"Claydol!"
Claydol was struck directly in its weak spot -its central pink eye- by Ariados's Megahorn. Even at Peak Elite level, it took significant damage.
However, since Claydol's body was made of clay, even its pink eye could slowly regenerate over time, though it was certainly unusable for now.
"Ariados, use Venoshock on Tropius. Umbreon, use Wish!"
Following Sato's command, the toxic liquid sprayed from Ariados seeped into Tropius's body at a disturbingly fast rate.
When Poison-type Pokémon use Toxic, the STAB boost allows them to execute it instantly, greatly increasing its accuracy.
Although Tropius responded quickly and tried to ascend into the sky, it still failed to evade the toxic strike.
"Trooo!"
Unlike Claydol's clay body, Tropius had solid flesh, and its resistance to Poison-type moves was incredibly weak, especially since it was also a Grass-type.
At the same time, Umbreon stood calmly to the side, its eyes glimmering faintly as a strange energy emanated from its body and shot invisibly into the sky.
Wish had been successfully cast.
At that moment, Claydol finally managed to withstand the pain of its injured eye. After all, it had a muddy body; even a damaged eye could slowly heal.
"Claydol!"
Claydol launched another attack, both of its spout-like arms condensing twin beams of terrifying orange energy.
Hyper Beam!
At the same time, Tropius suddenly soared upward, blocking the sunlight from overhead. Its four plantain-like wings began to glow, absorbing the sun's rays.
Solar Beam!
A Normal-type and a Grass-type ultimate move, and even before they were fully unleashed, the overwhelming energy had already caused both Ariados and Umbreon to tense up.
Moreover, it was currently 11 o'clock in the morning, and the sunlight on Dewford Island had never been shy… it was clear Sunny Day weather. The charge time for Solar Beam was practically negligible.
"Ariados, prep Venoshock! Umbreon, use Substitute!"
Once again, Ariados was assigned to attack while Umbreon unhesitatingly positioned itself in front of Ariados.
Two loud bursts rang out, and two incredibly lifelike Substitutes appeared beside Umbreon, both set to intercept the incoming attacks.
Double Substitute!
Umbreon's stamina was halved instantly, just as Hyper Beam and Solar Beam hit simultaneously. The terrifying energy fluctuations even made Sato slightly nervous.
"Umbre!"
Umbreon and its two convincing Substitutes advanced in sync, dodging and leaping. With Claydol and Tropius unable to distinguish the real one, each Substitute collided with one of the incoming attacks.
Boom!
Boom!
Two explosions on either side created thick plumes of smoke, but neither reached Ariados.
Behind them, Ariados took advantage of the downtime after Tropius used Solar Beam and landed another direct hit with Venoshock.
Venoshock deals double damage if the target is already Poisoned or Badly Poisoned.
Tropius let out a miserable cry before its massive body crashed to the ground unable to continue fighting.
Meanwhile, amidst the gap between the two smoke clouds, a brilliant starlight suddenly appeared above Umbreon's head.
Wish activated!
The starlight cascaded down, and Umbreon's lithe, aloof figure looked even more coldly majestic beneath it, as its previously lost stamina quickly began to recover.
Wish can restore half of a Pokémon's total stamina in one go, which happened to perfectly make up for the stamina Umbreon lost when using Substitute.
"Ariados, Night Slash! Umbreon, Assurance!"
It wasn't over yet. Through the lingering smoke, Claydol remained frozen in place after launching Hyper Beam, and Sato certainly wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Ariados swiftly closed the distance using its silk, let out a sharp "Ari!", and struck its vulnerable opponent without hesitation.
Right after, Umbreon followed up with Assurance. Like Venoshock, Assurance's power doubles if the target has already taken damage.
Even though Umbreon wasn't particularly offensive, its Dark-type move -which was doubly effective against Claydol- still dealt considerable damage.
However, Claydol, nearly at Pseudo-Elite Four level, was incredibly tough, and its defensive capabilities were not inferior to Umbreon's at all.
So even after enduring several powerful hits, it still hadn't lost its ability to battle.
"Claaay!"
Now mobile again, Claydol glanced fearfully at the two Pokémon before it. Neither Ariados nor Umbreon was stronger than it, not even close compared to its subordinates.
…And yet, here it was, getting completely dominated. What was going on? 'Of course… it was that human!'
Claydol's peripheral eyes shifted toward the trainer behind Ariados and Umbreon: Sato.
Swoosh!
With a flash of white light, Claydol vanished on the spot and, in the next moment, reappeared right beside Sato. Its spout-like arms immediately launched two beams of Psybeam, aimed fiercely at him!
Sato quickly responded, his Dark Energy surging in preparation to retaliate but it was still a step too slow compared to the suddenness of Teleport.
Gengar, who was hidden in the shadows, also reacted. Half its body had already emerged from the ground, ready to activate Protect.
But the fastest was none other than Ralts, who had been napping quietly in Sato's backpack the whole time!
A deep purple Psychic aura suddenly flared up around Claydol, and the half-fired Psybeam froze midair, suspended between Claydol and Sato like time itself had stopped.
Ralts's bangs floated upward, its blood-red pupils flickering in and out of view as it stared at Claydol with contempt.
Even in its base form, Ralts was still not a Psychic Queen to be trifled with!
"Raaalts~"
With a "gentle" wave of its tiny hand, Ralts flung Claydol away like a cannonball. It crashed through multiple thick tree roots before finally coming to a halt.
…Completely defeated.
Sato stood frozen mid-punch, his fist still wrapped in Dark Energy, awkwardly halted before he could strike. Gengar, too, was stuck halfway out of the ground, his Protect stance ready but unneeded.
"Yaaaawn~ I hate it when people interrupt my sleep," Ralts grumbled lazily as it withdrew its Psychic energy and nestled back into the backpack.
Umbreon and Ariados stood there, frustrated stares locked onto the now-fainted Claydol, grumbling internally.
'That was a kill steal! A total kill steal!'
Claydol had been just one move away from being defeated by them, but the final blow had been snatched by Ralts at the last second.
Still, even though Ralts grumbled about being disturbed, everyone could see… it had done it to protect Sato.
It was a good deed, so they couldn't really get mad.
Umbreon: (ᴥ_ᴥ)
Ariados: (í_ì)