"Pheromosa … Ultra Beast, right?"
Serena's pretty face is currently composed, as she carefully studies the gorgeous Pokémon facing her, one she's never seen before.
If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Ultra Beast sequence that was added to the Pokédex earlier?
Serena is new to Ultra Beasts, but as a fresh Pokémon, she's read reports and specifically watched videos introducing Ultra Beasts.
Worth noting, that video was filmed by Kukui.
"That's right, Pheromosa's codename is UB‑02 Beauty. Be careful, Serena, my Pheromosa is incredibly strong."
Dawn, with a poised, beautiful smile, clearly loves this Pheromosa of hers.
"MeLo～"
Pheromosa, with one hand on its hip, strikes a proudly defiant pose.
Serena thinks for a moment, then pulls out her Pokédex and aims it at Pheromosa.
"Beep~ Pheromosa, Bug/Fighting type, Lissome Pokémon. A kind of Ultra Beast. Perhaps it sees everything in this world as filthy and unclean, and so refuses to let its body touch anything directly."
If she's not mistaken, its types are indeed Bug/Fighting.
Serena did note down the Ultra Beast attributes earlier, but she still worries she might be remembering wrong.
Bug/Fighting, four-times weak to Flying.
"Altaria! Please!"
Serena decisively throws her first Poké Ball.
With a pleasant trill, Altaria deploys its fluffy wings and floats in front of Serena.
Indeed, Dragon/Flying type Altaria.
"Trying to beat Pheromosa with Flying, that's a bit presumptuous, isn't it?"
Damian chuckles lightly at this.
"That's not right, is it?"
Diantha, standing beside Damian, freezes at these words.
Four-times weak to Flying—such a glaring weakness is written all over her face; she wants to use Flying to beat me.
Then using Altaria with Flying type to battle Pheromosa isn't wrong at all, right?
"Very true, but how should I put it?"
"As Kalos Champion, Miss Diantha, you should know Pokémon battles aren't decided purely by type advantages."
"Pheromosa is a fast, high‑attack Ultra Beast; in reality Altaria—or most Flying-type Pokémon—aren't very well suited to battling Pheromosa."
Damian explains this.
That's right: on paper, Pheromosa is extremely weak to Flying.
But in real battles, it's not that simple. Damian himself has a shiny Pheromosa, so he knows Pheromosa's advantages and disadvantages inside out.
Pheromosa's strengths lie in its astonishing speed and agility, plus its enormous physical and special Attack.
Pheromosa is the quintessential glass cannon—ultra-fast offense.
Still, four-times weak to Flying?
In practice, with Pheromosa's paper-thin defenses, not only a Flying-type move can beat it; a single Flamethrower from a comparable move could KO it.
Even a normal-damage move that lands a hit can deal a massive blow to Pheromosa.
Because Pheromosa is so "vulnerable."
And Altaria … to fight Pheromosa with its headbutt?
Flying-type moves do beat Pheromosa, and if they land, they could cause Pheromosa to lose the ability to fight.
But the key is whether they can land the hit.
Moreover, with Altaria's attack power, is it wise to go head-to-head with Pheromosa?
"Mr. Damian, you're saying this is just a dream result."
Diantha's brows knit; she understands what Damian means.
But could Altaria's hit chance, before the Battle ends, be completely nil? That seems too dreamlike, and Diantha remains skeptical.
"Wait and see," Damian answers with a smile.
Diantha says nothing, looking toward the arena. As Kalos Champion, her stance clearly favors Serena.
She doesn't think her region's prodigy girl will lose to an Admin from Team Rocket.
The battle begins.
Serena orders Altaria to strike first, as the type advantage is clear—Pheromosa's Bug-Fighting typing is weak to Flying.
Altaria leads with Hurricane, a strong Flying-type special attack, sweeping the area.
"Blizzard!"
Dawn responds by having Pheromosa battle head-on.
Pheromosa shows a cold, deliberate malice in its face, its right leg plants and a more ferocious windstorm follows.
