Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

Reiji raised a hand to the cheering crowd, then walked onto the trainer platform with Eevee and waited for the referee to start the match.

”This knockout match will take place on a standard battlefield. Each contestant may use six Pokémon. Contestants, take your positions and send out your first Pokémon.”

The referee dropped the flag. Reiji and Tania threw the Poké Balls they had already prepared.

”Go, Gengar!”

”Go, Scyther!”

”Heh. I knew it.” Reiji relaxed the moment he heard Gengar’s name. Tania had been opening with Gengar every match lately.

No one had found a clean answer to Gengar’s Perish Song yet, so Tania was clearly using it to catch opponents off guard and build an early lead.

Even Dig didn’t work, because Gengar was sneaky enough to go underground too and keep singing to its victim.

”Both contestants have sent out their first Pokémon! It’s Scyther against Gengar! This is Contestant Reiji’s first time using Scyther in this tournament. Can it defeat Contestant Tania’s undefeated Gengar?”

”Good. Scyther again.” Tania remembered this Scyther. Back at Lavender Gym, it had come very close to taking Gengar down. She could not underestimate it.

”Gengar—”

Tania had just started giving an order when Scyther’s body flashed blue. It stared straight at Gengar, focusing hard.

Focus Energy.

”What?” Tania frowned. Reiji had not given any command.

Then Scyther began to dance.

Swords Dance.

This was the plan Reiji had given Scyther: boost Attack first, boost Speed next, then cut Gengar down with Night Slash.

Something was wrong. Reiji still had not said a word, but Scyther was already moving on its own.

Tania did not understand it, but Scyther did not wait for her to figure it out. It used Agility and rushed Gengar.

”Gengar, get into the air! Perish Song!”

”Gar! Gar!” Gengar saw Scyther charging and floated upward. A black pulse spread from its mouth, and red-black energy formed around its target.

The song hit Scyther, but Scyther ignored it completely.

It couldn’t hear anything.

”Gar?” Gengar saw Scyther rush straight through the attack with no reaction. Since it had been busy using Perish Song, it had already missed its chance to dodge.

Scyther’s blade struck it hard.

Only after the hit landed did Gengar cry out in pain and fall from the air.

”Gengar, hide!” Tania’s heart tightened. That was a critical hit from a Dark-type move, and it hit Gengar where it hurt.

Gengar’s body faded, then vanished from sight.

It was a Ghost-type’s natural trick: invisibility.

Scyther already had an answer. It crossed its scythes in front of its body and used Swords Dance again, boosting its Attack while whipping up a small tornado. Dust and sand rose from the field, ready to expose Gengar.

Scyther had Focus Energy, +4 Attack, and +2 Speed. The moment Gengar showed itself, another lightning-fast slash would follow.

What is going on?

Tania still could not understand it. Reiji had not spoken once since the match began, yet Scyther kept acting on its own.

And neither Reiji nor Scyther seemed worried about Perish Song. Something was definitely off.

”Gar! Gar!” Gengar was forced out by the sand and spat grit from its mouth.

Normal, Fighting, and Ground-type attacks could not hit a floating Gengar, but Rock-type damage still worked normally. So did Water-type damage. That was why a move like Aqua Jet could reveal it too.

”Scy!” Scyther spotted Gengar in the air. Its eyes sharpened, and it shot upward on buzzing wings. Its scythes gleamed coldly as it closed in.

”Will-O-Wisp!”

”Gar!” Gengar had no time to dodge. It lifted its hands and released a ring of pale-purple flames toward the charging Scyther.

Slash, slash, slash.

Scyther cut through the incoming flames. Only a few embers landed on its body.

Hiss.

Another Night Slash hit Gengar. The blow sent it crashing to the ground, where it rolled in pain, sweat pouring from its forehead.

Two critical Night Slashes, both boosted by Swords Dance, had already done heavy damage. A few more hits like that, and Gengar would be finished.

”Gengar, Phantom Force!”

”Gar!” Gengar pulled open a black hole beneath itself and slipped its round body inside.

With Gengar hiding in another space, Scyther landed. The sandstorm from Swords Dance faded, and Scyther stood there panting. Small flames flickered across its body.

It had been burned.

Burn chips away at a Pokémon’s HP each turn and halves the damage of its physical moves.

”Burn…” Reiji looked at Scyther, who was facing him now, and gave it a quiet nod.

Steady.

Scyther nodded back. They did not need words. Their bond could handle a match like this. Gengar had to hide for one turn before attacking, so Scyther only had to wait.

”What’s going on? Why hasn’t Contestant Reiji said a word this whole time? Is this some kind of silent strategy?”

”Yeah, how is he supposed to command his Pokémon without speaking?”

”That Scyther already badly hurt Gengar without any commands…”

”Did none of you notice? Scyther is burned, but neither of them looks worried.”

”Meowth, what’s Scyther saying?”

”Meowth, it says it can still keep going. That’s some crazy willpower. Burn hurts, y’know.”

”How did he break Perish Song?” The Elite Four were watching from the lounge balcony, just as puzzled by Reiji’s silence.

”Scyther wasn’t affected by Perish Song at all,” Agatha said. Age had sharpened her eyes, not dulled them. With her battle experience, she saw through the silent fight at once.

”It’s sound,” Lorelei said. She had caught on too. From the start of the battle, the only strange part had been the lack of sound.

”Did Scyther block its ears?” Bruno clicked his tongue. They had thought about countering Perish Song that way before, but a Pokémon that could not hear its Trainer lost a huge part of its battle strength.

