"Toxicroak, you're up!"
With a flash of white light, Toxicroak leapt into the arena.
"Croak!"
But before it could take any action, countless sharp fragments beneath its feet suddenly exploded, engulfing it in a cloud of smoke and dust. The damage was significant.
"What the—?! Was that from the scattered shards earlier?"
Barry froze for a moment before realizing the truth. That explained why Hisuian Samurott had taken so long to finish off Roserade—those shards left behind by Ceaseless Edge must've had a Spikes-like effect!
That meant he couldn't casually switch out his Pokémon anymore—any careless substitution would leave his team taking residual damage before even getting a hit in.
Toxicroak managed to recover from the spiked entry hazard, but just as it did, a barrage of Air Slash blades tore through the air, aiming in on it. With lightning-fast reflexes, it sprang into the sky to evade.
"Aerial Ace!"
Hisuian Samurott's eyes flashed with a blade-like glint. It crossed its dual blades and lunged toward Toxicroak in midair.
"Toxicroak, brace yourself—use Brick Break!"
With no room left to dodge, Toxicroak raised its arm high and met Hisuian Samurott head-on in the sky.
But Hisuian Samurott's speed was still superior. Before Toxicroak's attack could land, Aerial Ace struck it cleanly.
It's super effective! A critical hit!
In just a split second, Hisuian Samurott unleashed enough power to potentially knock out Toxicroak.
"Croak—!"
Yet to Hisuian Samurott's surprise, Toxicroak endured the blow. With a painful growl, it powered through and brought its Brick Break smashing down onto Hisuian Samurott's head, knocking the Psychic-type down from midair.
Even though the blow struck Hisuian Samurott's sturdy armor-like helmet, it still dealt super effective damage.
More importantly, the impact drove Hisuian Samurott into the ground—where a rolling wave of toxic gas had already spread.
Poisonous mist surrounded Hisuian Samurott the moment it landed, inflicting it with Toxic.
Seizing the moment, Toxicroak—clinging to life with a sliver of health—followed through with a gravity-boosted downward strike, aiming another Brick Break straight at Hisuian Samurott's head.
"Sucker Punch!"
Right before the strike landed, the pain in Hisuian Samurott's expression vanished. With a flicker of dark energy, its foot blade struck Toxicroak's shoulder first.
Toxicroak's Brick Break froze mid-swing, its arm halted right before Hisuian Samurott's face.
"Croak…"
The Poison/Fighting-type's body slackened and dropped to the ground, unmoving.
"Toxicroak is unable to battle. Hisuian Samurott wins!"
The referee's voice echoed through the arena.
"You did great, Toxicroak. Take a good rest."
Barry returned Toxicroak to its Poké Ball and turned toward Hisuian Samurott, now suffering from Toxic. He was about to send out Snorlax to wall the now-weakened Hisuian Samurott—but Paul acted faster, recalling Hisuian Samurott and sending out another Pokémon.
"Aggron, prepare for battle."
"Agggrrr!"
With a ground-shaking roar, Aggron entered the field, its armored body covered in battle scars.
The poisonous terrain still lingered, but it had no effect on Aggron's Steel typing—its metallic frame repelled the toxins with ease.
Barry wasn't about to recklessly send out his planned Snorlax anymore. He swapped to another Poké Ball and tossed it forward.
"Heracross, let's go!"
"Heraa!"
As Heracross emerged and prepared to land as usual, Barry suddenly shouted—
"Stay airborne—don't touch the ground!"
"Heraa!"
Startled, Heracross halted its descent and flapped its wings to stay up above, scanning the battlefield warily.
Then came Paul's command:
"Rock Slide—followed by Heavy Slam!"
"Aggrrr!"
With a bellow, Aggron summoned a barrage of boulders that rained down from the sky, sealing off Heracross' possible escape routes.
Then, its body gleamed with a metallic sheen as it channeled its weight into a full-force aerial charge.
"Megahorn!"
