The squinty-eyed assassin had neutralized countless Trainers stronger than himself. He wore a mask of absolute confidence, as if he had already secured Feng Che's head.
"Graveler, use Rock Tomb!" "Fearow, use Fury Attack!"
Graveler raised its massive rocky arms. Suddenly, dozens of fist-sized boulders rained down from the sky, hurtling toward the Ditto.
"Arbok, use Iron Tail!" Feng Che commanded calmly.
The Ditto, fully adjusted to being addressed as "Arbok" in public, flicked its tongue and raised its silver-glowing tail. It swatted the falling rocks with practiced ease, redirecting several of them straight back at the hovering Fearow.
Caught off guard while preparing its own attack, the Fearow frantically flapped its wings to dodge. It escaped the brunt of the redirected rocks, but several feathers were torn away.
Before the Fearow could recover, it felt a sharp pain in its back. Rookidee had seized the chaos to strike with its own Fury Attack, pecking several bloody holes into the larger bird's hide.
Pain ignited the Fearow's primal ferocity. Its crest feathers stood on end as it flapped its massive wings, generating a localized gale. The Rookidee, still a fledgling with bones that hadn't fully hardened, struggled against the wind and was forced to the ground.
Seeing the small bird grounded, the Fearow extended its razor-sharp talons, diving to end the Rookidee's life.
A pity. If I had a Double Team TM, Rookidee wouldn't be in such a bind, Feng Che thought. Double Team was one of the most versatile moves in the world, creating illusions to baffle enemies. Once I find a Pokémon that knows it, I'll have Ditto devour it so it can teach the others. In his mind, Ditto's ultimate role was becoming the "Chief Instructor" for move mastery.
Just as the Fearow was about to reach Rookidee, the Arbok-Ditto lashed out with an Iron Tail. The Fearow shrieked and pulled back, narrowly avoiding a direct hit, though its tail feathers were sheared clean off.
Staring at its now-bald tail, the Fearow's eyes turned blood-red. It spiraled upward, tucking its wings into a lethal, aerodynamic posture.
"Careful, Arbok! It's using Drill Run! Counter with Iron Tail!"
The Fearow dove like a high-speed drill, its beak spinning with enough force to punch a hole through a human chest. The Ditto timed it perfectly, swinging its tail with everything it had.
CLANG!
The collision sent a shower of sparks flying. For a moment, it was a stalemate of raw power, but the Ditto's Arbok form—bolstered by its previous Swords Dance—held the edge. Like a golfer hitting a hole-in-one, the Arbok swatted the Fearow away. The bird turned into a streak of light, disappearing into the distant forest.
"Now, you're down to one," Feng Che said, snapping his fingers.
Arbok and Rookidee turned their gazes toward the Bard.
"I underestimated you," the Bard said, his smile still intact. "I didn't expect a rookie to have an Arbok this powerful. Ordinarily, my Fearow could crush any Pokémon in this batch."
"But you seem to have forgotten: Graveler is my actual ace. Fearow was just for the numbers."
"Graveler, use Rollout!"
The Graveler tucked its limbs into a sphere and began to spin. Using the slope of the cliff to build momentum, it hurtled toward the Arbok like a runaway boulder.
With that weight and gravity-assisted acceleration, a direct hit would be fatal, Feng Che analyzed. The best counter would be Gyarados, but I can't reveal that form in front of Alice.
"Arbok, Iron Tail!"
If they couldn't block it, Ditto could always use Dig to vanish, but Feng Che knew a better way.
"A Graveler of this level won't know Earthquake or even Magnitude," he calculated. "Arbok, aim for the 60-degree angle! Strike the side!"
During their training, Feng Che had taught Ditto that Iron Tail wasn't just for smashing; it was for leverage. "Using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds."
Feng Che had noticed this Graveler had a subtle right-leaning bias in its roll. It was a common habit among Geodude that carried over after evolution—it usually meant the right arm was slightly heavier than the left. It's the Pokémon equivalent of being right-handed.
The Bard hadn't noticed. Most "Rock Specialists" overlooked such anatomical nuances.
As the Graveler closed in, the Arbok's tail lashed out, striking the rotating sphere at a precise angle. The impact didn't stop the rock; it redirected the momentum. The Graveler's shell cracked under the pressure as it was forced out of its spin.
The Arbok didn't waste a second. It lunged forward, coiling its long body around the stunned Graveler in a crushing Wrap.
"It's over," Feng Che said confidently. "An Arbok's body is incredibly supple. Once it has its coils around a prey—even a rock-hard one—there is no escape."
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