Did I get tricked by this kid?
Lt. Surge still couldn't understand how the other party had managed to get Dragapult to use his Substitute skill right under his nose.
But after being enhanced Dragapult became even faster, so fast that Raichu and he couldn't even see Dragapult's movements.
Lt. Surge could only tentatively let Raichu use moves like Electro Ball and Discharge, but each time Raichu used a move, it mostly hit the afterimage of Dragapult.
Seeing that Raichu's attacks were completely unable to hit Dragapult. Lt. Surge, who had originally wanted to finish the battle quickly, had no choice but to abandon his initial idea and shouted to Raichu on the sidelines:
"Raichu, Electric Terrain."
Raichu's cheek sacs glowed white, and electricity flowed from its tail into the ground beneath its feet, with fine arcs of electricity spreading rapidly in all directions along the ground.
The Spark spread out, covering the entire Arena with a pale blue and white electric light curtain, and even the air occasionally flashed with arcs of electricity.
Electric Terrain boosts Electric type moves in the Arena, and Pokémon on the field will not fall asleep due to the occasional Arc of Electricity.
Furthermore, Raichu has another advantage after using Electric Terrain: it can use the magnetic field on the battlefield to inform Dragapult of its location.
Roy, with his extensive combat experience, understood this and shouted at Dragapult:
"Dragapult, don't get close to him! Use Phantom Force followed by Dragon Pulse!"
Raichu didn't have an easy time after setting up the Electric Terrain either, although he could use the electric arcs on the field to indicate the location of Dragapult.
However, Dragapult also completely transformed into a Ghost type bomber, constantly using Phantom Force to evade Raichu's skills.
After emerging from the shadows, Dragapult didn't attack Raichu. Instead, it continuously used ranged moves like Flamethrower and Dragon Pulse to wear Raichu down, while interrupting Raichu 'Raichu power-up whenever it tried to.
Raichu can only dodge while using skills to attack or strengthen itself.
Both Roy and Lt. Surge acted with great restraint, neither engaging in a life-or-death struggle from the outset, and both waiting for the other to make the first mistake.
After dodging Raichu's Electro Ball once again, Roy commanded Dragapult, which appeared behind Raichu:
"Dragapult, use Dragon Darts!"
"Drolong!"*3
The two Dreepy that had been following Dragapult returned to their respective holes, and then Dragapult fired the two Dreepy from its jets at Raichu like crossbow bolts.
Seemingly sensing the unusual nature of the two "crossbow bolts" fired by Dragapult, Lt. Surge quickly shouted:
"Raichu, use Protect!"
A green energy shield appeared in front of Raichu, and the two Dreepy, which were originally moving at the same speed, crashed into the green energy shield in front of Raichu one after the other.
Lt. Surge thought he had anticipated Roy's next attack and planned to take advantage of Dragapult's downtime to have Raichu use Thunder to indiscriminately strike the entire field.
But the next second, an unexpected scene unfolded.
The first Dreepy flying in front transformed its triangular head into a crossbow bolt and struck a point on the energy shield. The immense impact concentrated at that point, creating a tiny hole in the energy shield.
His mission was complete, and he quickly turned and flew back towards Dragapult, brushing past another Dreepy on the way back.
The second Dreepy, however, aimed directly at the hole created by the first Dreepy and Take Down again.
However, this time Dreepy from behind pierced through the energy shield and crashed into Raichu.
Raichu, struck by a Dragon Darts, staggered back several steps. Although it only took half the damage, it was still damage from Dragapult after its Dragon Dance buff.
This...
Lt. Surge couldn't immediately tell whether it was Dragapult's skill or two sentient beings. One Dreepy was responsible for blasting a point on the energy shield, while the other was responsible for penetrating it.
Is this even possible?
After successfully completing their mission, the two Dreepy returned to Dragapult's side.
Dragapult once again lurked into the shadows, reappearing to use ranged attacks, attempting to slowly whittle down Raichu's health.
This was also the safest way Roy could think of to obtain the Badge.
"Raichu, use Agility while dodging."
Raichu dodged Dragapult's attacks on the field while a pink glow appeared around him, increasing his speed.
Seeing that Raichu had used Agility, Roy didn't let Dragapult interrupt it this time, and instead commanded Dragapult:
"Dragapult, we also use Agility."
Dragapult also used Agility in the air, and a pink light appeared on his body. Then, his speed suddenly increased and his figure became more blurred. His already translucent tail was now completely invisible due to the speed.
If you enhance your gear and I enhance mine, it's as if nobody enhances theirs.
No, my Dragapult is already faster than Raichu, and its Agility boost is definitely higher than Raichu's.
As expected, Dragapult a blur, increased again, and this time Lt. Surge saw more and more afterimages in front of him.
"Dragapult, use Dragon God Dive!"
"Doryu!"
A green dragon phantom appeared on Dragapult's body, and it swooped down towards Raichu, carrying the dragon's shadow with it.
The supposed Dragon God Dive was merely the Dragon Ascent; the appearance of the green dragon shadow on Dragapult immediately attracted the attention of the apprentices and Lt. Surge. What exactly was that thing?
Lt. Surge didn't care what it was; he only knew that Raichu's speed was definitely not enough to dodge Dragapult's attack, so he could only use a head-on collision to reduce the impact.
"Raichu, use Giga Dash..." Lt. Surge seemed to realize something, then changed his mind and said, "Use Iron Tail."
Raichu's tail turned Metallic Color, and as Dragapult rammed into it, it suddenly spun around and lashed out with its Iron Tail.
But the Metallic Color disappeared the moment the tail Tackle the dragon's phantom.
The green dragon swallowed Raichu whole, and Raichu was hit by the green dragon's phantom. The huge impact sent Raichu crashing to the side of the Gym Arena.
Roy thought he had won the battle, but Raichu, who had been knocked away, still managed to get back up.
"Raichu!"
Lt. Surge's expression turned serious; the speed of the phantom-like Dragapult in the sky was simply too fast.
Such speed at this level inexplicably reminded him of the leader's Beedrill. If things continued like this, his Raichu would definitely be worn down by Dragapult.
In that case, we'll have to resort to that one move.