Surprise attack

Lucario still knew he had a long way to go. I'm not ashamed of being weak, but I don't want to stay weak. Lucario knew Kaim felt the same way.

He wanted to grow through battle alongside his trainer, who understood his own weaknesses, and prove how strong he had become.

That's why I can't lose this battle.

That thought made Lucario's aura surge even stronger.

Toxicroak was still airborne after jumping to lessen the impact of Earthquake. Lucario hurled an Aura Sphere with all his strength.

Aura Sphere dealt only half damage to Toxicroak. But however much the damage was reduced, repeated hits would still build up inside his body. The rapid attacks he had used to cut Lucario down had also steadily exhausted him. I've already lost nearly forty percent of my stamina.

But Lucario was in the same position. He had avoided a direct hit, keeping the damage down, but he had still lost a considerable amount of stamina. Convinced that whoever landed the next direct hit would win, Lucario closed in on Toxicroak.

Struck directly by Aura Sphere, Toxicroak swept aside the smoke and saw Lucario already right in front of him.

"Meteor Mash!"

Lucario's Meteor Mash landed squarely.

I won, Lucario was certain. He had felt the impact, with no sense that it had been blocked. With the attack boost from Swords Dance, Toxicroak should have been defeated. That was what he thought.

"Not yet!"

The fight had not left Toxicroak's eyes.

"Change!"

Certain of victory, Lucario noticed the warning signs too late, and the attack struck his torso directly. Fighting-type moves were super effective against the Steel-type Lucario.

At the instant his stamina ran dry, Lucario summoned the last of his strength and drove a Meteor Mash into Toxicroak's body. It was not a full-strength blow, but Lucario and Toxicroak fell together, partly because Toxicroak had so little stamina left.

"Thanks for your hard work, Toxicroak."

"That's enough. Well done, Lucario."

They each returned their Pokémon to their balls.

Lucario might have wanted an outright victory, but Toxicroak's Poison-type moves were extremely difficult to handle. Even a draw was within Kaim's expectations as a game designer.

It was now two against three. But with Blaziken covered in injuries, there was no telling how long he could keep fighting. Even in the worst case, Kaim might win, but that manner of victory would not feel convincing to him.

It doesn't have to be as elegant as Cynthia's battles, but it shouldn't be that ugly, either. Still, because I admire her so much, I want to win with a style as close to hers as possible. Then I can finally believe in myself. That was what he thought.

"Why did you fail again?"

Those words had repeated over and over in his mind.

"Phew."

At first glance, the situation seemed favorable, but Kaim had only Staraptor and Kuroki left. Unlike Staraptor, Little Black was at a severe disadvantage against Fighting-type opponents. It was hard to call this a favorable situation.

But this time, unlike before, Kaim had come determined to win no matter what.

Caitlin's words, Iris's words, Shikimi's words, N's words.

And Cynthia's thoughts.

Having received so much, Kaim now stood on this battlefield.

His Pokémon believed in him and were doing everything they could to defeat Sumo.

Kaim could say that he trusted all of them.

But there was one person he did not trust.

"Now..."

His opponent was strong.

This was not an opponent he could beat without giving everything he had.

I'm powerless against myself.

The guilt of being unable to give good commands, and the fear of failure despite having received so much.

Of course I feel that way.

Those were emotions everyone had. Everyone feared making mistakes.

Even Cynthia did. Then there was no need to let "those things" trouble him.

If you can't trust me, at least you have to be on my side.

Kaim steeled his resolve once again, picked up Staraptor's ball, and threw it toward the far side of the field.

A hawk burst from the ball with a piercing cry.

In response, Sumo sent out Medicham. Staraptor seemed to have the advantage as a Flying type, but he could not let his guard down: Medicham had learned moves such as Ice Punch and Stone Edge to counter Flying types.

Staraptor's Intimidate made Medicham falter, lowering his Attack by one stage. However, Medicham's Ability, Pure Power, boosted his attack power when he struck, making his strength at the moment of impact comparable to Lucario's after stacking Swords Dance.

"Medicham, use Zen Headbutt!"

