On the gravel path.
Battered by the impact of Heat Wave and without Aggron to replenish its energy, the sandstorm vortex finally began to dissipate.
It was this potent lingering effect that had caused Courtney to misjudge the situation; she had assumed Aggron was still inside clashing with Crobat's Heat Wave, never suspecting that the opponent had long since Dug underground.
The Sand Tomb was merely a distraction to blind her and her Crobat.
While processing this, Courtney threw her next Poké Ball.
Pop!
A flash of white light.
She actually had to thank Aggron for tearing up the remaining lava on the ground; otherwise, her Mightyena wouldn't have found a place to stand without being deployed to a nearby hillside.
"AWOOO!"
A handsome, sleek Mightyena landed, immediately fixing Aggron with a menacing glare. While the iron titan wasn't intimidated, his expression tightened slightly.
The Intimidate ability had triggered.
This Mightyena had smooth, glossy black fur and alert silver ears that twitched with mechanical precision. Its limbs were sturdy and powerful with clearly defined muscle lines.
As someone who had personally dismantled the Team Snagem, Kashiwagi had seen hundreds of Mightyena, ranging from weak to strong. But Courtney's was undoubtedly the most "beautiful" one he'd encountered. It could easily score high marks in a Pokémon Contest.
Pity, no matter how good it looked, it was still going to take a beating!
During the brief moment of the swap, Kashiwagi didn't order an immediate attack. Instead, he and Aggron exchanged a silent look, finalizing their strategy through sheer intuition.
Because the battle request had been so sudden, he hadn't had time to sit down and map out a strategy with his Pokémon. He had to rely on their established chemistry for the tactics, trusting that Aggron wouldn't make a mistake.
Out of all his Pokémon, his bond and silent understanding were highest with Aggron.
Furthermore, Magnet Rise was still active, meaning Aggron was currently immune to Ground-type energy. Even if Courtney brought Mega Camerupt back in, its Ground moves wouldn't do much.
Courtney gave the order: "Roar..."
"Dig!"
I was waiting for that!
Kashiwagi smiled, his prediction hitting the mark. Aggron tore into the earth before Mightyena could open its mouth, vanishing into the soil amidst a cloud of dust.
"AWOOOOO—!!"
Mightyena let out a loud, guttural howl, sending a semi-transparent shockwave rippling across the surface, but it missed Aggron entirely.
Seeing this, Courtney quickly pivoted. "Chase it... then use Roar... again!"
She was clearly determined to force Aggron out of the battle to nullify the Magnet Rise and Swords Dance buffs he had inherited from Mawile. She couldn't risk another one-shot knockout.
However, after taking a few steps toward the hole, Mightyena suddenly stopped. It didn't approach further, instead watching the entrance of the hole Aggron had dug with intense suspicion.
"Awoo!"
"..."
Courtney paused, realizing something, and quickly changed tactics. "Yawn!"
"Awoo~"
Mightyena exhaled a puff of milky-white mist toward the hole. But as the mist drifted forward, a sudden explosion of sand erupted from the opening!
The sand collided with the mist, scattering it harmlessly.
Instead of tunneling away, the silver behemoth had remained right at the entrance.
Kashiwagi and Aggron had used their favorite "hole camping" trick—waiting for the opponent to come close before lunging.
But Mightyena's nose was too sharp; it had smelled that Aggron hadn't descended further, causing the ambush to fail.
But the distance between them was now very short!
"Rock Tomb!"
"ROAR!"
Aggron stomped the ground heavily, funneling energy into the earth.
Mightyena sensed the danger and tried to flee, but as it moved left, a massive pillar of stone erupted; it moved right, and another pillar rose. Rocks shot up from multiple directions, quickly trapping the dark wolf in a tight cage.
"Iron Head!"
"ROAR!"
Aggron charged. The stone cage shattered like glass under his sharpened horns, sending debris flying like shrapnel.
However, Mightyena was no longer inside. In its place was a small, fresh hole in the ground.
"Behind you to the right! Stomp!"
Kashiwagi shouted the warning. Aggron instinctively lifted his right foot and slammed it backward, his leg coated in a thick, mustard-yellow aura. He aimed right for the dark shadow emerging from the ground!
But Mightyena was incredibly agile. Because Aggron was attacking based on instinct without a clear visual, the wolf managed to dodge the stomp with a sleek back-bend.
"Dark Pulse!"
"AWOOO!"
Back on solid ground, Mightyena inhaled sharply and unleashed a spiraling beam of dark, swirling rings directly into Aggron's exposed back at point-blank range!
BOOM!
The powerful Dark-type energy forced Aggron's massive frame to stumble forward.
But Aggron wasn't an opponent you could simply backstab and walk away from. Using the momentum of being pushed forward, he dropped low to the ground and whipped his massive, heavy tail around!
"Iron Tail!"
Swish—
The tail tore through the air with a terrifying whistle, a silver flash reaching Mightyena in an instant!
BANG!
"Whimper!"
Mightyena let out a pained cry as the sheer physical force of the impact sent it flying through the air.
It clearly hadn't expected Aggron to counter-attack immediately after taking a full-power Dark Pulse at close range. Does this monster not feel pain?
—Of course, the "Great Beast" certainly felt pain.
But more than pain, he cared about meeting Kashiwagi's expectations. To Aggron, winning was the best way to repay the trust his Trainer placed in him.
A mere Dark Pulse was nothing in comparison.
As he turned to pursue the flying wolf, Aggron noticed his Magnet Rise had finally worn off. Kashiwagi gave him a subtle look.
Aggron stopped his advance.
In the next heartbeat, Kashiwagi recalled Aggron into his Poké Ball. "Take a good rest. Don't push yourself."
In his place, Chansey appeared on the smoke-filled battlefield.
The Magnet Rise was over, and the lava had mostly cooled or been buried. It was time for her to shine.
"Lucky~"
Chansey looked at the staggering Mightyena and waited for Kashiwagi's command. She wouldn't rush in blindly. Though she was nimble, her base running speed wasn't great. Besides, she knew the opponent would likely come to her.
A distance away, Courtney watched the switch with confusion. She didn't understand why Kashiwagi hadn't let Aggron follow up and had instead chosen to switch.
While Mightyena had taken a heavy Iron Tail, it was still in decent shape. There was no immediate need to switch—
"No..."
Her instinct for danger flared. She reached for her Poké Ball to recall Mightyena.