Octillery is the evolved form of Remoraid. Its body is almost entirely red, and its design resembles an octopus. It is similar to the red octopus of the eastern Pacific or the giant Pacific octopus. Some people also say it looks like an octopus-shaped sausage.
Octillery has a soft body. It has dull eyes and a long snout.
Being an octopus, it naturally has many tentacles. Most of them are on its back. It also has two long tentacles in the front, and each tentacle has two yellow suckers.
Natsui had studied the Pokédex in his spare time. He had fought this Pokémon before, so he knew quite a bit about it. Octillery usually lives behind rocks or in caves under the sea. They like to stay in holes or clay pots. They spray ink from their mouths to attack. They also steal nests from other Pokémon. Their heads are hard, and they use their tentacles to pin opponents down so they cannot escape. Then they slam them hard with their heads. Once the opponent can no longer move, they finish the battle.
Its most famous trait is the black ink it sprays from its mouth. This ink can blind an opponent.
The ink is very potent. Some people even use it for cooking. Natsui did not know what it tasted like, because not many people actually eat it.
It can also shoot water from its mouth. But it looks very different from Remoraid. For a long time, many people did not believe it evolved from Remoraid. They thought it had simply always been that way.
May had probably never battled this Pokémon before. She did not understand it well.
But she still told Munchlax to attack head-on!
Munchlax used Focus Punch. It gathered power into its right hand, and its fist shone like a lightbulb. Then its chubby body charged straight toward Octillery.
Harley smirked. He was not worried at all. He calmly gave an order.
In the next second, Octillery leaped high into the air. It landed on Munchlax and wrapped several tentacles around Munchlax's head in a chokehold!
Munchlax tried to break free, but it could not. Its vision was blocked, and it staggered back and forth as if drunk.
It wanted to use Focus Punch to hit Octillery, but Octillery was far too slippery. Munchlax could not touch it at all!
On the screen, May's points dropped a little.
That was not the end of it. Octillery used its long snout, aimed at Munchlax's head, and fired Octazooka at point-blank range!
BOOM!
The hit was incredibly heavy, especially on such a vital area as the head. Munchlax fell backward, and the audience could even hear the blast clearly.
Munchlax crashed to the ground, and the points on the screen dropped again!
The battle had only just begun, yet Munchlax was already at a disadvantage. May had not expected this before the match.
Natsui watched from the audience, his expression unchanged.
He knew Harley was a strong opponent. The Pokémon on stage was also unfamiliar to May. He had already known this battle would not be easy for her to win.
Harley's Octillery was very well trained. It performed extremely well, and it was obvious that this was Harley's ace Pokémon.
May realized that too. Once Munchlax got back up, she did not try to close the distance again. Instead, she ordered Munchlax to use Solar Beam from afar.
Harley smirked again.
Under his command, Octillery fired several Sludge Bombs. They struck Munchlax in quick succession, the sludge blocking its mouth and interrupting Solar Beam. The built-up energy exploded back on Munchlax and hurt it instead!
Harley mocked May.
Natsui was too far away to hear what he said, but he could tell it was nothing good.
He looked at May again.
Octillery was powerful and difficult to deal with, and Harley was deliberately taunting her. What would she do next?
Natsui had helped train Munchlax yesterday. But a Pokémon does not become much stronger in a single day. He had only taught Munchlax how to deal with Rest. Now it depended on whether Munchlax could find a chance to use that training.
After making two mistakes in a row, May was a little shaken. But she quickly calmed down again.
She ordered Munchlax to use Metronome.
This was an extremely risky move. She was gambling on luck.
But this was May's only way to turn the situation around.
Harley put one hand on his hip and looked at Munchlax coldly. He did not see Metronome as any threat at all. In his eyes, May had already given up!
In Harley's view, Metronome was a terrible move. He believed its disadvantages far outweighed its advantages. To him, it only proved that May had run out of options.
Munchlax finished using Metronome, and everyone watched closely.
People were surprised. Munchlax used the move, and a soft white light appeared, but then nothing seemed to happen. Munchlax only stood there in a dramatic pose!
The audience started whispering among themselves. They tried to guess which move had been called and wondered why there was no visible effect.
Harley burst out laughing.
But just as he was mocking May, a sudden change occurred!
A thick pillar of energy descended from the sky, accompanied by the crackling roar of electricity, and struck Octillery directly. Octillery's body was scorched by the shock!
