"Chaah~!"
With both of his blade-like arms gripped tightly, Samurott radiated a resolve stronger than ever before. In that moment, all the training he had gone through—every move, every tactic, clicked together seamlessly in his mind. He was certain of one thing: the Samurott of today could defeat the Samurott from five and a half months ago without breaking a sweat.
On the other hand, Sabrina seemed briefly rattled—perhaps a backlash from Alakazam's psychic collapse. Her gaze went blank for several seconds before she finally regained her composure.
"Return, Alakazam. You've done more than enough." She said calmly.
Shaking her head slightly, Sabrina's eyes regained clarity. With a gentle wave of her hand, the Poké Ball materialized from her psychic dimension and recalled Alakazam.
"I've figured out what makes you... different. Now then—let's have a proper battle."
She glanced deeply at Paul, a cryptic smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"…I'll give it everything I've got."
Even someone as composed and analytical as Paul couldn't help but feel a sliver of unease under her stare. What exactly had she seen in him?
But before the thought could take hold, he cut it off at the source and focused intently on the battle.
He knew that Alakazam had indeed gone all out earlier, but only within the limits of Sabrina not using her full potential or any stat-enhancing moves. If she had truly unleashed her champion-level Alakazam—say, with just two rounds of Nasty Plot—even sending out his entire team wouldn't have made a difference. Samurott defeating it had been nothing short of a miracle.
But if this was a "standard battle," without Sabrina augmenting her Pokémon with her psychic powers and only relying on standard telepathy, then Samurott still had a solid shot at victory.
Sabrina smiled. "Espeon, your turn."
"Essp~!"
With a soft chime, Espeon teleported in front of Samurott. The drowsy aura it had carried earlier vanished entirely, replaced by a domineering presence.
"Chaah~!"
Samurott responded by gripping his arm blades tighter, poised to strike the moment the opportunity arose.
Their eyes locked—and the match began.
"X-Scissor, now!" Paul commanded sharply.
"Chaah~!"
With a sharp cry, Samurott vanished in a blur of blue light, appearing before Espeon in an instant and slashing downward with X-Scissor.
A powerful assault but before the attack could land, a shimmering green barrier shimmered to life before Espeon.
Protect!
From behind the barrier, the red gem on Espeon's forehead lit up, casting a glow directly onto Samurott.
Miracle Eye!
From now on, Psychic-type moves could strike Samurott despite his resistance!
Samurott's expression didn't change. With a twist of his leg blade, he launched a Feint that shattered the barrier, breaking through Protect and finally landing a hit on Espeon.
"Esp~!"
Hit squarely, Espeon immediately vanished from its spot again retreating to a safe distance. In the air around it, hundreds of glowing green leaves began to spiral outward, all aiming for Samurott.
Magical Leaf!
"Night Slash!"
As the leaves shot through the air, Samurott burst forward riding on a torrent of swirling water—Aqua Jet, closing the distance in a flash. Its blade arced through the air from a sharp and deceptive angle.
Espeon's eyes gleamed briefly, or perhaps the innate clarity of a psychic—seeing through Samurott's assault. With a graceful twist of its body, it evaded the slash and blinked out of sight once more, leaving only a flurry of Magical Leaves to rain down on Samurott.
The leaves scattered in a shower of green. But Samurott's body was wrapped in water and it shredded the foliage effortlessly, redirecting itself mid-air and launching once again at Espeon. The twin blades on its arms now glowed with a deep pitchy gleam, Night Slash fully charged.
Taking advantage of the Magical Leaf cover, waves of hypnotic pulses—Hypnosis emanated from the gem on Espeon's forehead, sweeping toward Samurott.
The psychic waves were powerful, and even though Samurott summoned torrents of water to deflect them, they weren't entirely repelled. Yet, Samurott having endured relentless psychic torment from a Ninetales earlier—had grown resilient. Its battle aura flared like a blade's edge. It slashed through the hypnosis in its own mindscape with sheer willpower—Swordsman's Spirit overpowering mental interference.
