The Hail continued to rage along the riverbank. Swinub's figure remained blurred, and Haunter still cautiously stared at the movements within the Hail.
Relying on the advantage of the weather, Swinub still held the initiative. Two streams of extremely cold air once again shot toward Haunter.
Haunter was feeling quite frustrated. No matter how it attacked, it could not hit a Swinub!
So many moves, yet it was completely unable to unleash them effectively.
This time Swinub used Freeze-Dry, which was also the move it had dominated best.
Haunter did not choose to dodge. It launched three consecutive Shadow Ball to block Freeze-Dry, then used psychic power with full force.
The rudimentary form of a psychic web.
It seemed that Haunter's many battle experiences had not been in vain. The "psychic web" of Misdreavus on the second floor of the Brass Tower, Matsuba's Mismagius's psychic web, and now Haunter was actually able to use psychic power for defense at such a critical moment.
Swinub was in danger!
Tetsuya wanted to remind it, but he still wanted to see how this Swinub would handle the situation in battle. After all, up to this point, Swinub had held the initiative.
Haunter's psychic web was currently very weak and could not be used for offense, but it could completely detect Swinub's position.
Sure enough, Haunter's eyes suddenly widened.
Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Dark Pulse were all unleashed.
Baaang!
Shadow Ball had already hit Swinub.
At this moment, Swinub revealed its figure and was completely exposed!
Sludge Bomb followed immediately after.
Tetsuya's command was about to leave his lips…
However, Swinub rolled on the spot, and three ice pillars were already standing in front of it, successfully blocking Haunter's subsequent attack.
"…Oh?" 'Hmm, not bad!'
Tetsuya let out a breath. It had not panicked after losing one move. This defensive use of Icicle Crash was nearly perfect.
Swinub's physique condition was now sufficient to control Icicle Crash. Surprises continued to occur.
Now Haunter seemed to have found a breakthrough; using psychic power to lock Swinub's position, Swinub was already left with nowhere to hide!
Haunter had many moves and had begun trying other offensive methods. Now that it could clearly determine Swinub's position, what followed was naturally a bold offensive.
Will-O-Wisp.
Six clusters of ghostly blue flames were flung out by Haunter, already surrounding Swinub completely. If hit by Will-O-Wisp, it would immediately fall into Burn status, and Swinub would naturally have no chance of victory.
Swinub had experienced few battles. Facing such an attack, it was naturally somewhat at a loss. Apart from having seen Haunter use this move during training, it truly did not know what effect it had.
If Tetsuya did not give Swinub some command now, this battle could already be declared over in advance.
"Swinub, use the stones of Ancient Power to 'expand outward' and attack."
Swinub, which was in a state of confusion, heard Tetsuya's command, like long-awaited Rain Dance after a Sandstorm.
To use Ancient Power required mobilizing every "primeval energy" in the body. Therefore, successfully using Ancient Power had a certain chance to raise all of its stats. The stones of Ancient Power also contained mysterious power.
Six stones containing primeval energy circled around Swinub's body and then shook outward, dispersing the power of Will-O-Wisp into nothingness.
Because of Tetsuya's reminder, Swinub successfully resolved the crisis. In this way, Tetsuya's status in Swinub's heart invisibly rose to another level!
What followed was a direct confrontation.
Swinub shook its body, and Powder Snow swept toward Haunter along with the Hail. Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold wind howled in, further accelerating the speed at which Powder Snow swept toward Haunter.
"Icy Wind…"
Tetsuya muttered. Swinub was already able to use Icy Wind. It seemed that its level had indeed risen quickly over this half month.
Icy Wind was quite a practical move, especially against Speed-oriented Pokémon. It blew freezing cold air at the opponent to attack and would certainly lower the opponent's Speed.
Powder Snow, Hail, and Icy Wind formed a tremendous momentum, about to engulf Haunter. Its power was already no less than that of an ordinary Ice-type Pokémon's Blizzard.
At this moment, Haunter did not dare to be careless in the slightest. It had to admit the strength of this little chubby one!
If it did not bring out the results of this month's hard training, it might not be able to withstand this move…
Under powerful psychic power, Night Shade formed a terrifying dark barrier. Even beneath the glacier falls it could persist for half a day. How could Swinub possibly break through it?
However, the strength of this move depended on how much psychic power was infused into it.
Swinub did not give up. It once again used Freeze-Dry to strengthen its attack. Helplessly, Haunter infused even more psychic power.
If Tetsuya were to give Swinub guidance now, Haunter would be in a very passive position.
Because although the move of psychic energy combined with Night Shade was powerful, it also had a weakness…
Psychic energy maximized the effect of Night Shade, but its weakness also lay within it. The key to using psychic power was concentration. If Haunter were distracted, an error could naturally be found.
How could Haunter be distracted? That would require attacking from different directions.
For ordinary Pokémon this might be difficult, because Swinub was already concentrating on using Powder Snow, Icy Wind, and Freeze-Dry. However, for a Pokémon like this Swinub whose Ice-type energy was excessively powerful, there was still an opportunity.
That opportunity was Icicle Crash!
The previous three moves could only attack from the front, but Icicle Crash was similar to Rock Slide, attacking from above.
If Swinub were to use Icicle Crash now, Haunter would inevitably be distracted. Psychic energy would naturally weaken, and a breakthrough would be torn open.
But Tetsuya could not continue giving Swinub hints. If it truly defeated Haunter, Haunter would be very unconvinced, which would instead affect their… unity.
--◓---
Swinub and Haunter maintained this state for a long time, because neither could do anything to the other.
Now the two Pokémon had likely acknowledged each other, and Tetsuya's purpose had already been achieved. In the future, they would certainly regard each other as competitors, striving to take the lead in every training session.
"That's enough! The sparring ends here. Separate."
After Tetsuya spoke, Swinub and Haunter each withdrew their energy and both revealed looks of affirmation toward each other.
"Your strength has improved quickly. It is the result of everyone's effort. I hope you do not slack off. Only by constantly moving forward can you become stronger!
I believe you understand the feeling of being stepped on and eating dirt compared to having the best view from the top of the pile."
First came affirmation of their efforts, followed by encouragement for upcoming training and then a word of exhortation. Naturally, this firmly grasped the emotional changes of the Pokémon.
Ditto, Haunter, and Swinub all looked at Tetsuya with very focused eyes.
After speaking, Tetsuya took out food and prepared to eat lunch.