Whoosh!
Smoke rolled in thick waves as Gallade's crimson fist drew a streak of fire through the air, trying to use type advantage to finish Breloom in one hit.
But Breloom's waist snapped downward like a spring. The scorching gust of the punch grazed past its mushroom cap with a howl.
And the instant its body rebounded, Breloom's right fist had already shot out with a tearing crack of air!
That rising Mach Punch nailed Gallade's jaw dead-on. The burst of Fighting-type power shook the air itself into ripples!
Gallade staggered back several steps. After stabilizing its footing, it lunged forward again, Fire Punch swinging in rapid succession as black smoke began to spread.
"Breloom." (You're still way off!)
Breloom's figure flashed and pivoted across the field, almost every retreat step perfectly slipping into Gallade's blind spot.
Those sharp eyes beneath the cap locked onto every opening, its muscles moving like they had memory—dodging each sweeping arc of flaming blade-like force.
With Psychic power assisting, Gallade didn't have to worry about where Breloom would dodge to.
It only needed to focus entirely on throwing punches!
One of them would definitely land.
Gallade believed that, and with Fire Punch's lingering momentum still there, it kept increasing the speed of its swings.
Until—
Thud—hiss!
Catching Breloom while its waist was still leaning back from inertia, Gallade's right arm became a crimson afterimage!
The burning fist slammed precisely into Breloom's midsection. The exploding flames swallowed Breloom in an instant, bursting into a chain of dazzling sparks in the air!
Breloom seized that same moment—its arm suddenly extending with a sharp, snapping stretch—then smashed into Gallade's abdomen, forcing it to skid back several meters.
And right then, the earlier Future Sight arrived!
A spiraling psychic mass crashed down like a falling mountain!
"Breloom?"
Breloom craned its head up at the sight, the corner of its eye twitching madly.
That thing hit way harder than Gallade's Fire Punch.
If it took that head-on…
Breloom couldn't even imagine how bad the outcome would be.
Probably… very hard to survive.
Thank goodness its typing was Grass + Fighting. If it were Poison + Fighting, even brushing against that would probably be curtains.
"Gallade, watch Breloom closely. Don't let it find a chance to evade."
Caitlin didn't dare relax for even a second.
Grey's tactics changed constantly—especially with this Breloom.
Who knew how many ways Grey could use it?
Just that "seed" sequence earlier had made her scalp go numb.
It looked like it had used three different moves that overlapped in certain ways—but to actually pull off three at once took long-term, brutal training.
And Grey's Breloom?
After doing all that, it could still spit out Bullet Seed from its mouth!
Come to think of it… Grey's Breloom felt like it carried shadows of a lot of different Pokémon.
While fighting it, Caitlin realized the tactics it excelled at all had clear "sources."
Like the four-move chain just now—
Wasn't that basically the same style as Kanto's Elite Four Bruno's ace, Machamp?
And that explosive Mach Punch—one look told you it was tied to Lucario's burst style.
"Gallade."
Gallade braced itself. After trading moves for several rounds, it could absolutely feel how strange Breloom was.
It looked like it was bottom-tier among Elite Four–level Pokémon, so why were its tactics so flashy?
And in terms of raw power, Gallade could even feel it—Breloom was actually stronger than it!
And that was the truth.
Not to mention Gallade's current strength was something Caitlin had forcibly raised with Psychic power—yet even if you leveled them to the same height, Gallade still couldn't beat Breloom in attack.
Among all the Pokémon Grey had caught, Breloom's offensive power was genuinely near the top.
Even Annihilape had to admit Breloom's hitting power was ridiculous.
That was the value of a base 130 Attack.
It was just that in other areas… it wasn't nearly as strong, and those weaknesses dragged it down.
"Breloom—use Seed Bomb into the air."
Grey's shout cut through the tense, scorching air.
Breloom's cap wriggled, and countless energy seeds tore upward—
Colliding head-on with the descending Future Sight psychic blast.
Rumble—!!
The explosions didn't stop for a long time. A mushroom cloud slowly rose into the sky…
"Gallade, Sacred Sword!"
The moment Caitlin gave the command, Gallade surged forward through the lingering shockwaves.
Earth-brown light gathered along its elbow blade, forming a five-meter energy greatsword that split the not-yet-dispersed energy haze cleanly in two as it hacked down toward Breloom's crown with brutal force!
The momentum was enormous. To prevent Breloom from dodging, Gallade even used Psychic—something it hadn't relied on in a long time since evolving—trying to pin Breloom in place!
"Toxic."
Grey's mouth curled upward.
He'd been waiting for Gallade to come in aggressively.
BOOM—!!
Sacred Sword crashed down, and Breloom actually took it head-on.
Its aura dropped sharply, losing that earlier razor edge.
But at least—it didn't faint from that hit.
Then, from the brim of Breloom's cap, purple-black poison mist seeped out and rapidly collapsed into a tightly spinning sphere of toxic energy in front of its chest!
Before the follow-through of Sacred Sword had fully ended, Breloom shoved that lethal poison mass forward with all its might!
Psshh!
The timing of the counter was viciously precise—right at the instant Gallade's old force had ended and its new force hadn't begun.
It got splattered full in the face.
Gallade's expression sank.
Status: Badly Poisoned!
As time passed, the damage from being badly poisoned would only stack higher and higher.
As long as Breloom could drag things out, Gallade going down was inevitable.
Gallade swayed slightly, its vision blurring at the edges.
Caitlin lifted a hand to her chest.
Listening to Grey's commands, she didn't know why, but it stirred a strange feeling in her.
If she had to describe it with internet slang, it was something like…
Seeing red?
It was just too dirty.
Sure, Lucario had been sharp and brutal, but first Leech Seed, then Worry Seed, and now Toxic!
Thank goodness Breloom's Ability wasn't Poison Heal—otherwise, if Grey slapped on a Toxic Orb too, just thinking about it made Caitlin feel like she was about to have a heart attack.
So what was Grey going to use next?
Caitlin felt like she couldn't read him anymore.
When it came to Breloom's battles, she truly didn't understand.
Fine—since it was already badly poisoned, she might as well hard-force a clash!
With that thought, Caitlin shouted, "Gallade, Aerial Ace!"
Breloom was four-times weak to Flying. If this hit landed, maybe she really could take it down in one swing!
"Gallade!"
A layer of white light wrapped around Gallade's body, making it light as a swallow—almost like a bird Pokémon, skimming just above the ground as it circled Breloom again and again, searching for a vicious angle to launch a lethal strike!
And in response, Grey's command was…
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