A trace of surprise also appeared in Koga's eyes; he had not expected Cain's Blaziken to have already integrated the move Swords Dance into its regular actions.
This was actually related to Cain's combat habits as well. In a life-or-death battle, how would an opponent ever give Blaziken the time to calmly use Swords Dance?
Because of that, during training, Cain deliberately emphasized techniques for using Swords Dance with Blaziken. As a result, in many battles, after Blaziken unleashed one or two waves of attacks, the opponent would suddenly realize that it could still release even more powerful offensives, the result of an almost imperceptible accumulated boost.
"Venomoth, be careful! Toxic!" Koga shouted.
With Blaziken's speed, it quickly arrived in front of Venomoth, finishing the use of Swords Dance at the same time.
At that moment, Venomoth had just completed Quiver Dance and finished boosting its stats. A mass of dark purple energy appeared in front of it and was launched toward Blaziken.
However, Blaziken seemed to be prepared in advance: its body performed a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree rotation, accompanied by a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree twist along its main axis.
Thanks to the flexible use of Aerial Ace, it appeared directly behind Venomoth.
With its legs firmly planted and its fists drawn back to waist level, flames burst forth from Blaziken's clenched fist.
Without hesitation, it threw an uppercut that struck Venomoth's back with great force, sending it straight into the air.
Immediately after, once the attack was completed, Blaziken bent its legs again like a spring and launched itself upward, at a speed even greater than Venomoth's as it was sent flying.
"Venomoth, Psychic!" Koga's expression changed slightly as he cast a glance at Cain standing opposite him.
Psychic energy rippled in Cain's eyes; it was clear that he had used telepathy with Blaziken, which explained its extremely fast reaction and timely evasion of Venomoth's Toxic.
Now, Venomoth had also been sent into the air. Koga knew that what followed would be a chain of attacks; if he did not stop it in time, the situation would become extremely dangerous for Venomoth.
As it continued ascending, Venomoth's eyes shone as it immediately activated Psychic, using its mental power to force itself to halt in midair.
Blaziken quickly surpassed Venomoth's height, but when it wanted to stop its own movement, it was no longer so easy.
Moreover, Venomoth was a Pokémon capable of flying; defeating it with just that chain of attacks was not so simple.
"Venomoth, Quiver Dance again!" Koga shouted.
Taking advantage of the fact that Blaziken was in mid-jump and could not change its ascending trajectory, nor interfere for a short period of time, Venomoth once again used Quiver Dance while suspended in the air.
But things did not go as expected. Under normal circumstances, after escaping the chain of attacks, Venomoth should have retreated in time or even launched counterattacks to interrupt Blaziken's offensive. However, Koga's order turned out to be mistaken.
In truth, it was not so much that the order was wrong, but that Koga had not anticipated that Blaziken could change direction in midair.
Blaziken was seen, still ascending, clenching its fist once more and punching straight upward.
The flames condensed around its fist, and at the instant of the strike, an enormous amount of fire erupted outward.
"!!!BOOM!!!"
A deafening roar echoed above; the flames burst forth violently, stirred the airflow, and triggered an explosion. The recoil force not only stopped Blaziken's ascent, but also propelled it rapidly downward.
Below, Venomoth, which had just completed Quiver Dance once again, failed to react in time and was kicked squarely by Blaziken, wrapped in flames.
Bam!
It plummeted straight down and made intimate contact with the ground.
This attack took everyone present by surprise, including Koga. After all, this method of stopping also caused some damage to Blaziken; however, compared to what Venomoth suffered, it was far less.
Venomoth did not completely lose its ability to fight and, staggering, managed to rise from the scorched crater in the ground.
"It seems you know my tactics very well—you know what role Venomoth plays in my team," Koga said, regaining his composure.
Cain smiled faintly without saying anything; although he did not often use this kind of strategy, it was undoubtedly a very effective way of fighting.
Seeing Cain's smile, Koga, even if he did not admit it, had already understood quite a lot.
"Even if I've only used Quiver Dance twice, it's enough," Koga continued. "Venomoth, Toxic Spikes... and then... Baton Pass!"
Venomoth flapped its slightly scorched wings and, from the air, dropped a large number of quadrangular spikes soaked in poison, which scattered near Cain.
After that, Venomoth's body transformed into a ray of white light and returned to the inside of Koga's Poké Ball.
Immediately afterward, Koga threw another Poké Ball, and a new Pokémon appeared on the field.
"Kekekeke!"
Accompanied by a sinister laugh, a Gengar emerged onto the battlefield. At the moment it appeared, a bright light enveloped it: the stat boosts previously obtained by Venomoth through Quiver Dance were transferred directly to Gengar.
That was the effect of Baton Pass: when Pokémon are switched, the one entering battle immediately inherits the previous one's ability and stat changes.
From the moment Cain saw Koga's Venomoth's data, he had already guessed his tactics and combat style.
Therefore, Cain's strategy was very simple: minimize the number of times Venomoth could use Quiver Dance and force Koga's key Pokémon to leave the field as early as possible.
If Venomoth were allowed to use Quiver Dance six times and then summon a Champion-level Pokémon specialized in special attack, Cain's subsequent battles would become extremely difficult.
Gengar was a clear example of a Pokémon oriented toward special attack, and speed was also one of its strong points.
With just two uses of Quiver Dance, this Gengar had already become quite troublesome.
To make matters worse, by withdrawing Venomoth, Koga had it set Toxic Spikes. This forced Cain to be extremely careful when switching Pokémon; otherwise, the next one might enter the field already poisoned. Then, if Koga further deepened the status with different poisons, in the end, even without fighting, the Pokémon could be worn down to death.
Pokémon: Gengar (Light Purple)
Gender: Male
Level: 79
Types: Ghost + Poison
Ability: Cursed Body
Held Item: Black Sludge
Egg Moves: Astonish, Scary Face, Haze, Reflect Type
Basic Moves: Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Lick, Spite, Mean Look, Curse, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch, Payback, Dream Eater, Dark Pulse, Destiny Bond, Hex, Nightmare
Learned Moves: Icy Wind, Foul Play, Rest, Shadow Ball, Snore, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Pain Split, Ally Switch
TM Moves: Psychic, Protect, Sleep Talk, Toxic, Taunt, Poison Jab, Venoshock, Thunderbolt, Double Team
This Gengar of Koga's, although similar in level to Venomoth, far surpassed it in terms of strength.
It was a Pokémon with the potential to impact the Champion level.
(End of chapter)