"Garchomp, don't rush in recklessly. There's something strange about Grey's Articuno, so stay alert and don't let it ambush you."
Cynthia knew Articuno could not actually use Parting Shot, but one look at Mega Garchomp's expression told her that Grey's Articuno had a vicious talent for trash talk.
It had only spoken a few sentences, yet Mega Garchomp's face had already turned livid.
Articuno was clearly a master of running its mouth and provoking its opponents until they lost their temper.
That was also a legitimate battle tactic.
Cynthia therefore warned Mega Garchomp not to take anything Articuno said seriously.
At the same time, her gaze shifted toward Grey.
She had no idea how he trained his Pokémon.
If Articuno had managed to infuriate Mega Garchomp this badly, then whatever it had said must have been absolutely filthy.
After only a few seconds of staring each other down, Articuno was the first to lose patience.
A tremendous icy wind erupted around it, carrying a raging snowstorm toward Mega Garchomp.
In an instant, the entire Fighting Dojo was swallowed by a vast curtain of white.
Mega Garchomp instinctively used Stone Edge, arranging the sharpened stones around itself like a protective barrier. It blocked Articuno's Blizzard while simultaneously launching a counterattack.
It could defend and attack at the same time, accomplishing two goals with a single move.
"Gym Leader Grey, Articuno's Blizzard won't be able to break through Garchomp's Stone Edge," Cynthia reminded him.
Mega Garchomp's attack had split the Blizzard down the middle, preventing the freezing storm from reaching it.
"I already know Blizzard can't break through Stone Edge."
Grey did not seem concerned.
He had only ordered Articuno to lower the temperature throughout the battlefield and create the conditions needed for his next move.
"Articuno, the field is ready. Now use Roar!"
"Garchomp, rush Articuno and stop it before it can cry out!"
Cynthia had no intention of letting Grey succeed.
However, the entire battlefield was covered in white snow and mist. Mega Garchomp could not determine Articuno's location, so it could only fire Stone Edge in random directions and hope to force Articuno out of hiding.
Unfortunately, Articuno had concealed itself too well.
No matter how many attacks Mega Garchomp launched, Articuno refused to reveal itself.
A clear, piercing bird cry suddenly rang through the snowstorm.
Mega Garchomp was forcibly pulled back into Cynthia's Poké Ball, and Togekiss was dragged onto the battlefield in its place.
"Toge?"
What happened? Why is it so cold?
Togekiss had assumed that since its team's strongest fighter, Garchomp, had already entered the battle, it could simply sit back and coast to victory.
Instead, Mega Garchomp had been Roared out by Articuno.
Now Togekiss had been forced to return to the battlefield.
It had to fight Articuno?
Was this serious?
Togekiss immediately realized that the situation was bad.
It did not know many attacks that were super effective against Articuno.
Ancient Power, Fire Blast, and Mystical Fire were probably the only ones.
Worse still, Articuno was roughly as strong as Togekiss. If it landed a Blizzard, Togekiss could easily be finished.
For a moment, Cynthia was trapped in a difficult position.
If she carelessly switched Togekiss out for Mega Garchomp, Articuno might exploit the opening and hit Mega Garchomp with an Ice-type attack.
Under those circumstances, Cynthia did not dare switch Pokémon.
She could only leave Togekiss on the battlefield and see whether it could defeat Articuno, or perhaps lure Annihilape back out.
"Togekiss, test its position with Fairy Wind."
Articuno was still concealed within the snowstorm, so Cynthia had Togekiss probe the area.
"Toge!"
Togekiss stirred up a pink breeze, which collided with the surrounding snow.
Boom!
White mist exploded across the battlefield.
Articuno suddenly burst through the Fairy Wind and closed the distance between itself and Togekiss in an instant.
"Now!" Grey's command tore through the snowstorm. "Use Sheer Cold!"
"Articuno!"
Articuno threw back its head and released a piercing cry.
A wave of absolute cold erupted from its entire body.
The air froze in an instant, and ice crystals spread across every inch of Togekiss's plumage.
When the light faded, a beautiful, transparent ice sculpture remained suspended in midair.
A moment later, the frozen Togekiss crashed to the floor.
The ice shattered on impact, revealing Togekiss unconscious and unable to battle.
It had been defeated in a single attack.
[Holy crap! Articuno defeated Togekiss just like that?!]
[That Sheer Cold was completely unexpected!]
[Now Cynthia only has Mega Garchomp left!]
As the chat erupted in shock, Lance, Red, and Blue were equally stunned by Grey's strategy as they watched from Indigo Plateau.
