Corviknight's body began to spin. Its beak, harder than steel and sharp as the fiercest drill, drove straight toward the unguarded back of Flygon.
Flygon didn't react. Its wings vibrated in a familiar rhythm as it prepared to release its move.
Bug Buzz was a Bug-type move, created through rapid vibrations of the wings that unleashed sound waves.
Just as Corviknight closed in, Flygon's attack burst out all at once.
"Flyyygoooon!"
A violent, piercing noise rang out. The air around them rippled from the impact.
Shiro furrowed his brows and lifted his hands symbolically to cover his ears.
This was not Bug Buzz.
Or rather, it was not just a simple Bug Buzz. It was Screech.
Screech produced a harsh, grating sound that sharply lowered the target's defense.
Raihan's Flygon had fused Bug Buzz with Screech into a single combination technique.
"Fly—"
The awful sound stopped as suddenly as it began. Corviknight's spinning beak pierced Flygon's back with ease, forcing a pained cry from it before the dragon dropped toward the ground.
Lower Corviknight's defense with Screech?
Shiro's expression turned amused. He raised his voice without the slightest pause.
"Corviknight, Hone Claws."
Raihan shouted at the same time.
"Mud-Slap!"
Mud-Slap caused minor damage and reduced accuracy.
But in midair, light shimmered around Corviknight's body as it completed Hone Claws. Flygon trembled on the ground, unable to gather strength for Mud-Slap, as if all the air had left its lungs.
Ryan gripped the microphone tightly and cried out in surprise, "What is happening? Flygon looks seriously hurt, but it only took a Quick Attack into Drill Peck. How did it end up like this? Was that some kind of hidden combination move? Did Corviknight use something besides those two attacks?"
Something extra?
Shiro smiled. The "extra move" came from Flygon itself.
Corviknight's ability, Mirror Armor, reflected any stat-lowering effect back at the opponent. The one whose Defense had sharply fallen was Flygon.
Flygon had decent natural defense, so Raihan tried to endure Corviknight's strike to lower its stats. He likely planned to let another Pokémon take advantage of that afterward.
But Raihan had miscalculated one thing. He did not know about Corviknight's Mirror Armor.
Mirror Armor was the steel bird's hidden ability, unknown to most people in Galar. Only those who raised large groups of Corviknight would notice it.
Raihan, heir of the Dragon Tamer family, had little reason to study about the hidden traits of common Rookidee or the Corviknight that filled Galar's cities.
Shiro kept his voice firm as he seized the opportunity.
"Corviknight, Hone Claws again."
Across from him, Raihan stared at Flygon's battered body with disbelief, but he had no time to think. Corviknight was about to strengthen itself again. Once it succeeded, the match would spiral out of control.
He instantly recalled Flygon and sent out another Poké Ball at the exact moment Corviknight finished its second Hone Claws.
"Zweeeeilooous!"
A blue-skinned dragon covered in sleek black fur and sporting two snarling heads burst onto the field.
This Dark and Dragon-type Pokémon had originally been Raihan's answer to Drakloak.
But now he was forced to send it out early.
"Zweilous, Dragon Pulse!"
At his command, both heads opened their jaws and gathered a mass of dark energy. The blast shot forward with frightening speed.
"Dodge," Shiro said calmly.
Corviknight moved so fast that the distant Dragon Pulse never had a chance to hit. The moment the attack left Zweilous' mouths, Corviknight vanished from its position and climbed to the top of the open-air stadium.
Losing track of its target, Zweilous' both heads fired Dragon Pulses in confusion.
Shiro took the chance to check its information.
[Name: Zweilous
Type: Dark/Dragon
Level: 52 (Elite)
Ability: Hustle
Item: None
Moves: Tackle, Bite, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Double Hit, Roar, Assurance, Headbutt, Work Up, Slam, Crunch, Scary Face, Dragon Pulse, Body Slam, Hyper Voice…]
An Elite-level Zweilous.
He had forced one of Raihan's Elite-level Pokémon into the open.
Shiro could guess its purpose. This Zweilous was meant to counter Drakloak. Dark type moves were strong against Ghost types. It was clearly one of Raihan's planned trump cards.
