Aju furrowed his brow. If he remembered correctly, Krabby evolves relatively early.
Since this young man defeated the Goldenrod Gym, why hadn't his Krabby evolved yet? Was it just caught, or was its evolution suppressed to learn specific moves?
The next moment, he decided to ignore these thoughts and awaited Xiao Zhi's command.
"Krabby, use Metal Claw on Arbok!"
Krabby obeyed Xiao Zhi's order, swiftly rushing towards Arbok, its pincers gleaming with metallic light.
Aju didn't immediately shout Substitute; instead, he commanded, "Arbok, use Gastro Acid."
Upon hearing Aju's command, Arbok swiftly slithered forward, simultaneously opening its large mouth and spraying a viscous stream of Gastro Acid towards Krabby.
Xiao Zhi immediately noticed this change and promptly issued an order: "Krabby, use sidestep to evade the Acid! Then continue using Metal Claw!"
Unexpectedly, Krabby's reaction was a bit slow and it failed to dodge the Gastro Acid in time, resulting in being hit by it.
The Gastro Acid covered Krabby's body but caused no substantial damage, merely enveloping Krabby in a sticky substance.
Soon, the Gastro Acid disappeared, and Krabby felt its body was a bit strange, as if an innate power had temporarily vanished.
[Gastro Acid: By spraying stomach Acid, it eliminates the opponent's ability effect.]
Krabby unhesitatingly took firm steps towards Arbok, its pincers raised high, gleaming with an iron-like radiance.
It moved sideways, charging directly at Arbok, its pincers raised high, ready to unleash immense power for a fatal blow.
This sudden counterattack made Arbok feel a hint of threat; it knew that Krabby's pincers were not to be trifled with.
Seeing this, Aju calmly said, "Protect."
As these words landed, a green circular barrier appeared out of thin air, tightly enveloping Arbok. This barrier seemed like an indestructible shield, emitting powerful energy fluctuations.
It appeared just as Krabby's attack was about to land, providing Arbok with extra defense, as if declaring a boundary that could not be crossed no matter what.
Krabby's full-power strike, its iron-hard giant pincer, slammed heavily against Arbok's shield.
However, Krabby's attack on the shield had no substantial effect, merely causing a ripple, like a disturbance on the water's surface.
The shield remained as solid as a rock, firmly protecting Arbok, preventing Krabby's attack from penetrating. It emitted a faint glow, seemingly mocking Krabby's useless attack.
Arbok appeared unyielding, standing tall like a rock, maintaining a firm defensive stance against Krabby's offensive.
Xiao Zhi felt a slight unease; in previous Gym battles, the Gym Leaders had focused on offense, and encountering this situation now felt very uncomfortable.
Aju, however, was at ease. Seeing that the Protect's duration was about to end, he said, "Substitute."
The two short words left Xiao Zhi somewhat puzzled. He had never seen the move Substitute before, but he still shouted his own command simultaneously: "Quickly use Shell Blade!"
Krabby extended its pincers, from which several blade-like energy bodies elongated. Its pincers gleamed with a cold light, accurately aiming at Arbok like sharp blades.
It launched its attack without hesitation, swinging fiercely at Arbok with lightning speed and a sharp aura!
As Krabby used Shell Blade, Arbok used the move Substitute, sacrificing some of its own stamina to withstand one instance of damage.
Krabby's pincers sliced through the air, heading straight for Arbok. However, as it chopped at Arbok, Arbok's body suddenly underwent a strange transformation.
Its body began to gradually blur, transforming into a transparent clone. Shell Blade could not penetrate Arbok's real body, but instead struck the clone, producing a slight collision sound.
Subsequently, the clone quickly dissipated, revealing that it was merely an illusion, and the effect of the Substitute move was fully realized. Arbok successfully used the Substitute move to evade Krabby's attack without taking any damage.
Substitute, Protect, Poison; although the order was swapped, the first two moves were successfully executed.
However, Aju did not follow up with Poison; instead, he commanded, "Arbok, use Acid Spray on Krabby."
Upon hearing the command, Arbok opened its mouth and sprayed a thick stream of acidic liquid from it.
With a whooshing sound and hot air currents, the acidic liquid rushed towards Krabby at great speed.
Seeing this, Xiao Zhi quickly shouted, "Krabby, use Water Gun!"
Seeing the acidic liquid approaching, Krabby reacted quickly, opening its mouth to spray Water Gun, attempting to block the Acid's erosion. However, despite the strong and dense water flow, it still could not completely resist the Acid's attack.
After the Acid Spray hit Krabby's body, Krabby's body trembled slightly, appearing to have sustained relatively severe damage.
A blue light flashed, and Krabby's Special Defense dropped significantly.
Li Qingfeng nodded to himself, trying to deduce Aju's strategy. Either he was preparing for Acid, or he was setting up the next Pokémon to finish off Krabby.
But next, it should be that move, right?
Indeed, Aju softly uttered, "Poison."
Arbok immediately began to use the move Poison. It opened its large mouth, and a highly toxic purple liquid gathered within it, forming drops of purple venom.
The purple venom sprayed out from Arbok's mouth, rapidly flying towards Krabby. These drops of purple venom condensed into lethal droplets, tracing a lightning-like arc through the air.
It carried a strong toxic aura, and once it made contact, it would inflict a severe poisoned effect on Krabby!
Seeing the venom sprayed by Arbok, Xiao Zhi quickly shouted at Krabby, "Quickly use Bubble Beam to block this move!"
Krabby fired a bright Bubble Beam from its mouth. This Bubble Beam shimmered with a faint white light, rapidly expanding to block part of the Poison sprayed by Arbok.
However, due to the potency and residual effect of the Poison, some of the venom still seeped through the gaps in the bubble barrier, reaching Krabby's surroundings.
Xiao Zhi immediately noticed this situation and nervously shouted, "Krabby, be careful of the residual Poison around you! Try to avoid contact, don't get poisoned!"
Krabby nodded slightly, carefully moving its body, attempting to dodge the surrounding Poison.
"Arbok, use Poison Sting on it."
Facing Krabby's Bubble Beam that blocked the Poison, Aju calmly issued a new command. Arbok raised its serpentine body, opened its mouth, and spat out a series of sharp Poison Sting similar to senbon.
These Poison Sting shimmered with a purple light, arcing through the air and heading straight for Krabby. They quickly pierced through the air at extreme speed, accurately aiming for Krabby's vital points.
Krabby's eyes widened. Seeing the sky-full of flying Poison Sting attacking it, it used all its strength to try and dodge.
However, these Poison Sting were extremely fast, accurately piercing through the air, making it difficult for Krabby to completely evade them. Fortunately, Krabby's physical defense was relatively high, and these Poison Sting did not cause significant damage to Krabby.
"Krabby, Metal Claw!"
Once the overwhelming Poison Sting dissipated, Krabby immediately clenched its large pincers, ready to counterattack. It twisted its body, rapidly approaching Arbok, while swinging its metallic-hardened pincers.
Krabby, with lightning speed, swung its metallic-hardened pincers, violently smashing them towards Arbok. Each heavy blow carried immense power.