At that moment, Zorua and Deino had already exchanged blows on the field. Shadow Claw and Fire Fang collided with a sharp crack, forcing both Pokémon to retreat a few steps—though Deino clearly had the slight advantage.
This outcome didn't surprise David. Although his Zorua was trained for both Special Attack and Attack as a mixed attacker, it was still generally more proficient in special moves. Managing to nearly match Deino in close combat was already impressive, and besides, this exchange was just a probing attack from both sides.
On the other hand, a flicker of surprise crossed Aria's eyes.
Deino was different from Zorua. First, Deino was a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary Pokémon renowned for its physical prowess and raw strength. Though its limbs were relatively short—preventing it from using close-combat moves like Dragon Claw—even in its final evolution into Hydreigon, it completely abandoned its forelimbs, relying solely on its two additional heads as its primary means of attack.
But with sacrifice came advantage. This reliance on its head meant that Deino's skull strength and bite force far exceeded most other Pokémon. For Zorua, a Pokémon focused on speed and special attacks, to nearly match Deino's physical strength was enough to genuinely surprise Aria.
"Deino, Work Up, then Headbutt!"
Deino adjusted its stance, a faint aura rising from its body as its attack power increased. Then it began accelerating, charging straight at Zorua like an arrow released from a bow.
"Zorua, Double Team."
Facing Deino's powerful charge, Zorua showed no panic under David's command. It waited until Deino drew close before calmly unleashing Double Team.
Six identical copies surrounded Deino. The powerful Headbutt only kicked up clouds of dust and shattered one illusion. It seemed Zorua's mastery of Double Team had improved again.
"Earth Power—spread it out."
Seeing this, Aria remained calm and issued her command. Double Team might work against ordinary novice trainers, but if her little brother thought he could rely on this move alone against her, he was being far too naive.
Hearing the command, Deino lifted one foreleg, a yellowish-brown aura swirling around it. Then it stomped its raised leg heavily onto the ground.
"Boom!" Centered on Deino, a wave of ground-type energy rapidly spread outward in all directions.
"Bang... bang... bang!" As the wave expanded, Zorua's illusions shattered one after another, until finally, its true form was forced out by the spreading energy.
"Zorua..."
David frowned. Earth Power was clearly a single-target move, yet in his sister's hands, Deino had used it to create a widespread effect similar to Earthquake or Magnitude. Pokémon moves in the real world truly weren't as rigid as in the games. It seemed he still had much to learn!
"Zoro~! (I'm fine, David! Let's keep going!)"
Zorua, having fully adapted to the Speed enhancement from the previous days, hadn't just improved its velocity. While adjusting to the continuously increasing speed, the little fox's balance and body coordination had also made significant strides. It easily dispersed the impact and quickly steadied itself.
Watching Zorua on the field, David could tell that this Earth Power attack had its power significantly reduced to cover the entire arena. Aside from being forced out of hiding, Zorua hadn't taken much damage. However, Earth Power had the secondary effect of lowering the target's Special Defense, so he'd need to be mindful of that going forward.
"Zorua, Agility, then Calm Mind!"
Following David's command, Zorua's expression grew serious, losing its initial playfulness. Pink and blue lights simultaneously illuminated its body as it began moving around the field, steadily building speed.
This was one of David and Zorua's secret techniques.
Normally, novice Pokémon lacked sufficient mastery of their moves and inadequate control over their energy. When using stat-boosting moves like Calm Mind, they typically had to stand still to execute them properly. This made them extremely vulnerable to interruption by opponents during the setup.
David had previously wondered whether it was possible to use other moves while simultaneously using Calm Mind. Thanks to Zorua's truly exceptional talent—even though it wasn't a Psychic-type Pokémon, its aptitude for psychic abilities far surpassed most actual Psychic-types—this became feasible.
Its powerful mental strength allowed Zorua to multitask while using Calm Mind. During their ten-day journey through the secret realm, they'd continuously practiced and refined this technique through battles with various Pokémon. Now, this move was finally combat-ready.
Though the technique still had shortcomings at this stage—Zorua could barely multitask with two moves simultaneously, but its energy control wasn't precise enough to wield two different types of energy while boosting stats—they'd found a workaround. To ensure success, Zorua generally could only use Psychic-type moves when performing Calm Mind.
The combination of Calm Mind and Agility was David's strategy for situations like this. Both were Psychic-type moves. Agility circumvented Calm Mind's drawback of requiring the user to stand still, and while boosting Special Attack, it also elevated Zorua's speed to new heights.
On the arena, under Agility's influence, Zorua had nearly transformed into a two-toned stream of light. Watching the constantly flickering figure circling around it, Deino began to hesitate.
Aria was genuinely surprised by David's performance. The combination of stat-boosting and movement moves seemed straightforward, but executing it in actual combat was far more complex than it appeared. She hadn't expected her little brother to master it so quickly without any formal instruction. This technique, simple as it sounded, was typically content mastered by veteran or even elite trainers.
She'd only intended to test her brother's skill level, but he'd delivered quite the surprise. She'd thought she'd already set her expectations high for David, yet he still exceeded them. Perhaps she might actually be in for an upset this time.
However, just this much wasn't nearly enough to win!
"Deino, ignore it and use Work Up!" When speed couldn't keep up, the best way to counter such an opponent was to remain calm and adapt. If Zorua wanted to boost its stats, she'd boost right along with it.
Hearing this, Deino shifted its attention away from Zorua and began using Work Up.
"Not a chance! Zorua, Taunt!"
Without Deino's interference, Zorua quickly completed its first Calm Mind. The stationary Zorua then made a mocking face toward Deino.
Taunt—a move that prevented opponents from using status moves, forcing them to attack instead.
As expected, upon seeing Zorua's taunting expression, Deino immediately stopped its ongoing Work Up. Dragon-type Pokémon were inherently hot-tempered, and Deino, known for its fierce and wild nature, was no exception.
"Roar!"
Provoked by Zorua's Taunt, Deino flew into a rage. Dark energy swirled around its teeth as it roared and charged toward Zorua—using the Dark-type move Bite.
Seeing Deino enraged, Aria went with the flow and commanded the furious Pokémon. "Bite, then immediately follow up with Dark Pulse!"
Deino aggressively charged toward Zorua. Just as Aria wondered why Zorua remained motionless, Deino's seemingly guaranteed attack unexpectedly missed.
"Zoro~!"
Under Aria's astonished gaze, accompanied by Zorua's mischievous grin, Zorua's figure dissipated like a shattered mirror. Deino's attack bit viciously into empty air.
"Full power—Shadow Sneak!"
Following David's command, Zorua's recently vanished figure abruptly reappeared nearby. Since the opponent was Deino, David hadn't used Zorua's more familiar Extrasensory. Instead, he launched a fully charged Shadow Sneak heavily toward Deino's flank.
"Bang!"
The Shadow Sneak exploded upon impact, kicking up clouds of smoke and dust.
"Deino!"