"Pheromosa... An Ultra Beast?"
Serena's face was very serious right now. She carefully looked at this Pokémon across from her that she had never seen before.
If she remembered correctly, this should be from the Ultra Beast category that was recently added to the Pokédex.
This was naturally the first time Serena had seen an Ultra Beast in person. However, as it was a brand-new type of Pokémon, she had seen news reports about them. She had also specifically looked for videos introducing Ultra Beasts to watch.
It was worth mentioning that those videos were filmed by Professor Kukui.
"That's right. Pheromosa's code name is UB-02: Beauty. You should be careful, Serena. My Pheromosa is very strong."
Platinum had a polite smile on her face. It was clear that she liked her Pheromosa very much.
"Phero~"
Pheromosa stood with one hand on its hip. Its posture was extremely proud.
Serena thought for a moment and then took out her Pokédex to point it at Pheromosa.
Pokédex: Pheromosa, the Lithe Pokémon. Bug and Fighting types.
One of the Ultra Beasts. Perhaps because it feels that everything in this world is dirty, it refuses to touch anything with its hands.
The types were right. It was indeed Bug and Fighting.
Serena had actually memorized the types of those Ultra Beasts at the time, but she was still a little worried that she might have remembered them wrong.
If it was Bug and Fighting, it would have a four-times weakness to Flying-type moves.
"Altaria! I'm counting on you!"
Serena decisively threw her first Poké Ball.
With a pleasant cry, Altaria spread its cotton-like wings and floated in front of Serena.
It was indeed the Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon, Altaria.
"She wants to use the Flying type to counter Pheromosa. But that's a bit too simple-minded."
Seeing this, Damian couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
"Is that not correct?"
Diantha, who was standing right next to Damian, was stunned when she heard him.
A four-times weakness to Flying. Such a huge weakness was practically written on its face, saying, "Quick, use Flying moves to beat me."
So, using a Flying-type Altaria to fight Pheromosa shouldn't have any problems at all, right?
"It's correct, but how should I put it?" Damian thought about his words for a moment.
"As the Kalos Champion, Miss Diantha, you should also know this very well, right? A Pokémon battle is never decided purely by type advantages."
"Pheromosa is a high-speed, high-attack type of Ultra Beast. In reality, Altaria, or rather, most Flying-type Pokémon, are not very suitable for fighting Pheromosa."
Damian explained it this way.
It was true. Purely based on types, Pheromosa was severely countered by the Flying type.
But real-life battles were not that simple. Damian himself had a Shiny Pheromosa, so he knew the strengths and weaknesses of Pheromosa too well.
Pheromosa's advantage was its incredibly fast speed and flexibility. There was also its powerful Physical and Special Attack.
Pheromosa was a classic example of an extreme, high-speed offensive Pokémon.
Actually, was it four times weak to Flying?
Yes. But with Pheromosa's defense being as thin as paper, you wouldn't even need a Flying-type move. If a Pokémon of the same level used a Flamethrower, which is only two times effective, Pheromosa basically wouldn't be able to handle it.
In fact, even if it was a move that did normal damage, as long as it hit Pheromosa, it would definitely be a huge blow.
This was because Pheromosa was a fragile glass cannon.
And Altaria... How could it possibly fight Pheromosa?
Flying-type moves were indeed very effective against Pheromosa. If one hit, it would probably make Pheromosa lose the ability to battle.
But the key point was that you had to be able to hit it.
Besides, there was another very important point. With Altaria's attack power, how could it hope to compete with Pheromosa?
"Mr. Damian, what you are saying is only the ideal result."
Diantha's brow wrinkled slightly. She certainly understood what Damian meant.
But was it possible that Altaria wouldn't be able to hit Pheromosa even once before the battle ended?
That was too idealized. Diantha remained doubtful.
"Then let's wait and see," Damian replied with a smile.
Diantha did not speak. She looked at the field. As the Kalos Champion, her position was naturally on Serena's side.
She did not believe that the genius girl from her own region would lose to someone from Team Rocket.
The battle began.
Serena was the first to let Altaria attack. After all, she had a huge type advantage. Pheromosa's own Fighting and Bug-type moves were not very effective against Altaria. Why should she be afraid?
Altaria started by using Hurricane. This was a very strong move among Flying-type special attacks.
A powerful windstorm swept down.
"Blizzard!"
However, Platinum directly let Pheromosa fight back head-on.
A look of cold malice and disdain appeared on Pheromosa's face. It swung its right leg hard, and an even more violent storm of ice and snow erupted.
It crashed heavily into the Hurricane in mid-air. Then, before Serena's shocked eyes...
Pheromosa's Blizzard powerfully broke through the Hurricane. Without stopping, it continued to attack Altaria.
How can it be this strong?!
"Altaria! Dodge it!" Serena shouted her order in alarm.
Altaria immediately flapped its wings to try and dodge. But it was too sudden. There wasn't enough time.
