"Umbreon—Dark Pulse!"
"Umb—!"
Umbreon lifted its head; Dark-type energy gathered at its mouth, and ring after ring of black light lanced out—slamming into the oncoming Flamethrower!
The orange-red Flamethrower and Dark Pulse crashed together, and the smoke rolled outward in all directions.
Another vision-blocking smokescreen!
Grey noticed Karen had a fondness for these "undercover" tactics.
Haze earlier; now a deliberate beam clash.
Like a hunter lurking in the dark, waiting for her moment to strike!
It was obvious this Umbreon was trained to a razor's edge. Even if it wasn't from her main team, there wasn't a flaw to pick at.
"Chaoh!"
As the Flamethrower faded from its beak, Blaziken flared with a crimson sheen; its speed climbed.
"Tch… a Blaziken with Speed Boost, huh?"
Karen knew her Abilities. One look at Blaziken's afterglow and her mood soured.
The faster the opponent, the harder it is for Umbreon to keep a lock.
She'd have to stack statuses before Blaziken hit full stride; if she could take it out, even better.
"Blaziken—Flamethrower again!"
After seeing Umbreon's movepool, Grey stuck to one principle: avoid close quarters if possible—no need to get caught and dropped by a flurry of cheap shots.
No matter how good your kung fu is, a kitchen knife still hurts.
No matter how strong you are, Toxic still stings!
Especially against Umbreon's stall kit—Grey had no desire to wade into that. Better to harass with Flamethrower and shave HP.
"Hmm?"
Seeing Grey "refuse to play along," Karen's brows knit; she went proactive: "Dodge it—close the gap!"
At her word, Umbreon shot into the smoke like a black gust and vanished.
Blaziken opened its beak; a torrent of searing fire roared out. The pillar punched through the smoke, painting it blood-red!
The smog ballooned under the heat, then split down the middle as if pried apart by two invisible hands!
Flamethrower speared the shroud—but failed to tag Umbreon!
"Such strong concealment?"
Grey clocked that advantage window and called again: "Use Flame Charge to reposition!"
"Snarl!"
Their commands overlapped—almost simultaneous.
Fire burst from Blaziken's wrist vents and wrapped it head to toe; dust billowed as it rocketed off, a rolling bank of smoke in its wake!
"Umb—!"
A razor-edged roar ripped from the haze; dark sound waves rippled out faster than Blaziken's dash, carving a clean chunk of damage!
A blue flash—Snarl's side effect—knocked Blaziken's Special Attack down a stage!
But Flame Charge triggered cleanly, and Blaziken's speed now dwarfed its starting pace!!
Even a casual stride was faster than most Pokémon in a dead sprint!
"Blaziken—Quick Attack!"
To play it safe, Grey probed with a priority burst.
A blinding white flashed—Blaziken vanished, moving so fast it didn't even leave an afterimage!
The air's tearing shriek hadn't caught up before a raging slipstream blasted forward!
Karen's pupils shrank; her heart skipped a beat!
That speed was beyond her projection!
KOOOOOOM!!!
Wind sheared along Blaziken's line of advance; smoke split like surf under a keel!
Forced out of hiding, Umbreon flickered into view, shock flaring in its crimson eyes.
"Chaoh!"
Blaziken's fighting spirit boiled over; a roar ripped from its throat!
It stomped down, the floor splintering underfoot—then fired like a shell straight at Umbreon!
At the last split second, cold light flashed in Karen's eyes. She shouted, "Toxic!"
"Umb!"
Umbreon screeched; dark-purple Poison-type energy surged over its body.
It bared its fangs, a deep venomous gleam flowering between them!
But Blaziken was swifter.
Its form ripped the air; a searing white trail wrapped its frame like a falling star as it slammed into Umbreon's chest!
The shockwave detonated. Umbreon caught itself on all fours but was still shoved back several meters!
It scraped hard—forepaws punched into the floor to kill its slide by brute force!
Sharp grooves scored the boards, harsh and ugly like clawed scars!
Shattered chips rained down, mingling with the buffeting air to weave a murky fog between them.
Plip…
Viscous poison dripped from Umbreon's teeth, eating little pits into the wooden floor.
CRACK!
Umbreon dug in with all four paws, forcing its trembling body upright.
Poison seemed to come alive, threading slowly through the sleek black fur.
Each step drew a strained creak from the boards; thin smoke rose as a fishy miasma spread.
"Umb—!" (What kind of hero hides in the dark forever?! If you've got guts, fight me up close!)
Umbreon lifted its head again; the red pupils narrowed to pinpoints, and an eerie, jagged grin split its muzzle!
Drip… drip…
The fall of toxic drops beat like a metronome. Blaziken extended one hand forward, the other tucked behind, wrist vents still licking fire.
"Chaoh…" (Close quarters, huh? That's what it wants…)
Blaziken tilted its head and murmured to Grey.
"Aren't you afraid of badly poisoning yourself? That stuff eats at the body. It's not fun."
Grey offered a quiet warning.
Ordinary poison you can grit your teeth through.
But this was Toxic.
Toxic doesn't just tick down HP—its pain ramps up with every passing turn.
"Chaoh." (If avoiding a status means being a coward forever, I'd rather be a hero for a moment.)
Blaziken's voice went steady and heavy. The fire on its fists painted twin wings of shadow across the floor.
"I see… then I was overthinking it."
Grey rubbed the back of his head and let out a frosty breath. "In that case—show Karen and the others your true power!"
"The aura changed?!"
In Karen's eyes, Grey looked the same, but the feel of him was nothing like before.
At first he'd been steady and conservative—nothing like a stereotypical Fighting-type Trainer.
But now…
Now it felt like she'd poked something better left alone!
Like…
The Boss was about to enter Phase Two!
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