Chapter 230

Chapter 230: Chapter 230

Beedrill stared coldly at the battle-hungry Ursaring, who was openly provoking him from across the field, but his expression never changed.

"Ursaring, use Hammer Arm!"

Ursaring charged forward with one enormous arm raised, swinging it down toward Beedrill with tremendous force.

"Poison Jab!"

Beedrill met the attack head-on, thrusting one lance directly toward Ursaring’s descending arm.

The instant the two moves collided, a violent shockwave erupted across the battlefield and forced Ursaring several steps backward.

The large Pokémon steadied himself and stared intently at Beedrill, clearly realizing that the opponent in front of him was every bit as dangerous as he appeared.

"Fire Punch!"

"X-Scissor!"

Flames wrapped around Ursaring’s fist as he swung again, but Beedrill crossed both lances in front of himself and caught the burning punch between them.

Ursaring continued forcing more strength into the attack, gradually pressing Beedrill’s weapons downward, and it was during that struggle that Mike noticed a faint purple tint beginning to spread across Ursaring’s face.

His eyebrow rose slightly.

’Already poisoned?’

More importantly, Paul’s Ursaring had Guts.

The instant the poison activated the Ability, Ursaring’s physical power surged dramatically.

"Hammer Arm!"

Ursaring’s free arm lit up with white energy and crashed into Beedrill before he could fully disengage, blasting him backward through the air.

As Beedrill steadied himself, Ursaring threw back his head and roared.

"Bulk Up!"

"ROAR!"

Ursaring’s muscles visibly swelled, and the pressure radiating from his body rose another level.

His eyes had become bloodshot by the time he fixed them on Beedrill again.

Beedrill calmly raised both lances.

"Swords Dance."

At Mike’s command, he began moving through the familiar battle dance, and by the time the final motion ended, his own presence had risen sharply as well.

"Fire Punch!"

"Poison Jab!"

Burning fist and lance collided once more, neither side immediately yielding. Paul followed almost instantly with another command.

"Hammer Arm!"

Ursaring had only just begun raising his other arm when Beedrill’s second lance was already moving.

The strike carved across Ursaring’s body before Hammer Arm could come down, forcing the larger Pokémon to stumble backward with a roar of pain.

"Fury Cutter!"

Beedrill immediately pressed the advantage.

His lances flashed again and again, Fury Cutter striking repeatedly before Ursaring could properly regain his footing.

"Ursaring, use Fire Punch!"

Ursaring forced himself through the barrage and brought a flame-covered fist crashing downward.

At the last possible moment, Beedrill shot past him with one lance raised and came to a stop behind his back.

Beedrill calmly blew across the tip of his lance.

A heartbeat later, Ursaring’s knees hit the ground.

The pupils had vanished completely from his eyes, leaving only blank white as his massive body slumped forward.

"Ursaring is unable to battle! Beedrill wins!" Brock announced.

Mike recalled Beedrill at the same time Paul returned Ursaring to his Poké Ball, and Paul immediately sent one of his earlier Pokémon back onto the field.

"Lairon, prepare to battle."

Mike turned toward Hatenna. "Hatenna, I’m counting on you."

The little Pokémon happily hopped onto the battlefield, prompting Ash to pull out his Pokédex and point it toward her.

When the device displayed nothing, he lowered it with obvious disappointment.

"Another Pokémon that isn’t from Sinnoh?"

"She’s so cute!" Dawn said, her eyes practically sparkling.

Hatenna bounced lightly in place and gave Lairon a soft cry.

"Hatenna~"

Lairon stared at yet another tiny opponent, but unlike before, there was no trace of confusion or contempt in his expression.

After what Snivy had done to him earlier, he had clearly learned not to underestimate anything simply because it was small.

"Lairon, use Iron Head!"

"Hatenna.... make him fly."

"Hatenn~"

Her sweet little cry was followed by an enormous burst of psychic power.

Lairon had already started charging when he suddenly realized that something felt wrong.

The ground beneath him was getting farther and farther away, while Hatenna herself seemed to be shrinking below.

He stopped running and looked down at his own body.

He was floating in midair.

Lairon stared blankly.

’I can fly?’

The answer arrived one second later when the psychic force vanished and gravity reclaimed him.

Lairon slammed violently into the ground.

He had only just staggered back onto his feet when an even more powerful psychic force struck him directly in the head.

Pain exploded through his skull as his entire body was blasted backward, crashing through the trunk of a large tree hard enough to snap it in half.

Lairon finally dropped to the ground with all four limbs spread out and spirals spinning in his eyes.

From the tree branch, Glameow blinked at the sheer amount of psychic power Hatenna had released in a single burst.

Snivy tilted her head as well, studying the tiny Pokémon with obvious curiosity.

It was difficult to imagine that such a small body could contain that much power.

Gengar swallowed nervously.

For the first time, he began seriously reviewing every interaction he had ever had with Hatenna.

’Have I ever bullied her?’

If the answer was yes, he might need to pack his things and disappear in the middle of the night.

After blasting Lairon away with a single Psychic, Hatenna happily returned to Mike’s side with another soft "Hatenna~"

"Great job. You worked hard."

Mike’s praise immediately made her brighten, and she began bouncing happily from side to side while chirping, "Hatenna~ Hatenna~"

Paul silently recalled Lairon and sent Torterra back onto the field.

"Gengar."

