Jacky was full of confidence as Pidgeot grabbed Pikachu and took flight.
Tetsuya's side also did not stop. Blazing flames burned across the Toxic Spikes field, while poisonous gas accompanied the flames and covered the entire field.
"Pikachu, Thunder!"
Jacky's move was clearly a tactic that injured the enemy at the cost of injuring himself as well, relying entirely on Pidgeot's endurance.
Powerful lightning descended from the sky and struck Pidgeot's body. Pidgeot let out a painful cry, but quickly regained its composure. What could be seen now were only its sharp eyes and tightly clenched steel beak.
After Thunder, Pikachu followed up with a Thunderbolt.
Tetsuya had already realized Jacky's tactic. This was clearly the "famous tactic" that Ash would become known for many years later.
In Hoenn's Mossdeep Gym, during the Double Battle between Ash's Swellow and Pikachu. Pikachu used Thunder to coat Swellow in a "[Thunder Armor]". However, this required Swellow to possess enough fortitude to withstand Pikachu's lightning attacks… and maybe the Ability Guts.
That battle later even became a standard example used in many schools, while Ash's Swellow earned the title "Hax Swellow" because of it…
Now that he understood Jacky's tactics, Tetsuya naturally didn't let his guard down. "Houndoom, [Blightfire Assault]."
Jacky's Pidgeot and Pikachu combination completed the [Thunder Armor] first.
"Go, Pidgeot, Pikachu… Eliminate Houndoom first!"
Pidgeot's entire body glittered with golden light as electric sparks surged across every part of it while it dived straight toward Houndoom.
"Beedrill, [Fatal Pursuit]."
At this moment, Houndoom's move had not yet been completed, so Beedrill could only step in first to hold the line. Of course, this also meant that Beedrill could only lower itself and act as cannon fodder this time…
Beedrill spun its wings while extending its twin stingers. Dark-type energy condensed around the stingers as it shot toward Pidgeot. The two Pokémon collided in midair, and Beedrill was quickly suppressed.
However, at this moment, Houndoom had already rushed into the fire.
After prolonged training, Houndoom could now maintain ten Double Team clones.
Ten Houndoom moved the "Blightfire" throughout the entire field, resembling a moving volcano.
Accompanied by Houndoom's long howl, Beedrill also felt that it had completed its mission. It was sent flying by Pidgeot and crashed heavily onto the ground, with sparks still flickering across its body.
However, thanks to Beedrill's efforts, Pidgeot's [Thunder Armor] had already been partially weakened. Most importantly, it had bought precious time for Houndoom.
The first [Blightfire Assault] possessed the greatest power and directly took down Pikachu.
The second and third attacks completely stripped away the [Thunder Armor].
During the fourth and fifth attacks, Pidgeot was knocked beneath Houndoom's claws. After another attack, Pidgeot also fainted.
At this moment, four Houndoom clones still remained.
Jacky immediately recalled Pidgeot. He understood Tetsuya's fighting style very clearly. If he did not recall Pidgeot now, he might never be able to recall it again.
At this moment, Tetsuya still had one Houndoom remaining, while Jacky had no choice but to bring out his second battle combination. Although they could deal with the current Houndoom, they would definitely be countered by Tetsuya afterward. In this battle, Jacky had already lost more than half the match.
However, if he could take down this Houndoom, Jacky could still gain another point. After all, this would be a two-on-one situation, giving him an absolute advantage. Obtaining this extra point would also place him above Ben.
Jacky steadied himself and threw out two Poké Balls.
Marowak and Breloom.
This Breloom… seemed to recognize Tetsuya? The moment it saw him, it waved its fists eagerly, looking impatient to fight.
'Could be…?'
It truly was the Shroomish that had left that flower field!
Precisely because it had run away back then, it encountered Jacky and avoided the fate of being completely wiped out by Tetsuya.
Both were offensive Pokémon. Attacking from two directions, one left and one right, they charged toward Houndoom.
At this moment, Houndoom could only deal with one of them, and after the previous battle, it had already consumed a considerable amount of energy. It was far from its peak condition.
"Fire Blast, target Breloom."
Breloom had poor resistance against Fire-type moves. Hopefully Houndoom could take it down.
Fire Blast was launched toward Breloom!
"Breloom, Low Kick. Marowak, Bonemerang!"
Breloom supported itself with one hand against the ground, its entire body flattening almost parallel to the ground. Then both its arms and legs exerted force simultaneously, allowing its body to directly slip beneath Fire Blast.
Not only did it successfully avoid Fire Blast, but it also landed a kick directly onto Houndoom's forelimb. Houndoom staggered and lost its footing, falling forward. At that moment, Bonemerang arrived perfectly, catching Houndoom completely off guard.
However, facing a Houndoom that had already lost one move, Breloom suddenly seemed to go mad, combining fists and kicks together and directly beating Houndoom until it lost its combat ability.
"Does a Grass-type Pokémon like this really exist…?"
Tetsuya silently muttered a sentence. However, no matter how unique a Pokémon was, everything here should still come to an end.
At this moment, Gengar and Piloswine had already appeared before Jacky.
"Piloswine, Icy Wind. Gengar, coordinate Shadow Ball with Icy Wind."
Tetsuya had not shown his true level, but this was already enough, because Piloswine and Gengar were powerful enough.
Icy Wind howled outward. Both Marowak and Breloom feared the severe cold, causing them to involuntarily shrink backward.
"Marowak, use Bone Club to block it!"
Jacky gave the order. Marowak spun its Bone Club while retreating at the same time, while Breloom hid behind Marowak, ready to attack at any moment.
Just defending against a single Icy Wind had already become so difficult. Tetsuya could practically already predict the situation that would follow.
One Shadow Ball after another was launched by Gengar. Borrowing the momentum of Icy Wind, their impact became even fiercer. Explosions rang out continuously.
The Shadow Balls smashed against Marowak's Bone Club. The violent vibrations almost caused Marowak to lose its grip on the club.
Suddenly, with a crack, the club shattered…
In an instant, Icy Wind and Shadow Balls all surged toward Marowak and Breloom. The freezing cold assaulted their bodies while violent explosions erupted. Ice and the energy of Shadow Ball completely shrouded the field.
At this moment, Jacky silently closed his eyes. "I… lost."
Two red lights shot into the field, recalling Marowak and Breloom. Jacky left the field gloomily. 'If I want to become the strongest… I still have a very long road ahead of me…'
To be able to face defeat so calmly, this Jacky truly was an opponent… for his age. Ben was simple-minded and always thought about solving problems through brute force, while Kanta's mind was filled with schemes and thoughts of taking shortcuts. In the end, neither of them was Jacky's match.
"…"