Grey could only complain inwardly about Koga's Destiny Bond + Explosion tactic.
It had just been a play based on information asymmetry, and luckily Gallade had used Teleport in time and managed to dodge it.
Otherwise, that exchange really would have ended with both Gallade and Weezing going down together.
No matter how you looked at it, Koga's strength was rock solid.
He had nearly traded away two of Grey's Pokémon in a row. Lucario and Gallade had both avoided actually losing the ability to battle, but they were both in a candle-in-the-wind state.
Even though Grey still had three Pokémon left on paper, the truth was that only one of them still had the strength to really fight Koga head-on.
"Whew… who should I use…"
Grey thought over his options.
Zapdos was level 63. Articuno was level 66.
Annihilape was level 68, a level higher than most Elite Four aces.
As for Blaziken and Breloom, the two of them were still a little lacking, and when it came to dealing with Poison-types… they really did not have many good options.
After thinking it through, Grey ruled Zapdos out first.
At the moment, the only Pokémon that could truly fight Koga were Annihilape and Articuno.
Mm…
Better to play it safe.
After a moment's thought, Grey touched the Great Ball at his waist.
Articuno was inside.
At the very least, a Legendary Pokémon had much more stamina.
Even if it got hit, it could take a few more blows.
Besides, Grey had already more or less guessed what kind of Pokémon Koga would use.
And in terms of typing, he was definitely going to press his advantage all the way in this final round.
With that thought, Grey raised his head and met Koga's gaze.
Both of them reached for their belts at the same time, and with a click, two Poké Balls opened in midair together.
"Articuno, I'm leaving the final battle to you!"
"Crobat, corrode your opponent with your toxic venom!"
Both of them sent out flying Pokémon.
When Koga saw Grey send out Articuno, his brow lifted. He clearly had not expected to run into Articuno.
He had thought it would be Zapdos.
After all, Flying-type attacks did very little to Electric-types.
Compared to Articuno, Zapdos should have had the better type advantage.
But—
A big reason Grey had not sent out Zapdos was because its level lagged too far behind.
Compared with Koga's Crobat, even with the type advantage, Zapdos might not actually win.
After all, even though Zapdos was a Legendary, a straightforward Legendary like that could still be brought down by an ordinary Pokémon.
[Pokémon: Crobat]
[Type: Poison/Flying]
[Level: 67]
[Ability: Infiltrator]
[Moves: Omitted]
A Crobat with Infiltrator.
Clearly, Koga had considered every possible angle.
That Ability even let him get around things like Aurora Veil and Safeguard.
And Koga's Crobat was level 67, the strongest Crobat Grey had seen so far.
On top of that, it was battle-hardened. Compared to the Pokémon used by those Rocket executives, this one was much more troublesome.
"Articuno, be careful. This Crobat is stronger than any Crobat you've faced before."
Grey gave a warning.
"Caw!" ("Then let me see whether this Crobat can finally make the great Articuno get serious!")
Articuno mouthed off again.
Grey frowned as soon as he heard it.
Oh, so you think you're invincible, huh?
Then don't start crying when you get poisoned later.
With his countermeasures decided, all that remained was for the battle to truly begin.
"Articuno, Ice Beam!"
Grey still preferred opening with Ice Beam.
Freezing points of light bloomed at the tip of Articuno's beak, then a serpent-like stream of icy energy whistled outward. As it wound through the air, the surrounding temperature plummeted!
The speed of Crobat's wingbeats clearly slowed, showing that it had been affected by the Ice Beam's cold.
"Use Tailwind to evade it."
"Crobat!"
Crobat's two pairs of wings beat sharply, summoning a fierce wind from behind that sent its agility soaring, allowing it to avoid the incoming Ice Beam!
Tailwind was an excellent move, whipping up a violent gale that also increased the user's speed.
With Tailwind behind it, Crobat's already swift movements became even more agile.
"Caw." ("A cheap trick like that means nothing.")
Articuno laughed in disdain.
To Articuno, a move like Tailwind, used only to gain a brief edge in speed, was useless.
Because next, it was going to use an area-of-effect move.
"Blizzard!"
Grey and Articuno were completely in sync. Each knew exactly what the other was thinking.
"Caw!"
Articuno cried out, stretching its wings to their full span as the temperature dropped even further!
The instant it beat its wings, Blizzard roared into existence.
Every snowflake was as sharp as a blade, carving countless icy-blue arcs through the air.
Crobat's swiftly dodging form gradually began trailing streaks of white frost through the storm…
"As expected of a legendary bird Pokémon. It can use a Blizzard of that power as casually as breathing."
Koga clicked his tongue in admiration, showing no panic at all even though Crobat had been hit.
It had only taken one attack. Given Crobat's endurance, it could withstand that much without any issue.
"Toxic!"
Koga formed another hand seal, and his voice rang out especially clearly through the whiteout.
Within the blinding storm, Crobat's dark purple figure stood out sharply.
A massive sphere of Toxic filth stained the snowflakes, and more and more of the falling snow was transformed into poisonous snow.
"Articuno, don't let it get that off. Increase the power of Blizzard!"
Grey knew that in the games, Toxic from a Poison-type was guaranteed to land, but in a real battle there was no such thing as true perfect accuracy.
If you could overpower it with your own move, then Toxic stopped mattering.
"Caw!"
The poisonous snow was instantly swallowed up by Blizzard, and even Crobat itself was buffeted around by the storm until it could barely keep steady.
In an aerial battle, Articuno had a natural advantage.
And with its Ice typing countering Crobat's Flying typing, Crobat was gradually being pushed onto the defensive in every clash of moves.
If Crobat did not find an opening soon, Articuno really would end up playing with it like a toy.
"Use Heat Wave!"
Koga gave a timely counterattack order.
Crobat's two pairs of wings beat sharply, releasing dense Fire-type energy from between them, which turned into rolling waves of hot air that collided head-on with Articuno's Blizzard and triggered a violent elemental clash.
"Caw." ("Not bad power. But if you think that's enough to beat the great Articuno, you're still far off.")
Articuno was not surprised in the slightest.
At most, Crobat's Heat Wave was about as strong as one of Blaziken's Fire Punches.
And for a Pokémon like Articuno, which had sparred with Blaziken for a long time, that level of heat was only enough to loosen up its muscles a little.
Beating it with that?
Not even close.
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