I didn't expect him to send out Gyarados so soon. In that case, I'll shatter that confidence of yours! Drake thought before commanding, "Kangaskhan, Rock Slide!"
At his command, Kangaskhan clenched his fist and punched the ground. Tremendous force spread through it, opening cracks that raced toward Gyarados. With a thunderous rumble, the entire patch of ground beneath Gyarados shattered and collapsed, and Gyarados lost his balance and fell with it.
"Kangaskhan, charge!" Drake snapped his fingers and pointed toward Gyarados.
With his enormous frame, Kangaskhan charged like a tank of flesh and blood. A gleam flashed through Liu Qing's eyes. He knew Drake wanted Kangaskhan to exploit Gyarados's unsteady footing and bring his advantages into close combat. What Drake did not know, however, was that this Gyarados differed from ordinary Gyarados, which could not fly despite being Flying-types. That Rock Slide had not shaken his footing at all.
Since you want to fight up close, I'll use that against you. Having settled on a plan, Liu Qing watched Kangaskhan approach and commanded, "Gyarados, block him with Aqua Tail!"
Gyarados roared, rings of watery light rippling around his tail as he swept it toward Kangaskhan with a shrill rush of air.
"Kangaskhan, catch it." Drake gave a disdainful smile, clearly confident in Kangaskhan's strength.
Kangaskhan were Pokémon that lived in groups, and usually only a large group would have a single male. The male's duty was to protect the females and young, so males possessed exceptional combat strength and were particularly renowned for their power. After training, Drake's male Kangaskhan was evidently even stronger. At the command, he immediately planted his feet and extended both arms to intercept Aqua Tail.
Boom! Water sprayed in every direction, and the tremendous force in the tail sent Kangaskhan sliding backward, carving a furrow into the ground.
"Kangaskhan, just like that! Seismic Toss!" Although Kangaskhan was still sliding backward, Drake saw that his hands had clamped firmly around Gyarados's tail. Knowing the moment had come, he immediately gave the command.
Kangaskhan roared. Pivoting on his left foot, he twisted his waist and swung his arms in one fluid motion. His immense strength actually hauled Gyarados's entire body into the air, drawing cheers from everyone in the stands.
"Gyarados, Thunderbolt!" Although Gyarados had been lifted, he had yet to reach the top of the arc. In other words, Kangaskhan could not yet use Gyarados's own weight to execute Seismic Toss and was still relying on his own strength. Brief as that interval was, it gave Liu Qing an opening, and he immediately issued his command.
First, he used Aqua Tail to wet Kangaskhan's rock-rough hide, then followed up with Thunderbolt to deal a heavy blow. And Kangaskhan is in the middle of Seismic Toss. If he lets go, his momentum will throw him off balance and give Gyarados an opening. If he doesn't, he'll take Thunderbolt head-on. What a clever plan. Seeing the faint smile on Liu Qing's lips, Drake grew wary and made his decision in an instant. "Kangaskhan, use all your strength!"
Now both Pokémon were racing against time. Once Kangaskhan lifted Gyarados past the halfway point, he could use Gyarados's own weight to slam him down instantly. Meanwhile, Gyarados only needed to unleash Thunderbolt to land a heavy blow. Both therefore gave it everything they had. Bright currents erupted rapidly from the fins along the middle of Gyarados's body, coursed over him, and traveled through his tail into Kangaskhan, whose face immediately contorted in pain.
So that's it. This shiny Gyarados's special ability lies in those extra fins. They store electricity. Drake stared intently at Gyarados. Non-Electric-type Pokémon can't normally store electrical energy. When they use Electric-type moves, they convert their own bioelectricity, so those moves generally take longer to unleash and aren't as powerful as an Electric-type Pokémon's attacks. I never expected this Gyarados to have something like an Electric-type Pokémon's electricity sacs. If he hadn't been pressed for time, I might never have forced him to reveal it. But beating my Kangaskhan with that alone? It's still too early.
Suddenly, amid the electrical currents, the muscles in Kangaskhan's arms bulged. With a roar, he heaved Gyarados high into the air and slammed him down. A tremendous crash erupted, shaking the battlefield, and Gyarados's pained, furious roars rang out through the billowing dust.
