{Kaji as been Changed to Celeb}
Fortunately, while the success rate of consecutive uses of Protect was low, the first use in a battle had a high probability of working.
Just as Pidgeot was about to strike Pelipper, a green energy barrier shimmered around its body. Protect had been successfully activated.
Pidgeot's afterimages passed through one by one.
But that wasn't the end.
"Follow up with Aerial Ace."
Silas's relentless offensive was catching Celeb off guard.
He couldn't pinpoint Pidgeot's exact position, nor could he determine which direction Pelipper should defend against.
And as for relying on the rain to distinguish real from fake Caleb wasn't confident in his vision under such heavy rainfall.
No point thinking about it. He gritted his teeth.
"Use Whirlpool! Surround yourself!"
If he couldn't locate the opponent, he would strike everything including himself.
After all, Pelipper was a Water-type, meaning it wouldn't take as much damage as Pidgeot would from the attack.
Pelipper was now completely surrounded by Pidgeot and its afterimages.
Pidgeot remained calm, diving in from below alongside its illusionary clones, just barely brushing against Protect's shield. The repeated impacts caused the protective barrier to dissipate from Pelipper's body.
Then, as Silas gave the order for Aerial Ace, a spectacular scene unfolded.
All of Pidgeot's afterimages glowed with the move's signature white light, forming an overwhelming offensive from every direction.
Pelipper was the focal point, and a dozen large Pidgeots broke formation at high speed, each taking different attack routes.
Some Pidgeots swooped away before performing an arcing 180-degree turn back toward Pelipper.
Others ascended high into the air before diving down like missiles.
A few even crossed paths midair, executing spinning slashes from the sides as they weaved past each other.
Meanwhile, Pelipper wasn't idle either. It took advantage of the brief moment while Pidgeot was preparing Aerial Ace and began gathering energy for Whirlpool.
At first, only a small stream of water spouted from its beak. But in mere moments, the stream expanded rapidly, swirling faster and faster in a clockwise motion.
The vortex grew larger five or six times Pelipper's size before Pelipper finally stopped charging the attack.
By then, the first Pidgeot had already struck.
Fortunately, it was just an illusionary clone and not the real Pidgeot, so the Whirlpool remained uninterrupted. Caleb let out a sigh of relief.
Pelipper controlled the Whirlpool to envelop itself, inevitably taking some damage in the process.
After all, a Whirlpool wasn't like a Tornado—the center still spun fiercely, and the small safe zone within wasn't nearly big enough for Pelipper to completely avoid harm.
The only problem was that, trapped within the Whirlpool, Pelipper could no longer observe its opponent's movements. Even its trainer's commands were becoming difficult to hear.
But Pelipper had no choice but to endure and wait for Pidgeot's next move.
Outside the vortex, Caleb's expression darkened as he assessed the battlefield.
Things weren't going as he had planned.
His original intent was to use Whirlpool to eliminate Pidgeot's afterimages en masse. If Pidgeot wanted to land a hit, it would have to dive directly into the vortex.
And even if it did, the swirling water would throw it off balance, making it difficult for Pidgeot to reach the center and strike Pelipper.
The first part of his plan worked one after another, Pidgeot's illusions rushed into the Whirlpool, only to be erased.
However, the real Pidgeot didn't charge in to attack.
Instead, after executing Aerial Ace, it skillfully passed by the Whirlpool's outer edge, avoiding the bulk of its effects.
With the move's energy absorbing part of Whirlpool's strength, Pidgeot managed to pull away from the vortex without being sucked in.
Now, it hovered quietly in the distance, gazing at Pelipper, which was still trapped within the dissipating Whirlpool.
As the swirling water gradually faded, Pelipper's exhausted figure came into view.
"Use Air Slash!"
Silas's eyes flashed as he seized the opportunity to launch another attack.
"Hyper Beam!"
Caleb wasn't surprised that his opponent wouldn't let such a moment slip by, so he quickly issued a command in response.
However, the situation on the field was completely against him now. Pelipper's stamina had already been heavily drained by its own Whirlpool attack.
In terms of speed, it was no match for Pidgeot either. His only choice was a long-range exchange, which put him at a severe disadvantage.
So, he decided to take a gamble. Judging by the distance between the two Pokémon, Hyper Beam's charge time should be enough to fire before Pidgeot's attack reached Pelipper.
And given Hyper Beam's speed, even Pidgeot wouldn't be able to dodge it.
But if Hyper Beam failed to knock Pidgeot out, the resulting recharge time would leave Pelipper vulnerable more than enough for Pidgeot to land four or five finishing blows at this level.
"Damn it… I have to leave this to luck now."
