"Nidoking, taunt!"
Gary's mind was completely consumed by the thought of eliminating Toxapex.
He'd be happy to lose the match if he could just get rid of this menacing Pokémon.
It kept throwing spikes, poison spikes, and slingshots, occasionally healing...it was simply...simply...
Nidoking cursed incessantly towards Toxapex, voicing Gary's inner thoughts. Seeing this, Gary calmed down slightly. Toxapex, hearing the curses, continued to spread its poison.
Its entire body turned a bewitching purple. Although Toxapex had experienced similar taunts before, this tactic was always effective, landing every time unless it had immunity to taunts.
"Nidoking, it's normal for it to taunt,"
Bai Yu nodded. Gary's strength had indeed improved considerably.
The improvement wasn't yet significant, except for Blastoise, which had just reached the Elite Four level.
The rest of his Pokémon hadn't yet reached that level.
Even the Nidoking before him was still a ways off from Elite Four status, and might not even make it to the next Indigo League.
Gary's growth wasn't as rapid as Amber's or Red's; in two years, he'd only reached the Silver League quarterfinals, losing to Ash, and only reached Elite Four status in the Galar region, still a long way from the Champion.
Similarly, Shinji was in the same boat.
His appearance had significantly altered their power levels.
"Come back, Toxapex."
Bai Yu took out a Poké Ball and recalled Toxapex, putting it in Taunt mode.
Toxapex had a certain type advantage, but its Special Attack was too weak.
Nidoking ignored poison; even powerful moves could only block it, preventing it from being poisoned.
"Finally, we've replaced that Toxapex."
Gary's heart relaxed, feeling much lighter.
He could accept any Pokémon as long as it wasn't Toxapex.
"Corviknight, it's yours."
The best strategy against Nidoking was a Steel-type combination with a Flying-type.
Of all the Pokémon Bai Yu had, only Corviknight was a perfect match.
"~"
Corviknight flapped its wings, its black form soaring through the air. Its Flying-type nature ignored the damage from Spikes, and Corviknight looked at Nidoking with a hint of interest.
"It's that Corviknight again."
Xiao Mao frowned, recalling the previous strategy.
"Nidoking, Taunt."
Xiao Mao didn't want to experience the torment that the previous trainer had gone through.
He didn't want to suffer the pain of being worn down by Corviknight; a single Taunt could solve the problem.
Nidoking stood still, extending a paw in a taunting gesture towards Corviknight, its eyes filled with contempt, and gave a soft growl.
"~"
Corviknight's red eyes flashed with anger, letting out a sharp cry, its state unable to subside for a long time, staring intently at Nidoking.
"Xiao Mao, he has indeed matured a lot."
Bai Yu chuckled; it wouldn't be fun otherwise.
"Corviknight, Steel Wing!"
Corviknight flapped its wings, its jet-black wings transforming into a silvery-white sheen, and its entire body swooped down.
The silvery-white sheen combined with that touch of black created an eerie arc in the air.
Steel-type Steel Wing.
Striking the opponent with its hard wings has a certain chance of raising its own Defense.
Since status moves are unavailable, it will rely on the built-in effect boosts of its attacks to fight this battle.
Corviknight is extremely fast, and at that speed, Nidoking has already prepared all defenses.
"Dig!"
Nidoking's eyes flashed, and its hands dug towards the ground, tearing through the earth at an incredible speed.
The Ground-type Dig.
Utilizing the downtime of Dig, it cleverly evaded Corviknight's Steel Wing.
As long as Steel Wing couldn't hit Nidoking, its Defense couldn't be boosted.
Corviknight flew over Nidoking's head, creating a large hole in the ground. It traced a arc in the air, flapping its wings and hovering.
Only Corviknight remained in the air.
Red Eyes continuously observed the trembling ground; in the previous battle, when Corviknight faced Steelix, Steelix had made a similar defensive move.
"Unfortunately, it was Taunted."
Bai Yu slowly shook his head. The downtime of moves like Dig was too long.
If Corviknight hadn't been Taunted, it could have used Tailwind, Iron Screen, or other status moves during that downtime to boost its stats.
Even the massive Steelix couldn't catch Corviknight, let alone this Nidoking.
