Chapter 284: Shiny Alakazam's Appearance
"Kabutops, use Stomp."
(Stomp is a Ground-type move introduced in Generation VII. Its effect is that if the move used last turn missed, this move's power doubles.)
Kabutops vented its anger onto the ground, stomping repeatedly, causing cracks to form as it kicked up debris toward Nidoking's eyes.
Seeing countless fragmented stones rushing toward it, Nidoking reacted swiftly, shattering the incoming rocks with Brick Break.
But Nidoking clearly underestimated Kabutops's fury. The scattered stones seemed endless, relentlessly converging upon Nidoking.
"Roar!"
Due to a moment's negligence, Nidoking was hurt by the relentless barrage of stones, sustaining serious damage.
Seeing Nidoking so gravely injured, Kabutops charged forth and shattered the ice blocks on its bone club with a punch, soon standing before Nidoking.
"Use Bone Club."
Kabutops struck a sword-drawing stance, then brought down its sturdy bone club furiously on Nidoking's body. The impact forced Nidoking to cry out in pain.
"Focus Energy."
Kabutops slowly closed its eyes, taking a deep breath to concentrate its spirit, preparing to deliver a fatal blow next.
"Nidoking, use Drill Run!"
Nidoking roared defiantly, ramming its sharp horn fiercely toward Kabutops.
"Use Bone Club, then Bone Club Bash to follow up."
Noticing Nidoking's approach, Kabutops opened its eyes and fiercely swung its bone club, striking Nidoking's horn to block and clash with it.
"Nidoking, use Superpower!"
Nidoking instantly surged with energy. Its muscles tensed, pushing Kabutops back.
"Kabutops!"
Unwilling to concede, Kabutops split its bone club into two thick pieces and clashed continuously with Nidoking's fists.
"Kabutops, dodge quickly!"
Seeing Gary's eyes, Red immediately commanded.
"Nidoking, use Iron Tail now!"
Kabutops quickly distanced itself before Nidoking's massive tail slammed the ground hard, leaving a terrifyingly deep crater.
"Truly worthy of Red, what a pity," Gary muttered.
"Flamethrower."
After speaking, Red gave Kabutops a knowing look.
Kabutops immediately opened its mouth, releasing fierce flames toward Nidoking.
"Nidoking, use Rock Slide."
Though puzzled by Red's command, Gary ordered Nidoking to defend.
After a brief exchange, Kabutops stopped its flames and advanced toward Nidoking.
But the observant Gary noticed something different—the bone club was gone from Kabutops's hands.
(Could it be?!)
Gary looked back in shock, noticing the thick bone club had silently appeared behind Nidoking, poised to strike its head.
"Nidoking, quickly use Rock Slide to attack the bone club behind you!" Gary urgently warned.
Hearing this, Nidoking hesitated. Kabutops stood ready to attack from the front, but the stealthy bone club attack from behind put Nidoking in a dilemma.
This hesitation ultimately led to its most regrettable moment.
"Boom!"
A loud noise sounded. Kabutops's body slam struck Nidoking squarely, while the returning Bone Boomerang struck Nidoking's head.
Under the dual assault, Nidoking fell unwillingly to the ground.
"Nidoking is unable to battle!" The referee announced, casting a regretful glance at Gary.
"Phew." Gary let out a heavy breath.
Only three of Gary's Pokémon remained. Of those, only two had energy left to continue; Scyther was nearly at its limits and unable to fight.
"I'm counting on you, Alakazam!" Gary called.
White light flashed. A brown-armored Alakazam appeared, holding its spoons tightly.
"A Psychic-type Alakazam," Red said with some surprise, not expecting Gary to have this hidden trump card.
"Looks like it's your turn now..." Red murmured, looking at the Poké Ball at his waist.
The Poké Ball suddenly shook, as if responding to Red's silent words.
To test the waters, Kabutops immediately threw its bone club as a Bone Boomerang toward Alakazam.
"Alakazam, use Psychic."
Alakazam raised its spoons, its eyes glowing deep blue. It controlled powerful psychic energy, stopping the bone club mid-air and sending it back at Kabutops.
"Kabutops!"
Kabutops caught the returning bone club with one hand but showed visible strain, clearly not as easy as it looked.
"Alakazam, use Teleport!"
Just as Kabutops prepared to attack, Alakazam disappeared suddenly, as if it had never been there.
"Watch behind! Use Headbutt immediately!" Red warned.
Kabutops instinctively spun around, delivering a Headbutt that struck Alakazam.
Alakazam winced but endured, quickly gathering an energy ball that it fired at Kabutops at close range.
"Kabutops!"
Kabutops was caught off guard. It endured the energy ball, but the super-effective damage made it stagger, struggling to regain balance.
Angrily raising its bone club to attack, Kabutops saw Alakazam vanish again with Teleport.
The next moment, Kabutops suddenly felt a strong psychic force trying to control its entire body, forcing it to collapse.
Kabutops looked up to see Alakazam floating above it, crossing spoons and draining Kabutops's strength with continuous Psychic attacks.
"Psychic-type Pokémon are no joke…"
Brock whispered in the stands.
"Kabutops!"
Furious, Kabutops broke free from the psychic hold and vehemently swung its bone club, launching another Bone Boomerang at Alakazam.
But the vast sky was Alakazam's playground. Using psychic power, Alakazam dodged the attack effortlessly and retaliated with another energy ball to continue depleting Kabutops's stamina.
"Return, Kabutops."
Red recalled the clearly frustrated Kabutops and sent out another Pokémon.
"Go, Shiny Alakazam!"
As Gary and Alakazam prepared, Shiny Alakazam suddenly vanished, only to quietly appear behind Alakazam and strike with Psychic.
A powerful psychic wave formed a circular pulse that instantly knocked Gary's Alakazam to the ground.
"Wow, Shiny Alakazam is amazing…" Gary exclaimed, stunned that he had no idea when the Shiny Alakazam appeared or moved behind Alakazam.