"The rules of the battle are 1v1! Each trainer may only use one Pokémon! Whichever side faints first, loses!" Saori's companion stood to the side, acting as the referee. "So, which Pokémon will challenger Zane choose?"
Zane just stared. "..." He pulled out Roselia's Poké Ball. With a flash of white light, Roselia's elegant form appeared opposite the Combusken.
Saori raised an eyebrow, noting Roselia's vibrant appearance. "Your Roselia is very well raised! But," she added confidently, "its type is at a disadvantage against my Combusken. You can have the first move!"
Zane didn't waste the opportunity. "Poison Sting!"
"ROSELIA!"
Roselia raised its hands, and a light bloomed from the roses on its wrists. A shower of sharp, purple needles materialized and rained down towards the Combusken like a storm of blossoms.
Interesting. Zane noted that after evolving, the part of a Pokémon's body used for certain moves could change. A Squirtle used Water Gun from its mouth, but its evolution, Blastoise, fired it from the cannons on its shell. It was the same for Roselia. As a Budew, its Stun Spore and Seed Bomb came from the bud on its head. Now, those moves originated from the roses in its hands.
Faced with the incoming Poison Sting, Saori, proving she'd earned her three badges, reacted instantly. "Combusken, dodge it!"
Here it comes! The god-tier move of the Pokémon world: Dodge!
Combusken pushed off with its powerful legs and leaped high into the air, the poison needles whistling harmlessly past beneath it.
"Follow up from the air! Flame Wheel!" Saori commanded.
"COMBUS!"
With a sharp cry, Combusken was instantly engulfed in scorching flames. It descended like a red meteor, streaking towards Roselia. There was no way to dodge. Neither Seed Bomb nor Stun Spore would reach it; they'd just burn up in the intense heat.
So this is what type disadvantage feels like? Zane remained calm, giving his next order. "Roselia, use Magical Leaf!"
"RO—SELIA!"
Roselia understood its trainer's intent immediately. It aimed its hands straight down at the ground. A massive torrent of leaf blades, seemingly imbued with a life of their own, erupted from the roses. A powerful gust of wind swirled upwards, lifting Roselia's small body into the air with the force.
"Using the vortex from Magical Leaf to get airborne? Nice command!" Saori's eyes lit up with appreciation.
"It's not over yet," Zane said with a smile. Using Stun Spore directly would be useless against the flames. Since that was the case...
"Roselia, use that move from the air!"
That move? Which move? Saori blinked, her eyes fixed intently on the field.
In mid-air, Roselia brought its hands together. A dense green light gathered between them, coalescing into a large, hard seed.
Seed Bomb! Saori recognized the move instantly. "Combusken, remember our special training! For aerial targets, use Double Kick!"
"COMBUS!" Combusken's eyes burned with fighting spirit. It pushed off the ground again, leaping into the air and striking the descending Seed Bomb with a precise kick.
But the expected scene of the Seed Bomb being kicked away didn't happen. The moment the kick connected, the seed exploded. A faint cloud of powder burst outwards, carried by the shockwave, spreading rapidly in all directions.
"That's..." Saori gasped. "Seed Bomb and Stun Spore... how did he do that?!"
No, it's not just Seed Bomb and Stun Spore, Zane thought, watching Roselia land gracefully. This was the result of their intensive training. It was the fusion of the "Landmine Bomb"—designed to explode on contact—and Stun Spore. Both its power and its effect far surpassed the basic Stun Bomb combo.
The Combusken was paralyzed. It fell from the sky, its body twitching uncontrollably as it hit the ground.
Zane pressed the attack. "Full power Magical Leaf!"
"RO—SELIA!" Seeing the results of its hard work pay off against a strong opponent, Roselia was fired up. Its eyes shone with determination. Fueled by its heightened emotions, a storm of Magical Leaves, far greater in number than usual, erupted from its roses. The sheer volume of leaves stirred the air, creating a whistling sound.
Quantity became quality. The massive vortex of leaves began to coalesce, swirling together, hinting at the formation of a powerful tornado.
A thought struck Zane. This scene reminded him of another move: Leaf Storm.
The game description read: The user whips up a storm of leaves around the target. The attack's recoil harshly lowers the user's Sp. Atk stat.
If I train Magical Leaf further, could I turn it into a low-cost version of Leaf Storm? One that wouldn't cripple its Special Attack after use. The thought flashed through his mind and was gone.
At the same time, the massive barrage of Magical Leaves struck the paralyzed Combusken. Perhaps this Combusken had a high resistance to paralysis, because the moment the leaves hit, it managed to shake off the effect. Fierce flames suddenly erupted uncontrollably around its body.
It was the Blaze ability!
Blaze: Powers up Fire-type moves when the Pokémon's HP is low.
"Blaze activated?" Saori said, a determined glint in her eyes. "In that case, Combusken, use Fire Blast! Let's end this!"
"COMBUS!"
The flames engulfing Combusken burned even hotter. Empowered by Blaze, a massive, character-shaped blast of fire (大) formed and shot towards Roselia, giving it no chance to dodge. It was a direct hit.
"Roselia is unable to battle! The victory goes to Miss Saori!" the referee declared.
Zane stared. "..." He'd been chipping away at the Combusken, his attacks having minimal effect, and then his opponent just needed one move to score a super-effective critical hit. Damn. Winning against a type disadvantage really was tough.
"You worked hard," he said softly, recalling the fainted Roselia to its Poké Ball.
Saori walked over, looking like she hadn't quite had enough. "Battling you was really fun! If my Combusken didn't already have two years of training experience, I probably would have lost."
"Not at all," Zane said modestly.
Saori smiled. "Do you have any other Pokémon? Want to go another round?"
Zane shook his head. "That's it." Cramorant couldn't make an appearance here. The destructive power of its moves could probably level half of Fallarbor Town. If he did that, he'd be on the Hoenn League's most wanted list by morning.
"Alright then," Saori said, looking a little disappointed. Then she smiled again. "Are you traveling through Fallarbor Town alone?"
Zane nodded. "Yeah."
"In that case," Saori invited, "do you want to watch the Contest with us?"
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