”Even without commands, it’s fighting extremely well,” Lance said with a small nod. Scyther had earned that praise.

”Scy.” Scyther felt the burn flare again. That meant another turn had passed. Gengar would be coming out soon.

Since it could not hear anything, Scyther watched the field carefully, ready for Gengar to appear and strike from any angle.

”Where did Gengar go?” the announcer said.

That was also a reminder to Tania. If Gengar stayed hidden too long, it would be ruled out.

Tania knew that. She sighed. She still had not figured out why Scyther was fighting without orders, or why Perish Song had failed.

”Gengar, Thunder Punch!”

”Gar! Gar!” Gengar burst out of a black hole behind Scyther. Crackling electricity wrapped around its small fist as it swung at Scyther’s back.

But Scyther had been waiting for exactly that.

The moment Thunder Punch appeared, danger prickled behind it. Scyther spun around and raised both scythes, forming a barrier with Protect.

”How?” Tania stared in disbelief. Reiji had said nothing. How had Scyther known Gengar was behind it?

The answer was Scyther’s perception training. Reiji’s Pokémon with strong senses trained that awareness constantly. Noticing Gengar’s attack was nothing unusual for Scyther.

Gengar froze for a split second, shocked that Scyther had reacted so fast and blocked Thunder Punch.

Then Scyther narrowed its eyes.

Gengar felt danger immediately.

Slash.

The moment Protect dropped, Scyther swung.

Gengar was cut and sent flying.

Scyther chased after it, slashing again and again.

Gengar had no choice but to dodge with everything it had. It did not dare take those blades head-on.

The longer it defended, the worse things would get. And Gengar was not faster than Scyther. Getting hit was only a matter of time.

Still, the burn mattered. Two hits from Scyther now only did about as much as one hit had before.

”Scy.” While chasing Gengar down, the burn flared across Scyther’s body again. Scyther lost the strength to keep attacking and dropped to one knee, using a scythe to hold itself up as it endured the burning pain.

”Gar.” Gengar finally got a chance to breathe. It stood on the ground, panting hard. Scyther’s pressure had been too fierce. Gengar had not even had time to think. Right now, all it wanted was a break.

”Gengar…” Tania looked at the blade marks covering Gengar’s body. She was worried. Too much time had passed, and Scyther still had not been affected by Perish Song. The move had clearly failed.

She could worry about why later. Right now, the problem was simple: Gengar was losing. If this kept going, it would fall soon. She had to think of something fast.

As she searched for a way out, Scyther waited for the burn to pass and stood again, sharpening its scythes at Gengar.

Reiji had told it the night before: never let Gengar rest. Keep pressing it and shrink its space to move.

Scyther raised its blades to attack again—

Then it realized it could not use Night Slash.

It did not panic. Reiji had warned it this might happen.

Gengar’s Ability was Cursed Body.

When a Pokémon with Cursed Body was hit, there was a thirty percent chance the attacker would be affected by Disable.

Disable lasted four turns. During that time, the Pokémon could not use the last move it had used before Disable took effect.

In other words, after Burn had already cut Scyther’s physical damage in half, Cursed Body had now taken away Night Slash too.

Honestly, Reiji had expected Disable to trigger much earlier. Scyther had already landed several critical hits, taking more than half of Gengar’s HP. Gengar was barely hanging on. As long as Scyther stayed steady, it could win.

”Scy.” Scyther’s wings buzzed again as it used Agility. It wanted to end this quickly. The burn was wearing it down too fast.

”Gar? Again?” Gengar saw Scyther rush in and panicked. It turned invisible at once.

This time, Scyther did not use Swords Dance. It crossed its scythes in front of its chest and slashed toward the battlefield, sending out Razor Wind. The goal was still the same: flush Gengar out.

Before the whirlwind could reveal Gengar, Scyther dropped to one knee again. Flames flickered over its body as the burn drained more of its HP. It clenched down and endured. The damage would only keep coming faster until it could no longer stand.

Gengar was soon forced out by the sand whipped up by Razor Wind.

”Gengar, Protect!”

”Gar!” Gengar raised a Protect barrier in midair to block Scyther’s Acrobatics.

Since Scyther was holding an item, Acrobatics did not get its doubled power. Even so, normal damage was enough. It was still stab.

Scyther attacked from every angle, above, below, left, right, front, and back. Gengar’s Protect broke quickly, and the faster Scyther started knocking it around in the air like a ball.

”Gar…” Gengar barely had strength left to fight back. It was only a matter of who gave out first.

”Gengar, Destiny Bond!”

”Gar!” Gengar heard the command. At the same time, it saw Scyther’s pressure spike again, as if it had received another boost. It became even more vicious than before.

Damn. Swarm triggered.

Tania’s heart sank. Swarm increased the power of Bug-type moves. Was Gengar not even going to get Destiny Bond off in time?

”Gar!” Gengar split into eight copies. Purple energy rose from each one and struck Scyther in the middle.

Scyther ignored all of it. It looked down at the shadows on the ground. Only the real Gengar had one.

Scyther locked onto the real body and rushed straight at it, pouring everything into one last Acrobatics. Its scythe cut into Gengar.

Boom.

An explosion burst in midair, and thick black smoke rolled out.

Gengar and Scyther fell from the air together, both unconscious.

”It was Destiny Bond! Scyther and Gengar are both out! What an incredible battle. Even without its Trainer’s commands, Scyther fought Gengar to a draw. How many hidden tactics does Contestant Reiji, this tournament’s biggest dark horse, still have? Let’s look forward to the rest of this match!”

[End of chapter]

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