"Using Sheer Cold like that was incredibly risky, but he successfully pulled it off and eliminated Cynthia's Togekiss instantly," Blue said in amazement. "If I were fighting an opponent of equal strength, I'm not sure I could've defended against that Sheer Cold either."
"Once Articuno closed the distance, Cynthia couldn't send out Mega Garchomp to take the attack for Togekiss. She had no way of knowing whether Articuno would immediately follow up with Blizzard and critically injure Mega Garchomp."
Lance had once fallen victim to a similar strategy.
However, Lorelei had been the one who used it against him.
Grey had nothing to do with that particular trauma.
Even so, seeing Grey employ the same kind of strategy sent a chill down Lance's back.
Was it frightening?
Yes, extremely.
No one would expect Articuno to suddenly charge straight into Togekiss's face and unleash Sheer Cold at point-blank range.
Everyone had assumed Blizzard was the greatest danger, but Grey had managed to take the strategy even further.
"Agreed."
Red merely nodded after the other two had finished explaining their thoughts.
Back at the Fighting Dojo, Cynthia recalled Togekiss.
She looked at the nearly unharmed Articuno and smiled helplessly.
"Gym Leader Grey certainly enjoys using strategies that catch people completely off guard. I suppose that's exactly why you managed to defeat Togekiss so quickly."
Cynthia had to admit that when it came to underhanded tactics, she still had plenty to learn.
Compared to Grey, even her Spiritomb was an amateur.
It was not worth mentioning.
"You're giving me too much credit. Had I not confirmed that your final Pokémon was Mega Garchomp, I wouldn't have dared send Articuno that close to Togekiss and use Sheer Cold."
Grey scratched his head and chuckled.
That strategy carried tremendous risk.
The slightest mistake could have allowed Cynthia to seize the opportunity and defeat Articuno instead.
Grey had mainly benefited from an information advantage.
Very few Trainers knew Articuno's complete move pool.
Cynthia had never battled this Articuno before, so it was perfectly normal that she had not anticipated Sheer Cold.
Come to think of it, ever since Grey had caught Kanto's three Legendary birds, Blue had frequently told him that her grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak, wanted to meet him.
The reason was obvious.
Grey's collection of Pokémon was simply too tempting.
He had a huge number of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.
Professor Oak was already too old to travel around easily. Had he been a few years younger, he might have abandoned his laboratory and moved directly into the Fighting Dojo.
Of course, Grey allowed all his Legendary and Mythical Pokémon to roam freely.
Even if Professor Oak came to visit, there was no telling how many of them he would actually get to see.
Back on the battlefield, Cynthia's ace, Mega Garchomp, returned to the field.
This time, the burden on Mega Garchomp was considerably heavier.
Previously, Togekiss had still been waiting in reserve. Even if Mega Garchomp had been defeated by accident, it would certainly have inflicted considerable damage on either Articuno or Annihilape first.
Togekiss could then have entered the battle under much more favorable circumstances.
Now everything was different.
Togekiss had been defeated instantly.
Mega Garchomp was under tremendous pressure and could not afford a single unnecessary movement.
However, the battle had already reached this stage.
Cynthia had no choice but to change her approach.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Rush!"
"Garchomp!"
Mega Garchomp launched itself into the air.
Violent Dragon-type energy erupted around it and covered its entire body, taking the shape of a ferocious dragon as it dove toward Articuno.
Its killing intent locked onto Articuno.
The sheer pressure caused Articuno to flinch, preventing it from spreading its wings and escaping.
Seeing that, Grey ordered Articuno to confront the attack directly.
"Articuno, counter it with Blizzard!"
Articuno rapidly beat its wings and unleashed a roaring Blizzard.
Dragon energy and freezing snow tore violently against each other.
The Blizzard stripped away most of the energy surrounding Mega Garchomp, but Dragon Rush still smashed through the icy wind with overwhelming force and struck Articuno directly.
Articuno plummeted from the air and crashed heavily into the battlefield.
Mega Garchomp descended immediately afterward.
Its scythe-shaped arms clamped down against the base of Articuno's wings like iron restraints, pinning it firmly to the ground and completely preventing it from taking flight again.
"Thunder Fang!"
"Icy Wind!"
Both commands rang out almost simultaneously.
Mega Garchomp moved with unprecedented speed. Golden electricity crackled between its exposed fangs as it bit viciously toward Articuno's neck.
At the same time, Articuno endured the pain and released a bitterly cold wind from its entire body.