The Blizzard directly swallowed Altaria. The biting frost and cold wind slammed into Altaria's body.
Everyone was talking about Pheromosa's four-times weakness to Flying. But in reality, Altaria was also four times weak to Ice!
Thud!
The Blizzard blew past. Altaria's body, covered in frost, fell weakly and slammed hard into the ground.
However, surprisingly, Altaria had not yet lost the ability to battle.
But because the hit from the Blizzard was so heavy, Altaria didn't even have the strength to stand up now. It was barely hanging on.
"Electroweb."
Platinum gave another order.
Pheromosa raised its leg high again. A web made of golden electricity flew out and landed on Altaria's body.
The Electric-type move, Electroweb.
The electricity crackled and ate away at Altaria, making it cry out in pain.
As the Electroweb exploded, Altaria's eyes completely turned into swirls.
At the same time, because it defeated Altaria, a faint light flashed on Pheromosa's body.
The Beast Boost ability activated. Pheromosa's Speed increased!
"Altaria is unable to battle. Pheromosa wins."
Damian announced the result of the battle.
This... how is that possible?
Diantha, who was watching, was stunned!
Serena was also stunned on the field. She looked at the defeated Altaria, and her feelings couldn't settle down for a long time.
It was defeated that quickly?
It only took two moves. And she had even chosen a counter-pick to fight her opponent.
But after all, she was Serena. After biting her lip, Serena calmed her emotions as much as she could. She took out her Poké Ball and called back Altaria.
"The attack was very powerful."
Serena adjusted her thoughts. She looked at the Pheromosa standing proudly across from her.
There was no other way. The battle just now was too fast. It was so fast that she could only get this much information.
It was true that Altaria was not a Pokémon with very strong attack power. But this was her main Altaria that she had trained. Its offensive ability was still very good.
But its STAB Hurricane was broken through so quickly by the opponent's Blizzard. And it directly knocked Altaria down to the point where it couldn't even take care of itself.
This showed that the attack power of this Pheromosa was incredibly high!
Serena quickly calmed down completely. This was the first time one of her main Pokémon had been defeated so overwhelmingly. But it was okay.
This was a full battle. She didn't have zero chance.
"Meowstic!"
Serena threw her second Pokémon.
A female Meowstic, which looked quite cold and cute with white fur and standing on two legs, landed in front of Serena.
It was the pure Psychic-type, Meowstic.
"Meowstic, Fake Out!"
Serena decisively gave the order.
A mysterious light flashed in Meowstic's eyes. It charged toward Pheromosa at high speed.
The priority move, Fake Out!
"Quick Guard!" But Platinum wasn't without a plan.
Meowstic sprinted forward and arrived in front of Pheromosa. It jumped up and swung its paw at Pheromosa.
But Pheromosa immediately raised its right arm and blocked in front of itself.
Bang!
The Fake Out was successfully blocked directly by the Quick Guard!
The Fighting-type move, Quick Guard, was specifically used to block all kinds of priority moves from the opponent.
Serena's brow was tightly knit.
"Throat Chop!" Platinum immediately continued her orders.
A malicious expression appeared on Pheromosa's face. Its left arm glowed with a dark light, and it stabbed hard toward Meowstic.
The Dark-type move, Throat Chop!
"Hurry and dodge!"
A deep blue psychic energy lit up in Meowstic's eyes. It used its psychic power to control its body and quickly moved to the left side to dodge the Throat Chop attack.
But could it really dodge?
Pheromosa's attack missed, but it immediately chased after Meowstic. Its slender body was like a gust of wind.
In almost the blink of an eye, it had rushed to the position behind Meowstic.
"!!!"
This terrifying speed made Serena's pupils shrink.
Pheromosa's right arm, surrounded by dark light, stabbed hard into Meowstic's back. The intense pain made Meowstic cry out.
Its entire body was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming hard into the ground.
The Dark-type Throat Chop did a lot of damage to the Psychic-type Meowstic.
"Lunge!" Platinum didn't give her a single chance. She immediately followed up.
Pheromosa suddenly lunged toward Meowstic, who hadn't stood up yet.
The Bug-type move, Lunge!
Boom!
There was another loud sound. Pheromosa jumped back a step. It elegantly and arrogantly smoothed its long hair, looking relaxed and comfortable.
At the bottom of a crater, Meowstic had already fainted.
With Pheromosa's super-effective Throat Chop and Lunge, how could Meowstic's body possibly endure it?
"Meowstic is unable to battle. Pheromosa wins."
Damian announced the battle result once again.
Serena silently called back Meowstic. She looked down at Meowstic's Poké Ball in her hand, and she couldn't help but bite her lip tightly.
Two losses in a row. And... she almost had no ability to fight back.
How could it be like this...
Serena looked at the Pheromosa and Platinum across from her. But she was clearly already very strong.
Was it that the opponent was too strong? But Platinum was clearly the same age as her.
How could she be this strong?
Serena couldn't understand.
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