas back!"
Clear Smog carried a chance of poisoning anyone who came into contact with it, and David couldn't risk letting Riolu get affected.
While maintaining its charge boosted by Agility, Riolu swung both fists forward.
A powerful shockwave erupted from its strikes, forcing the spreading mist backward.
"Flamethrower!"
Watching the Clear Smog blow back toward her side, Sadie recognized the danger even though Houndoom had created it—after all, Houndoom wasn't a Poison-type Pokémon.
She decisively commanded Houndoom to use Flamethrower, burning away all the Clear Smog.
A thick column of fire swept across the battlefield, incinerating the purplish-brown mist completely. Then, with undiminished force, the flames crashed toward Riolu, who was still charging head-on.
"Agile Aura Strike!"
Facing the blazing flames before it, Riolu's expression remained unchanged.
Aura energy instantly condensed in its paws, and then it lunged forward, shattering the incoming Flamethrower with a single punch.
The scattering sparks drew gasps of surprise from the audience watching outside the arena.
Ever since David had obtained the two secret techniques from the Hisui region, Riolu had devoted the most time to mastering them among all his young Pokémon.
For Riolu, who naturally possessed powerful Aura abilities and excelled at close-quarters combat, these two techniques provided tremendous benefits.
Perhaps Riolu seemed less remarkable compared to its two partners with their extraordinary growth rates, its achievements somewhat overshadowed by theirs.
But one shouldn't forget—this was also a supremely talented Pokémon with natural red-tier potential, capable of mastering Aura Sphere before even evolving!
Combined with its relentless dedication, exceptional natural talent, and tireless effort, how could Riolu's true strength be simple?
After shattering the Flamethrower, Riolu acted without waiting for David's command. It brought its paws together, and the residual Aura energy condensed once more into a spherical form.
"Rio!"
It was Aura Sphere!
The never-miss Aura Sphere shot rapidly toward the distant Houndoom.
By this point, Riolu's charge had already closed more than half the distance between them.
With insufficient time to react, the Aura Sphere struck Houndoom directly.
"Ruga!"
Houndoom cried out in pain from the impact.
"Are you alright, Houndoom?"
In response to Sadie's concerned question, Houndoom merely trembled slightly before shaking its head at her.
Although the Fighting-type Aura Sphere was super effective against the Dark-type Houndoom, it had been hastily formed by Riolu, and there was also the level difference to consider.
This Aura Sphere only caused mild discomfort.
"Alright, the warm-up is over. Let's show our true strength!"
After witnessing Riolu's capabilities, Sadie found herself genuinely shocked, despite having been somewhat prepared after facing Zorua earlier.
Even though both of her opponent's Pokémon were only at Superior Rank, they absolutely could not be treated as ordinary Superior -level Pokémon.
Forget about the Superior Rank—even ordinary Professional-level Pokémon might not stand as their opponents.
At this moment, Sadie had completely abandoned the idea of conducting a gentle guidance battle, as she typically would during standard Gym challenges.
Facing such an opponent, she too had to unleash her full strength.
"Houndoom, use Fire Spin at full power! Set the entire field ablaze!"
"Ruga!"
Blazing flames erupted from Houndoom's maw. Just as Riolu prepared to counter the attack, it suddenly realized the flames weren't directed at it at all.
Instead, they were all being spat onto the ground itself.
Upon contact with the battlefield floor, the flames immediately began spreading rapidly in all directions.
Within moments, rings of fire had already encircled the entire battle arena.
Watching the flames burning all around, Riolu observed its opponent cautiously, unsure of what strategy was being employed.
"Houndoom! Flame Charge!"
"Ruga!"
With a resonating howl from Houndoom, flames instantly engulfed its entire body.
Then, like a fiery arrow released from its bow, it shot forward.
"Riolu, use Swords Dance, then counter with Shadow Claw!"
Hearing the command, Riolu performed Swords Dance on the spot while a deep purple Shadow Claw materialized in its paw.
However, Houndoom—whose speed had dramatically increased after using Flame Charge—didn't directly engage Riolu.
Instead, it rushed past and began sprinting in circles around the arena.
"Rio?"
Just as Riolu wondered what its opponent was planning, David noticed something alarming.
As Houndoom's figure continuously darted across the field, the blazing flames on the arena that had just been ignited by Fire Spin began surging toward its body.
"Oh no! Riolu, quickly use Aura Sphere—stop it!"
At that moment, David finally understood what his opponent intended, but it was already too late.
"You noticed? Quick reaction! But it's already too late."
Houndoom, with its speed maximized under Flame Charge, easily dodged the Aura Sphere fired by Riolu, then destroyed the energy sphere with a follow-up Flamethrower.
At this point, there was no longer any opportunity to stop the process.
As Houndoom continued moving, all the flames on the battlefield were absorbed into its body.
"Ruga!"
The moment the absorption completed, intense energy fluctuations radiated from Houndoom's form. Clearly, its aura had now reached an entirely new level.
Flash Fire—and an actively triggered Flash Fire technique at that. The opponent's Fire Spin had been intended to create the perfect environment from the very beginning.
David had already realized this when Houndoom's Flame Charge didn't crash into Riolu but instead raced around the field, connecting it to the opponent's Flash Fire Ability.
Unfortunately, he'd been one step too late in recognizing the strategy.
"You noticed? Quick thinking! But it's too late now."
Seeing David react so swiftly, Sadie's eyes showed a glimmer of appreciation.
However, she would claim victory in this match first.
"Houndoom, use Flare Blitz at full power! Let's end this battle!"
"Ruga!"
At this moment, under the combined enhancement of Flash Fire and Flame Charge, Houndoom's speed and offensive power had reached their absolute peak.
Using Flare Blitz, it charged toward Riolu like a battle tank, crushing everything in its path.
Riolu's base strength was already a level below Houndoom's, let alone after these dual power-ups.
"If that's the case, then we'll just have to go all out too. Riolu, Aura Link!"
This Houndoom's strength far exceeded Talonflame's from the previous battle. Seeing Riolu struggling to keep up, David had no choice but to employ his own Aura abilities.
After all, his first Gym challenge had to yield the best possible result. Each of his three Pokémon would handle one battle, and it wouldn't do for any of them to lose.
"What?"
Under Sadie's astonished gaze, a pale blue aura rose from David's body. At that moment, his aura and Riolu's merged without reservation, empowering the Fighting-type completely.
It should be noted that although all of David's young Pokémon could link their auras with him, in terms of effectiveness, Riolu—who could resonate with David even before hatching—was the strongest.