"Pugu~!"
"Pugu~!"
Faced with the thick black mist that obscured their vision, Raichu and Magneton found themselves momentarily unsure of what to do.
But within the roiling darkness, something suddenly emerged.
Amid the rolling waves of shadowy fog, pink heart-shaped projectiles burst forth like pellets from a shotgun.
"Raichu!!"
"Magneton!!"
Before either Pokémon could react, the hearts struck them directly.
It was Happiny's Sweet Kiss.
Both Raichu and Magneton instantly became dizzy, their eyes spinning as they fell into a state of confusion.
Hidden within the black fog like a ninja lurking in darkness, Frogadier began to move.
Its agile body darted through the mist with incredible speed.
Energy rapidly gathered in its webbed hands, forming earth-toned shuriken one after another.
Unlike Pidgeotto or Fearow, Frogadier did not possess a sharp vision ability.
But as a ninja-like Pokémon, its frog-like eyes seemed naturally capable of piercing through the fog.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The shuriken were thrown rapidly.
Even while hidden within the dense mist, every single one flew precisely toward Raichu and Magneton.
Clang! Clink!
"Raichu!!"
"Magneton!!"
Because Ash hadn't given any further commands, Frogadier had launched these attacks on its own initiative.
Outside the fog, the Thunderstorm Brothers barely had time to react before hearing their Pokémon cry out in pain.
The earthen shuriken were actually a modified version of the Ground-type move Spikes.
Normally, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock were trap-based moves that created hazards on the battlefield, damaging Pokémon that switched in later.
However, Ash and Frogadier had modified Spikes to suit their combat style.
Instead of planting stationary spikes on the ground, the spikes were transformed into one-time projectiles, similar to Water Shuriken.
Each shuriken only dealt 15 base damage.
But it was perfect for Frogadier to activate its Protean Ability, changing its type.
And against Electric-type Pokémon, which were weak to Ground-type attacks, the damage was far from insignificant.
The calculation was simple:
Base Power: 15
Type Advantage ×2
Same-Type Attack Bonus ×1.5
15 × 2 × 1.5 = 45 damage
Individually, 45 damage wasn't extremely impressive.
But the key point was that Spikes consumed very little energy.
Frogadier could create seven or eight shuriken at once.
If all of them landed, the damage could easily reach over 300 points.
And that calculation only accounted for base power, type advantage, and STAB.
If Frogadier's level and Attack stat were factored in, the actual damage output would become extremely terrifying.
And that was exactly what was happening on the battlefield now.
Within the rolling black fog:
Happiny remained in place, continuously launching Sweet Kiss hearts toward Raichu and Magneton without even needing to aim.
Meanwhile, Frogadier moved like a shadowy ninja, constantly hurling Spikes shuriken toward its enemies.
Ground-type attacks not only countered Electric-types, but also Steel-types.
The 15-power earthen shuriken exploded with 45 damage when hitting Raichu due to type advantage.
But when striking Magneton, the effect became even more terrifying.
Magneton was four times weak to Ground-type moves.
15 × 1.5 × 4 = 90 damage
A seemingly ordinary shuriken suddenly possessed the destructive force of a powerful Fire-type attack like Flamethrower.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Clang!
Frogadier moved with astonishing agility.
With Aura Perception scanning the battlefield, Ash could clearly sense Frogadier leaping and repositioning within the fog, constantly launching shuriken toward Raichu and Magneton.
"Raichu!!"
"Magneton!!"
Even though they were confused, the repeated attacks forced cries of pain from both Pokémon.
Magneton, in particular, suffered terribly.
With four-times weakness, each shuriken dealt around 90 damage.
After being struck by seven or eight of them in rapid succession, Magneton—despite its excellent physical defense—was pushed to critical condition before Raichu.
However, the Thunderstorm Brothers truly deserved their reputation as the dominant duo of the No. 8 Sub-Arena.
Even though the fog blocked their vision, they didn't remain idle while their Pokémon were attacked.
After a brief moment of thought, they quickly devised a countermeasure.
"Raimei: Raichu, fire continuous Thunder Wave into the fog!"
"Raibao: Magneton, do the same—use Thunder Wave repeatedly!"
"Raichu!!"
"Magneton!!"
Perhaps the constant pain from Frogadier's attacks had shaken them out of confusion.
Now receiving commands from their trainers, both Pokémon began firing Thunder Wave after Thunder Wave into the fog.
Thunder Wave was a support move that caused 100% paralysis upon contact.
And it consumed very little energy.
Even though Raichu was heavily injured and Magneton was nearly defeated, they could still spam Thunder Wave without worrying about stamina.
Crackle—!
Zzzzt—!
Crackle—!
Thin arcs of electricity shot into the fog.
The once pitch-black battlefield became faintly illuminated by the chaotic flashes of electricity.
However—
Frogadier was completely unaffected.
Because it was using the Ground-type move Spikes, its type had temporarily changed to Ground-type through Protean.
Electric attacks couldn't harm it.
Even powerful Electric-type moves wouldn't work—
let alone a harmless support move like Thunder Wave.
But while Frogadier remained perfectly safe…
Happiny was not so lucky.
With its short little legs, it wasn't exactly the most agile Pokémon.
Caught within the dense electric web of Thunder Waves, it was quickly struck.
"Pugu!!"
As the fog gradually thinned and faded away, sparks of electricity crackled across Happiny's body.
The small Pokémon cried out in pain.
It had been paralyzed.
Seeing this opportunity, the Thunderstorm Brothers immediately launched another attack.
"Raimei: Raichu—use Thunderbolt on Happiny!"
"Raibao: Magneton—use Tackle on Frogadier!"
"Raichu!!"
"Magneton!!"
Both Pokémon moved quickly upon receiving the orders.
Magneton, despite being on the verge of collapse, rushed forward to stall Frogadier.
Meanwhile, Raichu unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt, violently targeting the paralyzed Happiny.
"Clarissa: Happiny, use Minimize and Defense Curl!"
Seeing the incoming attack, Clarissa quickly ordered Happiny to defend itself.
Minimize would significantly increase Happiny's evasion rate, which was a smart move in this situation.
However, Defense Curl raised physical defense, which was somewhat unnecessary against a Special Attack move like Thunderbolt.
Even though Happiny used Minimize—
it remained in place without moving.
And Raichu, trained meticulously by the Thunderstorm Brothers, had excellent accuracy.
Two consecutive Thunderbolts struck Happiny directly.
Even though Happiny possessed extremely high HP…
The outcome was inevitable.
With a final weak cry—
Happiny collapsed onto the battlefield.
It had lost its ability to fight.
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