Not far away, Zorua stood quietly, choosing not to press her advantage. Instead, she watched as Ursaring recovered from its dazed state.
She hadn't forgotten Ursaring's earlier attack on David. If Ralts hadn't been there, her Trainer might have been seriously injured. (The little fox knew David's enhanced physical capabilities after awakening his Aura, and believed that even Ursaring's Hyper Beam would at most cause minor injuries to David, who had essentially become superhuman.)
One Aerial Ace was far from sufficient—she still needed to properly teach this opponent a lesson.
David, who shared a deep connection with Zorua, naturally understood her intentions, but he didn't intervene. Instead, he quietly waited for Ursaring to recover as well.
His Pokémon wanted to vent her anger, and he certainly wouldn't deny Zorua that satisfaction.
Besides, he hadn't forgotten about nearly being struck by that Hyper Beam so quickly.
David had always been one to hold grudges!
Ursaring, having just recovered from its stunned state, immediately launched another assault toward David and Zorua.
Having learned its lesson once already, Ursaring chose not to rely on its most proficient Normal-type moves again.
It rose to its full height, made some subtle adjustments, and seemed to be probing for an opening...
"THUMP!"
Suddenly, Ursaring raised one massive foot and stomped forward with tremendous force. The ground began to ripple like ocean waves.
The surrounding earth shook violently, and a powerful tremor instantly spread outward in all directions from where Ursaring's foot struck.
The largest of these shockwaves surged directly toward Zorua.
David observed this display and couldn't help but nod appreciatively. This Ursaring indeed possessed considerable skill—it wielded a simple Stomp as if it were executing Earthquake.
It certainly lived up to its reputation as the forest tyrant. He wondered what treasures might be stored in its den, and how many points it would be worth...
After all, he had discovered a Big Pearl in that Arbok's nest earlier.
As the dominant Pokémon of this forest territory, Ursaring's collection should be quite substantial!
That's right—even before the battle concluded, David was already calculating the contents of his opponent's lair and its point value.
If Ursaring knew what he was thinking, it would definitely launch another Hyper Beam at him, consequences be damned.
As the violent tremor approached, there was no need for David to issue commands.
Zorua's eyes glowed pink, and powerful, invisible psychic force—like a pair of giant hands—lifted her body into the air.
She perfectly evaded the shockwave released by Ursaring. The attack, having missed its target, continued traveling backward for dozens of meters, toppling several large trees before gradually dissipating.
Seeing that its attacks had failed twice consecutively, Ursaring had sobered considerably. It recognized that this pink and white little fox was not an opponent it could easily overcome.
"Roar, roar, roar~"
Rather than continuing its assault, Ursaring stood upright, adjusted its stance, and began rhythmically patting its belly.
Combining this with the move information David had reviewed earlier, he immediately understood Ursaring's strategy.
Belly Drum—sacrificing half of one's current HP to maximize Attack power.
It appeared that the repeated failures had made Ursaring realize Zorua was formidable. Rather than continuing to attack recklessly, it had chosen to maximize its offensive capabilities first.
It seemed Ursaring was preparing to go all out.
A pleased smile crossed David's face as he immediately issued his command.
"Nice try! Zorua, use Taunt, then follow up with Extrasensory!"
"Zorua~"
Utilizing her powerful psychic abilities, Zorua remained floating in mid-air.
Upon hearing David's instruction, she flashed a skillfully mocking smile at Ursaring, who was in the midst of executing Belly Drum.
Super effective!
Ursaring, caught mid-execution of Belly Drum, suddenly caught sight of Zorua's taunting expression. Its rage, which had just barely subsided, instantly reignited with explosive force.
Flames of fury burned in its eyes. Its plan to complete Belly Drum was immediately abandoned. Silvery-gray energy extended several inches from its claws, coating each digit.
It launched a Metal Claw viciously at the airborne Zorua.
Zorua, witnessing this reaction, showed not surprise but satisfaction—even displaying a hint of playfulness on her face.
The pink glow emanating from her eyes due to maintaining Psychic hadn't faded; rather, it had intensified significantly.
Her orange pupils had nearly solidified into brilliant points of light, appearing to burn with rings of pink flames.
In an instant, the air around Zorua rippled visibly, and intense psychic fluctuations began generating. At this moment, even the hidden surveillance cameras specially deployed for this examination began experiencing interference.
Outside the assessment area, the real-time footage transmitted to the monitoring center started flickering continuously, threatening to cut out entirely.
When the surrounding disturbances reached their peak, the accumulated psychic energy suddenly erupted, and an invisible force surged violently toward Ursaring.
As a Normal-type Pokémon, Ursaring's advantage was that among all eighteen types, it only suffered double damage from Fighting-type moves. The disadvantage, however, was equally significant: every other type could deal full damage against it.
At this moment, Zorua unleashed the full extent of her psychic power without restraint.
Ursaring, struck by the Extrasensory attack, resembled a character from another world being struck by a truck—it was sent flying by the invisible psychic force.
"CRASH!"
"CRACK!"
"THUD!"
Ursaring, launched through the air, seemingly transformed into a bowling ball as it smashed through several trees in succession before finally being stopped by a massive boulder.
At this point, Ursaring had clearly recognized the vast disparity in strength between them. Although Zorua's Extrasensory hadn't successfully triggered its flinching effect through chance,
Ursaring very wisely chose to 'flinch' on its own accord and simply 'fainted' directly, feigning unconsciousness to avoid further punishment.
Observing this development, David chuckled softly.
However, he didn't immediately move to claim his spoils of victory. Instead, he turned and directed his gaze toward the bushes not far away.