"Staraptor, counter with Aerial Ace!"

Medicham's Zen Headbutt clashed with Staraptor's Aerial Ace. Aerial Ace was super effective against Medicham, but the effect of Pure Power meant Staraptor also took considerable damage.

With his low endurance, Staraptor was at a disadvantage in a close fight. If possible, Kaim wanted to find some way to carry this battle through to Lucario.

Staraptor's moveset focused on weakening his opponents rather than strengthening himself. Ideally, Kaim wanted to debuff Sumo's ace, Lucario, but he could not afford that luxury.

"Rock Tomb!"

"Dodge!"

Staraptor darted left and right, avoiding the falling rocks. Able to fly, he naturally had excellent mobility. But with his low durability, getting hit by so many rocks would deal serious damage.

That made the moment he switched to attacking especially important. Giving that command tested a trainer's skill, and success would create a major opening.

Failure, however, would leave the Pokémon badly hurt. That was why judging the situation mattered so much.

Staraptor was still dodging the falling rocks, but it was becoming harder and harder. Medicham also used the rocks cleverly to keep Staraptor at a distance. Knowing Staraptor was a Flying type, he understood that close combat would put him at a disadvantage.

"Even if we have to force our way through, we're breaking through. Staraptor, Steel Wing!"

Staraptor shattered the falling rocks with his hardened wings. The Rock-type move Rock Tomb fared poorly against the Steel-type move Steel Wing, and the rocks were crushed one after another.

With wings of steel, Staraptor closed in on Medicham, but Sumo had anticipated it.

"Medicham, Confusion!"

Medicham's Confusion caught Staraptor and hurled him to the ground.

Staraptor took damage, but quickly broke free of Confusion and returned to the air.

"Feather Dance!"

Staraptor flew directly above Medicham, and his feathers enveloped Medicham's body, lowering his Attack.

Even with Medicham's Pure Power, having his Attack lowered was troublesome. Against Kuroki, the sturdy Pokémon Kaim still had in reserve, even a super-effective Fighting-type move might fail to deal much damage.

Deciding that he should at least defeat Staraptor as quickly as possible, Sumo immediately went on the offensive.

"Extreme Speed, Calm Mind."

Medicham was a Pokémon with high Attack, but after Intimidate and Feather Dance lowered it, his special attacks would be stronger. In that case, Sumo thought it would be easier to defeat Staraptor by boosting Special Attack.

"Come on, let's go! Staraptor."

Kaim realized he could read his opponent's thoughts but could not stop the plan, so he gave Staraptor his next command.

Staraptor understood immediately and charged toward Medicham.

However, Medicham had already completed Calm Mind, boosting his Special Attack and Special Defense. He could intercept Staraptor with Confusion at any moment. There was still enough distance for Medicham to unleash it before Staraptor reached him.

Sumo thought Kaim was rushing to win. Even with Medicham's unimpressive base Special Attack, a same-type Confusion boosted by one Calm Mind could defeat Staraptor. With only Little Black remaining, Sumo believed Lucario and Medicham could handle him with Fighting-type moves, leaving nothing to fear from the already badly injured Blaziken.

That assessment was correct. Most trainers would reach the same conclusion in this situation, and rightly so.

However, his opponent was Kaim, a student of Cynthia, the strongest trainer in the Sinnoh Region.

He might lack talent, but he was intelligent, and the knowledge and experience he had gained from countless defeats amounted to more than talent alone. Moreover, Kaim was no longer trapped in the mental paralysis that had been his weakness until now.

That meant he could also consider how his opponent saw him.

Kaim's next move caught Sumo off guard.

"U-turn."

Staraptor suddenly accelerated, struck Medicham, and immediately returned to Kaim. The Pokémon who emerged next was his ace, Kuroki.

Already unleashing Confusion, Medicham could not stop himself from firing it at Little Black, but Confusion had no effect on the Dark-type Pokémon. Thus, Little Black faced Medicham's attack while Medicham was left wide open.

"Sucker Punch!"

Umbreon drove his foreleg into Medicham's body.

Medicham crossed his arms to block Little Black's attack, but still took considerable damage.

