Just as Alakazam's attack was about to land on Vileplume, a vine suddenly sprouted from Alakazam's body.
The vine instantly restricted Alakazam's movements.
The Disable that had been holding Vileplume in place was immediately broken.
Seizing the opportunity, Vileplume unleashed Petal Blizzard.
This move was one of Vileplume's most practical techniques. It could both attack nearby opponents and defend against close-range assaults at the same time.
Countless petals filled the battlefield.
The falling petals created a beautiful floral storm, but hidden among them was paralyzing pollen.
Already entangled by vines, Alakazam found its movements becoming even more sluggish under the effects of the pollen.
Vileplume immediately followed up.
"Seed Bomb!"
At such close range, the Seed Bomb practically exploded right in front of Alakazam's face.
Boom!
The explosion sent Alakazam flying backward before it crashed heavily onto the battlefield.
Watching from the sidelines, Sam felt that something was off.
Logically speaking, Erika knew Sabrina would be traveling alongside them. She should have shown at least a little leniency.
Instead, Erika seemed even more serious than usual.
While Sam was still thinking about it, Sabrina had already acted.
Alakazam slowly rose back to its feet.
"Confusion!"
A psychic wave shot toward Vileplume once again.
The attack itself wasn't particularly powerful.
It was merely a standard Confusion.
Erika didn't pay much attention to it.
"Bullet Seed!"
Countless seeds fired toward Alakazam like bullets.
This time, Erika secretly mixed Leech Seed into the attack.
As long as a single seed landed, Alakazam would be infected and gradually restrained by parasitic vines.
However, the next moment—
Alakazam vanished.
Teleport!
A flash of light appeared behind Vileplume.
"Psyshock!"
A powerful psychic wave erupted directly into Vileplume's mind.
Vileplume's body stiffened.
For a brief moment, it completely lost focus.
Sabrina immediately followed up.
"Psychic!"
This was Alakazam's strongest offensive move.
Unlike the dramatic collisions everyone expected, there was no massive explosion.
Instead, Vileplume simply swayed where it stood.
Then its body went limp.
Thud.
Vileplume collapsed onto the battlefield.
Unable to continue fighting.
The winner was Alakazam.
The match was over.
⸻
Erika stood silently.
She didn't immediately hand over the Steadfast Badge.
Instead, she and Sabrina simply stared at one another.
Neither moved.
At that moment, Sam felt his heart climb into his throat.
Please don't start fighting…
For several long seconds, silence filled the battlefield.
Then Erika suddenly smiled.
"Congratulations."
She stepped forward and handed the badge to Sabrina.
Only then did Sam finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Crisis averted.
⸻
Since Misty, Ash, and Sabrina had already obtained their badges, Sam wasn't interested in watching the remaining matches.
His attention had already shifted to the next challenge.
Skyla.
The next badge battle would be against the Mistralton Gym Leader.
That afternoon, Sam visited Blaine's residence.
The two sat together, studying information about Skyla's Pokémon.
[Pokémon] Swanna
[Attribute] Water/Flying
[Ability] Keen Eye
[Hidden Ability] Hydration
[Category] White Bird Pokémon
[Strength] Elite High-Level
As a Water/Flying-type Pokémon, Swanna required careful preparation.
After thinking for a long time, Sam finally decided on his battler.
[Pokémon] Gengar
[Attribute] Ghost/Poison
[Ability] Cursed Body
[Hidden Ability] None
[Strength] Champion Beginner-Level
[Potential] Champion
A Champion-level Gengar against an Elite-level Swanna.
On paper, the matchup favored Sam heavily.
As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Gengar wasn't particularly threatened by Swanna's Water and Flying attacks.
More importantly, the difference in strength between the two Pokémon was significant.
As long as Gengar performed normally, victory should be achievable.
"Tell me more about Swanna," Sam said.
Blaine nodded.
"Swanna's Ability is Keen Eye. Its eyesight is exceptional. Unless it's something like Teleport, it can track almost any movement."
Sam nodded thoughtfully.
"What about its Hidden Ability?"
"Hydration," Blaine replied. "Any Pokémon that attacks it may become covered in moisture. Their movements will gradually slow down, affecting both speed and reaction time."
Sam carefully memorized the information.
Blaine continued.
"Although Swanna is a Flying-type Pokémon, it isn't particularly fast. It rarely relies on Flying-type techniques in battle. If you're looking for an opening, that's probably where you'll find it."
After hearing the explanation, Sam had a much clearer understanding of his next opponent.
The battle strategy was already taking shape.
Now there was only one remaining problem.
Gengar.
Unlike his other Pokémon, Gengar had an extremely eccentric personality.
Getting it to cooperate properly was often harder than winning the battle itself.
Sam rubbed his forehead helplessly.
It looked like his next task wasn't training.
It was negotiating with Gengar.
---------------Author---------------
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