"Incredible! I didn't expect that in the second round, Lord Red's opening choice would be the ancient Kabutops from prehistoric times!"
The announcer's voice rang with excitement through the stadium speakers.
"Originally, Kabutops was believed by many Pokémon professors to be an extinct prehistoric species. Fortunately, League officials discovered numerous ancient Pokémon that had survived in a remote Grand Canyon and designated it as a protected reserve. Of course, trainers who have made significant contributions to the Kanto League may still capture one ancient Pokémon of their choice from the reserve. And the discoverer of this Grand Canyon sanctuary is none other than our Lord Red himself!"
The announcer's enthusiasm was palpable, though he wisely chose to hold back from revealing too much more. Over-introducing Red's extensive background could easily offend certain parties, and maintaining an air of mystery would keep audiences eager for future matches.
The moment Kabutops materialized on the battlefield, its predatory gaze locked onto Nidorino, studying every angle of its opponent's body as if cataloging weaknesses. The ancient Pokémon rubbed its scythe-like arms together, producing an ear-piercing screech that made Nidorino visibly uncomfortable.
As a predator from an ancient era, Kabutops emanated bone-chilling killing intent that rippled across the arena. Nidorino, who had never faced an opponent with such raw, instinctive menace, shifted uneasily on its feet.
"Nidorino, don't let Kabutops intimidate you! Stay focused and charge with Horn Attack!"
A.J.'s voice cut through the tension from the command platform. Though he'd initially felt the weight of Kabutops' presence himself, he quickly steeled his resolve and urged his partner to overcome its fear.
"Kabutops, use Aqua Jet," Red commanded calmly.
Acknowledging A.J.'s growth as a trainer, Red chose to actively command Kabutops rather than let it battle autonomously—a small gesture of respect.
Water enveloped Kabutops' body as it shot forward like a torpedo, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Before Nidorino could process what was happening, Kabutops crashed into it with tremendous force, sending it skidding backward across the grass.
Fortunately, Nidorino hadn't yet evolved into Nidoking, sparing it from suffering double effective damage from the Water-type attack.
"Nidorino, stay with me! Are you alright?"
A.J.'s concern was evident as he watched his partner struggle to its feet.
Nidorino shook its head vigorously, turned back toward its trainer, and let out several determined growls, signaling it could continue.
"That's the spirit! Now use Fury Attack!"
Responding to A.J.'s command, Nidorino charged forward, thrusting its poison horn repeatedly at Kabutops in a flurry of strikes.
The metallic clang of horn meeting scythe echoed across the arena as Kabutops calmly deflected each thrust with its blade-like arms.
"Metal Sound," Red said, his tone unchanged.
After skillfully parrying another thrust, Kabutops crossed its scythe arms and dragged them against each other, producing a piercing metallic screech that made spectators in the front rows wince.
The grating sound assaulted Nidorino's hearing, forcing it to squeeze its eyes shut while its special defense dropped dramatically.
Seizing the opening, Kabutops lunged forward with Razor Shell. Its razor-sharp scythes flashed through the air, slashing across Nidorino's body and launching it several meters backward.
"Finish it with Water Pulse!"
Water coalesced around Kabutops' arms, forming a pulsating sphere of compressed liquid. With a swift motion, Kabutops hurled the attack at the struggling Nidorino. The Water Pulse struck true, detonating on impact and slamming Nidorino into the ground, where it lay motionless.
"Nidorino is unable to battle!"
The referee's flag dropped as he announced the result, instinctively checking his stopwatch.
'As expected, didn't even break two minutes,' the referee thought to himself.
Perhaps to give A.J. a proper learning experience, Red hadn't commanded Kabutops to press its advantage as aggressively as in the first round, allowing this match to last slightly longer.
"That was amazing!" Ash, Gary, Leaf, Brock, and Misty exclaimed in unison from the stands, stunned by Kabutops' dominant performance.
Although Ash's group had battled alongside Kabutops two months prior, that felt like a distant memory now. After two months of Red's intensive training, Kabutops had clearly ascended to an entirely new level of strength.
"I can't believe how fast that Kabutops is. That's big brother's Pokémon for you!" Ash said with genuine admiration.
"Not only that, but Kabutops hasn't taken a single hit yet. Otherwise, we'd have seen its Shell Armor ability activate," Gary observed, carefully studying Kabutops' condition on the battlefield. The ancient Pokémon wasn't even breathing hard.
"Those two only achieve rare synchronized focus when they're analyzing Red's battle tactics," Leaf remarked, shaking her head with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"Since it's a Water-type Pokémon, I'm counting on you, Parasect!"
After confirming Kabutops' typing, A.J. sent out Parasect to exploit the type advantage.
Parasect appeared on the battlefield—a peculiar fusion of insect and fungus. Its lower body was entirely orange with three pairs of legs, the front pair having evolved into large pincers. The creature's eyes had rolled back to white, and the enormous red mushroom dotted with yellow spots on its back had grown larger than the host body itself, completely dominating the organism's consciousness.
'What a tragic evolutionary path,' Red thought, observing Parasect's dried, withered exterior. 'Evolution basically means surrendering to the parasite.'
Understanding why A.J. had chosen this particular Pokémon, Red decided to test his theory.
"Kabutops, weak Water Pulse."
The diluted attack splashed against Parasect's body. Instead of recoiling from damage, Parasect's desiccated skin absorbed the moisture eagerly, and its face brightened with visible relief.
"As expected—the Dry Skin ability," Red confirmed aloud, already formulating his next strategy.