From within the falling rocks, Heracross' massive horn glowed brilliantly. It shattered the descending boulders with sheer force and launched itself toward Aggron in a diving counterattack.
BOOM!
The impact rang out. Both Pokémon collided with immense power and rebounded from the clash.
One crashed into the ground, completely uninjured.
The other, though airborne again, fell back into the boulder zone and took a few glancing hits—minor damage.
"Metal Sound!"
Seeing Heracross take damage, Aggron immediately pressed the advantage, releasing a high-pitched screech that severely lowered its target's Special Defense and caused it to take additional hits from the falling debris.
"Flash Cannon!"
Without hesitation, Aggron raised its arms and unleashed a blinding beam of metallic energy—the condensed power of its steel body—aimed straight at Heracross, who was still slowed by the Rock Slide terrain.
"Pin Missile—evasive maneuver!"
Heracross' horn lit up again, launching a volley of white glowing arrows to intercept the beam. Using the momentum, it swung sideways and narrowly dodged Aggron's devastating blast.
"Heraa!"
Heracross, now panting, noticed Aggron hadn't pursued. Instead, the Steel-type was glowing with a white shimmer—charging up another move.
Autotomize—shaving off excess weight to reduce air resistance and drastically boost speed.
In that moment, Aggron's speed now vastly outclassed Heracross, whose mobility was hindered by Rock Slide.
"Return and rest, Heracross."
Barry swiftly retrieved his Heracross—thankfully untouched by Spikes—and sent out a new Pokemon.
"Go, Empoleon!"
"Empol!"
The moment Empoleon landed, the Spikes took effect—an explosion of fragments dealt solid damage upon entry.
"Aggrrr!"
And before the smoke cleared, Aggron fired a long-range Flash Cannon straight at the incoming Empoleon.
"Dodge it—quick!"
Empoleon, Barry's ace, reacted with grace despite the triple-layer Spikes damage. With an elegant backstep, it narrowly avoided Aggron's blast.
"Iron Defense!"
Aggron planted its feet and triggered Iron Defense, causing its body to shine with a metallic glow as its already sky-high Defense doubled.
"Hydro Cannon!"
"Empol~!"
Up in the sky, Empoleon gathered a terrifying sphere of compressed water in its beak. In the next instant, the high-pressure water projectile launched straight toward Aggron with incredible speed.
The timing of the attack was impeccable—there was no chance Aggron could dodge it!
And with Empoleon's raw power, the sheer force of Hydro Cannon, plus the type advantage, the combination of all three meant one thing: even a fully healthy Aggron might not be able to withstand a direct hit!
Just as Barry had predicted, Aggron didn't even get the chance to evade—Hydro Cannon struck it squarely in the head.
A critical hit!
BOOM!
A thick cloud of steam billowed up, and within it, Aggron's sturdy figure stood completely still amidst the mist.
"Metal Burst."
At that moment, Paul calmly gave his command. Without warning, Aggron, having braced itself through the blow, began to glow from deep within its jaws. A powerful energy beam surged forward, aimed directly at Empoleon—who was still frozen in the post-attack recoil from Hydro Cannon.
Even a bulky Pokémon like Torterra couldn't ignore the aftereffects of such a high-tier move—let alone Empoleon.
BOOM!
As expected, the beam from Metal Burst struck Empoleon the moment it landed, setting off an even more explosive detonation.
When the smoke cleared, a massive crater was left behind—and inside it, Empoleon lay motionless.
Metal Burst reflects damage at 1.5 times the strength it received!
The Hydro Cannon from earlier had enough power to knock out Aggron. With 1.5× that damage rebounding back, it was more than enough to one-shot Empoleon in return.
"Empoleon is unable to battle. Aggron wins!"
The referee's voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Come back, Empoleon… You did your best."
Barry clenched his teeth as he returned Empoleon to its Poké Ball.
It was clear that Aggron had just pulled off a special combo using Endure followed by Metal Burst. That's how it managed to turn the tables and take down Empoleon in a dramatic counterattack.
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