"Come back, Castform…"
Brent sighed, recalling it without much choice.
At the same moment, Lopunny flicked out a glowing baton. As the light faded, Indeedee reappeared gracefully on the battlefield. Brent responded immediately, sending out Ninetales once more to reset the duration of the harsh sunlight.
"Fake Out!"
Peter didn't hesitate—he went straight on the offensive.
Brent chose not to respond with a move at all, calmly letting Ninetales take the hit. After all, as a special attacker, it wouldn't take much damage from a single Fake Out.
Indeedee stepped forward in a flash, appearing beside Ninetales before delivering a sharp slap that left it reeling in place.
"Indeedee, Baton Pass!"
"Ninetales, Safeguard!"
Both commands rang out at the same time.
Lopunny burst out from its Poké Ball again, catching the baton midair as streaks of light flickered around its body—its Speed continuing to climb. Brent, anticipating Thunder Wave, immediately set up Safeguard to block status conditions.
But—
"Zoroark, Shadow Sneak!"
"Arck!"
The 'Lopunny' twisted mid-motion, its form melting away into that of an elegant white fox. In an instant, Zoroark vanished into Ninetales' shadow and struck from behind with a vicious claw!
"WOO—!"
Caught completely off guard, Ninetales was slammed to the ground.
"…What?!" Brent's eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn't expected the Lopunny to be an illusion.
"Ninetales, Fire Spin!"
His plan was simple—trap Zoroark and eliminate it on the spot.
But before the swirling flames could even form, Zoroark blinked forward again, its claw snapping upward—
Sucker Punch!
Ninetales' jaws slammed shut, the Fire Spin dying before it could even begin.
"Again—Fire Spin!!"
This time, Ninetales unleashed a massive spiral of flames, attempting to engulf the battlefield—including itself—in the attack.
"If you're going that far…" Peter smirked. "I won't keep you company."
"U-turn!"
"Arck!"
Zoroark kicked off Ninetales' body, using the momentum to leap out of the flames before returning to its Poké Ball in a streak of red light.
The Fire Spin missed entirely—and worse, Ninetales ended up trapping itself in place.
Peter chuckled. "U-turn isn't affected by trapping, you know."
With such a deep movepool, his tactical options were endlessly flexible.
Brent slapped his forehead in frustration. If his guess was right, his weather setter was about to go down.
Sure enough, Indeedee returned to the field once more. After a quick Fake Out, it stepped in close and unleashed a point-blank Psychic!
"Boom—!"
Ninetales was blasted backward, but even as it flew through the air, it retaliated with a Fire Spin.
Peter didn't bother dodging. Under the blazing sun, Indeedee endured the flames and fired off Psychic again and again.
Brent's temper flared. He answered with Flamethrower, meeting force with force.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After several exchanges, both Pokémon were at their limits.
"Ninetales—one last Flamethrower!"
Brent moved first—but this time, Peter didn't meet him head-on.
"Indeedee—Trick Room!"
"Buzz—"
A strange distortion spread across the battlefield as space twisted unnaturally. Indeedee collapsed in the flames, and almost at the same time, Ninetales let out a weak cry before falling as well, completely exhausted.
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle! Trainers, please switch!"
As the referee's voice rang out, a faint smile appeared on Peter's lips. Across from him, Brent met his gaze with equal seriousness.
Peter had calculated Ninetales' stamina perfectly, forcing Brent into a passive position. During the exchange, Tailwind, sunlight, and Safeguard had all expired on Brent's side—while Trick Room remained active on Peter's field.
Though the score stood at 2–2, Brent was already at a severe disadvantage.
He exhaled slowly and threw out another Poké Ball. "Come out—Talonflame!"
Peter responded without hesitation, sending out the king of Trick Room—
Slaking.
"Talonflame, Protect!"
"Taunt!"
Both commands were issued simultaneously.
Brent's plan was clear—stall out Trick Room turns with Protect. But Peter's perfectly timed Taunt shut it down completely, leaving Talonflame unable to use non-attacking moves.
"Slaking—Thunder Punch!"
"ROOOAR—!"
Under Trick Room, speed inverted. Slaking slammed its palm against the ground and launched itself forward, life energy surging into its fists as the Life Orb drained its vitality to fuel the attack. Brilliant lightning crackled around its arms, filling the entire field with a numbing electric pressure.
Brent's eyes sharpened. "Talonflame! Show the spirit of a Fire-type Pokémon—Flare Blitz!"
"SCREE—!"
Talonflame spiraled through the air, flames engulfing its body as it charged forward.
But under Trick Room, its speed was far inferior.
It barely moved a couple of meters—
Before Thunder Punch was already upon it.
"BOOM—!"
Violent energy erupted, splitting the air into two halves—crimson flames on one side, golden lightning on the other. The clash lasted only an instant before the lightning overwhelmed the fire completely.
"BOOM—!"
A second explosion sent black smoke billowing into the sky. Talonflame, charred and lifeless, fell heavily to the ground.
"Talonflame is unable to battle! Challenger, please send out your next Pokémon!"
Slaking landed calmly, casually brushing off the scorch marks on its fist as if it hadn't even used its full strength.
"…So strong…" Brent clenched his fists.
He hadn't expected Slaking to eliminate Talonflame in a single blow.
Peter smiled faintly. Thunder Punch had a base power of 75, but with double effectiveness, Life Orb amplification, and the boost from its Ability, the effective damage soared to terrifying levels. Normally, that might not be enough—but Talonflame's base Defense was only 71. Against Slaking's monstrous offensive power, it stood no chance.
"Castform… I'm counting on you again!"
"Bo-wa…"
Castform reappeared, now awake but still paralyzed.
"Sunny Day!"
"BOOM—!"
Before it could even complete the move, Slaking's lightning-wreathed fist smashed down.
"BOOM—!"
Castform was slammed into the ground, embedded deep into the battlefield.
Without activating Forecast, it remained a Normal-type. Thunder Punch, boosted by Slaking's overwhelming strength, struck with devastating force—instantly knocking it out.
"…."
Brent silently recalled Castform.
He had wanted to force out one last Sunny Day for Charizard—but hadn't expected Slaking to be this brutally efficient.
In less than thirty seconds, with just two punches, the score flipped from 2–2 to 2–4.
The livestream exploded:
"DAMN IT, I hereby declare Slaking the coolest Pokémon ever! Who agrees?!"
"One punch per kid—no one even gets a word out!"
"This is pure violent art—power is everything!"
"Trick Room's still up for a while… if I were Brent, I'd just surrender!"
"Fun fact: this Slaking evolved from a disabled Slakoth…"
"…."
Brent gritted his teeth, pulling out his first Poké Ball and throwing it with force.
"Charizard—let your fighting spirit burn!!!"
"ROOOAR—!"
The fiery dragon returned once more, roaring toward the sky as flames burst from its mouth and its tail flared brighter than ever.
At the brink of defeat—
Trainer and Pokémon ignited together—
Their fighting spirit blazing like wildfire.
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T/N:
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