Seeing another attempt fail, Espeon quickly cast Protect again, blocking the incoming Night Slash. Without missing a beat, it transitioned seamlessly into Psychic, locking Samurott in a psychic grip trying to hurl it away.
The impact of the psychic power was real, but the control lasted for only a second.
In the next breath, Samurott retaliated with its twin blades—one striking from above, the other from below, slamming into Espeon. Though Espeon reacted just in time to avoid a critical hit, the damage was still devastating.
Struck hard, Espeon instantly vanished again using Teleport, reappearing some distance away.
But Samurott didn't pause. The moment Espeon materialized, Samurott's arms swept outward, unleashing several Air Slash-like projectiles laced with both compressed wind and water—Aqua Cutter hybrids, honed to cut air itself.
Espeon was forced to teleport again, barely evading.
Yet the outcome didn't change.
Before Espeon could fully rematerialize, Samurott had already anticipated its location, thanks to its honed instincts and the elite-level perception of a top-tier Pokémon, close to those trained by Champions or Elite Four. It intercepted preemptively, closing in before the Psychic-type could even reset its stance.
No—there was more!
Ever since their journey to the Tree of Beginning, a relic of ancient power and one of the earliest roots of Pokémon's shared history, Samurott had begun to master the art of Swords Dance in actual combat. Though its execution wasn't yet seamless, Samurott could now channel the attack boost in live battle.
The more Espeon relied on Teleport to escape, the more predictable it became. And with Samurott's attack power surging, every evasive move from Espeon only grew more frantic, more desperate.
Recognizing the futility of continuing with evasion alone, Sabrina used her telepathy to command:
"Protect. Then Morning Sun!"
As soon as it appeared, Espeon instantly raised a Protect barrier to shield itself from the first wave of attacks. A flash of light enveloped its body as it used Morning Sun to restore its strength.
But no sooner had it recovered than its opponent, Samurott rushed in. With a swift follow-up, it slashed down with its dual leg blades.
"Foresight, then Power Swap!"
Espeon activated Foresight, narrowly avoiding the incoming slash. At the same moment, an unusual glow lit up and enveloped Samurott, forcibly swapping its boosted Attack stat with Espeon's.
And just as the stat exchange succeeded, Espeon's fangs gleamed with a vivid violet light as it lunged and sank its teeth into the opponent.
Psychic Fangs!
The strike came without warning. Even the seasoned Samurott couldn't react in time to block it.
Espeon could use Foresight, but so could its opponent!
Yet this time, Samurott chose not to evade. It was preparing a different move entirely, and let Espeon's attack land.
Now empowered by the Attack stat it had stolen, Espeon's Psychic Fangs landed with staggering force, dealing considerable damage.
But before Espeon could follow up or reposition, Samurott despite being bitten—clapped its leg blades together like a drumbeat and let out a battle cry, one that sounded almost like praise for Espeon's persistence.
Encore.
Under normal conditions, Espeon could have dodged or used Psychic or Teleport to neutralize the attack.
But its positioning was unfortunately unfavorable, it had no time to respond.
Encore succeeded.
"Essp~!"
Caught in the wave of forced applause, Espeon's mind became clouded with an overblown sense of confidence. All thoughts of Psychic or Teleport were completely wiped, all it could think to do was bare its fangs once more and launch another Psychic Fangs straight at Samurott.
"Chaah—!"
But in the next instant, a flash of razor-sharp cunning passed through Samurott's eyes.
It had been waiting for this.
Before Espeon could even connect, it suddenly moved first—Sucker Punch landed squarely against Espeon's soft underbelly.
Critical hit!
It's super effective!
Without hesitation, Samurott followed up—its twin leg blades flared to life again as it unleashed a merciless flurry of Ceaseless Edge strikes, each blow aimed at Espeon's weak points.
Still locked into Encore and unable to shift strategy, Espeon staggered, its thoughts consumed by the urge to keep using Psychic Fangs. But not a single bite could land—the relentless attacks tore through every defense, and in seconds, the elegant Psychic-type was cut down.
Espeon is unable to battle. Samurott wins!
(End of Chapter)
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