Pokemon: Rising From The Dark

"Slowpoke, use Confusion and control the Water Gun! Murkrow, Wing Attack!"

"Yah-dong!" The blue light in Slowpoke's eyes lit up as it used its psychic abilities to control the Water Gun, curving it midair into an unexpected arc, striking Sneasel from behind like a surprise counterattack.

While Psychic-type moves couldn't directly damage Sneasel, that didn't mean psychic abilities had no effect at all.

Sneasel had already dodged once, but it hadn't anticipated the attack curving back. It tried to evade again, but it was too late—the Water Gun hit, causing it to stumble slightly.

However, since it was a Water Gun controlled by psychic power, the impact wasn't too strong—just enough to throw Sneasel off balance.

Taking advantage of this opening, Murkrow, enhanced by Tailwind, flared its wings with a burst of Flying-type energy and dove toward the staggering Sneasel.

Normally, a Pokémon whose movements were disrupted wouldn't be able to avoid Murkrow's high-speed Wing Attack, especially while it had the speed boost from Tailwind.

But this opponent was different.

Just as Murkrow's attack was about to land, a flash of black light flickered across Sneasel's body—it moved at an almost impossible speed, narrowly dodging the strike at the last moment.

Quick Attack!

Ignoring Murkrow, Sneasel immediately locked onto Slowpoke.

It could sense an energy within Slowpoke that it instinctively disliked. Years of survival and combat experience told it that if it could land a hit, the pink Pokémon would take significant damage.

Aoki's expression grew serious.

Sneasel was too fast. Even Murkrow, whose greatest strength was speed, was struggling to keep up despite being boosted by Tailwind.

"Dark Crow, use Hidden Power (Electric)! Slowpoke, Headbutt!"

Murkrow hesitated for a brief moment. Wouldn't using Hidden Power now hit Slowpoke too?

But it trusted Aoki completely. After a short pause, it obeyed the command.

A yellow energy sphere crackling with blue electricity rapidly formed in front of Murkrow.

At the same time, Sneasel had already lunged toward Slowpoke, its mouth opening wide as its teeth gleamed with a dark aura—it was using Bite, a Dark-type move that would deal massive damage to the Psychic-type Slowpoke.

But Slowpoke didn't flinch.

Aoki had ordered a Headbutt, and as Aoki's Pokémon, it trusted him without hesitation.

A thin layer of unknown energy condensed on Slowpoke's normally smooth, round head as it charged forward to meet Sneasel's Bite head-on.

Bang!

The two Pokémon collided with a muffled impact. Both were knocked back several steps, but Slowpoke let out a pained cry.

Although both had taken damage, Slowpoke had suffered more. Dark-type moves had a severe advantage against Psychic-types.

Aoki remained expressionless—this outcome was well within his calculations.

The reason he hadn't ordered Slowpoke to use Protect earlier was because he had a bigger plan in motion.

Sneasel, though injured, quickly recovered. While its teeth were tough, the impact from Slowpoke's Headbutt had still rattled it.

But Sneasel wasn't deterred—it immediately closed the distance again. It had tasted success with Bite and was determined to land another one. A few more hits and Slowpoke would be down.

By this time, Murkrow had fully charged its Hidden Power (Electric). The glowing yellow energy sphere illuminated the entire cave.

"Slowpoke, use Protect! Murkrow, release Hidden Power!"

Everything happened simultaneously.

Sneasel's Bite struck Slowpoke's green, translucent protective barrier—its Protect held firm, blocking the attack. The shield's energy fluctuated under the force of the hit but did not break instantly.

At the same time, Murkrow launched its Hidden Power.

Boom!

The electric energy ball detonated upon impact, sending arcs of electricity crackling through the air.

Slowpoke's Protect shielded it from all damage.

Sneasel, however, wasn't as lucky.

Blasted three meters away by the explosion, it struggled to stand. Electricity crackled over its body—thanks to the lingering water from the earlier Water Gun, the Electric-type move had hit with amplified power.

Even after recovering from the shock, Sneasel didn't stop attacking. Light blue energy flickered around its claws as it conjured several jagged ice shards, launching them rapidly toward Slowpoke.

Ice Shard!

Normally, Ice-type moves deal half damage to Water-types like Slowpoke. However, they deal double damage to Flying-types like Murkrow.

But Murkrow had the speed to dodge. Sneasel knew that, so it aimed directly at Slowpoke instead.

If it could eliminate one opponent first, its odds of winning would improve.

Unfortunately for Sneasel, there was something it hadn't accounted for.

"Slowpoke, use Hidden Power (Fire)! Murkrow, Astonish—engage in close combat!"

As a Water-type Pokémon, Slowpoke's Hidden Power was surprisingly Fire-type.

Before the Ice Shards could reach it, Slowpoke fired a fireball, melting the ice into a puddle of water before the attack could land.

Meanwhile, using its enhanced speed from Tailwind, Murkrow closed the distance with Sneasel, striking at close range with Astonish.

Sneasel hesitated for a moment. Its eyes flicked toward Slowpoke's fireball—clearly wary of its power—but before it could react, Murkrow had already engaged.

The two Pokémon began brawling in close quarters, not relying on special moves but instead exchanging blows directly.

Sneasel had the higher Attack stat, but Murkrow had previously stolen its Hone Claws boost, meaning its own power wasn't lacking.

The struggle didn't last long.

By the time they had exchanged a few hits, Slowpoke had fully charged another Hidden Power (Fire).

The moment the fireball shot toward them, Sneasel panicked.

It could feel the intense heat radiating from the attack, and it knew that if it got hit, the battle would be over.

But Murkrow was relentless.

Rather than dodging, it pinned Sneasel down, ensuring that both of them would be caught in the blast.

Would Murkrow be hit as well?

Would this be a double knockout?

Sneasel must have thought so.

But if it could hear Aoki's thoughts, it would have realized the truth—Aoki had planned everything from the start.

Protect wasn't just for defense—it was the key to setting up the final strike.