Misty and Anthony took their places on opposite sides. Needless to say, Anthony would battle with his Pelipper, while Misty thought for a moment before sending out her Starmie.
Apart from Psyduck, who needed a headache to unleash his true abilities, and the Gyarados she had caught later, this Starmie could be considered Misty's strongest Pokémon. Starmie had accompanied her throughout her travels up to now and was one of her most trusted partners.
The two Pokémon stared at each other, but compared to Starmie's caution, Pelipper's gaze was much more confident.
Still doubtful, Misty studied Pelipper for quite a while, yet even now, she could not sense the presence of a powerful opponent from him.
She glanced at Anthony and saw that he looked just as confident. Steeling herself, Misty stopped dwelling on it and immediately ordered an attack.
"Starmie, use Swift!"
The large gem in the center of Starmie's body flashed, and countless glittering little stars shot from one of his points toward Pelipper.
Considering that both Pokémon were Water-types, Misty did not attack with Water-type moves. Instead, she intended to settle the battle using Starmie's Normal- and Psychic-type moves.
Pelipper flapped his wings and took flight, easily avoiding Swift's attack with a simple leap into the air.
Misty was not surprised. She simply remained on guard against Pelipper's counterattack.
To her surprise, however, once Pelipper flew above Starmie, what came was not a Flying-, Normal-, or Water-type move, but a Thunder Shock!
The golden electricity suddenly lit up inside Pelipper's enormous beak before flashing through the gap in his mouth and shooting toward Starmie at incredible speed!
"What!?"
Misty was aghast.
As a Pokémon Trainer who specialized solely in Water-types, she had deliberately looked through her Pokédex before arriving in the Hoenn Region, paying particular attention to