His strategy was aimed directly at Corviknight and Drakloak.
It made sense. These were Shiro's two strongest fighters, the ones capable of dominating battles alone. The rest were either not fully grown or too simple-minded, like his Bewear, who struggled against agile opponents.
"Air Cutter," Shiro ordered.
Raihan looked up toward the top of the arena where Corviknight hovered. His brow furrowed.
Zweilous also stopped its attacks and turned its heads upward.
Corviknight beat its wings. Blades of compressed air gathered in a spiral of wind and rained down on Zweilous from every direction.
Raihan sensed the danger. The move would hurt. He quickly responded.
"Substitute!"
A dull glow spread over Zweilous. A quarter of its stamina disappeared as the shimmering silhouette of a substitute formed in front of it.
The blades of air struck the substitute first, which didn't last long. It tore apart under the barrage and dissolved in the wind.
Raihan seized the opening.
"Pursuit!"
Pursuit was a Dark-type move. When the target had recently taken damage, its power doubled. But Raihan mainly used it for rapid movement. Corviknight was too fast, and he needed to close the distance.
Zweilous flashed with dark energy and vanished.
Corviknight felt danger from above and dove toward the ground.
Shiro stayed calm and called out, "Use U-turn to get out of the way."
The steel bird paused for a moment in midair. The charging Zweilous flickered into view beside it.
In that short instant, Corviknight disappeared again. Zweilous snapped at empty air and roared in frustration.
U-turn was a Bug-type move that let a Pokémon strike and fall back in one swift motion. If a trainer wished, it also allowed a quick swap, but Shiro had no intention of switching.
He gave his next command.
"Steel Wing."
Across the field, Raihan's face tightened. He was still trying to come up with a countermeasure.
Zweilous had high attack power and even a higher tier than Corviknight, but Corviknight's speed was overwhelming. The real problem was that his Zweilous had not learned Taunt. Without that, the battle would drag on.
The longer it dragged on, the lower Zweilous' chance of winning.
He had to slow Corviknight down.
With that thought fixed in his mind, he shouted.
"Zweilous, Scary Face!"
Scary Face made a Pokémon glare with a terrifying expression that greatly reduced the opponent's speed.
Zweilous roared once more and faced Corviknight head-on without dodging Steel Wing.
The two clashed for a heartbeat. Corviknight's black metal wings sliced across Zweilous' fur and opened two deep gashes. The blue scales beneath tore open as bright red blood dripped down.
Shiro noticed Raihan attempting another debuff and snorted inwardly. He raised his voice.
"Corviknight, Aerial Ace!"
Raihan exhaled when the move was released and responded fast.
"Zweilous, chase it and Crunch!"
"Zweilooous!"
Zweilous let out a harsh cry, but its movement slowed to a crawl. It drifted through the air like an exhausted elder, struggling to track Corviknight.
Raihan clenched his fists. A heavy pressure settled in his chest. He could hardly breathe.
Why was Zweilous the one slowed down? What was happening?
He had never seen a move rebound like this. Not in his own battles, nor in any records from his clan. Was it something Shiro did? Or something about Corviknight?
Was it an ability? A move? A held item? Anything was possible.
But this was a Corviknight. A Pokémon found anywhere in Galar. How could something so common have such an effect?
Spectators noticed the strange behavior too. Their voices rose in shock.
"Wait, wasn't that Zweilous using Scary Face just now? Am I seeing things?" A trainer rubbed his eyes.
"You saw right," another trainer forced himself to say. "It was Scary Face."
"Then that means… the Pokémon who used Scary Face had its own speed lowered?"
"That's what it looks like. I have no idea how."
"No way. Raihan isn't acting, is he? This is absurd."
The crowd filled with noise. Confusion and doubt rippled through the stadium. Some even wondered if the Corviknight was a Legendary in disguise.
Even Ryan, the referee and commentator, looked shaken.
As a League official and a commentator trained by Macro Cosmos, he had seen many kinds of strange situations. He had watched numerous powerful trainers and Pokémon. But the sight of Zweilous moving as if two Tauros had grabbed it from behind was beyond anything he had encountered.
With the crowd growing restless, Ryan called for a temporary break. He decided to speak to Shiro directly.
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