Icy Wind swept directly across Mega Garchomp.
The quadruple-effective damage left Mega Garchomp in considerable pain.
Articuno was not doing any better.
It could only take advantage of its remaining stamina and attempt to unleash one more Blizzard.
"Garchomp!"
Don't think I don't know what you're planning!
A cold light flashed through Mega Garchomp's eyes as it instantly understood Articuno's intention.
Its scythe-shaped arms pressed down with even greater force as Rock-type energy boiled around its body.
Rumble!
Countless sharpened stone pillars erupted from beneath the battlefield and stabbed upward into Articuno's completely exposed back.
"Articuno!"
Articuno released a deafening cry of agony.
It felt as though Mega Garchomp had nearly broken its spine.
Man, you hit just a little too hard!
Articuno was already four times weak to Rock-type attacks, and Mega Garchomp's Stone Edge had also struck a critical point.
It nearly knocked Articuno unconscious on the spot.
For a brief instant, Articuno imagined that it had returned to the Seafoam Islands.
Scene after scene flashed before its eyes as though its entire life was passing in review.
It no longer had the strength to fight back.
Grey fell silent.
According to the law of RNG conservation, Articuno had just instantly defeated Togekiss, so Mega Garchomp landing a critical hit in return seemed perfectly reasonable.
[Mega Garchomp hit it way too hard. Articuno might be stuck in a hospital bed for a month or two.]
[Hard to say. It depends on whether the injury caused lasting damage. If it's only a surface wound, it should be fine.]
[Bro, Articuno's eyes are rolling back. You're calling that a surface wound?]
[A moment of silence for Articuno.]
Articuno's miserable condition stood in stark contrast to how proud and energetic it had looked after defeating Togekiss.
Many viewers began posting white candle emojis in the chat and silently praying for Articuno.
Hopefully it would be all right.
The battle had now returned to a one-on-one match.
Grey thanked Articuno for its hard work and recalled it.
He then sent out his ace, Annihilape.
Under the current circumstances, Grey's side actually held the advantage.
Mega Garchomp had already suffered considerable damage. One of the attacks had been Articuno's quadruple-effective Icy Wind, which had sharply reduced Mega Garchomp's speed.
It might still be able to produce occasional bursts of speed beyond its normal limits, but over a prolonged battle, it would struggle to keep up with Annihilape.
Furthermore, Rage Fist had already gained power several times over.
Even Mega Garchomp would not dare take that punch directly.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!"
"Garchomp."
Emerald light erupted from Mega Garchomp's scythe-shaped arm.
The energy formed the projection of a dragon's claw, which slashed down toward Annihilape.
However, because Mega Garchomp's speed had been lowered, the path of its attack appeared unusually heavy and sluggish.
Annihilape shifted aside like a phantom and avoided the blade.
At the same instant, a spiraling, bone-chilling wind wrapped around its fist, which it drove brutally into Mega Garchomp's abdomen.
Mega Garchomp grunted from the impact, but it used the opportunity to lock Annihilape firmly between its arms.
Dragon-type energy rapidly gathered inside its mouth, forming a terrifying sphere of condensed power.
It was the Dragon-type move Draco Meteor.
If the attack landed, Annihilape would be left on its last legs immediately.
Boom!
The orange projectile erupted into countless dragon-shaped meteors, which rained down across the battlefield and blasted enormous scorched craters into the ground.
Unfortunately, Annihilape was nowhere to be seen.
Cynthia immediately remembered the strategy Grey had used earlier.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!"
Mega Garchomp slashed through the air, producing a sharp howl.
Its attack struck nothing.
Annihilape had already appeared behind it.
Ghost-type energy as dark as an abyss gathered around its fist before it slammed directly into Mega Garchomp's back without the slightest hesitation.
That blow could be considered revenge for Articuno.
After taking the attack, Mega Garchomp dropped to one knee and panted heavily.
It clearly had very little stamina remaining with which to counterattack.
Annihilape unleashed Rage Fist and erased the last of Mega Garchomp's strength.
Mega Garchomp collapsed and reverted to its normal form, its eyes turning into spirals.
With that, all three of Cynthia's Pokémon were unable to battle.
Grey still had Annihilape remaining and successfully won the match.
"As expected of Cynthia. This is the first time anyone has managed to defeat two of my Pokémon in a three-on-three battle."
The battle had shown Grey just how formidable Cynthia truly was.
Among every opponent he had faced so far, Cynthia had achieved the best result by successfully defeating two members of his team.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.