Can Strategy Really Be Called “Dirty”?

"A double battle, huh?"

Watching the four Pokémon currently on the battlefield, Johan gave a small smirk.

Double battles test not only a Trainer's strategic skills but also the coordination between two Pokémon.

In this instructor assessment, Pokémon coordination wasn't really tested. Instead, the focus was on evaluating the instructors' strategic prowess.

In previous rounds, non-battle instructors could get by with luck or the sheer strength of certain Pokémon. But by the double-battle phase, the gap between non-battle instructors and battle instructors became glaringly obvious.

After all, pitting one's "hobby" against someone else's "profession" isn't easy.

Especially since most battle instructors already have fully trained six-member teams, giving them numerous tactical options.

Meanwhile, instructors like Johan don't even have a full six Pokémon.

"If we win this round, we get a Move Tutor—got it?"

Johan glanced at Haunter and Vulpix.

"Ka-kah~~"

Haunter adjusted its sunglasses and grinned wickedly.

It had been far too long since it last used a Move Tutor. Since it finished binge-watching its latest show, it had been feeling quite bored.

"Oowu!"

Vulpix nodded with a serious look.

Clearly, this was going to be a risky match!

Inwardly, she cautiously shortened her preferred safety distance (of five meters) down to 4.8 meters!

"Chu?"

The Tinkatink in Johan's arms tilted its head.

What does that mean? Are they ignoring me?

Is it because I'm too weak?

It hopped out of Johan's arms and, from somewhere, pulled out a small chunk of metal to smash into its hammer.

"My turn's almost here," Johan said, standing up. "Steven, could you watch Tinkatink for me?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to bring Tinkatink along—it was just that even if he put her in a Pokéball, the moment the referee declared, "Send out your Pokémon," there was a 90% chance Tinkatink would pop right out.

So, to play it safe, it was best to leave her in the stands.

Seeing the meaningful look in Johan's eyes, Steven blinked before grinning.

"Leave it to me, Teacher," he said, tossing out a Pokéball.

In a flash of red light, his massive Aggron appeared.

Luckily, the Devon Company had designed the arena's bleachers with ample space between rows to accommodate students' Pokémon, or Aggron might have caused a collapse simply by materializing.

"Chu?"

After working hard to hammer that small metal piece into her mallet, Tinkatink saw the armored, silver-gray Aggron and instantly lit up, as if she were gazing at a mountain of gold.

She jumped onto Aggron, tapping and poking curiously.

"Aggron…"

Aggron looked pleadingly at Steven.

Steven chuckled, "Bear with it, Aggron."

Aggron gave a resigned look.

Luckily, Tinkatink was tiny to it, so it let her do as she pleased.

Clang, clang!

Tinkatink tapped on the armor plating on Aggron's chest, her eyes shining as she called out to him.

"Chu~~" ("Hey, big guy, could you hold my hammer?")

In her excitement, she'd forgotten to grab it off the ground.

"Aggron?" ("Why?")

Still, Aggron obligingly bent down to pick up her little mallet.

Innocently, Tinkatink called out, "Chu~~" ("I think your armor looks a bit crooked here—let me fix it for you.")

Aggron's grin was kind.

"Aggron…" ("You tiny thing with that little hammer—what could you possibly—")

Mid-sentence, Aggron's expression froze.

It had just realized Tinkatink's "mini mallet" was extraordinarily heavy!

What it thought would be an easy lift required real effort.

"Chu!" (Ψ(｀▽)Ψ) "Come on, big guy!"

Aggron: \＼(– □ l|l)/

How long will this match last?

As Johan emerged from the tunnel, the arena burst into cheers.

Of course, there were also a few calls of "heartbreaker" and "cold-hearted."

Across from him stood a woman in a light green dress with a wide-brimmed hat—Instructor Homi.

Although she was rather pretty, her stern expression might as well have said "I'm here for revenge."

"This double battle will continue until all Pokémon on one side are unable to fight…"

After confirming that both were ready, the referee briefly explained the rules and gestured for them to release their Pokémon.

"Go, Sunflora! Breloom!" Homi tossed two Pokéballs.

Vulpix was already familiar with Breloom, having faced a wild one before.

As for Sunflora, it was the final evolution of Johto's Grass-type starter, Chikorita.

Haunter and Vulpix moved into the arena, one grinning mischievously, the other serious.

"I wonder what tactic Instructor Johan will use? With Haunter… 'Substitute-Toxic' perhaps?"

"'Substitute-Toxic' has limited effectiveness in a double battle, though."

"Based on type matchups alone, Johan's side does seem to have the edge…"

"If it's just about type advantage, why bother fighting?"

"…"

As the audience chatted, the referee lowered his flag.

"Battle start!"

"Breloom, Spore!"

Homi struck first.

From Breloom's mushroom cap came a cloud of spores, which would cause sleep on contact.

"Sunflora, Sweet Scent!"

The petals around Sunflora's neck released a thin, sweet-smelling mist, which distracted Pokémon, making them easier to hit.

As Homi's Pokémon moved, Johan's field of vision showed their Pokédex entries.

"Breloom with Spore, plus a Sunflora with Sweet Scent for distraction… She's going for a 'Sleep Team' setup…"

However…

A sleep-off with Haunter and Vulpix?

Johan smirked.

Snowflakes suddenly began falling, and the temperature drop slowed the spread of Sweet Scent.

Meanwhile, Haunter spread his arms, summoning ghostly blue flames that spiraled out, burning the approaching spores into glistening blue ice crystals.

With snow falling and shimmering ice flowers blooming, the audience fell silent in awe.

