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"Elekid, use Protect now!"
"Boom!!!"
Zorua manipulated the pink sphere of electrical energy, redirecting it straight back toward its original caster. The violent explosion kicked up sand across the battlefield, and thick smoke engulfed Elekid's position.
"Oh my! What an incredible turn of events! David's Zorua just used Extrasensory to reflect Elekid's Electro Ball right back at it!"
From the sidelines, David watched with a satisfied smile. Every time he faced an opponent with tricky moves, his little fox's Psychic-type abilities had been difficult to utilize effectively. It happened with Deino, and again with Sneasel. Finally, here was his first successful victim.
The inspiration for this technique came from the battle between Leon and Diantha during the Masters Eight Tournament, where Leon's Charizard's G-Max Wildfire was caught and redirected by Diantha's Gardevoir using Psychic.
His little fox couldn't compare to Diantha's Gardevoir yet, of course, but the opponent wasn't Leon either! Zorua's Extrasensory-based redirection had worked perfectly.
This success was thanks to Zorua's intensive Psychic training over the past few days. The little fox had practiced using chopsticks to eat David's cooking, then took the opportunity to seek guidance from Gallade on mastering Psychic-type moves a few days ago. The hard work had barely paid off with this accomplishment.
However, following the classic "no smoke, no damage" rule, when the smoke cleared from the battlefield, Elekid's figure remained standing. Although the Electro Ball's power had increased significantly after being wrapped in Confusion energy, Elekid remained unharmed beneath the protection of its green Protect barrier.
"Darn it! What should I do?"
Even though Elekid was still in good condition, the opening exchange had clearly dealt a massive psychological blow to Christopher, who had been preparing for revenge. He stood there, clearly hesitant and uncertain.
"Zorua, use Calm Mind and Agility!"
While Elekid hesitated, the energized Zorua darted around the field like a streak of pink lightning. It simultaneously increased its speed with Agility while boosting its Special Attack with Calm Mind.
"Elekid, use Hidden Power on the ground!"
After a brief moment of thought, Christopher devised a strategy.
Following the command, Elekid condensed an orb of Hidden Power energy between its hands. The light blue sphere smashed into the ground, and two consecutive uses of the Water-type Hidden Power began creating puddles across the battlefield. Even Zorua, while maintaining its Agility, couldn't help but get its fur dampened.
"So that's your plan?"
Seeing the ground now quite wet after being swept by Hidden Power, David immediately understood his opponent's intention.
"A clever idea, I'll admit."
By using Water-type Hidden Power, Christopher had artificially transformed the originally dry battlefield into puddles that could conduct electricity. Anyone standing on the ground would be affected by electric attacks, especially Zorua, who was already wet from using Agility.
Moreover, with Electric Terrain active, the abundance of Electric-type energy on the field ensured that any Thunder Wave released by Elekid wouldn't lose effectiveness even after dispersing through the water-covered ground.
This way, no matter how fast Zorua moved, if it fell into paralysis, all that speed would amount to nothing.
"At the ground, use Thunder Wave at full power!"
Christopher's voice rang out with excitement as Elekid pressed both hands to the ground, preparing to unleash the paralyzing Thunder Wave.
"That plan only works if Thunder Wave actually gets released. What if it doesn't?"
"What?!"
"Taunt."
At the same moment, a simple command came from David's side. The little fox, having completed its speed boost, stopped using Agility, flashed a mocking smile at Elekid, then pulled at its cheeks, stuck out its tongue, and made an exaggerated funny face.
"Roar! Roar!!!"
Facing Zorua's Taunt, driven by some mysterious force, Elekid's eyes turned bloodshot. It abandoned the Thunder Wave it was about to release successfully. Instead, it clenched its fists, which burst into fierce flames, and swung them viciously toward Zorua's face.
"Stop! Elekid! Snap out of it!"
At this moment, the difference between a truly experienced Trainer and a novice became crystal clear. When Aria had faced the little fox's Taunt with her Deino, she immediately had it attack strategically.
Christopher, however, having been completely outmaneuvered by his opponent, was clearly panicking. He actually tried to stop the enraged Elekid, but it was obvious that Elekid was no longer listening to any of Christopher's commands.
A barrage of Fire Punches came flying with tremendous force, as Elekid wanted nothing more than to smash its fists into the little fox's face.
Watching this unfold, David couldn't help but mutter to himself. Although Taunt was supposed to make opponents abandon their current move and only use attacking moves, the effect his little fox produced was perhaps a bit too effective! The opponent was clearly seeing red.
The little fox, having already completed its Agility boost, naturally paid no attention to Elekid's furious assault. It leisurely dodged between the opponent's attacks, occasionally using Shadow Claw to chip away at the opponent's stamina.
Soon, after the fierce onslaught, Elekid was the first to stop, standing in place and panting heavily. The scratches covering its body silently testified to its current poor condition.
Unexpectedly, Christopher breathed a sigh of relief after seeing this. He planned to regroup and attempt a comeback. He no longer harbored any thoughts of winning, only wanting to finish this battle properly and lose with dignity.
This was no longer just a simple difference in Pokemon strength; even at the Trainer level, he was clearly being completely outclassed by his opponent.
His gaze turned to David. For the first time, this was the first time he had felt genuine fear toward someone his own age.
"Did you think it was over? Confuse Ray!"
"What!!!"
It was Confuse Ray, a move Zorua had never used before in this battle.
Perhaps because of the overlapping move pools between Psychic-type and Ghost-type Pokemon—where you often see Psychic-types skilled in Shadow Sneak and Ghost-types proficient in Confusion—the connection made sense.
During the special training over the past few days, while asking Gallade about Hypnosis, David's little fox had also learned Confuse Ray from this master of status moves.
With Elekid's hidden ability Vital Spirit and Electric Terrain's secondary effect preventing Pokemon on the ground from falling asleep, Zorua's Hypnosis would be difficult to use effectively.
Confuse Ray perfectly solved this problem.
The strangely colored light shone directly onto Elekid's face. Its recently calmed state was suddenly ignited with boundless rage once again. It began wildly striking and thrashing about on the battlefield, attacking the ground, the air, and even hitting itself in its confusion.
"That's enough! Let's end this battle! Zorua, Extrasensory!"
A strong pink glow burst from Zorua's eyes once more. Elekid, still wildly swinging its fists in place, was directly lifted into the air by the little fox's Extrasensory. At this point, it had completely lost the stamina to resist the Confusion energy and was easily thrown off the battlefield.