"Nidoking!" Nidoking's figure suddenly darted into the air, its massive body covered in dirt, accompanied by a plume of smoke, as it lunged at Corviknight.
"Steel Wing!"
Nidoking leaped high into the air, a pale yellow energy emanating from its body.
Corviknight's wings shimmered with a silver light, and with a powerful flap, the air was a paradise for Pokémon with flying abilities.
Corviknight emerged from the smoke and dust, tracing an arc through the air, the luster on its wings intensifying, its body enveloped in the light, as it attacked the purple figure within the smoke and dust.
"Nidoking, use Fire Punch!"
Gary shouted, his face grave.
Hanging in the air, Nidoking immediately adjusted its attack direction, gathering a powerful flame in its right fist, staring intently at the approaching white light, and unleashing a fierce punch.
Before the Fire Punch could gather its full energy, it was breached head-on by Steel Wing. Nidoking used its other hand to protect itself, but the next second, Steel Wing still struck Nidoking's body.
Struck in mid-air, Nidoking let out a scream, its body plummeting from the sky.
Bang!
Nidoking crashed to the ground, creating a small crater.
"Nidoking, get ready! Use Rock Tomb!"
Nidoking rose from the ground, countless pebbles gathering around it.
The pebbles shot towards Corviknight, which flapped its wings, dodging the attacks in mid-air.
Corviknight flew past Nidoking, the pebbles unable to keep up with its speed. Nidoking tried to grab Corviknight.
"Iron Defense."
Baiyu noticed Corviknight's eyes, clear as before.
Unaffected by Taunt, this was the perfect time to use a move change.
Taunt had worn off; Corviknight paused in mid-air, emitting a series of screeching cries. Its black wings were covered in white light, its physical defense increasing by two points. Rock
Tomb struck as expected, colliding with Corviknight. The pebbles crumbled into powder as if hitting solid rock.
"Thunderbolt!"
Seeing this, Xiaoshi abandoned the idea of using physical attacks and focused on Thunderbolt.
Corviknight's attack only boosted its physical defense; its special defense remained unchanged. A successful Thunderbolt attack would inflict significant damage.
Nidoking raised its arms, arcs of electricity crackling within them, creating an electric storm that it unleashed towards the plume of smoke.
The Thunderbolt passed through the smoke, striking the ceiling but ignoring Corviknight within.
Corviknight lowered its body, escaping the smoke's attack, and charged directly at Nidoking.
"Nidoking, adjust the direction of Thunderbolt!"
Nidoking frantically adjusted the release position of Thunderbolt with both hands. Corviknight flapped its wings, the electricity passing by without affecting its speed at all.
"Pounce!"
A brown energy wave emerged from Corviknight. Nidoking kept adjusting the direction of Thunderbolt, but it still hit Corviknight's body.
Despite being hit by Thunderbolt, Corviknight did not lose speed.
It forcefully broke through the electric current's erosion, violently slamming into Nidoking. Nidoking was thrown over by the force, the electricity shooting towards the ceiling. It only stopped after a second or two. Nidoking wasn't weak in special attacks, and this Thunderbolt had caused considerable damage to Corviknight.
Obvious burns were visible on Corviknight's black armor, burns caused by the electric current.
Nidoking was also badly hurt. Taking a direct hit from Pounce, combined with the previous Steel Wing attack, left multiple scratches on its body, clearly indicating its condition was worse than expected.
Nidoking resisted Fighting-type moves, but with Iron Defense, the damage from its pounce was extremely high, and even with resistance, it couldn't withstand more than a few hits. The only option was to use Taunt to prevent Corviknight from continuing to boost, otherwise the subsequent battle would be even more difficult.
This thought flashed through Shigeru's mind.
"Corviknight, Taunt."
Bai Yu looked at Shigeru, guessing his idea.
Corviknight screeched in the air, chirping incoherently, its eyes filled with contempt as it continuously cursed at Nidoking on the ground.
Nidoking clenched its fists, its eyes filled with anger, wishing it could grab that Corviknight and beat it up right now.
"..." Shigeru remained silent.
"Taunt, Corviknight can use Taunt?"
Shinji frowned; he hadn't expected that Corviknight could use Taunt.
A preemptive Taunt prevents the opponent from using status moves.