Caleb knew that gambling in a Pokémon battle was essentially a death sentence, but based on the current battlefield, this was his only option.
Luckily, Pidgeot was using Air Slash, making his plan even more likely to succeed.
Silas immediately realized the problem when he heard Caleb's command. He hadn't expected a Pelipper at this level to know Hyper Beam.
He had assumed Air Slash would secure the win, but now he realized he had made a mistake.
It was already too late to change tactics. Desperate, he shouted, "Use Substitute, now!"
Pidgeot could have used Protect, but Silas wasn't willing to risk its unreliable success rate. Even though Substitute would drain a lot of stamina, it was a better option than failing Protect and getting knocked out instantly.
The moment Pidgeot heard the Air Slash command, it had already gathered energy midair. With its wings folded, it slashed forward, releasing several sharp blades of air.
Meanwhile, Pelipper had formed a bright yellow energy sphere in its beak, charging it for an extended period.
The moment Air Slash crossed two-thirds of the battlefield, Pelipper locked onto Pidgeot and fired Hyper Beam.
A massive golden beam tore through the battlefield, completely destroying the Air Slash blades in its path before surging straight toward Pidgeot.
At that moment, Pidgeot had just regained balance after launching its attack.
In less than a blink of an eye, the Hyper Beam reached it.
"Pop!"
Just as Caleb was about to celebrate Hyper Beam landing, Pidgeot vanished the moment it was hit.
"Well done!" Silas cheered.
Caleb's face immediately darkened. The thrill of victory had turned to despair in an instant.
Hyper Beam wasn't strong enough to vaporize a Pokémon completely, meaning Pidgeot must have successfully used Substitute at the last second to avoid the attack.
Substitute had some defensive properties, so it made sense that it had briefly endured the attack before breaking.
Sure enough, as the golden beam faded, Pidgeot reappeared in the unharmed panting, but completely unharmed.
"Mimic!"
Now was the perfect moment to strike during Hyper Beam's recharge time.
Silas commanded Pidgeot to use Mimic and return the favor with Hyper Beam.
A swift finish then onto the next Pokémon, which Combusken would handle.
Pelipper was still in its recharge state. Caleb could only watch as Pidgeot charged up, then fired a golden beam straight at the unmoving Pelipper.
Weakened from its previous energy drain, Pelipper was unable to withstand the attack. It crashed to the ground, knocked out.
"Return, Pelipper!" Caleb recalled his fallen Pokémon, then threw out another Poké Ball. "Go, Ponyta! Use Flamethrower!"
He knew victory was slipping away, but he refused to go down without a fight. Losing without resistance would be far too humiliating.
And just in time the rain had finally stopped.
Wasting no time, he withdrew Pelipper and sent out a Standard-rank Ponyta to deal a heavy blow to Pidgeot.
"Neigh!" Ponyta whinnied as it launched a jet of flames.
Pidgeot screeched in pain.
Still locked in Hyper Beam's recharge phase, it was completely defenseless. Silas could only watch as Ponyta continued to whittle down its already low stamina.
"Roost!"
Silas tried to salvage the situation by having Pidgeot land and recover.
As soon as Pidgeot broke free from its recharge state and began descending, Caleb refused to let Silas's plan succeed.
"Flame Charge!"
Ponyta's entire body ignited as it galloped rapidly across the field.
Once it closed in, it leaped into the air, crashing into Pidgeot while engulfed in flames.
"Skraaah!"
Pidgeot tumbled backward before collapsing to the ground, unable to continue battling.
Silas retrieved Pidgeot's Poké Ball. "You did great. That was my mistake."
Then, he tossed another Poké Ball.
"Alright, Combusken! It's your turn!"
"Cha!"
Combusken appeared on the battlefield, but after being in the rain for a while, it didn't look as energetic as usual.
The good news was that Rain Dance and Drizzle had both ended.
Otherwise, a Fire-type battle in rainy weather would have been too frustrating.
Still, things weren't looking great either Caleb's Ponyta had the Flash Fire ability, which was a huge advantage in a Fire-type showdown.
Combusken's only option was to engage in close combat. Thankfully, it had the upper hand in both level and overall strength.
"Use Agility to maintain distance."
Silas stuck with his usual opening strategy.
Considering Ponyta's Flash Fire, he opted not to start with Flamethrower. Instead, he used Agility to reactivate Combusken's Speed Boost ability, which had worn off from the previous match.
"Use Agility too, then Stomp!"
Caleb wasn't going to sit back and let Combusken regain speed freely.
Unlike before, now that he knew about Speed Boost, there was no way he'd let it gain momentum again.
Ponyta was naturally built for speed and running. Under Caleb's command, it bolted straight toward Combusken.
...
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