Trick Room activated instantly. Slowbro's mastery of the move had clearly reached its peak.
Honchkrow turned its head to glance at the strange glowing transparent "walls" surrounding them, clearly uncomfortable.
In the next second, Honchkrow flapped its wings forcefully and, in the blink of an eye, closed the distance to Slowbro.
Only then did Slowbro slowly react.
Its mouth opened wide, and a Hydro Pump burst forth. Honchkrow was already right in front of it, the Dark-type energy on its wings nearly striking Slowbro's face.
But even as Hydro Pump hit it, Honchkrow was unable to get any closer.
Trick Room, forced priority in attacks!
"Push through. Night Slash." "Krooow!"
Honchkrow, enduring the Hydro Pump, slowly moved closer again, and then with a sweeping wing strike, sent Slowbro flying.
Brutal to the extreme!
But Slowbro was still a strong tank Pokémon; one weakened Night Slash wasn't enough to take it down.
Seeing Honchkrow charging in again, Will had no choice but to order a counterattack.
"Blizzard!"
In battle, Slowbro wasn't as sluggish as usual. Hearing the command, it opened its mouth and unleashed a powerful Blizzard that swept up toward the sky.
Yet Honchkrow showed no panic at all. Its massive wings flapped violently, sending a wave of searing heat with visible sparks straight into the Blizzard.
Heat Wave!
SHHHHHH~~
As hot and cold collided, thick white steam billowed out, quickly shrouding the arena in a hazy fog, obscuring visibility.
But this only affected the general audience. Neither Sato nor Will, nor Honchkrow or Slowbro on the field, were affected in the slightest.
Without hesitation, Honchkrow dove in, charging straight at Slowbro!
"Psychic!"
"Night Slash."
A purple glow lit up from around Honchkrow's body, but it didn't flinch. Instead, it accelerated again, closing the gap with Slowbro.
Slaaaashhhh~
Night Slash landed. Slowbro was sent flying once more and never got up again.
Will clenched his fists in silence, staring at the fallen Slowbro, unable to speak for a long time.
He had long known the gap between them was growing… but he hadn't expected to be unable to resist even three attacks.
"Come back, Slowbro. Good job."
After recalling Slowbro, Will quickly refocused and sent out his next Pokémon.
"Jynx, Blizzard!"
Without wasting a word, Will immediately had Jynx unleash a Blizzard. The piercing cold swept across the entire arena.
But when Will looked again to locate Honchkrow, he found that it had already flown high into the sky, easily dodging the Blizzard.
Watching the airborne Honchkrow, Will felt a wave of frustration rise in his chest that he couldn't release.
'It had been so aggressive earlier! Why was it suddenly backing off now?'
Come oooon! CHARGE STRAIGHT AT ME!'
But Honchkrow's leisurely wing-spread stance seemed to radiate silent mockery.
Fighting takes brains!
In the next instant, Honchkrow vanished from its original spot. When it reappeared, it was shrouded in a gleaming white light, slamming down fiercely toward Jynx.
The ultimate Flying-type move…
Sky Attack!
BOOOOOOM!
Jynx, as expected, was blasted away with full force, slamming into the wall outside the battlefield and completely immobilized.
"KROO-OOW~!"
One against three! Honchkrow let out a triumphant cry, proudly displaying its dominance.
The entire arena erupted in thunderous shouts.
In the past, Elite Four Will had always been regarded as a powerful figure out of reach.
…But before Sato, he couldn't even withstand three moves.
What kind of level had this strength reached?
That question appeared in the minds of everyone watching the battle, almost simultaneously.
After the arena calmed down a bit, Will finally gave a wry smile and sent out his next Pokémon.
"Wobbuffet, it's your turn!"
A flash of red light, blue all over, shaped like a widened baseball bat, Wobbuffet appeared on the field.
Sato paused with the Poké Ball in his right hand, then slowly withdrew it.
Three battles in a row… Honchkrow had used quite a bit of stamina. He had intended to recall it for a break, but didn't expect Will to send out that particular Pokémon.
Shadow Tag: locks the opponent's shadow, preventing the Trainer from switching Pokémon.
Also, even factoring in Egg moves inherited from Wynaut, Wobbuffet could only ever learn seven moves¹[1]: Counter, Mirror Coat, Safeguard, Destiny Bond, Encore, Charm, and Splash.
But just those few moves were enough to arm Wobbuffet to the teeth.
With proper commands, it could even take down two opposing Pokémon, completely ignoring level differences!
Anyone who had thought Will was going easy had their doubts erased the moment Wobbuffet hit the field.
For Sato, who was facing a gauntlet battle, the priority was to conserve his Pokémon's stamina, defeat opponents with the least cost, and win the final victory.
With Wobbuffet's appearance, many concluded that even in this first match against Elite Four Will, Sato was going to lose at least one Pokémon.
This gauntlet battle for Sato…
Just got tough!
Will had clearly seen Sato's attempt to recall his Pokémon. He felt a little awkward, but knowing he might get "swept" completely, he decided to send out Wobbuffet.
At the very least… he couldn't-
"Honchkrow, Taunt."
"…"
Will blinked.
Wobbuffet… scratched its head.
Sato said nothing…
Honchkrow… flapped its wings.
…Then what?
A stir began to spread through the arena. The confused spectators were all wondering, 'why had the battle suddenly paused?'
But plenty of sharp-eyed viewers quickly caught on and began whispering to each other.
No one had expected this… Wobbuffet, the unstoppable tank meant to trade two-for-one, had just… been disabled?
"Krow?"
Perhaps the awkwardness didn't match Honchkrow's ideal image of valiant display, so it turned to look at Sato, clearly asking with its eyes…
Are we still fighting?
Sato sighed and turned toward Will.
Still fighting?
Will gritted his teeth and finally ordered, "Wobbuffet, Str-"
"Woooo~Bbu… FFET!"
But Wobbuffet suddenly lunged at the airborne Honchkrow, and then leapt with impossible force into the air.
Before Honchkrow could even react, Wobbuffet smacked it several times.
When a Pokémon can't use any moves, there's still one last form of counterattack…
Struggle!
"Kro… OOW!"
Startled and furious, Honchkrow snapped; he'd been debating whether to hit Wobbuffet, and the thing had struck first?
Unforgivable!
Flames ignited around Honchkrow, and with a 360° spin, the fire turned from red to blue, before it smashed Wobbuffet into the ground with full force…
Brave Bird!
•
¹.Gen V I think, can't remember.
[1] Gen V I think, can't remember.