Chapter 131: Open and Aboveboard...

"Pikachu, stand up! Pikachu..."

Under Ash's call, Pikachu managed to get back on its feet. However, its stamina was clearly hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, Rhydon, codenamed Adan, had already completed a Swords Dance, and with Trick Room in effect and the protection of both Reflect and Light Screen, it was essentially in a position to sweep the team in terms of game mechanics.

Reality, of course, was slightly different; Trick Room didn't have the absurd effects seen in the games, serving only to roughly equalize the speed gap. Even so, the momentum was such that as long as it withstood one round of attacks, Am's Rhydon could unleash a Rock Wrecker. Despite not yet having evolved, Rhydon's base Attack stat of 80, combined with a level advantage and a Swords Dance boost, meant neither Charizard nor Pikachu could withstand a hit.

Though Pikachu stood shakily, it didn't dare approach the Rhydon as it began a standard charge. As for Exeggutor, even though its Special Attack had been "silenced" after the Leaf Storm, rendering its psychic output weak, it still possessed Sleep Powder. It didn't matter how much damage it could deal; as long as Exeggutor had Sleep Powder, Ash—or any opponent—could not ignore it, especially now that its accuracy was boosted.

Pikachu, having barely recovered from the strain of Quick Attack, immediately launched another one. If the previous use was to dodge, this was clearly intended to finish off Exeggutor.

"This is my final Quick Attack!" Am whispered, providing the voiceover for Pikachu.

Pikachu collided with Exeggutor. Not hoping to dodge, Exeggutor poured all its remaining psychic energy into a basic attack to meet the collision head-on. Because both were in such poor condition, they both collapsed and fainted upon impact.

"Exeggutor and Pikachu are unable to battle. Please switch your Pokémon," Professor Oak declared, his eyes sharp enough to confirm they were truly fainted, not just asleep.

It seemed like a one-for-one trade, but Professor Oak and Brock knew the value Exeggutor had contributed to this match was far greater. It had set up Trick Room and then traded itself for Pikachu.

"Go, Kingler!"
"Coff!"

Ash sent out his Kingler, while on Am's side...

"Is that... a Cofagrigus?" Ash scanned it with his Pokédex, as Cofagrigus was rare in Kanto. [Cofagrigus, the Coffin Pokémon, resembles a coffin...]

As long as Ditto closed its eyes, the Pokédex would naturally identify it as a Cofagrigus.

"Is that really a Cofagrigus?" Goh felt something was off.
"It's a Ditto," Brock whispered.

Although he recognized it, Brock was a professional and didn't provide Ash with outside information—that was something a trainer had to deduce for themselves. Was there a difference between a real Cofagrigus and a Ditto transformed into one? Certainly! For one, a Ditto's stamina was generally lower, and more importantly, it could use its preparation time to trigger its Imposter ability again and transform into another recorded form. That was why Am had sent out Coff.

With Trick Room active, once it ended, Coff could decide whether to extend the Trick Room or transform into Gengar. Cofagrigus was slow, Gengar was fast; Coff could adapt regardless of whether Trick Room was up. Though Coff had only just learned to transform into Gengar and hadn't mastered its moves, the two Pokémon shared many skills, allowing it to cobble together a set, even if it wasn't perfectly optimized.

"Huh? This Cofagrigus's eyes look so weird!" Goh called out from the sidelines.
"Eyes?" Ash blinked.

Am shot him a glare. This guy was truly annoying; no wonder so many people complained about him before he crossed over! "Huh?" Indeed. Did he want to go see another "Huh?" He'd take him to see Suicune sooner or later. Rumor had it he tried to catch Suicune with his bare hands in the Journeys arc? Well, in this realistic Pokémon world, a legendary beast like Suicune would surely give him a proper lesson if he dared to throw a ball at it.

Ash had no time to react, as Rhydon's move was ready. Adan reared its front hooves high and stomped down with force.

Instantly, Rock-type energy condensed in the air into a massive, glowing object that resembled a giant boulder, crashing down toward Kingler and Charizard!

"Charizard! Come back!" Ash shouted, recalling it into its Poké Ball. Charizard's move had been ready first, but it had flinched and was ready to swap out. It didn't fight Ash on the decision, waiting obediently to be recalled.

In its place, a Muk appeared. The massive "glowing boulder" smashed down, leaving Kingler and Muk dazed, though not instantly knocked out. Both Pokémon had decent defenses, and Kingler, despite its thinner frame, had a high physical defense stat, allowing them to withstand the blow. In this realistic world, Pokémon were significantly more durable and harder to one-shot.

However, if one could visualize their move progress, they would see their "skill bars" had regressed. This was the "flinching" effect of Rock Slide—in this world, it manifested as clearing a portion of the opponent's move preparation progress. The stronger the move, the easier it was to trigger a flinch and the more progress it cleared.

"Muk, Kingler, don't be afraid! The opponent has been weakened; this is our chance!" Ash encouraged his Pokémon. The "weakening" referred to the fact that Rhydon had taken a Flamethrower head-on earlier.

Muk and Kingler were clearly focused on taking down Rhydon—a Rhydon that had used Swords Dance was too much of a threat; one more Rock Slide and Ash would be wiped out. Muk used its sludge-like body to block the path, preventing Rhydon from charging, while the slow-moving Kingler seized the opportunity to snap its pincers...

Without using moves, they couldn't deal effective damage—Rhydon's physical defense was high, and the Reflect barrier was still active!

"Muk, use Body Slam! Kingler, use Shell Blade!"

Ash's Kingler hadn't yet learned Crabhammer, so it had to settle for a secondary move. Aiming to focus fire and take down Rhydon? Ash clearly forgot one thing: Coff hadn't made a move yet, and because Muk and Kingler had been hit by Rock Slide, their move progress was now behind Coff's.

"Coff!" Am signaled.

Coff, whose move was ready first, locked its beady eyes on Rhydon. The next moment, Psychic energy inexplicably enveloped both Coff and Rhydon, and they instantly swapped positions!