"Kangaskhan's Seismic Toss succeeded!" the commentator shouted excitedly, and the spectators erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
"Gyarados, Giga Impact!" Perhaps no one besides Liu Qing and Gyarados himself knew how strong his armored scales were. On top of that, Gyarados was a Flying-type. Though his enormous weight made the Fighting-type Seismic Toss powerful, its effectiveness was diminished. His cries might have sounded agonized, but the slam had merely hurt. His fury at that moment was easy to imagine.
Although Gyarados had been thrown down, he had taken the opportunity to coil his tail around Kangaskhan. As Liu Qing's command rang out, he flicked his tail and hurled Kangaskhan away. A rotating pillar of pale purple light enveloped his body as he charged straight at Kangaskhan with crushing force.
"Kangaskhan!" Drake cried out, never expecting Gyarados to retain such strength after taking a Seismic Toss. Seeing that Kangaskhan was about to be hit, he hurriedly shouted, "Kangaskhan, Outrage!"
Kangaskhan roared. As Outrage took hold, his eyes immediately shone scarlet, and a brown aura seemed to burn around his entire body. He turned nimbly, attacking the Gyarados charging with Giga Impact in a fierce frenzy, using fists, feet, tail, and every part of his body. Gyarados ignored it all. The pale purple energy of Giga Impact afforded him some protection as well. After ramming Kangaskhan, he flipped over and drove him straight toward the battlefield.
With a thunderous crash, Gyarados slammed into the ground, and the battlefield shook violently once more. Fierce gusts scattered countless tiny stone fragments, forcing both Liu Qing and Drake to shield their eyes with their hands.
Drake had activated Outrage to attack Gyarados while also offsetting some of Giga Impact's power. The cost, however, was that although Kangaskhan remained able to battle, he had become confused. After enduring Outrage, Gyarados's scales had lost a little of their luster, and he looked somewhat fatigued. He was also immobilized; otherwise, he could have dealt Kangaskhan a finishing blow right then. Drake took the opportunity to recall Kangaskhan.
"Go, Steelix!" Drake took out his second Poké Ball and threw it, releasing a Steelix roughly as large as Gyarados. Steelix let out a tremendous roar, followed by a roar from Gyarados as he activated Intimidate.
"There it is! Drake's second Pokémon is Steelix!" the commentator announced loudly.
"Steelix, Sandstorm!" Drake commanded first.
"Gyarados, Aqua Tail!" Liu Qing swiftly countered.
At the command, a yellow gleam flashed through Steelix's eyes, and great clouds of yellow sand rose across the battlefield, obscuring the view. Gyarados raised his tail and waved it continuously, releasing expanding rings of swirling water that soaked the sand suspended in the air. As visibility gradually returned, Steelix was nowhere to be seen.
"Gyarados, stay alert!" Liu Qing did not know where Steelix would emerge, so he watched their surroundings cautiously and called out a warning.
"Now, Steelix! Use DragonBreath!" Burrowing was both an instinct for Steelix and something that could become an offensive move. As an attack, however, Dig was useless against Pokémon flying in the air. Drake had chosen DragonBreath rather than ordering Steelix to attack directly, indicating that Dig was not one of Steelix's moves. But Drake's aim had never been to attack Gyarados with Dig. Instead, he launched his attack the instant Gyarados finished Aqua Tail.
Boom! An enormous figure suddenly burst from the ground behind Gyarados and spat a stream of dark green breath straight at him.
"Gyarados!" Gyarados had just spent his strength and had yet to gather it again, making it impossible to use a move to block the attack. But having no move available did not mean he had no way to minimize the damage. He raised his tail and blocked DragonBreath with his tail fin. Even so, the power within DragonBreath made his face contort in pain, and threads resembling electrical currents coiled around his tail.
"Not perfect, but it'll do!" Drake snapped his fingers and shouted, "Steelix, Iron Tail!"
Steelix roared. His tail immediately took on a metallic sheen, swinging nimbly toward Gyarados.
Luckily, only his tail was paralyzed! Liu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. With Gyarados's tail paralyzed, however, he did not dare have him block with Aqua Tail and hurriedly shouted, "Giga Impact!"
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