Mike only needed to say his name.

"Gar—"

Gengar handed his thin bamboo staff over to Snivy in the tree, floated back in front of Mike, and turned toward Paul with an enormous toothy grin.

"Torterra, Giga Drain."

"Shadow Ball."

Gengar’s body flickered, and in the blink of an eye he appeared directly in front of Torterra.

The massive Pokémon’s eyes widened in alarm as Gengar cheerfully pressed the Shadow Ball in his palm straight against Torterra’s forehead.

BOOOOM!

The explosion smashed Torterra flat against the ground, while Gengar used the recoil to float backward into the air.

Before Mike could even issue another command, strange blue-purple flames had already gathered in Gengar’s hand.

He casually tossed them downward.

Will-O-Wisp struck Torterra the instant he struggled back onto his feet, and the eerie flames immediately spread across his shell, skin, and limbs.

Mike stared at Gengar.

’Damn.’

He hadn’t even said anything yet.

Gengar had instinctively slapped a burn onto Torterra all by himself.

After applying the status condition, Gengar simply floated in place and waited for his opponent to respond.

Torterra steadied himself despite the burning pain crawling across his body and released a low growl.

"Stone Edge."

Jagged stones formed around Torterra and shot toward Gengar, but Gengar casually began throwing Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball.

Every incoming projectile exploded before it could reach him, and the repeated detonations quickly filled the battlefield with thick black smoke.

Gengar glanced back over his shoulder and flashed Mike a huge grin before diving straight into the darkness.

The temperature around the battlefield immediately began to fall.

A sudden cold wind swept through the smoke, gradually blowing it apart, and when everyone could finally see again, Gengar was sitting comfortably in midair with his cheeks puffed out.

One hand was cupped beside his mouth while the other repeatedly fanned the freezing breath he was blowing toward Torterra, as though he were personally helping the wind along.

Icy Wind swept across the battlefield.

Torterra’s remaining consciousness finally disappeared, and his massive body crashed heavily to the ground.

"Torterra is unable to battle! Gengar wins!"

Paul silently recalled Torterra.

By this point, his expression had gone almost completely numb as he reached for his final Poké Ball.

The Pokémon inside was Electabuzz—the partner who would eventually become one of Paul’s greatest aces.

Before Paul could send Electabuzz out, however, Rotom suddenly flew out of the phone and dove directly into a nearby microwave.

The appliance immediately came to life, and Heat Rotom proudly began dragging the microwave body toward the battlefield.

"According to my calculations, every other Pokémon has already participated in this battle. I am the only one remaining, so the probability that I will be chosen for the next round is 99.9 percent, roto~!"

Rotom had barely made it onto the battlefield when two chubby purple hands suddenly grabbed him from behind.

"Roto?"

Gengar spun Rotom around several times and hurled him away.

"GAR—!"

[I’M NOT DONE FIGHTING YET! OFF YOU GO~!]

"This violates all logical battle rotation, rotooooo—!"

Rotom flew straight toward a tree.

Just before the microwave could smash into the trunk, Snivy extended a Vine Whip, wrapped it securely around Rotom’s body, and stopped him in midair.

"My battle! That was supposed to be my battle! Gengar, you’re not human, roto!"

Rotom struggled desperately against the vine, trying to force his way back onto the field, but he couldn’t break free.

Gengar looked over his shoulder at the accusation and scratched his large ass in confusion.

"Gar—"

[Of course I’m not human. I’m not even a good person to begin with!]

Once Rotom realized that Gengar had completely stolen his turn and there was no chance of him being selected now, he retreated into the microwave body in despair.

The temperature inside immediately began climbing higher and higher until, a few moments later, Rotom simply passed out from sheer rage.

Snivy sighed when she saw him go limp.

She used her Vine Whip to carry the unconscious Rotom over, carefully set him down beside her, and then turned her attention back toward the battle.

Across the field, Paul clenched his fist and finally released his last Pokémon.

"Electabuzz, use Thunder!"

"Dark Pulse!"

Electabuzz unleashed an enormous bolt of lightning, but Gengar slipped cleanly away from the strike while dark energy gathered between his hands.

A wave of sinister power immediately surged toward Electabuzz.

"Protect!"

A defensive barrier appeared in front of Electabuzz, stopping Dark Pulse completely.

Gengar pursed his lips in obvious dissatisfaction and began gathering shadowy energy in his hands again, while Electabuzz lowered his stance and prepared another attack.

Both Pokémon were just about to unleash their next moves when two mechanical arms suddenly descended from the sky.

At the same time, an enormous net dropped toward the battlefield.

One mechanical hand clamped around Electabuzz’s waist while the other seized Gengar.

The net swept over Snivy and the others gathered beneath the tree, scooping them all into the air before anyone could properly react.

"Gar?"

Gengar lowered his head and curiously examined the mechanical arm wrapped around his waist.

Before he could do anything about it, both he and Electabuzz were dragged upward and sealed inside transparent holding compartments.

"What the hell is that?"

Paul immediately looked toward the sky.

A strange flying machine was hovering above the clearing, with Electabuzz, Gengar, and the rest of Mike’s captured Pokémon now trapped inside transparent compartments and nets suspended from the machine.

Mike slowly raised his head as well, and the instant he saw the enormous, painfully familiar red R painted across the robot, his eyelid twitched.

’No way... You guys are here too...?’