Since they couldn't gain an advantage in raw power, they would adopt a hit-and-run tactic...
Strike once and then flee, pulling aggro, and use the terrain to their advantage for a protracted battle.
After formulating the plan in his mind, Caleb brought Celebi back to the front of the shrine once again.
The Dark Celebi remained curled up inside the shrine, its eyes tightly shut.
Seeing this, Caleb thought it resembled certain special bosses in online games, in that they only activated and engaged in combat when players attacked them.
With this in mind, he didn't immediately attack the Dark Celebi. Instead, he circled around the shrine where it was perched.
Sure enough, before the player provoked it, it wouldn't initiate an attack. This could be exploited to use powerful moves that required charging or had significant wind-up.
Caleb pondered for a moment. The only powerful moves his Celebi knew were the Grass-type Leaf Storm and the Psychic-type Future Sight.
However, Leaf Storm drastically reduced the user's Special Attack due to recoil, so Caleb decisively abandoned that move in favor of Future Sight.
- Future Sight: a Psychic-type move that predicts the opponent's position after a period of time and sends a psychic energy blast to attack at that moment...
Thinking this, Caleb retreated a distance to avoid being caught in the Dark Celebi's counterattack, which would end the battle prematurely.
Once within a safe range, he decisively commanded, "Use Future Sight!"
Celebi nodded its little head, and a blue light glowed in its eyes.
Since the opponent wasn't moving, the time for Future Sight was significantly shortened. Soon, a white energy ball composed of psychic power shot toward the Dark Celebi.
The powerful psychic wave exploded, instantly reducing the shrine to rubble, with shattered stones and wood scattering in all directions.
Seeing the Dark Celebi awakened, Caleb quickly directed, "Fall back! Use Magical Leaf!"
Upon hearing the command, Celebi immediately turned and flew into the forest.
Enraged, the Dark Celebi directly used its Grass-type ultimate move, Leaf Storm.
Countless leaves scattered in the air instantly formed a green storm, carrying dust and debris from the ground and hurtling towards Celebi.
But at this moment, the terrain tactic came into play... The dense forest helped Celebi mitigate a significant portion of Leaf Storm's power. With rustling sounds, trees in the forest fell one after another.
Caleb hid and observed this scene. Seeing that Celebi wasn't affected by Leaf Storm, he turned his attention to the Dark Celebi.
Without a doubt, after using Leaf Storm, its Special Attack would be greatly reduced due to recoil. In this situation, it would be impossible for it to defeat Celebi in two moves like last time.
This, in turn, provided Celebi with ample time for hit-and-run tactics.
"It's our turn now! Use Magical Leaf!" Caleb loudly commanded.
Celebi, who weaved through the forest, entered a confident state after gaining the upper hand in the first exchange. It cried out and glanced back at the pursuing Dark Celebi.
"Bi!" Excitement gleamed in Celebi's eyes.
It tilted its body, scattering a large number of glowing green leaves, then suddenly accelerated.
As if equipped with auto-trackers, the leaves accurately shot toward the Dark Celebi.
Since both were moving at high speed in the air along the same path, the Dark Celebi couldn't dodge this attack.
Not only that, after being hit by Magical Leaf and with the leading Celebi suddenly veering away, the Dark Celebi trailing behind failed to dodge in time and crashed directly into a large tree ahead.
"Bi?" The leading Celebi peeked out from behind the tree, looking gleefully at the Dark Celebi below, which had bumps all over its head from the crash, "Nyah nyah nyah!"
"Nice!" Caleb continued to command, "Use Ancient Power!"
"Bi!" Celebi responded, quickly hurled a ball of Ancient Power, and then continued kiting from the front.
Their strategy was working!
But as it turned out, plans couldn't keep up with changes. After several rounds of repeated attacks, just as Caleb thought the Dark Celebi's health bar was almost depleted, the Pokémon suddenly halted in mid-air...
Then, the entire forest began to emit an eerie humming sound. The ground shook, and dark shadows rose from the earth, flying overhead.
Caleb looked up and saw countless branches, trunks, and vines flying through the sky, converging on the Dark Celebi and forming the embryonic shape of a massive wooden giant.
The boss was entering its second phase!
Seeing the Dark Celebi about to complete its transformation, Caleb quickly commanded, "Finish it with one last hit! Leaf Storm!"
"Bi!" Witnessing this, Celebi's mood also grew tense. A green storm gathered before it and swept toward the opponent.
Since the Dark Celebi was in the midst of transforming, it couldn't dodge and had to take the Leaf Storm head-on.
As expected, the move landed successfully. But, while it hit, it didn't deliver the final blow.
Caleb was stunned, "How is that possible? I couldn't have miscalculated. The Dark Celebi had clearly taken so many attacks. Unless... this Dark Celebi was designed to force-lock health and not die upon entering its second phase..."
As the last vine sealed the gap, the massive Forest Giant officially completed its transformation.
Celebi appeared extremely small in comparison.
Facing Celebi, it slowly extended a finger. Immediately afterward, dark green vines suddenly emerged from the surrounding trees, tightly wrapping around Celebi's body.
Caleb frowned. The next second, a familiar sound rang in his ears:
*Ding!*
[You've fallen to your death. Retry challenge?]
...
Seventh restart...
Celebi seemed very downcast. Like a child who had done something wrong, it didn't sit on Caleb's shoulder as usual but kept its head lowered, not daring to look at him.
"Bi, lebi bi..." (Caleb-chan, I'm sorry...)
Hearing this form of address, Caleb was a little stunned at first. He paused for a moment before comforting Celebi, "It's okay, it's not your fault. You performed perfectly. We both still have room for improvement, right?"
He thought for a moment and added, "If you want to defeat it right now, it's actually not impossible."
Hearing this, a hopeful light shone in Celebi's eyes.
Caleb smiled, then left the Extreme Realm Instance with Celebi and teleported directly to the commercial district.
>..What are we doing here?..< Celebi asked.
While sending messages to Yuna, Terrence, Hatsumi, and others, Caleb answered, "Buying a TM for you."
There was only one way to defeat that Dark Celebi, and that was to have Celebi learn Toxic...