Chapter 669: The Battle of the Mind Games
Arthur didn't hesitate for long after recalling Specter. He quickly swapped in his next partner: Dragonfly.
Ground-types were naturally effective against Fire-types. On paper, it was the logical counter.
As soon as the Flygon materialized on the field, the two Pokémon locked eyes. In that single instant, the atmosphere shifted. They didn't even need to trade moves to understand each other; one look was enough to confirm that they were both cut from the same deceptive cloth.
Dragonfly's fighting spirit surged. For once, she felt like she had found a kindred spirit—another Pokémon who lived for the "shady" play.
"Grawrr!" (Look at this flashy fox!)
"Del-phox..." (Look at this tacky bug!)
Their pre-match exchange was "warm" in the way a toxic internet comments section is warm—full of unspoken insults and petty energy. If looks could kill, the air between them would have been crackling with electricity.
"Dragonfly, use Screech while closing the distance!"
Arthur didn't lead with his signature First Impression this time. The Psychic Terrain Gwyneth had set up earlier was still active, and it was notoriously effective at shutting down high-priority, high-speed moves.
Even without the priority boost, Dragonfly's raw flight speed was immense. She streaked across the arena like a green blur.
Across the field, Gwyneth's Delphox wasn't just standing idle.
"Witch, use Lucky Chant!"
Lucky Chant—a Normal-type move. In theory, it manipulated the "luck" of the target, making them either fortunate or hexing them with misfortune. In the competitive scene, it was considered a "niche" or even "meme" move. Manipulating luck sounded god-like, but as a low-tier skill, its actual impact on a battle's outcome was usually negligible.
However, Dragonfly was a cautious soul. When she saw the Fox-Witch raise her wand with a devious smirk, pointing it directly at her, Dragonfly instinctively braked, slowing her flight to prepare for a hex.
But the next moment, the spell hit—not Dragonfly, but Delphox herself!
"Graw?!"
Dragonfly was instantly offended. This fox is playing me!
Because Lucky Chant was a low-cost move, its cooldown was incredibly short. By using that dramatic "Oscar-winning" acting to trick Dragonfly into slowing down, Delphox had bought herself enough time to chain into a second move before Dragonfly could even reach her.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
Arthur's reaction was just as fast. Fortunately, Screech also had a short recovery time.
"Close your eyes! Slam the ground with Earthquake!" Arthur shouted.
Dragonfly tucked her wings and dove, her eyes clamped shut to avoid the blinding burst of fairy light. But as her claw struck the ground, instead of a tectonic shift, the stadium echoed with a sharp cry of pain.
"What happened?"
With his line of sight partially obscured by the fading Dazzling Gleam, Arthur immediately checked in via their mental link.
Dragonfly retreated hastily, her voice hissing in his mind: "She poked me! The dirty fox threw her wand under my hand! Dammit!"
Every Delphox carried a branch—their "wand." Much like Alakazam's spoons or Farfetch'd's leek, it was a piece of personal equipment permitted in professional matches, within reasonable modification limits.
Gwyneth's Delphox had filed one end of her branch into a needle-sharp point.
She had timed it perfectly. In the split second Dragonfly shut her eyes to avoid the flash, Delphox had flicked the wand like a throwing knife, pinning it into the turf right where Dragonfly was about to strike.
Maybe it was a fluke, or maybe the Lucky Chant was actually doing work. Regardless, Dragonfly's palm had come down right on the spike, piercing her skin and causing the Earthquake to fizzle out before it could even start.
"Witch, follow up with Confusion!"
Delphox was technically in a cooldown phase after the Dazzling Gleam, but like the Alakazam before her, a high-tier Psychic-type didn't need a formal "move" to fire off basic kinetic blasts. She peppered the retreating Dragonfly with continuous psychic chips.
Throughout the assault, Delphox maintained a faint, "holier-than-thou" smile—the kind of fake-sweet expression that made Dragonfly's blood boil.
Since joining Arthur in this era, Dragonfly had never felt such a visceral urge to punch the smugness off another Pokémon's face.
She's so fake! I'm going to wreck her!
"RAWR!"
Dragonfly let out a ferocious, unhinged roar. Her face contorted with rage as she threw caution to the wind and charged. She performed a violent, 360-degree vertical flip in the air, her tail snapping out like a rigid blade, aiming a lethal strike right at Delphox's head.
"Evasive maneuver! Jump!" Gwyneth commanded with lightning reflexes.
Delphox leaped backward and upward, the corners of her mouth curling into a triumphant smirk.
Hmph. Too easy. Tilting this little dragon was like taking candy from a baby.
The Fox-Witch was already mentally choreographing her landing—perhaps a graceful, mocking pose to further rattle the Flygon's nerves.
But before that thought could even finish, a barrage of jagged, razor-sharp stone pillars erupted in her face!
"Dragonfly, Stone Edge!"
Wait, what?!
Delphox had assumed that the tail-swing was a desperate, emotional blunder and that Dragonfly would follow it up with a mindless Earthquake—partly because Arthur's previous order hadn't been completed, and partly because she thought Dragonfly was "triggered."
That was why she had jumped.
She had expected to dodge a Ground-type move while in the air. Instead, while she was mid-jump with zero lateral mobility, she found herself staring down a Rock-type execution.
Dragonfly hadn't missed a single stone. Delphox took the full weight of the Stone Edge, every shard finding its mark.
She crashed to the ground, rolling several times in a decidedly un-graceful tumble. As she scrambled to her feet, her "elegant witch" persona was gone. She bared her teeth, glaring at the Flygon with genuine fury.
But when she looked up, she didn't see a raging, out-of-control dragon. She saw Dragonfly hovering calmly, a knowing, mocking glint in her eyes.
"!!!"
In that moment, Delphox realized: She'd been played.
Dragonfly hadn't lost her cool at all. That entire "temper tantrum" had been a performance to lure Delphox into the air where she couldn't dodge.
If Delphox was a master of the "Green Tea" style of acting, Dragonfly was the original queen of the theater. They were both predators pretending to be prey.
Dragonfly reached down, plucked the sharpened wand out of her palm with a casual flick, and began twirling it between her claws like a baton. Her expression was the definition of "unbothered."
"Grawrr-graw..." (Nice try, foxy. You're gonna need better acting lessons than that.)
"DEL-PHOX!!"
The Witch dropped the act. She bared her fangs, her eyes narrowing into slits. Since she had run into a "colleague" whose deceptive skills matched her own, there was no point in playing the elegant priestess anymore.
The air around Delphox shifted. The feigned charm evaporated, replaced by a cold, murderous intent.
Round one of the "Mind Games" went to Dragonfly. Now, the real fight began.
"Witch, use Will-O-Wisp!"
"Dragonfly, back off! Maintain distance and use Gust!"
The second round was supposed to be a head-on collision, but of course, the first move out of the gate was another underhanded status hex.
Will-O-Wisp—ghostly flames that dealt no direct damage but carried a high probability of a debilitating Burn. It was the ultimate middle finger to physical attackers.
True to form, Arthur thought. Once a witch, always a witch.
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