Zhang Tian was a little surprised as he watched the Bishaten get blown up. He hadn't expected the Tobi-Kadachi to fight with such cunning tactics; its intelligence was incredible.
"The intelligence of Pokémon is on par with humans. After being Pokémonized, the Tobi-Kadachi's intelligence naturally improved as well," he mused. "It seems that besides a boost in strength, the increase in intelligence from Pokémonization is not to be underestimated. Before, the Tobi-Kadachi would never have thought of such a strategy."
Before the blasted Bishaten could even hit the ground, the attacks from Pidgeotto and the Great Izuchi arrived.
Gust!
Pidgeotto flapped its wings, and sharp currents of air sliced into the Bishaten, leaving long, shallow cuts that soon had it covered in blood. The Great Izuchi used Bounce to leap onto the Bishaten's head, then kicked down hard, accelerating its descent. Under the Great Izuchi's control, the Bishaten's landing spot shifted from a soft lawn to a massive boulder.
CRASH!
The Bishaten slammed into the rock, shattering it on impact.
"Taste my Sakura Slash!"
Zhang Tian shot out a Wirebug, pulling himself toward the dazed monster like an arrow from a bowstring.
SWISH!
His Long Sword carved a huge gash across the Bishaten's body as he zipped past, appearing behind it.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As if bombs had been planted inside it, the wound he had just created erupted in a series of small explosions, blasting open several holes in the monster's flesh.
"Helm Breaker!"
Zhang Tian turned, leaped into the air, and brought his Long Sword down in a fierce overhead slash aimed at the Bishaten's head.
THUNK!
The blade bit deep into its skull and got stuck. The Bishaten was, after all, a tier higher than him. Otherwise, that single blow would have taken its head clean off.
Tug!
Seeing his sword was stuck, Zhang Tian planted his feet on the monster's head and wrenched it free.
"SKREEE!"
The Bishaten struggled to its feet, then swung its right paw weakly at him.
"Serene Pose!" Zhang Tian raised his sword, and a translucent, net-like web of light appeared before him. At this point, all four of the Wirebugs on his person were in cooldown. Sakura Slash and Helm Breaker were both Wirebug Skills that consumed one bug each. Serene Pose consumed two.
In the game, players could only carry two Wirebugs, with a third needing to be found on the map. A fourth could only be obtained temporarily by using specific skills. However, reality was different. While there were no wild Wirebugs to pick up, a hunter could carry more from the start. Due to equipment limitations, four was the maximum, just as in the game.
CLANG!
The Bishaten's claw collided with the web of light. The monster was instantly repelled, its claw injured by the backlash. At the same time, Zhang Tian was knocked back more than a dozen steps.
"The strength difference is a full tier. Otherwise, it never would have been able to push me back," he thought as he regained his footing. "Of course, if the Bishaten hadn't been injured and had attacked me with its full strength, I probably would have been hurt, even with Serene Pose's invincibility frames. When the power gap is too large, even invincibility skills have their limits. Otherwise, Long Sword users would be hunting Elder Dragons with these skills. But it's clear that ordinary hunters can't block an Elder Dragon's attack, even with invincibility."
The Bishaten swayed unsteadily, on the verge of collapse. The explosion from the pinecones had been immense. Even with its high fire resistance, it couldn't withstand such a blast. If it weren't for that, the damage from Zhang Tian, Pidgeotto, and the Great Izuchi would have only amounted to a moderate injury at best. The Tobi-Kadachi had been the MVP of this fight.
"Hiss!" The Tobi-Kadachi closed in, its claws flashing out to snatch the Bishaten's remaining eye.
"Skree..." the Bishaten roared weakly, turning to swat at the Tobi-Kadachi. But it was too slow. The severe injuries had slowed its movements as if it had been hit with a tranquilizer.
The Tobi-Kadachi leaped up, easily dodging the attack.
Flying Tail Slam!
It used its signature skill again, bringing its massive tail crashing down on the Bishaten's head. The grievously injured monster could hold on no longer and collapsed heavily to the ground.
"Nice job, Tobi-Kadachi," Zhang Tian laughed, throwing out a Poké Ball. The Tobi-Kadachi's performance in this battle had been stellar; it had carried the whole team. It had started by blinding the Bishaten, then used the monster's own fruit to inflict massive damage, single-handedly deciding the outcome.
Whir... Whir...
The Poké Ball shook more than a dozen times before finally clicking shut.
"Roar!" The Arzuros finally lumbered onto the scene.
"?" Seeing the battle was already over, it looked around in confusion. It seemed like it was always late to the party.
[Successfully captured the Blood Orange Bishaten!]
[Blood Orange Bishaten beginning Pokémonization...]
[Pokémonization successful!]
[Blood Orange Bishaten's Pokémon data is as follows:]
Blood Orange Bishaten
Type: Fire/Fighting
Ability: Breakdancer (When balancing on its forepaws, skill power is +50%. After attacking an enemy, its Attack and Speed are raised by 1 stage.)
Unique Skills: Spinning Charge, Exploding Pinecone, Fire Breath, Tail Swipe
HP Base Stat: 75
Attack Base Stat: 140
Defense Base Stat: 75
Special Attack Base Stat: 110
Special Defense Base Stat: 60
Speed Base Stat: 120
Total Base Stats: 580
"A base stat total of 580, that's close to a pseudo-legendary," he noted. "The ability is good, very strong. The stat distribution is... okay. It's a shame its Special Attack is so high. The Bishaten is a physical attacker, so that's a bit of a waste." He shook his head with some regret, then looked at its unique skills.
Spinning Charge, Fire Breath, and Tail Swipe were all fairly standard. The standout was Exploding Pinecone.
Exploding Pinecone
Category: Physical
Type: Fighting
Power: 80
Special Effect: After the pinecone explodes, it deals additional special Fire-type damage to the enemy with a power of 80.
In simple terms, Exploding Pinecone dealt two instances of damage: physical Fighting-type damage and special Fire-type damage.
"An interesting skill. In that case, the 110 points in Special Attack aren't a complete waste." After reading the skill description, Zhang Tian nodded slightly. The move was a perfect fit for the Bishaten.
"Come on out, Escuregot, Bishaten."
Zhang Tian released both creatures.
"Escuregot, please heal it," he said, pointing to the injured Bishaten.