Eroking
patreon
Chapter 140: A Nasty Move
🕑 Added 2025-08-15 14:07:44 +0000 UTCChapter 140: A Nasty Move
"Come on out, Houndoom!"
The young trainer took a deep breath and sent out his Pokémon. It was a dog-like Pokémon with large, curved horns, an orange snout, and a black body. A bone-like rib cage structure encircled its neck and back. It was Houndoom.
The fourth trainer for Kyanite City, a kid named Byron, was about to find out his trip was for nothing. His Houndoom had been specifically chosen to counter Waylon's Haunter, possessing the move Odor Sleuth to bypass its invisibility. It also knew Taunt, and as a Dark-type, Byron was confident it could overpower Haunter's own Taunt if necessary.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn't facing Waylon. He was facing Basalt. Against Drilbur, both Odor Sleuth and Taunt were completely useless.
The battle began.
RUMBLE!
A Sand Tomb erupted, covering a massive area of fifty or sixty square meters. Though Houndoom was agile, it couldn't escape a move with such a wide range.
WHIRRR!
With that familiar, grating sound, Drilbur's Drill Run shot forward like a torpedo.
"Awooo~" Houndoom whimpered, its tail tucked between its legs. It knew Counter, but looking at the sheer force of Drilbur's attack, it knew it would be knocked out in one hit. Still, it knew why it had been chosen as a substitute for the Kyanite City team. Its job was to take an opponent down with it in a critical moment.
Vwoom!
Just as Drilbur was about to connect, Basalt saw a shadowy wisp shoot from Houndoom's body and merge with Drilbur.
"What was that?" Basalt's brow furrowed, a bad feeling creeping into his gut.
"It's Destiny Bond!" Mr. Shane called out, recognizing the move. Destiny Bond was a Ghost-type move. If the user was knocked out by an opponent's attack after using it, the attacking Pokémon would be knocked out as well.
BAM!
Drilbur's Drill Run struck Houndoom, knocking it out from full health in a single blow. But as Houndoom fainted, the shadowy wisp took effect. Drilbur felt its energy drain away like water from an open floodgate, an unstoppable torrent.
"Chaa..." A few moments later, its eyes spun into swirls, and it collapsed.
"Destiny... Bond," Basalt muttered, his eye twitching.
He had gotten the quadra kill, but he was incredibly annoyed that Drilbur had been taken out by such a cheap move.
Next time I face a Pokémon like that, I'll have to wear it down with Sandstorm or Sand Tomb, he thought, learning from his mistake. He had achieved his goal of showing off, but the victory felt hollow.
"Basalt, you did great," Mr. Leo said, coming over to console him as he walked off the field. "Pokémon battles are like that. There are so many different moves and abilities, and some combinations can have unexpected effects. Getting a quadra kill was already far beyond our expectations. And that was without even using Sandstorm!"
"It's fine, Mr. Leo," Basalt said with a wave of his hand. "Without Sandstorm, I wasn't expecting to get a full team wipe anyway."
"You little..." Mr. Leo's mouth twitched. So you were actually aiming for a five-man sweep?
Though Basalt was out, the battle wasn't over. Forrest and his Heracross took the field next. For Kyanite City, their last trainer was, of course, their captain, Heath, and his Kadabra.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Both Pokémon took damage from Stealth Rock as they entered the field. But while the bulky Heracross barely flinched, the frail Kadabra took a huge hit. The single Stealth Rock activation took away nearly half of its health.
But Forrest didn't look happy. Heracross was a powerhouse, but against a tricky, elusive opponent like Kadabra, it was at a huge disadvantage.
"Vacuum Wave!" Forrest took the initiative. As a priority move, if it landed, it might be enough to finish off the weakened Kadabra.
FWOOSH!
Heracross threw a punch, sending a wave of air shooting towards Kadabra. But just as it was about to hit, Kadabra vanished.
"Fire Punch!" Heath's voice rang out. Kadabra reappeared behind Heracross, its fist wreathed in flames.
POW!
Heracross stumbled, a patch of its shell scorched, but it hadn't taken much damage. Kadabra's physical attack was nothing to write home about.
"Hera!" Flapping its wings to stabilize itself, Heracross locked its eyes on Kadabra... and was immediately put to sleep by Hypnosis.
A Dream Eater followed by a Psybeam, and Heracross fainted, falling from the air and crashing to the ground.
"Sorry, he was just too strong," Forrest said with an embarrassed look as he walked off the field. Not only had he failed to do any damage, he had let his opponent heal back to full health. It was a complete disaster.
Next up, Waylon and his new Haunter took the field. Heath's Kadabra was skilled, but it had lost to a Gastly. It stood no chance against a newly evolved and much stronger Haunter.
"Kadabra is unable to battle! The winner is... the Metro City team!"
With the referee's final call, the exhibition match came to an end. As expected, Metro City had won. Though the final score was 5-4, Basalt's incredible performance had made the result more than acceptable to Director Sterling.
"Congratulations, Director Sterling. It seems your city has produced two real talents this year," Director Falcone said, shaking his hand despite his sour expression. His eyes were filled with envy. "Especially that Haunter. With an invisibility technique that strong, its future is limitless. And that Drilbur... not bad either."
From what he had seen, Drilbur was clearly inferior to Haunter.
"You're too kind," Sterling replied with a placid smile, thinking to himself, You'll be in for a real shock when you see what that Drilbur can really do.
The exhibition match was over. After a customary handshake, both teams dispersed. The Regional Tournament was only two days away. There was no time to waste. The winners needed to maintain their momentum, and the losers needed to work even harder. And now, they all had data on their opponents to study.
