"Sandile, keep chasing! Use Fire Fang!"
Hearing Silas' command, Sandile's eyes turned faintly crimson, its aggressive instincts rising uncontrollably.
"In that case, Froslass, use Ice Fang!"
The woman in the purple dress calmly gave her counter-order.
Froslass waved its sleeve-like arms, and a phantom image of icy fangs appeared in front of it, releasing a chilling aura.
Sandile opened its jaws as sparks ignited between its teeth.
Flames spread instantly across its mouth.
The Fire Fang collided head-on with the icy phantom.
Fire and ice crashed together violently.
Sandile was pushed back several steps.
The level gap between them was still obvious, and Ice Fang had the bonus of a same-type attack boost (STAB).
Silas quickly adjusted his strategy.
"Sandile! Use Rock Tomb!"
Rock-type moves were also effective against Froslass.
"Froslass, use Double Team."
The woman in purple dress showed no panic. She calmly issued her command.
In an instant, more than a dozen Froslass clones appeared across the battlefield.
Silas scanned them carefully.
Normally, when there were too many clones, their realism decreased.But here Every clone looked identical.
Even their movements and gaze were perfectly replicated.
Silas raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"So skilled with Double Team…"
All the clones rushed toward Sandile at once.
White energy gathered on their heads.
Headbutt.
Silas wasn't worried about a direct clash.
Close combat was Sandile's strength.
"Sandile! Use Focus Energy, then Stomping Tantrum!"
Sandile first gathered its energy, completing the buff instantly.
Then it leapt into the air and slammed down onto the ground.
BOOM!
The ground cracked.
The area-of-effect attack struck multiple clones at once,naturally including the real Froslass.
"Good chance! Follow up with Fire Fang!"
Sandile quickly turned its body.
Although reptiles moved a little clumsily, its short tail lashed against the ground and propelled it forward.
Flames ignited again around its jaws.
"Grrraaah!"
Sandile's natural aggressiveness, combined with the combat instincts forged through life-and-death battles, exploded at once.
A relentless chain of attacks pushed Froslass back repeatedly.
Especially Sandile's Dark-type moves:
Bite
Pursuit
Taunt
All were effective against Froslass' Ghost typing.
"Froslass, use Protect, then Confuse Ray!"
The woman raised her eyebrows slightly.
She was clearly surprised by Silas' commanding ability.
A green barrier instantly appeared around Froslass.
Protect blocked Sandile's incoming Rock Tomb attack.
At the same time, Froslass swung its arm again.
A strange glowing sphere shot forward.The attack struck Sandile.
Sandile became confused.
The confusion only worsened Sandile's aggression. Its claws scraped against the ground.
SCRRRTCH… SCRRRTCH…
Its pitch-black eyes flashed with crimson killing intent.
"Froslass, use Ice Beam!"
Froslass gathered large amounts of icy energy. However, because of the earlier damage and exhaustion, the attack took several seconds to charge.
Finally An ice-blue beam shot forward.
Sandile was hit directly.
Because of its confused state, it couldn't follow commands properly and could only take the attack head-on.
Silas frowned slightly.
"Sandile! Use Hidden Power!"
When Sandile had learned Hidden Power earlier, Silas had already tested its attribute.
It turned out to be an extremely rare type.
Dragon-type Hidden Power.
"Froslass! Full power-Ice Beam!"
A purple dragon-type energy wave collided with the icy beam.
Both Pokémon were almost completely exhausted.
This final clash would decide the outcome.
The battle had already attracted the attention of many diners nearby. Everyone watched closely.
The smoke slowly cleared.
The two Pokémon stared at each other from across the battlefield.
Then Sandile collapsed.
Its eyes turned into spirals as it fainted.
Froslass also fell to the ground. But it was still barely conscious.
Behind it, a faint phantom of a red headband appeared.
Silas muttered quietly.
"…Focus Sash."
The battle should have ended in a draw. But because of that item, the woman in purple barely won.
Silas chuckled lightly and returned Sandile to its Poké Ball.
He handed it to the nearby medical staff.
.....
The Food Court Trap
A waiter wearing an apron hurried over.
"Sir, please settle the bill for both you and this lady."
"This includes meals, medical costs, and battlefield repair fees."
He showed a cunning smile.
Silas looked at the bill.
Over 10,000 PokéDollars.
His face darkened instantly.
Even the luxurious meal he ordered cost less than 1,000 PokéDollars.
The woman had only ordered one bowl of assorted noodles.
The remaining 8,000+ PokéDollars were medical and arena repair fees.
Silas suddenly realized something.
This food court probably didn't make money from food at all.
The real profit came from battle expenses.
It was practically legal extortion.
Silas paid the money expressionlessly.
His mood was clearly sour.
Not only because he lost the match But also because of this shady business model.
.....
After the Battle
When Silas returned to his table, he was surprised.
The blonde woman in the purple dress was sitting at the table next to him.
She was rapidly devouring her bowl of noodles.
Sweat covered her forehead as she ate.
This was completely different from her earlier image as a cold, elegant beauty.
Soon Silas' food arrived:
Smoked meat sausages
Assorted ramen
Vegetable platter
Seeing the large feast, the woman swallowed visibly.
Silas smiled.
"Come eat with me."
"You did win, after all."
Because of the battle, the atmosphere between them had relaxed.
The woman didn't refuse.
"Actually, your commanding ability is quite good," she said.
"You just lack a properbattle item."
Silas nodded.
Though in his opinion, the bigger factor was still the level difference.
The woman tucked her golden hair behind her ear and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"In my opinion," she said elegantly, "Pokémon can only reach their full potential when items are used together with strategy."
Silas felt that sentence sounded strangely familiar.
Before he could think further Her phone rang.
She stood up immediately.
Even though she clearly liked the food, she left in a hurry. Before leaving, she said:
"Thank you for the noodles, young man."
"I'll remember you."
Then she disappeared.
Silas shook his head helplessly.
Looking at the huge table of food, he could only continue eating.
After all Wasting food is shameful.
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(End of chapter)