"Charge forward and use Shadow Claw!"
Seeing Mimikyu charge again, Aiden couldn't help but smile.
Still too young, lad.
If I give you a chance to strengthen, naturally I have prepared corresponding countermeasures!
"Eevee, Protect then use Substitute!"
Before the pitch-black claw condensed by Mimikyu could strike, Eevee had already prepared its defense.
A transparent barrier appeared in front, reducing much of the force of Mimikyu's Shadow Claw before shattering with a loud bang.
Taking advantage of the momentary block provided by Protect, Eevee repeated its earlier tactic, retreating several steps again to escape Mimikyu's attack range.
In this instant, Eevee moved again, quickly forming an identical clone using energy.
Based on Aiden's previous training practices, when the power gap between the two Pokémon is not large, even if Protect can't fully block the opponent's attack, it can still buy enough time for the Pokémon to retreat to a safe distance.
That's why he dared to use this well-known tactic in actual combat.
Sub-Protect-Toxic!
It's not hard to see that Sub-Protect-Toxic refers to the three moves: Substitute, Protect, and Toxic.
Each move alone might not seem like much, but when combined, they form an incredibly classic and simple stalling tactic.
Since the Toxic move, once it hits, will continuously erode the opponent's HP over time, both Protect and Substitute can delay as much as possible with minimal cost.
Protect is an advanced instinctive reaction for Pokémon (hence why almost all Pokémon can learn it through TMs), and learning Substitute isn't difficult for Eevee either.
The only crucial part, Toxic, theoretically it shouldn't be able to learn.
However, as everyone knows, as long as your imagination is outrageous enough, anything is possible in the Pokémon world.
Using the residual energy of Poison-type Tera shards, combined with Eevee's learned Sketch move, it became possible for it to temporarily master Toxic.
And the final result was...
This Mimikyu of Okamoto's now has great difficulty causing any harm to Eevee!
As Eevee successfully used Substitute, Okamoto also realized this point, his face instantly turning ashen.
First, attract attention with Terastallization, deliberately not announcing the move name to make me let my guard down, and by the time the Toxic takes effect, it's already too late to react!
Although it's hard to use Protect consecutively, due to Gym Leader Aiden seizing the command gap during the previous instructions and decisively issuing commands two steps ahead...
This directly caused his next command to inevitably lag behind, making it very difficult to interfere with Eevee using Substitute.
Aside from tactical design, even the command execution was again completely outclassed.
Even if Eevee's Substitute is broken, it will continue to delay time with Protect.
This, this is just too disgusting!
The more he thought about it, the more twisted Okamoto's expressions became.
He subconsciously looked at Aiden, who still had a faint smile and a relaxed demeanor, seemingly waiting for his next move.
But at this moment, he could only take a deep breath and try to think of a solution.
Calm down, stay calm.
According to Gym Leader Aiden's gym philosophy, it's absolutely impossible to use an unbeatable tactic to test challengers.
So, there must be a way to break through.
Think, brain, think!
Under immense pressure, Okamoto indeed thought of a way out.
"Mimikyu, use Taunt continuously!"
As Okamoto spoke, his previously low-hanging head rose high again.
That's right, by using Taunt to temporarily prevent Eevee from using status moves, it would force a direct showdown with Mimikyu!
Even if there is a Substitute blocking the way, the energy-formed Substitute won't be able to stop Taunt.
So Gym Leader Aiden was testing my proficiency with moves?
After hearing Okamoto's command, Aiden nodded slightly, acknowledging his quick thinking.
Forcing Eevee into a melee with Mimikyu, the idea is pretty good; it seems he has improved quite a bit during this period.
However, the Taunt move also carries risks!
"Eevee, use Protect to block it, then use Encore on Mimikyu!"
Aiden chuckled lightly, watching as both Mimikyu and Eevee acted simultaneously.
Although poisoned severely, Mimikyu could still endure with sheer willpower.
It looked at Eevee, skillfully flicking its tail, condensing invisible Dark-type energy, and rapidly spreading towards Eevee.
Taunt is a relatively common status move in battles, many Dark-type Pokémon use this move to disrupt the opponent's rhythm.
If controlled by this energy, the Pokémon will temporarily be unable to use status moves, which is very troublesome.
However, it's true that Substitute can hardly stop this move.
But an airtight Protect can easily do so!
Eevee deployed its barrier again, blocking Mimikyu's first Taunt move.
Before the second consecutive same move hit, Eevee directly gave up resistance, quickly condensing energy at the fastest speed.
"Mimikyu, dodge quickly!"
Okamoto's eyes widened instantly, trying to use a battle cry to make Mimikyu dodge this fatal move.
However, the "dodge quickly" technique isn't something anyone can execute well.
Mimikyu and Eevee hit each other simultaneously.
Although neither caused any damage, they had some "minor" effects on each other.
All of Eevee's status moves were directly sealed, henceforth neither Protect nor Substitute could be used normally.
As for Mimikyu…
When Okamoto heard Aiden shout "Encore," his heart sank halfway.
If there was still a glimmer of hope for victory before, after Mimikyu failed to dodge and got hit by the light wave, it was basically a death sentence.
Encore, similarly a Normal-type status move mainly used to disrupt opponents.
Its effect is to make the hit Pokémon repeat the last-used move for the next few turns.
And the last move Mimikyu used was…
Taunt!
So even if Eevee couldn't defend, Mimikyu could only stare at it blankly, completely unable to attack Eevee.
Being heavily poisoned, Mimikyu wouldn't be able to last until it could use Shadow Claw again.
"I lost…"
Okamoto sighed quietly, choosing to concede defeat.
The same sense of helplessness as when facing that Breloom last time.
I thought my strength had improved significantly; this time, even if I couldn't win, I should have been able to put up a fight.
But unexpectedly, in front of Aiden, it made no difference, all tactics and commands were effortlessly countered, posing no threat to his Pokémon at all...
"The challenger forfeits, so this match is won by Teacher Aiden!"
Nemona cast a sympathetic look at this student named Okamoto and made the judgment according to the rules.
Hope he's alright…
"Eeee!!!"
After securing a victory, Eevee couldn't stand still for even a second, leaping directly into Aiden's arms with a kick from its hind legs.
At the same time, Aiden felt the strong heartbeat transmitted through physical contact, feeling somewhat puzzled.
"Why are you so scared, one Mimikyu shouldn't scare you this much, right?"
Aiden chuckled and scratched its little head.
Though the reasoning was a bit far-fetched, Aiden assumed his Eevee was frightened by the battle.
After all, its timid nature was evident; every time before a battle, the powerful "King Engine" already indicated everything.
"Eeee..."
Eevee shook its head nervously, extending its little paw to grab Aiden's sleeve, then pointed towards the other side of the battlefield.
Aiden followed the direction it pointed to.
Perhaps due to the effect of Toxic, Okamoto's Mimikyu was quietly lying on the ground.
The layer of Pikachu-like suit, eroded by the Toxic effect, had unknowingly developed a significant hole.
Through that mystically glowing pink-purple hole, Aiden saw...
An indescribable appearance that should belong to some unfathomable creature.
Gulp...
Aiden unconsciously swallowed saliva.
He suddenly remembered, the Pokédex entry seemed to mention:
People who see Mimikyu's real appearance will eventually suffer a terrible curse...
Oh no, don't!
Now he finally understood why Eevee had been so terrified just now.
Seeing a ghost in broad daylight, who wouldn't be afraid!
—
A/N:
Regarding Mimikyu's true appearance, it's said that those who see it either die of fright or get plagued by strange illnesses...
But the descriptions in the Pokédex are pretty exaggerated lol
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