Chapter Sixty-Six: The Prop

When Amu saw that Xiao Mao had brought a Kingler, her suspicions deepened: it seemed likely that the Wartortle from earlier truly knew Rain Dance. The first time, the skill hadn’t been used, probably because rain would neutralize Arcanine’s fire-type moves. Without knowing Amu’s tactics, Xiao Mao wouldn’t have immediately thought to use Rain Dance.

The last Pokémon was not the Umbreon Amu had expected, but Nidoking!

For Amu, this was actually good news—Nidoking, a poison and ground type, was at least countered by psychic and ground moves. If it had been Umbreon, she would have had no good countermeasures.

As soon as Nidoking appeared, it charged headlong toward Exeggutor!

Nidoking, with its tyrannosaur-like frame, was not only powerfully built, but also sported sharp fangs, claws, and a prominent horn—a physique perfectly suited for battle.

Kingler, meanwhile, lunged toward Venusaur…

Upon hearing Nidoking’s roar, Amu immediately realized it possessed the Rivalry trait, which explained why it attacked Exeggutor rather than the female Venusaur.

Exeggutor was already drained, but managed to hold out a little longer thanks to its psychic interference against purely physical attacks.

Venusaur, facing Kingler, had the type advantage, but was nonetheless at a disadvantage physically—the vines were simply too easy for Kingler to clamp!

Yet, under the blazing sunlight, Venusaur’s move preparation was rapid. Shortly after Kingler entered the fray, Venusaur suddenly sent all six vines forward, disregarding the risk…

Even as Kingler clamped down, Venusaur grit its teeth and endured. Then, countless petals, brimming with grass-type energy, burst from the bud atop Venusaur’s back, radiating outward. Kingler tried to release the vines and dodge, but it was already too late!

Petal Dance, a swirl of dreamlike petals, swept directly over Kingler.

By human calculations, Petal Dance had a power rating of 120, but its drawback was that after using it, the Pokémon could only continue using this move and would become confused after two or three rounds.

Still, with such formidable power and the grass-type advantage over Kingler’s water-type, it should have been enough to—

Wait.

Amu’s pupils contracted, realizing that although Kingler had been severely battered, it was still stubbornly holding on!

Around Kingler’s body, a series of wrinkled, semi-transparent red energy shields appeared, like a cloak of invisible force—

“Focus Cloak?” Misty exclaimed from the sidelines.

She then shot Xiao Mao a look of surprise—so he was taking this seriously, too! She’d assumed only Amu used items and potions.

Xiao Mao, caught off guard, pretended not to notice…

Amu also knew of the Focus Cloak—it was essentially the same as the Focus Sash from the games. But in this world, there wasn’t a magical sash or cloak; instead, it was an energy crystal. When activated, the energy formed a light and shadow effect around the body, resembling a wrinkled cloak, hence the name Focus Cloak.

In the games, the Focus Sash ensures a Pokémon won’t be knocked out in one hit, leaving it with at least 1 HP if struck at full health.

The Focus Cloak, while based on a different principle, had a similar practical effect.

Its essence was a one-time defense that grew stronger under extreme attack, triggered by a powerful blow, and greatly reduced the impact.

Thus, it worked best when the user was still relatively healthy—not so much when already weakened, as it only reduced “extremely strong” attacks to merely “very strong,” still causing significant damage.

It wouldn’t activate for ordinary attacks. After being used, the wearer was essentially a flickering candle in the wind, barely able to hold on.

So its usage was much like the Focus Sash in the games—though not requiring absolute full health, nor always leaving just 1 HP, since this world had no such “HP” measure.

If the gap was too great, even the Focus Cloak couldn’t prevent a knockout.

After stubbornly holding on, Kingler quickly finished preparing its move. Amu deduced that this Kingler favored speed!

“Kingler, use Outrage!”

On hearing Xiao Mao’s command, Amu winced—she hadn’t expected his Kingler to know that move.

Outrage, a normal-type move, grew stronger the more damage the user had taken, tapping into potential through pain.

With Kingler’s stamina nearly depleted, Amu guessed its power would approach 200…

With “dodge quickly!” rendered useless, Kingler countered with a soul-shaking blow, its claw knocking Venusaur unconscious.

Enyuan, nearby, quickly spoke up, “Wait, referee, let me check if Venusaur is asleep…”

“Ahem, it’s clearly already lost the ability to fight,” Misty interrupted, coughing.

It was obvious, and besides… in doubles, delaying to switch “players” wasn’t helpful.

Seeing this, Amu promptly recalled the unconscious Venusaur and sent out Rhyhorn!

At the sight of Amu’s Rhyhorn, Xiao Mao cast aside his earlier embarrassment with the Focus Cloak and donned a wicked, confident smile—Rhyhorn’s base stats weren’t high!

Of course, Xiao Mao knew Rhyhorn’s weakness was only in speed. Special attack didn’t matter, and while its special defense was low, his Kingler, Nidoking, and even Arcanine were all physical attackers.

For the tough, thick-skinned Rhyhorn, Nidoking wasn’t interested, continuing to battle Exeggutor, while Kingler used its agility to dart around the arena…

Waiting for its move to be ready!

Although Rhyhorn’s physical defense and stamina were substantial, its ground and rock typing meant it was doubly weak to water-type moves. Xiao Mao considered: an 85-power Aqua Break would be more than Rhyhorn could withstand!

“Not good!” Misty muttered under her breath. She didn’t know if Kingler knew Aqua Break, but understood the disadvantage.

Enyuan hadn’t figured it out yet, but was already cheering Amu on from the sidelines.

Rhyhorn’s move preparation was hampered by its speed, and though it was faster than Kingler in a straight line, it wasn’t as nimble in turning, leaving it at a disadvantage and frustrated.

Fortunately, Amu calmed it from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Exeggutor’s Harvest ability regenerated the Sita Berry’s essence within its body, and the Sita Potion activated again!

“Nidoking, dodge quickly!” Xiao Mao anticipated Exeggutor would use Sleep Powder.

After all, Exeggutor had already used Leaf Storm, and even if it launched another attack, it wouldn’t be very powerful.

But—

Xiao Mao guessed wrong.

Without needing Amu’s instructions, the Pokémon knew that with Arcanine now in play, it was time to seize its last opportunity…

Centered on Exeggutor, psychic energy radiated in an unusual pattern, causing the entire arena to warp—a Trick Room was unleashed!

Rhyhorn’s move preparation speed instantly soared, while Nidoking and Kingler, once speedy, suddenly felt their actions slow…