Neutralizing Gas: while a Pokémon with this Ability is on the field, the effects of all Abilities on the field disappear or fail to activate.
Of course, there were some Abilities that could not be suppressed.
For example, Calyrex's As One.
But Gallade's Ability was Sharpness, which was obviously the kind of Ability affected by Neutralizing Gas.
The moment it came out, Gallade instinctively swung its elbow blades and immediately felt that something was off.
Rounding things off, both sides were basically fighting in a no-Ability state.
Some of Gallade's moves had their power reduced, so overall it was at a slight disadvantage.
"Gallade, watch out for Weezing's moves."
The moment Grey thought of the sort of tactics Koga specialized in, he immediately called out, "Safeguard!"
"Toxic!"
Koga's and Grey's commands landed at the exact same time.
The instant Grey heard the move Koga called out, a look of understanding crossed his face.
Of course. There was no way a Poison-type Gym Leader would not use Toxic.
Good thing he had the little Riolu teach Gallade Safeguard. Otherwise, he would have definitely been forced to get a taste of Koga's Toxic/Substitute/Protect stalling tactics today.
"Gallade!"
Gallade crossed its arms, and white light enveloped its whole body.
Weezing released Toxic, and bubbling poison suddenly burst forth in a violent spray.
Then—
Splat!
Toxic landed on Gallade's body, which was still wreathed in white light.
Nothing happened.
[Safeguard: The user is protected by a mysterious power for a while, preventing it from being inflicted with status conditions.]
This was a move designed specifically to deal with trainers like Koga, who often built their tactics around status conditions.
For a short time, Gallade could fight without worry and avoid being tricked by a single Toxic from Weezing.
"Tch."
Koga could not help clicking his tongue.
He had not expected Grey's reaction to be so fast.
He had thought of it instantly…
No, wait. Hadn't they both called out their moves at the same time just now?
As Koga recalled the exchange, his pupils shrank slightly.
Had Grey predicted him?
Otherwise, Grey should not have called for Safeguard right at the start.
Koga rarely used this Toxic/Substitute/Protect strategy in public matches. Other than prediction, he could not think of any reason Grey would have opened with that move.
Both of them were Elite Four-level trainers. Situations where someone just gambled blindly were almost nonexistent.
So aside from prediction, there was no other answer.
With that thought, Koga's opinion of Grey rose several notches.
As expected of a genius trainer who had reached Elite Four level in such a short time. He really did have his own extraordinary strengths.
"Weezing, since Toxic didn't work, we'll use Sludge Wave."
Koga also loved using wide-area moves.
Against Grey's many Pokémon known for speed, large-scale attacks solved a lot of problems.
"Weeeezing—"
Weezing's deep purple skin darkened even further as a filthy flood of sludge burst out from its body and surged in every direction, making the already uneven battlefield even more cratered and broken.
"Gallade, use Psycho Cut."
Grey had no intention of going in for close combat just yet.
Gallade swung its elbow blades, sending out two cross-shaped psychic blades that split open the poisonous sludge flow, only to be swallowed up by the waves that followed.
"Without Sharpness, even the power of its moves has dropped…"
Seeing that, Grey could not help feeling a little regretful.
Normally, Gallade lorded over the field with Sharpness.
Now that Sharpness had effectively been banned, Gallade was clearly feeling the loss.
Because of that, the slicing moves it had grown so used to could no longer display their usual strength, and the gap was hitting it hard.
I can accept my own mediocrity, so long as I have never seen the brilliance of the stars.
That line suited the Gallade on the field perfectly.
At the beginning, it had been a "useless" Pokémon that could not even use psychic power properly. Now it had turned into a true swordmaster.
A large part of that came from the Sharpness Ability it gained after evolving.
"So it's losing confidence?"
Grey raised a brow slightly. He had not expected Weezing's Ability to have a psychological effect too.
Koga had done it unintentionally, but Gallade's state of mind had still shifted.
"Gallade, you're already strong as you are. It's only that Sharpness can't activate for now. It's not a big deal."
Grey used aura power to send his words directly, soothing Gallade's emotions.
The battle was still going on.
At first, Psycho Cut could still hold against the first few waves of poisonous sludge, but as Weezing continued spewing more and more, the scale of Sludge Wave became as terrifying as a tidal wave.
Sticky poison piled higher and higher, reaching nearly three meters, turning half the battlefield into a purple-black swamp of death.
Gallade stood inside a shrinking safe zone, and the glow of its arm blades looked pitifully faint beneath the reflection of the towering poison tide.
It unconsciously took half a step back.
Not out of fear, of course, but because it was instinctively assessing the massive difference in power.
If its own trainer were in this situation, how would he want it to handle this?
What Gallade was thinking about was what Grey would do.
Without Sharpness, could it still do this right?
"I told you to trust yourself. It's just a Sludge Wave, so what are you afraid of? It's not like you're going to be poisoned."
Grey's attitude, on the other hand, remained casual. This was Pokémon battling—high-level battling, at that. There was no way either side would come through completely unharmed.
The stronger the battlers, the fiercer the fight.
And that was exactly the feeling Grey wanted.
"Besides slicing moves, we've got plenty of other options. We're not lacking just because of this one thing."
After finishing his encouragement, Grey calmly gave his next order. "Ice Punch."
"Gallade!"
This time, instead of attacking with its elbow blades, Gallade gathered Ice-type energy into its fist.
Cold spread wildly as Sludge Wave surged toward it.
Gallade met it head-on with a punch!
CRACK!
The instant that heavy, frost-covered fist slammed into Sludge Wave, the poisonous sludge began freezing at astonishing speed.
The frozen trail bloomed like ice flowers, and in the blink of an eye the entire toxic swamp was transformed into a glacier!
Gallade did not pause for even a moment. With a light tap of its toes against the ground, it swept upward like a swift bird and landed atop the icy peak.
Below, Weezing was still continuously spewing poison, with wave after wave of sludge crashing against the glacier's base.
"Teleport, then follow up with Psycho Cut."
In an instant—
Gallade's figure blurred for a moment.
When it solidified again, it had already appeared in Weezing's blind spot from behind!
The psychic glow along its elbow blade intertwined with the lingering frost, forming a crescent-shaped slash that ripped through the air!
Slash!
That Psycho Cut struck Weezing squarely in the back, dealing solid super effective damage.
Weezing wobbled precariously, its whole body swaying in the air.
Clearly, that last attack had hit it hard.
Even without Sharpness, the damage it dealt was still impressive.
And yet—
Even though Weezing was the one who had been injured, the corners of Koga's mouth had lifted ever so slightly…
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