He got me! He's never used Switcheroo before. Kaim really is different today!

Until now, Kaim had hardly ever used moves that switched Pokémon. Sumo had thought they understood each other almost completely, so he had not expected a plan he knew nothing about.

Did he learn it recently? No, he looks used to it. Has he simply never used it until now?

Sumo did not know why they had never used it, but either way, letting Little Black and Medicham fight like this would put him at a disadvantage. With Medicham's Attack already greatly reduced, it would merely give Little Black more time to stack Curse and strengthen himself.

Deciding that switching quietly to Lucario was the best option, Sumo tried to return Medicham to his ball.

"Medicham, come back."

"Go after him!"

Just before Medicham returned to his ball, Umbreon caught up with him. Medicham managed to avoid a direct hit, but the accumulated damage was considerable.

Watching Sumo's Medicham retreat under a one-sided assault, the Gym Trainers observing the battle held their breath.

They had seen Kaim battle Sumo countless times. Sumo had dominated most of those matches. There had occasionally been draws, but Kaim had rarely taken control.

Yet now Kaim was putting Sumo under pressure. The outcome was not settled, but Kaim clearly held the upper hand. His bearing and concentration captivated the trainers.

Anyone could see that his talent was ordinary. Yet Kaim might be able to defeat a Gym Leader fighting seriously. Their expectations kept rising.

"You're an incredible opponent. I'll give this everything I have, Lucario!"

But as Kaim's concentration sharpened, so did Sumo's. After battling all this time, Sumo was in good form, and his spirits were soaring.

If I can beat Kaim as he is now, I'm sure I'll understand what "strength" is! That's how I feel!

Sumomo, who had the talent to become a Gym Leader but did not understand strength, wanted to know what true strength was.

It was absolutely essential, something talent alone could not surpass. Sumo believed that defeating Kaim would reveal it. Of that, he was certain.

"Let's go, Lucario! Aura Sphere!"

With a piercing cry, aura gathered in Lucario's hands, then shot out as a sphere. Aura Sphere was essentially an attack that could not be completely evaded. Obstacles could serve as shields, but there were none on this battlefield.

"Weaken it with Dark Pulse."

Kaim therefore chose to intercept it. If he could not dodge, he could at least strike it with a move to reduce the damage and preserve more options for later.

Because of the type matchup, Little Black's Dark Pulse could not break through Aura Sphere. Little Black was hit by the weakened Aura Sphere, but his Special Defense was high. Though the attack was super effective, it did not deal much damage.

"Lucario, you're so cool!"

Little Black sprang backward from Lucario's palm, reducing the force of the blow, then shouted at Lucario.

The Dark-type move Snarl dealt only half damage to Lucario. It was not very powerful to begin with, but it lowered the opponent's Special Attack.

Lucario excelled at both physical and special attacks. That gave him a broad range of moves, but debuffs could still deal with him. Combined with Little Black's toughness, that revealed a path to victory.

"Then use Swords Dance!"

"Come on, surprise attack!"

Just as Lucario was about to begin Swords Dance, Little Black's surprise attack struck his leg and interrupted it. The blow did little damage, but having the move stopped still hurt Sumo badly.

"Force Palm!"

Little Black had struck Lucario precisely with his surprise attack, but his naturally low agility prevented him from opening up any distance.

With his superior speed, Lucario landed a direct hit on Little Black.

"Blackie!"

Little Black stood up without difficulty. The move was not especially powerful, and his considerable toughness allowed him to endure it.

However, Kaim noticed something strange. Little Black's body was beginning to go numb.

Is this the attack's secondary effect? If so, that's bad luck.

Force Palm sent a shock through the inside of the body. On a direct hit, that shock could spread throughout the body and even cause paralysis. The chance was not particularly high, but Kaim decided there was no point lamenting it now that it had happened.

Besides, a status condition was not necessarily a complete disadvantage for Little Black.

"Lucario!"

Lucario's body suddenly went numb.

His body had abruptly begun to stiffen, leaving him wondering what had happened, but Sumo soon supplied the answer.