The storm violently collides with Altaria, then, under Serena's shocked face, Pheromosa's Blizzard rips past the storm and slams into Altaria, continuing the assault.
How can this be so strong?
"Altaria, dodge!" Serena shouts in shock.
Altaria attempts to dodge, but it's too late; Blizzard engulfs Altaria, frost covering its body as it crashes to the ground.
Yet, surprisingly, Altaria hasn't lost the ability to fight yet; however, Blizzard's impact is so heavy that Altaria can barely rise.
"Electroweb."
Dawn orders again. Pheromosa's legs rise as Electrowebs of golden electricity shoot toward Altaria, landing on its body.
The electricity crackles over Altaria, causing a pained hum.
As the Electroweb explodes, Altaria's eyes roll back and a faint shimmer appears on Pheromosa.
Beast Boost kicks in, increasing Pheromosa's speed.
"Altaria loses the ability to fight, Pheromosa wins."
Damian proclaims the battle result.
This is unbelievable to Diantha—the spectators.
Serena, too, stares in disbelief at Altaria, whose ability to fight is gone after just two moves, despite being a main roster.
Serena recalls Altaria with a Poké Ball, her lips pressed together.
"The attack was incredibly strong."
She steadies her thoughts, looks at the towering, proud Pheromosa, and concedes with calm resolve.
After all, the last battle was incredibly fast, giving her only this intel.
Indeed, Altaria isn't a particularly strong attacker, but it was the main roster she trained with, and its offense was decent.
Yet Pheromosa's power is so unmatched that Altaria was smashed in an instant.
This shows how formidable Pheromosa's offense is.
Serena quickly regains her composure; this is her first time being nearly crushed by such a powerful opponent on her main roster, but it's not a loss she cannot recover from.
This is a full-team battle, after all; she still has a chance.
"Meowstic!"
Serena throws out her second Pokémon—a Cool and cute female Meowstic, white-furred and elegant—standing before Serena.
Pure Psychic type Meowstic.
"Meowstic, Fake Out!"
Serena decisively commands.
Meowstic's eyes flash with a sly gleam as it swiftly dashes toward Pheromosa.
First Strike: Fake Out!
"Fast defense!" Dawn replies, not taking chances.
Meowstic dashes forward, leaps at Pheromosa, and claws toward it.
But Pheromosa raises its right arm to block.
Boom! Fake Out is blocked by Meowstic's quick defense.
Serena's brows knit tightly.
"Throat Chop!"
Dawn immediately commands again.
Pheromosa's left arm glows black and lashes at Meowstic with a Dark-type Throat Chop.
"Dodge!"
Meowstic's blue psychic aura flickers; it uses its psychokinesis to shift left and narrowly dodges the Throat Chop.
But can it truly dodge?
Pheromosa's strike misses, and it charges toward Meowstic, its slender body a gust of wind.
In a flash, it closes in behind Meowstic.
"!!!"
The speed is terrifying; Serena's pupils shrink.
Pheromosa's right arm, enshrouded in black, rams into Meowstic's back, sending it crashing to the ground like a projectile.
The Dark-type Throat Chop hits a Psychic-type hard.
"Lunge!" Dawn doesn't give Meowstic a chance; she charges forward.
Bug-type Lunge!
Boom!
Pheromosa hops back gracefully, adjusting its long hair with elegant arrogance.
In a pit, Meowstic lies unconscious.
Pheromosa's Throat Chop and Lunge have left no chance for Meowstic.
"Meowstic loses the ability to fight; Pheromosa wins."
Damian proclaims the battle result again.
Meowstic is recalled; Serena lowers her head, looking at Meowstic's Poké Ball, lips pressed tight.
Two straight losses, and the opponent is barely resisting anything.
How could this be…
Serena glances at Pheromosa and Dawn; she knows she's strong, but…
Perhaps the opponent is too strong? Dawn and she are roughly the same size.
Why is she so strong?
The girl is puzzled.
~~
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