Defeat, Shiny Cubone Appears

Liu Xin looked down at the tiny Kabuto, disdain showing in his eyes.

Jiro merely smiled. "I know you look down on my Kabuto."

Kabuto's eyes gleamed with a hunger for battle. It was nowhere near as weak as it looked.

"Then let me see whether your Kabuto is really that strong!"

Liu Xin grinned and ordered Giant Onix to attack.

He had expected a one-sided battle, but once the fighting began, he discovered otherwise.

Absorb!

Several tiny seeds shot from Kabuto's shell and burrowed into Giant Onix's body.

The move would steadily drain its opponent's strength while empowering Kabuto.

Onix!

It had little effect on Giant Onix for now, but the sensation was deeply unpleasant.

Giant Onix glared at Kabuto in fury. With a roar, it launched its attack.

It meant to crush its opponent in one blow.

Tackle!

Its massive body surged forward, charging straight at Kabuto.

Kabuto was small but fast, and dodging Giant Onix's charge was easy enough.

But Giant Onix had more than a head-on charge. Its tail was the real weapon.

"Tail Swing!"

The tail slammed down toward Kabuto. A blow that powerful could knock it out instantly.

Jiro shouted, "Kabuto, use Withdraw!"

As expected, a creature like Kabuto was no pushover when it came to defense.

Thud!

Giant Onix looked puzzled. Its tail had struck Kabuto's shell, only to bounce right off. What a strange feeling.

"Now you'll see just how strong my Kabuto is."

"That was only the tip of the iceberg."

The blow had dealt almost no damage—perhaps none at all.

That was what troubled Liu Xin and Giant Onix. What was going on?

Kabuto's eyes emerged again. Its expression was hard to read, but there was a hint of provocation in its gaze.

Liu Xin's Pokémon, however, all shared one trait: they loved to fight and had terrible tempers.

How could Giant Onix let that slide?

It roared and attacked again, making the ground tremble around it.

Liu Xin put a hand to his forehead. "Could you just listen to me and stop getting so worked up?"

"Giant Onix, use Rock Slide!"

It had been ready to strike, waiting only for the command.

Boom!

The ground shook in every direction. Fragments of rock swirled around Giant Onix, then shot straight at Kabuto.

The ground around Kabuto had already been reduced to rubble, and stones came hurtling at it without pause.

It was under attack from all sides. Giant Onix's assault left nowhere to hide.

"Harden."

"Withdraw."

Kabuto used both moves at once, retreating into its shell as the shell turned silver, much like Giant Onix's Harden.

Yet its Harden seemed stranger. A faint golden barrier surrounded the shell as well.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The impacts rang out one after another. Every rock summoned by Rock Slide bounced away, and even the fragments that struck Kabuto directly failed to hurt it.

Meanwhile, the seeds on Giant Onix's body had fully sprouted. After absorbing enough energy, the seeds left by Absorb had begun to grow.

"Damn, its health is dropping fast!"

"What kind of move is Absorb? It ignores defense?"

Giant Onix roared. The plants on its body drained its strength rapidly, giving it no chance to catch its breath.

Nearly two minutes passed before Giant Onix's attack stopped.

With a thunderous crash, its enormous body fell. The plants spawned by Absorb had drained it dry.

"Well? That's my Kabuto. It has a special trait."

"The Rebound Trait!"

Rebound?

When Liu Xin opened the system and checked again, Kabuto's information was much clearer.

Kabuto evidently had not used the trait earlier, which was why the system had been unable to detect it.

Rebound Trait: While the Pokémon remains motionless, this trait grants 30% damage reduction and increased defense, repelling most attacks. It can last until the battle ends.

So that was why Giant Onix's attacks had bounced off: the Rebound Trait.

The trait was almost unfair. With it, Kabuto's defense was on another level.

A little envious, Liu Xin recalled Giant Onix and said with interest, "Now this is getting good."

"Let's see whether your defense is stronger than my offense!"

"Go, Shiny Cubone!"

The strongest physical attacker and a monster of defense faced off.

"Cubo! Cubo!"

Clutching its bone club, Cubone was eager to fight. It had learned so much in the special energy zone last time, and now it finally had a chance to show what it could do.

It struck the ground with its club again, taunting Kabuto.

But was Kabuto as eager to fight as the others?

Kabuto ignored it completely, which made Shiny Cubone very unhappy.

"If only you could stay quiet and listen like that lot."

"Still, all that noise does show how strong you are."

"Use Knock Off!"

Shiny Cubone swiftly closed the distance and charged straight at Kabuto.

Kabuto activated its Rebound Trait again and withdrew into its shell.

Clang!

A sharp ring sounded as Shiny Cubone was knocked back, its hand tingling.

That trait really was a nuisance.

But it only fired up Shiny Cubone's fighting spirit. If one strike failed, it would swing twice—and keep swinging until the shell cracked!

It was downright ferocious.

Shiny Cubone attacked again without hesitation. Each blow knocked it back less, until the rebound stopped altogether.

"Oh no!"

Jiro realized the danger. Shiny Cubone had adapted to the Rebound Trait. If this continued, Kabuto would be nothing but a sitting target.

He could not let Kabuto take the beating.

"Kabuto, use Sand Attack!"

Kabuto's claws suddenly shot out, and the Rebound Trait vanished. Sand billowed up instead, forcing Shiny Cubone back and obscuring its vision.

Kabuto escaped the clash and quickly repositioned itself.

Aqua Jet!

A thick jet of water pierced the cloud of sand and hurtled toward Shiny Cubone.

Kabuto chained its moves together seamlessly, without the slightest pause. It had plenty of experience.

Liu Xin said approvingly, "All those Gym battles have clearly given your Pokémon plenty of training."

"But it's still nowhere near enough."

"Time to finish this."

Shiny Cubone nodded, gripped its bone club tight, and swung it down at the oncoming jet.

Whoosh!

The blow split the jet in two. Shiny Cubone charged into the rushing water without hesitation, cutting a path straight through.

It drew closer and closer to Kabuto, which finally began to panic.

Jiro cried, "Dodge, now!"

Only trying to dodge now?

Too late.

Shiny Cubone cleaved through the last drop of water and closed in like a ghost.