Only then did people realize that Metronome had worked. It had called down a powerful Electric-type move!
Thanks to the type advantage, the attack was incredibly effective. Harley's earlier lead vanished, and the two Pokémon were instantly back on even footing!
May had won her gamble at the perfect moment!
Right then, Harley told Octillery to use Rest.
This is a Psychic-type move. When a Pokémon uses Rest on itself, it fully recovers its HP, but it also falls asleep.
It is an extremely powerful recovery move. While the Pokémon sleeps, it restores all of its health and removes status conditions. It will only be in trouble if it is taken down before waking up.
When Natsui saw Octillery use this move, it was just like in the anime, and a faint smirk appeared on his face.
A move that seems this powerful naturally has a weakness.
He had already taught Munchlax the answer. Now it depended on what Munchlax would do!
But May did not know what Natsui had practiced with Munchlax. Yesterday, she had been focused on Squirtle. She had no idea Natsui had trained Munchlax to counter Rest, so she gave a normal attack order.
She told Munchlax to use Tackle. Munchlax charged at the sleeping Octillery.
BANG!
The tackle was heavy and powerful, making full use of Munchlax's weight.
But Octillery had been prepared. Even while asleep, its tentacles were anchored to the ground. Munchlax slammed into it, but Octillery did not budge.
May was surprised, but she did not stop. She immediately told Munchlax to use Focus Punch.
The glowing fist struck Octillery under the chin. She was trying to launch Octillery into the air, but the tentacles kept it firmly in place. The attack failed again.
Rest was almost over. May was starting to panic.
She knew that once Rest finished, Octillery would return to full health. Munchlax was already worn down. If Octillery recovered completely, then May would lose.
But what could she do?
Countless thoughts flashed through May's mind, but she rejected them all.
Then, the situation on the field changed again.
May had not given any new command. Munchlax stared at the sleeping Octillery and remembered the training it had done with Natsui yesterday.
It walked over to Octillery under everyone's gaze, bent down, and pulled its tentacles out of the ground one by one. Then it lifted Octillery up and started walking toward the edge of the arena!
"Eh?" Lilian, the MC, was visibly stunned. "Munchlax actually picked up Octillery! What in the world is it trying to do?"
Lilian was confused. May and Harley were also confused. None of them understood what Munchlax was planning.
But very soon, they did!
Munchlax reached the edge of the field and lifted Octillery high. Harley's face changed dramatically, while May's eyes lit up. Munchlax hurled Octillery right out of the arena!
The audience gasped, then burst into laughter.
It did not matter whether Rest could restore HP or not. There was no need for a complicated strategy. Once a Pokémon is thrown out of the arena, it loses the match.
This was the simple and brutally effective method Natsui had come up with!
"Octillery, wake up already!!"
Harley was panicking. He shouted desperately, trying to wake Octillery up. But Rest had not finished yet. A Trainer and Pokémon could not cancel the move halfway through.
Octillery kept falling lower and lower. Harley's expression became uglier and uglier. In the end, Octillery crashed onto the floor below the stage with a thud.
At that moment, a white light flashed across Octillery's body, and then it opened its eyes!
Rest had worked. Its HP and status had fully recovered.
But after looking at the floor beneath it and then up at Munchlax on the stage, Octillery looked completely confused.
"Why am I here?"
"Wasn't I just on the stage?"
"How did I end up down here after taking a nap?"
The audience laughed again. Octillery looked far too funny and confused.
No one had expected to see something like this in the final round of a Pokémon Contest!
May was the most surprised person of all.
She had never expected Munchlax to come up with a solution on its own. She was overjoyed!
The three judges exchanged glances. Then they looked at the points on the screen, smiled, and shook their heads. The time had not run out, and Harley's points were not gone. But rules were rules. Once a Pokémon left the field, the match was over.
"Octillery has left the stage. Munchlax wins! Let us congratulate May for winning the Tamashii Contest!"
Lilian announced the result with a smile, while Harley was absolutely livid.
Harley had never expected to lose the match like this.
Octillery's HP had been almost fully restored. If it had remained on the stage, he would have won. But Munchlax had simply thrown it out!
This was not May's usual style.
Harley thought about that and then turned to look toward the audience.
There were many people there. But among them, Harley saw a handsome young man in the crowd. The young man looked straight at him and smirked!