In other words, Nidoking now had no chance of turning the tide, not even the right to control its opponent's boosting.
"The Gym Leader's provocation was incredibly precise."
"Will provocation be blocked?" "
Of course! Provocation is a variation move; whoever uses it first has the advantage. I suggest you take a good look at your Pokédex; how could you say something so foolish?"
"That boy is already very strong. At least stronger than the challengers we saw before."
"That's...indeed."
The audience nodded silently, acknowledging Xiao Mao's strength.
Xiao Mao looked young, probably a trainer who had just started his journey.
For a novice trainer to possess such strength, even seasoned trainers like themselves were speechless.
"Provocation~ In this situation, I can only switch Pokémon."
Xiao Mao knew very well that the best way to prevent Bai Yu from boosting his Pokémon was to switch to another Pokémon to control the field.
However, there was still Sazili on the field. His Pokémon would first have to take the damage from a Spikes, and then he would have to use Provocation to control Corviknight's variation move.
This was no easy task.
"Corviknight, Tailwind!" Bai Yu smiled slightly.
Corviknight flapped its wings, creating a faint breeze that boosted its speed. This was a
Flying-type Tailwind.
It created a Tailwind on the user's field, doubling the Speed of all Pokémon on the user's field.
The effect lasted for 4 turns, including the current turn.
This breeze became the key to Gary's defeat. With a Tailwind on the field,
Gary couldn't gain the initiative, nor could he use Taunt to prevent Corviknight from using other moves.
"Nidoking, Flame Burst!"
Gary abandoned all conceivable defense; he could only attack relentlessly.
Nidoking's mouth condensed a powerful flame, which overflowed forward, forming a large "X".
A large flame hurtled towards Corviknight, engulfing it in the air.
"Dodge!"
Corviknight flapped its wings, using the slight breeze to unleash astonishing speed.
A black figure darted out, a massive burst of flame striking the ceiling without even touching a single feather of Corviknight. Corviknight then attacked Nidoking.
"Brave Bird!"
A sharp cry echoed from Corviknight, its piercing sound shaking all the trainers on the field.
A pure, unparalleled energy of flight gathered within Corviknight, azure energy surging forth.
Brave Bird, a Flying-type move. Like Bird Slam, it was a powerful Flying-type attack, incredibly potent.
While Bird Slam required a charging round, circling in the air to unleash its full power, Brave Bird could be released instantly.
"Oh no, Nidoking!"
Gary's expression changed slightly; Corviknight's speed was simply too fast. Corviknight's attack left a trail of energy in its wake, striking Nidoking violently. A powerful shockwave erupted, sending Nidoking flying.
Nidoking's face contorted in a ferocious grin as it reached out to knock Corviknight to the ground, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't escape the powerful attack. *Bang!
* Nidoking crashed heavily into the wall behind it. The wall, unable to withstand the force, collapsed, eventually crumbling completely.
Nidoking let out a series of low growls, a
nd Corviknight soared through the air, then hovered.
The falling rocks completely covered Nidoking's body, plunging the entire gym into a deathly silence. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the Corviknight in the air. More people were focused on Nidoking buried under the rocks.
"~"
Corviknight let out a sharp cry, celebrating its victory.
"That was terrifying! That Brave Bird attack was just too...too strong!"
"I thought that Corviknight wasn't very strong, but I never expected...it was so terrifying."
"..."
Sparse cheers rippled through the audience, while most were speechless, stunned by Corviknight's power.
Such terrifying strength, yet it had previously pretended to only use Iron Defense and Swoop.
"The Tailwind has stopped~" Shinji reached out to sense the subtle wind on the field.
Had Brave Bird's Attack just now benefited from the tailwind?
Indeed, without the tailwind, it wouldn't have caused such terrifying damage.
Shinji looked at the collapsed wall; such astonishing destructive power meant Corviknight's strength was far greater than expected. Even with the tailwind, it couldn't change the fact that Corviknight's power was astonishing.
"The gust of wind after the collision disrupted the tailwind on the field?"
Bai Yu also noticed the tailwind dissipating.
Brave Bird's Attack had dealt even more damage than anticipated, a move with a power level of 120.
It would be strange if a Flying-type Pokémon's ultimate move couldn't deal this much damage.
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