Beautiful…

Seeing her opening moves thwarted and with the snow hampering her Grass-types, Homi frowned.

"Razor Leaf, then use Mach Punch to get in close!"

Breloom stomped forward and charged, surrounded by Sunflora's spinning Razor Leaf to create an opening.

The coordination between Sunflora and Breloom was good, using Razor Leaf to cover Breloom's approach.

"Psychic."

"Oowu—"

Invisible Psychic energy forcibly halted the swirling leaves, slowing Breloom's advance.

"Breloom, Brick Break!"

With a shout, Homi commanded Breloom to switch tactics, its fists cloaked in dark red energy, shattering the psychic hold.

Its target: Vulpix.

"Sunflora, Light Screen!"

Sunflora conjured a transparent wall between Breloom and Haunter, meant to reduce damage from special moves.

Homi's intent was clear: take down the snow-summoning Vulpix, which posed a larger threat to her Grass-types.

However…

Johan's expression turned slightly amused.

Going after that "troublesome" Haunter might have been the better choice. But instead, she targeted Vulpix…

And who said Haunter could only use special attacks?

Using Brick Break was smart, though, in case Vulpix tried setting up Reflect or Aurora Veil.

Thanks to its speed advantage with Mach Punch, Breloom was on Vulpix in an instant.

"Bree!"

Gotcha!

Bam!

Breloom felt its punch land solidly.

But… why did "Vulpix" explode?

Standing five meters away, Vulpix let out a deep sigh of relief, patting her chest.

That was close.

Bam!

Before Breloom could react, a grinning Haunter smashed its face with a solid punch.

"Start running," Johan instructed.

The snowstorm intensified, reducing visibility, and numerous images of Vulpix appeared throughout the field.

In the stands…

"No way! Physical Haunter?"

"Wait, why are there so many Vulpix?!"

"And Haunter too—there's so many of them!"

"What kind of strategy is this? Hide-and-seek?"

"…"

Breloom blinked in confusion. Where were all these Haunter shadows coming from?

Homi's face darkened, quickly issuing a command.

"Enough theatrics, Sunflora, Petal Blizzard—clear out all those images!"

Sunflora released a barrage of petals, attacking each image of Vulpix.

Bam, bam, bam!

Each hit an image with a solid thud.

Some images collapsed, but others remained.

Why?

Even Homi was confused now.

Unbeknownst to her…

"Petal Blizzard" wasn't a particularly strong move, and splitting it across multiple targets weakened it further.

As for Vulpix's snowmen…

They had been toughened up daily by Tinkatink's hammer and were growing sturdier each day.

Not to mention, some of those figures were Vulpix's actual Substitutes.

"Ka-kah!"

Breloom felt a tap on its back and swung around with a punch, but there was nothing there.

Turning back, it found itself face-to-face with Vulpix's hypnotic gaze.

Hypnosis!

A blissful dream enveloped Breloom,

sending it into a deep sleep.

But barely a second passed before a terrifying, grinning face devoured the dream in one gulp.

"Ka-kah~~"

Haunter smacked his lips in satisfaction.

Dreams tasted so much better than nightmares.

Move: Dream Eater!

Using Dream Eater, Haunter quickly restored the energy he'd expended on Substitute.

With one Pokémon down, Homi's side now faced a 2-on-1 disadvantage, making the battle heavily one-sided.

But Homi wasn't about to give up easily.

Using Breloom's collapse as a clue, she and Sunflora managed to pinpoint Haunter and Vulpix's location.

Three bright green Energy Balls soared through the snowy haze.

"Ka-kah~~"

Haunter chuckled and threw a Shadow Ball to counter the three Energy Balls.

Boom!

With a loud crash and a shockwave clearing some of the snow, the audience saw a single oversized Shadow Ball break through all three Energy Balls, smashing directly into Sunflora.

"Whoa! That Shadow Ball… How is that even fair?"

Indeed, after nullifying three Energy Balls, the Shadow Ball landed a direct hit on Sunflora, causing it to cry out in pain.

Haunter shrugged.

If Sunflora could split its Energy Ball into three, why couldn't he just make one bigger Shadow Ball?

It was only slightly bigger, after all.

"Sunflora!" Homi called, her voice stern. "It's not over! Don't give up!"

Sunflora's eyes glowed green, and its body emanated the same energy.

"It's Overgrow! Homi-sensei still has a…"

"Yeah! She can still…"

The audience was starting to get riled up.

"Ice Beam."

Johan's calm voice came, and a beam of blue light struck from about seven or eight meters away.

Crack, crack, crack—

A chilling frost instantly encased Sunflora in ice.

Cutting its Overgrow short, the move's freezing effect instantly extinguished the fans' rising excitement.

The entire arena went silent.

"Oowu~~"

One more Ice Beam, solidifying the ice around Sunflora even further.

Dead silence.

Vulpix exhaled a soft breath.

Almost got overturned there.

As the snow cleared, the field revealed an array of snowmen and the multitude of shadows from Haunter's Substitute and Shadow Sneak.

Imagining Homi's perspective, a few audience members couldn't help shivering.

If the snow wasn't countered, she would be facing a potentially endless number of snowmen, along with seemingly countless shadows from Haunter…

Did this mean…

Victory could only be achieved through a minuscule chance—one that would grow ever smaller over time?

The more experienced students grasped the reality.

This… might be an even "nastier" tactic than "Substitute-Toxic."

"Johan-sensei, that was… really sneaky…"

Sneaky?

In strategy, can something truly be called "sneaky"?

Besides…

This was just the beginning—

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Powerstones?

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