"Malamar is a Psychic-type Pokémon with exceptionally sharp senses, so don't even think about ambushing it. Just go in head-on and fight it directly."
Maki glanced at the forest ahead as he spoke. Trying to sneak up on a Psychic-type Pokémon in the wild was never a good idea—unless you had a similarly strong Psychic-type Pokémon to conceal your presence. Otherwise, it was no different from handing yourself over on a silver platter.
You might think you're pulling off a stealthy sneak attack, only to realize your opponent has been watching you the whole time, fully prepared to counter with a devastating move.
Just as Maki and his group were making their way forward, a Malamar suddenly emerged from the foliage. A berry was clutched in its tentacle, and it turned to look in Maki's direction, momentarily confused by the situation.
Then, it spotted the Florges trailing behind Maki.
Wait a minute—wasn't that the Florges it and its gang bullied all the time? They were planning to drop by and grab some nectar for a snack later today, and yet, here it was, walking straight to them?
But Malamar wasn't foolish. Noticing the determined expressions of Florges and its companions, it quickly realized something was off. These little ones… didn't seem to be here for a friendly visit.
Its mind flashed back to the previous day when another Malamar had returned with a bizarre story—claiming to have encountered a strange-looking human who, despite seeming weak, had managed to defeat it.
The moment it laid eyes on Maki, this Malamar instantly connected the dots.
With a quick flick of its tentacle, it tossed the berry away and immediately turned to flee.
"Oh no, it's trying to run!"
"Absol, Mean Look!"
Maki hadn't expected the Malamar to flee so decisively—without a moment's hesitation, it had bolted the instant it saw them.
But it was meaningless. Yesterday, while reviewing Absol's moves, Maki had already confirmed it knew Mean Look.
Mean Look functioned similarly to the ability Shadow Tag, preventing opponents from fleeing or even being recalled into a Poké Ball.
In fact, when mastered, Mean Look could even immobilize an opponent entirely.
Shadow Tag had always been one of the most game-breaking abilities in the Pokémon series, significantly affecting balance. Originally, only Wobbuffet and Gothitelle had access to it.
Chandelure was supposed to get Shadow Tag, but it was deemed too overpowered and was nerfed to Infiltrator before its release.
Then, Game Freak gave Shadow Tag to Mega Gengar—a Pokémon that was already incredibly strong—which only solidified its dominance.
In the real world, a powerful Gengar could indeed use a shadow-based technique to paralyze an opponent completely.
Though a weaker version, Mean Look still prevented escape effectively.
Malamar barely took a step before realizing something was wrong. It had been planning to report back to its gang, convinced that these newcomers were marching to their own demise.
After all, it had bullied the Florges for so long that it knew exactly what they were capable of—decent power, but completely ineffective in actual battle. The only recent issue had been that Absol constantly interfering with their fun.
But now…
Malamar found itself unable to move forward.
It wasn't completely frozen, but no matter how much it struggled, it felt like an invisible wall was preventing it from advancing. It was as if it had suddenly hit the edge of an in-game map, with a message popping up: "You cannot proceed further. Come back later to explore this area!"
Maki smirked.
It seemed Malamar had grown too accustomed to being the top predator here. It had let its guard down completely against the Florges, never expecting a reversal like this.
This same overconfidence was evident in the Malamar he had encountered yesterday—moving alone instead of sticking with its group.
That strategy had worked before, but now, with Maki here, such recklessness would only lead to their downfall.
With Maki around, the Secret Realm would be at peace! With Maki here, justice would prevail!
He had come here for one thing and one thing only—Mega Stones. Mega Stones. And, just to be clear—Mega Stones.
While Maki was confident that the Florges, under his command, could win against Malamar in a direct fight, minimizing risk was always the smarter option.
"Florges, attack!"
Technically, this Malamar was about the same strength as the one from yesterday. With Absol locking it in place, Maki's Pokémon could have taken it down easily.
However, he intentionally left this battle to the Florges. They needed hands-on combat experience—otherwise, if they choked in a bigger fight later, it would spell disaster.
At least now, with Maki supervising, they had a safety net.
Plus, there were twenty Florges here. Even if each one used just a single move, they could probably knock Malamar out cold. If they somehow failed, Maki would have to seriously reconsider their usefulness. In that case, he might as well send them back and just stick with Absol for the heavy lifting.
Thankfully, the Florges seemed prepared for this moment. Most of them shut their eyes tightly and unleashed Draining Kiss and Dazzling Gleam without hesitation.
Malamar froze for a second, then immediately tried to dodge.
Mean Look prevented it from escaping the battle entirely, but it could still move around within the area.
However, Malamar quickly realized a fatal problem—it couldn't dodge at all!
The Florges weren't exactly experts in accuracy, so they hadn't aimed precisely. Their targeting was so haphazard that even a Hustle-ability Nidorino would shake its head in dismay.
Yet, ironically, their lack of precision turned out to be an advantage.
Since they weren't aiming properly to begin with, each attack landed in a different spot—completely covering Malamar's entire possible escape zone.
After just a few steps, Malamar realized it had no way out. Desperately, it raised a Light Screen to shield itself from the oncoming barrage.
Crack—
But no barrier could withstand that many hits. In just a few seconds, the Light Screen shattered into nothing.
Malamar: gg.
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