Fling

Yuga's Whimsicott immediately used Tailwind as soon as Harrison's Houndoom appeared on the scene.

Due to Whimsicott had Prankster ability, before Houndoom could react, its Tailwind move had already been executed.

Riding the gentle breeze, the Whimsicott's speed suddenly increased dramatically as it floated in the air, leaving behind a trail of joyful laughter.

Yuga's Whimsicott was naturally fast, but with the added boost from Tailwind, its movements became even more unpredictable.

Harrison appeared tense. After the Whimsicott completed its Tailwind, he knew trouble was brewing. Houndoom kept a close eye on the Whimsicott, which continuously changed positions in the air, never letting its guard down.

Yuga's Whimsicott was at a level just over forty, slightly higher than Harrison's Houndoom but not by much. Their abilities were also quite similar, so in terms of overall combat power, there wasn't a significant gap between them.

However, Yuga typically nurtured his Pokémon with the best resources, so overall, the Whimsicott's strength was slightly superior to Houndoom's.

"Houndoom, use Nasty Plot and watch the Whimsicott's movements," Harrison said calmly. He didn't rush Houndoom into attacking but instead had it strengthen itself while waiting for the right moment.

Harrison's choice made it seem like he was being rational. With the Whimsicott moving at high speed, it was difficult for Houndoom to effectively target it with an attack. Observing the situation was the best option.

However, Yuga's mission was to assess the Trainer, and he didn't want to engage in a prolonged battle with the challenger. So, he decided to initiate an attack and shouted to the Whimsicott, "Whimsicott, use Dazzling Gleam."

Yuga's Whimsicott, despite its decent strength, had a somewhat limited range of attack skills. Despite being over level forty, it hadn't reached the point where it could learn powerful moves like Hurricane and Moonblast.

It could use moves like Shadow Ball and Psychic, but they lacked the power of Hurricane and didn't provide the same type effectiveness as Moonblast. Furthermore, one was resisted, and the other was immune.

It could also use Energy Ball, which had the type bonuses, but it was resisted by Harrison's Fire-type Houndoom.

So, the only attacking move that the Whimsicott could use was Dazzling Gleam, which was actually taught to it by Florges.

However, Dazzling Gleam had a drawback; its range was limited. To successfully hit an opponent, the Whimsicott needed to get slightly closer.

Seeing the Whimsicott, enveloped in a seven-colored glow, charging towards him, Harrison quickly shouted to Houndoom, "Houndoom, use Inferno."

Inferno was a powerful move with a 100% burn chance, but its drawback was its low accuracy.

However, Harrison was clever. Instead of having Houndoom use Inferno to attack the Whimsicott, which was about to approach him, he had Houndoom control Inferno to form a ring of fire around himself, creating a fiery defense.

Under Houndoom's control, the flames in the ring grew taller, eventually forming a wall of red flames.

Harrison's Houndoom had the Blaze ability, so not only was it not harmed by the flames of Inferno, but it also felt right at home within the fiery enclosure.

The Whimsicott was extremely fast, and because of its speed, it couldn't stop in time when it saw the ring of fire. It ended up crashing into the ring.

Houndoom knew that it couldn't evade the Whimsicott's attack with its speed, so it didn't try to dodge and allowed the Whimsicott to collide with it.

Both the Whimsicott, burned by the flames, and Houndoom, hit by Dazzling Gleam, let out painful groans.

Despite Houndoom's Fire typing, it was weak to Fairy-type moves, so Dazzling Gleam dealt substantial damage to it. When the Whimsicott collided with Houndoom, it stumbled, nearly falling down.

But in the instant it steadied itself, it opened its mouth and used Fire Fang on the Whimsicott, which was still close.

However, under the effects of Tailwind, the Whimsicott swiftly dodged out of the range of the Fire Fang attack and escaped the circle of Houndoom's assault.

As it emerged from the ring of fire, the Whimsicott looked slightly worse for wear. Its fluffy, cotton-like fur was blackened and curled, and it emitted a faint red glow, clearly suffering from a burn.

However, its expression remained calm, showing no signs of panic or distress.

The Whimsicott, aside from frequent battles with various Pokémon in the Ecopark, also often served at the Gym battle, so its battle experience was quite rich. It had gradually become accustomed to the various injuries sustained during battles.

Both Pokémon had low defenses and were hit by moves that were super effective against themselves, so after a match, neither had gained the upper hand.

Yuga watched the slightly disheveled Whimsicott and shook his head in resignation.

Ultimately, the Whimsicott was more suited for support, and it excelled in group battles. Solo combat was a bit challenging for it.

"You both did very well, and Houndoom's adaptability is impressive," Yuga praised Harrison.

"Thank you," Harrison blushed upon hearing Yuga's compliment. Being praised by a legendary Trainer like Yuga made him feel honored.

"Let's continue the match," Yuga said.

Harrison nodded, and his shyness instantly disappeared as he re-entered the battle mode.

"Houndoom, Smog."

As Harrison gave the command, Houndoom opened its mouth and released a cloud of black and purple smoke, quickly covering the entire arena.

Smog was a Poison-type move with low power, but it had a chance to poison the opponent. However, Harrison's intention was not to poison the Whimsicott, as it was already in a burn status. Multiple status conditions couldn't stack together.

"Whimsicott, Fairy Wind!"

Almost as soon as the Smog appeared, gusts of pink wind blew, dispersing all the Smog in the arena.

But the moment the Smog disappeared, Harrison's Houndoom had already approached the Whimsicott without them noticing. It leaped high into the air, and its mouth, filled with flames, went for a bite on the Whimsicott.

The purpose of the Smog was merely to conceal Houndoom's movements. Being a canine Pokémon, Houndoom could move freely even within the Smog.

"Whimsicott, use Fling!"

Seeing that Houndoom was about to bite the Whimsicott, it followed Yuga's command and shifted its body slightly to the side, evading Houndoom's Fire Fang. Then, with lightning speed, it grabbed the curved horns on top of Houndoom's head with both hands and forcefully threw Houndoom away.

Thanks to the boost from Tailwind, the Whimsicott swiftly dodged Houndoom's Fire Fang attack.

In the air, Houndoom had no foothold to evade the Whimsicott's attack, so it was thrown to the ground, creating cracks on impact.

Fortunately, the Whimsicott wasn't a Pokémon known for its strength, and it was already weakened by the burn status, so it didn't cause severe harm to Houndoom.

The move "Fling" was originally meant to throw held items, but since the Whimsicott didn't have any held items, it had to throw the nearest Pokémon, which happened to be Houndoom. This was a rather unconventional use of the move.

In the real world, unlike in animations and games, "Fling" moves could not only be used to throw held items but also other objects. The effectiveness of the move would depend on what was thrown, but throwing ordinary objects like rocks wouldn't have any special effects.

Houndoom had good speed and attack capabilities, but its defenses were weak, so it was knocked out by the Whimsicott's Fling, losing its ability to battle.

After losing the first round, Harrison felt a bit down and withdrew Houndoom with a somewhat gloomy expression.

Yuga also recalled his Whimsicott, with no intention of continuing to use it. The Whimsicott had already been burned and couldn't stay on the battlefield for long. It was more suitable for fast-paced battles.

However, it lacked a one-hit KO move and excelled in disruption and attrition, so instead of keeping it in a suffering state, it was better to switch it out.