After lunch, Sheila spoke directly to Skorupi. "Come on, it's your training time again."
Skorupi waved its pincers, clearly already accustomed to battling Sheila like this.
Over the past half month, under Tetsuya's "therapy", Weezing had overcome its mental block, and Mamoswine's main tactics had gradually become proficient. Tetsuya no longer needed to worry much about them.
As for Shadow Team, Giovanni was even more anxious than he was. Tetsuya was absolutely safe here, so all he needed to do was wait for news.
"Skorupi, you've been battling on your own for the past half month. Today I'll command you in battle. Afterward, think about what was different," Tetsuya said. Skorupi nodded.
"Come out, Dewgong."
Sheila also sent out her Pokémon. Tetsuya was extremely familiar with Sheila's Dewgong. Among her Pokémon, its strength could only be considered at the level of a second tier main team.
Stronger than it were Cloyster, Froslass, and Weavile. This Dewgong had shocking power in its tail, so it had to be dealt with carefully.
The battlefield was now on land, where Dewgong could not move properly, so Tetsuya still held a considerable advantage. With Skorupi's potent toxicity, winning was not entirely impossible.
"Skorupi, Pin Missile."
Tetsuya had no intention of holding back against Sheila. Skorupi extended its pincers, firing a dense barrage of silver needles toward Dewgong. Unable to move properly on land, Dewgong had no way to dodge and could only confront the attack.
"Dewgong, use Icy Wind!" Sheila commanded.
Tetsuya's battle experience was undeniable. He had not lived through more than sixty years in his previous life for nothing. When it came to "experience", aside from Pryce, probably no one could compare with him, including Matsuba and Sheila.
Skorupi's Pin Missile was merely a decoy!
"Use Toxic Spikes."
The instant Dewgong used Icy Wind, Tetsuya immediately changed tactics. Purple Toxic Spikes scattered across part of the battlefield and naturally lodged themselves into Dewgong's body.
Skorupi's toxicity was no weaker than Weezing's. Now that Dewgong had been struck by Toxic Spikes, becoming poisoned was inevitable.
"Dewgong, use Aqua Tail!"
Sheila also felt as though she had been lured into Tetsuya's tactic. What Pokémon feared most was the poisoned status condition, especially against Tetsuya's Pokémon with their extremely potent toxins. Not only would stamina continue to drain, but battle performance would also be affected, with Attack, Defense, and Speed all being significantly reduced.
When poisoned by the toxins from Weezing's "ice" side, the victim would shiver uncontrollably. When poisoned by the toxins from Weezing's "fire" side, it would feel as though flames were burning its entire body, causing unbearable pain…
When poisoned by Skorupi, the victim would suffer difficulty breathing and even experience a sensation of suffocation!
Beedrill's "bee poison" was far weaker, but after being poisoned by it, the victim would still experience intense itching across its entire body.
Poison-type Pokémon had many weaknesses. Their moves were even ineffective against Steel-type Pokémon, while the popular Psychic-type completely suppressed them…
Even under such unfavorable circumstances, in his previous life, Tetsuya had still resolutely chosen Poison-type Pokémon as the main force for rising through the ranks.
What he valued was the series of debilitating effects that followed being poisoned. Especially against the extraordinarily Pokémon variant he had raised, once a Pokémon was poisoned, it had already been sentenced to death!
Upon seeing their Pokémon become poisoned, a Trainer's first reaction, just like Sheila's now, was to unleash their strongest move and end the battle as quickly as possible. Once a Trainer developed that mindset, they would easily become anxious and flustered, naturally affecting their judgment.
Sheila's Dewgong swept forward with Aqua Tail.
"Skorupi, run in circles."
Skorupi sprinted at full speed, but Dewgong's all-out Aqua Tail from the very beginning was incredibly fast. Skorupi failed to escape and was sent flying by it.
"Use Iron Tail on the ground!"
The moment it fell, Skorupi used Iron Tail to slam into the ground, minimizing the damage as much as possible.
Sheila had intended for Dewgong's Aqua Tail to disrupt Skorupi's balance so that it would not be able to successfully use Iron Tail. However, after continuously using the move, Dewgong was already gasping for breath from the suffocating effects of the poison and had no choice but to stop using Aqua Tail.
"Hone Claws."
Taking advantage of the moment while Dewgong was catching its breath, Skorupi rubbed its pincers together, making them even sharper. After using Hone Claws twice, Skorupi's pincers gleamed brilliantly.
"Charge in and use Poison Jab!"
Dewgong was now growing weaker and weaker, making this the perfect opportunity for Skorupi to attack. Skorupi rapidly closed the distance, moving with unpredictable foot(?)work that prevented Dewgong from finding any pattern. Already unable to move properly on land, Dewgong became even more flustered.
"Use Ice Beam to stop Skorupi!"
Sheila shouted as Dewgong fired a crystal-clear beam, creating a sheet of ice in front of Skorupi to block its advance.
Tetsuya was just about to order Skorupi to avoid the slippery ice. If Skorupi slipped on the ice, Dewgong would seize the opportunity, and once caught in a combo of attacks, it would surely be incapacitated.
To his surprise, Skorupi leaped up and charged directly in front of Dewgong!
"Skor… 0_0!"
Skorupi had newly learned Scary Face!
Dewgong froze in shock. Its mental defense had already reached its limit, and now Scary Face made it even less willing to continue fighting.
Skorupi struck with Poison Jab, driving its tail stinger into Dewgong. The poison became even more potent. Dewgong let out a mournful cry, barely able to continue holding on.
Once it had closed the distance, Skorupi remained right beside Dewgong. It could freely use moves like Poison Jab and X-Scissor.
In the end, Dewgong still collapsed. The toxins had consumed a tremendous amount of its stamina.
"Sigh… Tetsuya, with your command, Skorupi has also fulfilled its goal." After saying that, Sheila recalled Dewgong.
After its battle with Dewgong, Skorupi had learned Scary Face, and its evolution into Drapion had also become much clearer.
Naturally, the remaining time would not be wasted!
Skorupi fought fiercely against Sheila's other Pokémon, and its battle experience continued to increase.
Over the following half month, all of the Pokémon continued their original training, while Sheila came every day to do battle practice with Skorupi. Among Sheila's Pokémon, nearly every one that could be affected by the Toxic Spikes could now be defeated by Skorupi, including Weavile and Cloyster.
This was the advantage of Skorupi's potent toxins. However, against the Levitate Froslass, Skorupi could not gain any advantage at all and was simply no match for it at the moment.
All in all, Skorupi's battle style had become increasingly mature, and its evolution into Drapion was now just around the corner.
At last, Pryce, Giovanni, and Matsuba had met. Tetsuya could now participate in planning the operation to eliminate Shadow Team. When the time came, he would certainly bring all of his Pokémon… including Miltank!
Tetsuya recalled all of his Pokémon into their Poké Balls, ready for a major operation. However, Pryce, Matsuba, and Giovanni certainly could not meet in public. The primary reason was to avoid arousing the Johto League's suspicion. Otherwise, both Ecruteak Gym and Mahogany Gym would be placed in a very difficult position.