“Alright, Blaziken, it’s time for the test.”
“M-Mee-lo!”
After a full meal and a half-hour rest, it was time to prepare for Blaziken’s evolution.
“Shio, how are we going to spar?” Satoshi asked. Shio had told Satoshi to hold back his Pidgeotto during the morning’s training, saying he needed to spar with Blaziken in the afternoon.
“Just watch carefully,” Shio said without explanation. Turning to Satoshi’s Pidgeotto, he instructed, “Pidgeotto, just use Quick Attack on Blaziken.”
“Pidge?”
Pidgeotto nodded doubtfully. Though it didn’t understand what Shio was doing, attacking Blaziken was simple enough.
Shio pulled a stone from his backpack, roughly the size of an Evolution Stone. Its surface was smooth and jade-like, an impressive stone overall.
“Shio, what’s that?” Satoshi asked curiously.
“This is a Wonder Stone.”
“Wonder Stone…?”
“It’s an item that allows a Pokemon that’s still capable of evolving to greatly increase its defense if carried,” Shio explained.
“Oh! There’s something like that?” Satoshi exclaimed in surprise.
“Satoshi, that’s a normal item. Trainers use it to help train Pokemon, and in unregulated matches, Pokemon are allowed to carry items.” Takeshi explained from the side.
Takeshi hadn’t paid much attention to such things before, but after spending time with Shio, he realized that Satoshi was still a newbie when it came to Pokemon knowledge, not even knowing about items like this.
Takeshi and Kasumi both felt a little embarrassed for Satoshi.
Especially when they thought about how Satoshi was always trying to compete with Shio. Now, seeing Shio in person, they realized that the gap between Satoshi and Shio wasn’t just ordinary.
“Is that so? But what are you using the Wonder Stone for, Shio?” Satoshi asked, still confused.
“You’ll see.” Shio was getting a little annoyed. Satoshi was like a three-year-old right now, asking why about every unknown thing. He was starting to get a headache from all the questions.
After attaching the Wonder Stone to Blaziken, Shio ordered, “Pidgeotto, use Feather Dance on Satoshi’s Pidgeotto.”
“Pidge!”
Shio’s Pidgeotto flew to Satoshi’s Pidgeotto’s side, fluttering its wings. Countless energy-constructed pure white feathers surrounded Pidgeotto, dancing in the air.
“What is this?” Satoshi asked with a dazed look.
“Satoshi, Feather Dance is a move that significantly lowers the opponent’s attack,” Shio explained.
The three were puzzled. They didn’t understand why Shio was doing this. Satoshi knew that if he asked, Shio wouldn’t tell him, so he could only keep watching.
After using Feather Dance three times on Satoshi’s Pidgeotto, Shio then used it on Blaziken.
Now that Blaziken’s physical attack was at its lowest, the battle could begin.
Shio commanded Satoshi’s Pidgeotto, “Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack on Blaziken. Blaziken, you can only use Fury Attack to counter.”
“Pidge!”
Satoshi’s Pidgeotto nodded, flapping its wings and instantly charging at Blaziken.
Blaziken knew it was time to build up its rage and didn’t dodge, allowing Pidgeotto to hit it. Though Pidgeotto’s physical attack was lowered, it could still hurt Blaziken, and Blaziken’s rage was slowly building up.
“M-Mee-lo!”
On the fifth attack from Pidgeotto, Blaziken couldn’t take it anymore. A sinister ghost-like energy enveloped it. Blaziken swung its fist in a fury, a giant dark shadow fist shot out and slammed into Pidgeotto. However, the Shadow Fist didn’t harm Pidgeotto, instead hitting the tree behind it. The spot where the tree was hit instantly snapped.
“What a scary fist, why is Pidgeotto okay?” Satoshi was stunned by the power of the Fury Attack, wondering why Pidgeotto wasn’t hurt.
“That Fury Attack seems to be a Ghost-type move, and Normal-type Pokemon are immune to Ghost-type moves,” Takeshi analyzed.
“So Ghost-type moves don’t work on Normal-type Pokemon?” Satoshi was learning about this for the first time. He had previously challenged the Goldenrod Gym three times before he managed to win. He initially planned to catch a Ghost-type Pokemon, but was told that the local Ghost-type Pokemon were all caught by the Goldenrod Gym, so he gave up.
Satoshi and his companions even saw the comedic performances of Gengar and the others at the Goldenrod Gym.
“What is Shio doing? The Fury Attack clearly didn’t hurt Pidgeotto, why keep using it?” Kasumi asked in puzzlement.
“Maybe he’s training the Fury Attack move?” Satoshi guessed.
“There’s no need to make Pidgeotto attack Blaziken for that.” Takeshi said.
All three of them couldn’t figure out what Shio was doing. It didn’t look like sparring, and it didn’t look like training a move either.
“Nagi-san, do you know what Shio is doing?” Kasumi had to ask Nagi, but apparently, she was asking the wrong person.
“I don’t know what Shio is doing either. Just watch,” Nagi said.
Everyone watched as Blaziken continued to use Fury Attack, until the 12th use, Blaziken’s eyes were covered in bloodshot. Though they knew this was just a test, each time Blaziken was hit by Pidgeotto, the rage inside it would rise.
“It seems he’s reached the peak of his anger, only 5 more to go,” Shio was keeping track of how many times Blaziken used Fury Attack.
“M-Mee-lo!”
Blaziken roared, a series of stone blades appeared around it, charging towards the sky.
“Pidge!”
Pidgeotto was startled. Didn’t he say he was only going to use Fury Attack? Why did he suddenly change moves?
Luckily, Pidgeotto was quick. If it had been hit by the Stone Edge attack, it would have been seriously injured.
“Nagi, have your Alakazam use Psychic on Blaziken.” Shio immediately ordered.
“Hoo!”
Alakazam, who was watching the battle from the side, immediately used Psychic on Blaziken, sealing its Stone Edge attack.
“M-Mee-lo!”
Blaziken’s eyes were completely red, clearly enraged. Seeing Alakazam in front of it, it didn’t hesitate, immediately charging forward, its right fist surrounded by a white energy layer.
However, Blaziken’s body was instantly bound by Psychic power.
“Shio, what’s wrong with Blaziken? Should we continue?” Nagi asked.
“It’s alright, release Blaziken, dodge its attacks, and try to make Blaziken use Fury Attack as much as possible.” Shio said.
“Alright, I’ll let Alakazam be Blaziken’s opponent then. Alakazam, release Psychic.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Alakazam immediately released its Psychic power. Blaziken charged at Alakazam in a rage, but Alakazam disappeared from its spot, using Teleport to dodge.