Several sky-blue, transparent blades tore through the air, slashing toward Malamar from multiple angles at once.
Togekiss was already significantly faster than Malamar, so before Psychic could even be launched, Air Slash had already slammed into Malamar!
Fortunately, Light Screen had reduced the power of Air Slash by half, so Malamar wasn't seriously injured.
But just as Richard thought his Malamar was about to counterattack, he waited and waited… and the expected Psychic never came!
Until…
"Togekiss, Air Slash!"
Whoosh~ Whoosh𓂅𓏲
More sky-blue, transparent blades came flying, but Malamar still didn't move an inch!
Slash (chua)!
Slash Slash!
Slash-Slash~ Slash! Slash…
Air Slash once again swept across Malamar's smooth skin, leaving behind several deep gashes.
It was only then that the shocked Richard realized!
His normally bad-tempered Malamar was actually…
Shivering!
IT HAD FLINCHED!
To Richard's credit as an Elite Four candidate, he quickly figured out the cause, but for now, there was nothing he could do.
…Because the second Air Slash had also caused flinching, Malamar was still paralyzed with fear.
In Malamar's eyes, those little transparent blades seemed powerful enough to rip the whole world apart.
Crushed by intense fear, Malamar couldn't even twitch a tentacle; it felt like only collapsing under the blades would bring release!
"Togekiss, Air Slash!"
The same command again, with no tactical finesse!
…But everyone watching couldn't help but feel an inexplicable dread.
There was no escape!
Slash…
Slash Slash Slash!!!
"COME ON, MALAMAR! YOU'VE GOT TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR…"
Air Slash struck again… and Richard's [Trainer: Revival Roar] echoed through the battlefield.
One of Malamar's long tentacles twitched ever so slightly… but that was it.
The Flinch status still persisted!
"Air Slash!"
"Toge~kiss~"
Togekiss flew "gracefully" through the air, casually flapping its wings, sending out another flurry of howling Air Slashes…
'…'
---
"Malamar has lost the ability to battle. Togekiss wins. Trainer Richard, please send out your next Pokémon!"
The referee's voice echoed across the dead-silent arena; and only then did the crowd finally snap out of it!
'…Who was this guy?'
'Where did he come from…?'
'WHAT WAS HE DOING?'
After all, these were distant relatives who had traveled all the way from the "countryside" to seek refuge. Many in the Kalos League had taken an interest in Drake's team, so today's crowd was large.
And what did they see?
One of their own Elite Four candidates was mercilessly chopped down by a big, cute, white bird going slash slash slash~
They had to be holding back… and way too obviously at that!
A wave of boos erupted from uninformed spectators, clearly upset that Richard hadn't even bothered to put on a decent "show".
…But Richard was already breaking into a cold sweat. Staring at this cursed Togekiss in front of him, he couldn't think of a single way to break the deadlock!
If he hadn't opened with Light Screen, Malamar might have already been defeated by the third Air Slash.
Up in the audience, Drake gave a slight nod, recognizing Mark's luc… strength! But behind him, Fitzwilliam had already seen through everything…
Drake was definitely holding back laughter right now!
Who would've thought Sato's friend was this… "strong"?
How in the world had he turned Air Slash's Flinch effect into a 100% certainty?
'Togekiss must've undergone tens of thousands of repetitions in dull, repetitive training! Only then could every Air Slash be delivered with such elegance… and such lethality.
And as the Trainer of Togekiss, beneath Mark's mmm… flashy appearance, there had to be a heart that refused to be ordinary… a heart that worked hard and fought with everything he had!
Truly, you can't underestimate anyone in this world!'
Fitzwilliam watched with sparkling eyes.
Meanwhile, Sato remained far more rational. He had already noticed that Richard didn't seem to understand Togekiss very well.
There were many strong Trainers in the Kalos Region, but that didn't mean they had all traveled to other regions or knew every Pokémon's traits.
The Togepi line was already quite rare; and Trainers who could raise one to become a "Luck King God-Slayer" were even rarer.
And with Mark's own "luck" on top of that, as long as Togekiss's first Air Slash caused a Flinch, the battle was essentially over.
'Unless the opponent's Ability was Inner Focus or Shield Dust. But all known Pokémon with Shield Dust were Bug-types, completely countered by Togekiss. Only Pokémon with Inner Focus could ignore Air Slash's Flinch and retaliate.'
Just as Sato was thinking this, he saw Richard send out his next Pokémon.
A flash of red light! Out came a cold, sharp-looking Bisharp.
Smack!
Sato facepalmed and silently prayed for the opposing Bisharp.
First step of the Luck -mascot- King: type advantage.
It triggered again…
Come to think of it, among Pokémon with Inner Focus, the only Dark-types were unevolved Sneasel, Umbreon, and this very Bisharp.
So really… you couldn't blame the guy.
Then, as the referee declared the match to resume, Richard stared wide-eyed as Togekiss launched a deep blue… 'AURA SPHERE!'
With its Steel/Dark typing, Bisharp had a 4x weakness to Fighting-type moves…
And its speed wasn't anything special, still slower than the airborne Togekiss.
"Bisharp, Slash!"
Luckily, Bisharp hadn't flinched, so it could still counterattack properly.
Just as Richard was preparing to launch a fierce counter, Mark suddenly grinned and recalled Togekiss in a flash.
"Lucario, get ready for battle~"
Richard: ...…?
Mark's intentions couldn't be more obvious, his "god-slaying" Togekiss was only meant to handle most opponents without Inner Focus. For everything else, his other partners would do the job.
Like Lu -Housekeeper- cario!
Lucario: "I may not be human, but you're the real coward here!"
Since Mark had won the first match, he had the right to swap Pokémon.
And Richard was left with no choice but to pit his Bisharp against a Lucario that completely countered it!
There was no helping it. Bisharp was naturally suited to close combat, but its Special Attack was abysmal.
Meanwhile, Lucario could also use Aura Sphere (д)!
"Bisharp, Brick Break! Low Sweep!"
"Lucario, Close Combat!"
The two humanoid Pokémon clashed in fierce close-range combat, but the longer it went on, the darker Richard's face became.
In terms of type matchups, Lucario was 2x weak to Fighting, but Bisharp was 4x.
In terms of base stats, Lucario also had a clear edge over Bisharp.
And when it came to moves, Bisharp's Fighting-type options had no STAB, and all it had were Brick Break and Low Sweep.
But on Lucario's side… Drain Punch, Low Sweep, Sky Uppercut, Force Palm, Power-Up Punch…
It could casually throw out all kinds of Fighting-type moves with bonus effects, leaving Bisharp overwhelmed!
Only now did the Kalos spectators begin to realize that Richard… might not have been throwing the match at all.
Ten minutes later, the battered Bisharp collapsed to the ground, full of resentment!
And Mark -without hesitation- sent Togekiss back into battle~
Richard couldn't hold it in anymore. Through clenched teeth, he muttered fiercely:
"SH******T!"