"Fearow, use consecutive Agility!"
Ash paid no attention to Yashaku and Nidoking's reactions. The moment Fearow completed its attack and retreated back into the airspace above the battlefield, he immediately issued another command.
"SKREEE!"
Fearow responded instantly.
Its sleek body danced gracefully through the sky as Agility took effect.
With every passing second, its speed increased.
Seeing this, Yashaku immediately felt the pressure mounting.
Fearow was already a naturally fast Flying-type Pokémon.
Now that its speed had been boosted further, landing attacks on it would become even more difficult.
Fortunately, Nidoking still possessed methods specifically designed to deal with airborne opponents.
"Nidoking, use Rock Slide!"
Yashaku shouted.
"ROOOAAAR!"
At almost the same moment, Ash gave his own command.
"Fearow, ignore it."
"Continue attacking with Drill Run!"
"SKREEE!"
High above the battlefield, Fearow immediately turned and dove.
Once again, it transformed into a spinning drill as it descended toward Nidoking.
RUMBLE!
Massive rocks suddenly materialized overhead before crashing downward toward Fearow.
Rock Slide had successfully locked onto Fearow during activation.
The stone formation appeared directly above it.
However, once the rocks began falling, they simply plummeted straight down without any further tracking ability.
And Fearow...
Was far too fast.
With a single evasive maneuver, it slipped away from the falling rocks.
Not only did it avoid the attack effortlessly, but it also used the opening created by Nidoking's attack.
After all, Nidoking had just finished casting a move.
Its old momentum had faded.
Its new momentum hadn't yet formed.
A perfect opening.
Fearow seized it instantly.
But that wasn't all.
Moments earlier, Fearow had been circling directly above Nidoking.
When it shifted behind its opponent to avoid the Rock Slide, the falling rocks continued their original trajectory.
Meaning—
The rocks that were supposed to hit Fearow were now falling directly onto Nidoking.
CRASH!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Fearow, now transformed into a spinning alloy drill, slammed into Nidoking's back.
The impact forced the massive Pokémon to stagger backward repeatedly.
Yet before Nidoking could even react—
The boulders it had summoned came crashing down on top of its own head.
The scene perfectly embodied the phrase:
Lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot.
"ROOOAAAR!"
Nidoking let out a painful roar as rocks and Fearow's attack landed almost simultaneously.
Yashaku's expression darkened.
"Nidoking!"
"Use Flatter on Fearow!"
He didn't even have time to ask about Nidoking's condition.
Moments ago, he had believed Rock Slide would give him control of the battlefield.
Instead, reality had slapped him across the face.
Fearow might be considered an unpopular Pokémon rarely used by professional trainers.
But Pokémon weren't defined solely by their species.
The trainer mattered just as much.
And Ash was undoubtedly the type of genius capable of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Under Ash's training, even a neglected Pokémon like Fearow had become frighteningly powerful.
After two failed attacks and two successful counterattacks from Fearow, Yashaku had no choice but to change strategies.
"ROOOAAAR!"
At that moment, Ash immediately reacted.
"Fearow!"
"Don't look at Nidoking!"
"Use Double Team!"
Flatter was a Dark-type move.
Its effect was similar to Swagger.
Both induced confusion while increasing one of the target's offensive stats.
The difference was simple:
Flatter increased Special Attack.
Swagger increased Attack.
If Nidoking had used Swagger, Ash might actually have exploited the buff.
But Flatter boosted Special Attack.
And Fearow was a physical attacker.
The move was worthless to Fearow.
Which meant there was absolutely no reason to let it connect.
"SKREEE!"
Fearow cried out.
Then—
Its golden-yellow body suddenly split apart.
One Fearow became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
Within moments, dozens of Fearow filled the sky.
A massive flock appeared overhead, creating a chaotic scene of beating wings and piercing cries.
Nidoking instantly froze.
Faced with countless Fearow, it had no idea which one was real.
The target for Flatter had simply disappeared.
Watching the scene unfold, Yashaku felt a headache coming on.
But Ash had no intention of giving him time to think.
The moment Yashaku and Nidoking became distracted by the illusion army—
Ash struck.
"Fearow!"
"Use Drill Run!"
His command echoed across the battlefield.
Flying-types were immune to Ground-type attacks.
Likewise, many Flying-type moves couldn't effectively exploit Nidoking's typing advantage.
Fearow possessed a wide variety of offensive techniques.
However, most of them were Flying-type attacks.
Fortunately—
Drill Run possessed tremendous power.
More importantly, it excelled at penetration and armor-breaking.
Against the current opponent, it was the perfect weapon.
"SKREEEE!"
Thirty-five Fearow cried out simultaneously.
The flock wheeled through the sky.
Then every single Fearow twisted its body and transformed into a spinning metallic drill.
From above, dozens of alloy drills descended toward Nidoking.
The visual impact was overwhelming.
Both Yashaku and Nidoking knew most of them were fakes.
Only one was the real Fearow.
Yet seeing an entire flock of spinning drills charging downward still sent chills down their spines.
It felt as though Nidoking was about to be gang-beaten by an army of Fearow.
"Nidoking!"
"Don't panic!"
"Most of them are illusions!"
"Use Poison Sting and destroy the Double Team copies!"
Yashaku forced himself to remain calm as he shouted the order.
"ROOOAAAR!"
Nidoking opened its mouth and unleashed another barrage of poisonous needles.
The attack swept through the sky.
One after another, the illusionary Fearow burst apart.
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
The Double Team copies disappeared rapidly.
For a brief moment, both Yashaku and Nidoking felt a surge of hope.
They had found a solution.
However—
Before Nidoking could celebrate—
BOOOOM!
A terrifying impact struck its back.
The real Fearow had been hidden among the countless clones the entire time.
Now its Drill Run connected directly.
"ROOOAAARRRR!!!"
An agonized scream erupted from Nidoking's throat.
The pain was so intense that its entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Although Drill Run was a Ground-type move, Nidoking's Ground typing offered no protection against it.
In fact—
Because Drill Run possessed exceptionally high power and incredible armor-piercing properties, it was practically the natural enemy of heavily armored Pokémon like Nidoking.
This was already the third time Nidoking had been struck by Fearow's Drill Run.
Combined with the self-inflicted damage from Rock Slide earlier—
Its condition had become extremely dangerous.
"Nidoking!"
"Forget about Fearow!"
"Destroy the remaining Double Team clones first!"
Unable to come up with a better solution, Yashaku could only continue ordering Nidoking to clear the battlefield.
But when Ash saw the decision Yashaku had made—
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Because he knew something Yashaku didn't.
And that smile meant only one thing.
The battle was already entering its final stage.