No tricks, then. This would be a straightforward test of strength.
Jacob turned the situation over in his mind, working out which two Pokémon to send out.
The opponents were Bronzong and Claydol — both Psychic-types. Darkrai had a natural type advantage over both of them, and its signature move, Dark Void, could put multiple targets to sleep at once, making it especially dangerous in a Double Battle. The first slot was settled quickly.
The second was harder. Jacob thought it over before settling on his Gigantamax Lapras. Even with its strength held down to Gym Leader level by the arena's restrictions, Gigantamax Pokémon still held a clear edge in Double Battles. Their Max Moves and G-Max Moves could swing a match in ways that ordinary moves simply couldn't. G-Max Resonance in particular would raise an Aurora Veil across the field, giving both Pokémon strong protection from all damage types — a powerful setup in any two-on-two fight.
Jacob reached for the Poké Ball — and found it completely unresponsive. The Gigantamax Ball simply wouldn't activate. No matter what he tried, the Pokémon inside refused to come out.
His expression darkened. Ever since he had stepped inside Dragonspiral Tower, something had felt off. This only confirmed it.
With Gigantamax out of the picture, his choices narrowed fast. Gengar, Cinderace, Dragapult… He went through them one by one.
Gengar had learned Hypnosis, which would pair nicely with Darkrai's Dark Void for a dual sleep strategy. It could also Mega Evolve. That sounded promising — until Jacob thought it through.
Even after Mega Evolving, the arena's suppression would likely drag its boosted stats right back down to Gym Leader level. The power gain would be wasted. The only thing that would carry over was Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag Ability, which prevents opponents from switching out. But in this battle, neither side was allowed to swap Pokémon anyway. Shadow Tag was entirely useless.
There was another problem. Gengar and Darkrai filled the same role — fast, special attackers. If Bronzong or Claydol raised their Special Defense, both of his Pokémon would struggle to deal meaningful damage. He needed a physical attacker to balance things out.
That made the decision clear. Jacob turned to Cinderace.
Cinderace's Libero Ability changes its type to match whatever move it uses, making it incredibly difficult to counter in an even battle. Its access to Wonder Room — a move that swaps the defensive stats of every Pokémon on the field — also gave Jacob a useful option. And as a physical attacker, Cinderace complemented Darkrai's special offence perfectly.
His mind made up, Jacob recalled Gengar.
"Gengar, return!"
The red beam of light pulled Gengar back into its ball. Jacob unclipped a different one.
"Cinderace, I choose you!"
The ball snapped open and Cinderace landed lightly on the arena floor. It rolled its neck, stretched its legs, and loosened up with the casual confidence of a Pokémon that had done this many times before. Its eyes fixed on Claydol and Bronzong across the field, sharp and focused. The small flame on its forehead flickered in the rain, rising and falling steadily as though the battle had already begun inside it.
Fire-type Pokémon were like this — bold, restless, always leaning forward. Charizard was perhaps the notable exception, driven more by pride than eagerness. But Cinderace was all fire and focus.
Claydol and Bronzong hovered silently above the arena floor, pulsing with a faint, unsettling light.
"Challenger…" Bronzong's hollow voice rang out, "…battle… begins… are… you… ready?"
"Let's go!" Jacob called.
At his words, a crackling wall of electricity surged up from the edges of the circular arena, forming a barrier like the walls of an octagonal cage. It sealed all four Pokémon inside — no switching, no retreating. Whatever happened next would be decided right here.
"Darkrai, use Dark Void! Cinderace, Pyro Ball!"
Darkrai rose into the air, its shadowy mane swirling like dark flames. Dark-type energy condensed rapidly into dense black orbs before shooting through the rain toward both opponents.
At the same moment, Cinderace surged forward. Fire energy rushed into its kicking foot, it planted its weight, wound back, and launched — a massive blazing sphere screamed through the air toward Bronzong, lighting up the arena and hissing as it vaporised the rain in its path.
Bronzong and Claydol didn't flinch.
Iron Defense!
A silver light wrapped around Bronzong as dense Steel energy layered over its surface. Its Defense stat surged. Even with its Fire-type weakness, that level of protection would be enough to eat a hit.
Boom.
The Pyro Ball struck Bronzong in a surge of heat and light. The flames spread outward, then died quickly in the rain. When the smoke cleared, Bronzong was still there — drifting calmly, a little scorched, but standing.
It had held on.
Across the field, Claydol had moved at the same moment. A soft glow of Normal-type energy spread outward from its body, settling like an invisible dome over its side of the field.
Safeguard.
The move blocked all status conditions for several turns. Darkrai's Dark Void landed squarely on both targets — but the sleep effect vanished the instant it touched the barrier. Neither Bronzong nor Claydol stirred.
Jacob's eyes sharpened. He had expected something like this.
But Safeguard wasn't unbeatable. Wonder Room swaps field effects between both sides — if Cinderace used it now, the Safeguard would shift over to Jacob's half of the field, leaving Bronzong and Claydol fully exposed to Dark Void.
Still, Jacob held back. Both opponents were at full health. Putting them to sleep now, before they had taken real damage, would be wasteful. He needed to wear them down first — then strike with Dark Void when one clean sleep would be enough to end it.
"Darkrai, use Dark Pulse on Bronzong!"
Iron Defense had pushed Bronzong's physical Defense too high for Cinderace to make a dent. The smarter call was to hit it with Darkrai's special attacks instead.
Dark-type energy surged forward in a rippling wave and crashed into Bronzong. The slow, heavy Pokémon made no attempt to dodge — it never could. The Dark Pulse washed over it, and Bronzong took the hit with a dull, resonant groan.
Then its body began to glow.
A deep purple light poured off Bronzong and spread through the arena like ink dropped into still water, bleeding into every corner of the field in seconds.
Trick Room.
The air warped. Space inside the arena twisted into something strange and inverted. Under Trick Room, speed was reversed — slower Pokémon acted first while faster ones were held back, dragged through every action as though wading through mud.
Cinderace and Darkrai, both naturally quick, suddenly felt the distortion pressing down on them. Bronzong and Claydol, meanwhile, moved with surprising ease — their usual sluggishness now a genuine advantage.
Trick Room was a rare and clever strategy. Trainers who used it built entire teams around it — slow, powerful Pokémon that could overwhelm opponents who relied on speed to win. Jacob knew this style well. He had studied Trick Room teams before and respected how effective they could be.
And now he was on the receiving end of one.