'Hm….my opponent must have seen my earlier battle, so he is surely not going to go for a tackle. He can't use Poison Gas as well since my Zubat is also a Poison-type and won't be affected by the poison status effect. That leaves him with Smog and Smokescreen.'
The NPC did not waste much time and called out—
"Koffing, use Smokescreen!"
Nicholas thought 'Yes, just what I wanted.'
"Zubat, use Gust to blow the smoke in Koffing's face."
Zubat started flapping its wings, and most of the smoke was sent back to Koffing. The NPC was clearly taken aback, not expecting my Zubat to know Gust.
"Zubat, don't let go—rush into the smoke and use Supersonic!"
Zubat rushed into the smoke and used Supersonic after locating Koffing within the smoke.
"Koffing, use Tackle—"
Unfortunately for him, Koffing was hit with a direct Supersonic and was confused.
Koffing tried to break free but hit the ground instead in its confusion.
"Zubat, Leech Life!"
Zubat landed a Leech Life, but it didn't do much damage.
The boy then said,
"Koffing, use Smog!"
"Zubat, use Gust again!"
I looked at my opponent and saw him incredibly frustrated.
'Good, the more he is frustrated, the more mistakes he will make.'
"Koffing, use Tackle!"
Koffing finally shook off the confusion and rushed toward Zubat with a Tackle.
"Wait for it… now, Zubat, Supersonic again!"
Zubat was hit by the Tackle but landed another Supersonic on Koffing.
"Now, Zubat, Astonish!"
"Koffing, dodge—"
But it was too late. Koffing was hit by the Astonish and was now clearly in a bad state.
"Koffing, please use Tackle!"
But Koffing did not listen and hit a tree in its confusion, and with that, the battle ended. Koffing hit the tree and was knocked out.
The man stepped forward and said,
"Nicholas wins."
The NPC looked very dejected and was on the verge of tears. He looked at me and shouted,
"You are a big, bad bully. Can't you fight fairly?!"
'??? What is bro yapping about?'
I looked at him weirdly and said,
"Womp womp."
This time, the NPC looked confused. Even though he did not understand what I said, the look on his face told me he felt greatly offended.
"Enough," the man said. "No excuses for losing a battle. Nicholas clearly outsmarted you. You should accept defeat gracefully."
With that, the NPC dejectedly returned the Pokéball and went away.
The man then called out,
"Selena and NPC-4, please step forward."
I stood aside and observed the battle, looking at their fighting style to devise a strategy to defeat the winner.
⸻
The battle was pretty straightforward. Meowth overwhelmed Pidgey easily with a Fake Out and Fury Swipes combo…
'Damn, this girl is strong. How can I possibly defeat that monster of a Meowth? The Fake Out alone will sap half my health. And a 4-hit Fury Swipes will finish me completely.'
The man said, "Okay, now you have another thirty-minute break. Best of luck to you both for the final battle."
He went and sat down on the bench again.
I looked around and saw that all the other participants had left.
'Well, what benefit did they have in sticking around…'
I went back to my corner to strategize with Zubat.
"Zubat, if you lose this battle, don't be disappointed, okay? You have a lot better future potential than that damn Meowth, even though it is stronger for now."
But it seemed Zubat had taken offense to my words and started biting me.
"Ow, ow! I was just speaking the truth…"
Zubat then looked at me again, still looking adorably angry.
"What? Do you have any other cards you are hiding?"
Zubat looked at me like it was a supervillain. It disappeared from my sight and hit me in my ribs, coated with a dark energy.
"Was that… Feint Attack? Zubat, you know Feint Attack?!"
Zubat nodded enthusiastically.
"I am so lucky! That's an egg move… Zubat, you are awesome."
Zubat suddenly lowered its head bashfully.
'Is this Zubat bipolar?' I thought weirdly.
⸻
"Okay, this is the final battle, so do your best."
Me and the girl took our respective positions and released our Pokémon.
"Let the battle commence!"
The girl didn't waste any time and yelled,
"Meowth, Fake Out and then use Fury Swipes!"
Hn, this girl definitely thought that she could start hitting Fury Swipes after landing a Fake Out due to the flinch, but…
"Zubat, Supersonic!"
Zubat didn't flinch due to its ability, Inner Focus, and landed a point-blank Supersonic.
Clearly, the Meowth didn't expect this and was hit with Supersonic, stopping its Fury Swipes due to the surprise.
I capitalized on this surprise and said,
"Leech Life, Zubat!"
Zubat latched onto Meowth's head and landed a clean Leech Life.
"Meowth, use Bite!"
Unfortunately for me, Meowth did not trigger the confusion and landed a Bite on Zubat, doing a lot of damage.
"Zubat, move upwards!"
"Meowth, jump after him and land another Bite!"
I grinned. This was part of the plan.
"Zubat, Gust and rush in with a Feint Attack!"
Zubat hit Meowth with Gust while it was mid-air, then moved close to Meowth and landed a Feint Attack.
"Meowth!! Use Fury Swipes!"
Meowth tried to use Fury Swipes while Zubat was close but hit itself in confusion.
"Zubat, a final Leech Life!"
Well, that was it for Meowth. After the Leech Life, it couldn't stand anymore and was knocked out.
The man then announced—
"Meowth is out, the winner is Nicholas."
I stood proudly with a grin, basking in my victory, adrenaline rushing through my veins and Zubat sitting proudly on my head.
'This is what I live for, this feeling… I love it.'
⸻