Daring to Show Off a Big Knife in Front Me?

To prepare for the afternoon battle, Cain and Ditto had adjusted themselves to their best condition.

At two o'clock, eight contestants gathered on time in the Ecruteak Gym courtyard.

Except for Cain and Raikou, the other six contestants were accompanied by their parents. Before the official battle began, the parents had already started a war of words.

The first battle was between the fourth and fifth contestants, Furret and Snubbull. It was a standard wrestling-style fight without any tactics. In the end, Snubbull, who had a habit of biting tails, bit Furret's tail hard, causing it to faint from pain.

The third contestant, Mareep, faced the sixth contestant, Hoothoot. The battle was so funny that it made people laugh. Facing the Electric-type Mareep, Hoothoot actually dove headfirst into Mareep's fluffy fur – it would be a miracle if it wasn't electrocuted to death.

The second contestant, Raikou's Machop, faced the seventh contestant's Geodude. If it wasn't for its Sturdy ability, which helped Geodude hang on for a second, it would have been a true one-hit KO.

The defeated contestants had already left early, and no one paid attention to the dejected losers.

The battle between Cain and the little girl was saved for last.

Cain took off his sun hat, threw it away, and shouted, "Ditto!"

A light purple, mochi-like Pokémon appeared on the field.

Master Yan nodded, thinking that Cain was very bold to use Ditto. It was indeed exciting to see what kind of performance it would show.

The little girl saw Ditto and couldn't help but burst into laughter. "A slime, that's hilarious! I'll squash you in a moment. Come out, Drapion!"

A Drapion with varying shades of purple and a ferocious appearance made its entrance, letting out an angry roar that forced people to step back.

Yan glanced at the little girl's father, who also felt embarrassed and turned his head away, not daring to look directly at Yan. However, Yan had made up his mind that as long as Cain's performance was commendable, he would make an exception and let Cain advance to the next round, after all, this was a completely unfair battle.

Lei Yu couldn't help but feel secretly delighted. Cain, oh Cain, I can't be blamed for this. The level of this Drapion is not something your Ditto can handle.

The two contestants who advanced to the next round also believed that Cain had lost all hope.

Cain took a glance at the Drapion in front of him, shook his head, its eyes were not sharp enough, and its dual pincers and hooked tail seemed rusted. Judging from the color of its body, its toxicity was very weak. It was a completely subpar Drapion, probably having just evolved.

What a pity, what a pity. You have other Pokémon, yet you insist on using a Poison-type. It's like you're refusing the path to heaven and throwing yourself into hell.

"Ditto, transform," Cain said coldly.

With a roar, the dual pincers waved, and another Drapion appeared, not losing in momentum to the little girl's one.

The little girl, who had ranked eighth in basic knowledge, had some understanding of Ditto and was not too surprised. She thought to herself that, anyway, Cain didn't know Drapion's ultimate move, so it would be enough to defeat him before that.

"Drapion, use Pin Missile," the little girl hurriedly attacked.

Upon receiving its owner's command, the Drapion was forced to obey the little girl.

Drapion faced Ditto, launching Pin Missile, with the sharp needles raining down densely like a downpour, aiming at Ditto.

"Use Knock Off, push him back."

He was very familiar with Drapion; if it weren't for the fact that the Drapion Ditto had transformed into couldn't fully utilize its strength, he would have been able to command a real Drapion, even a subpar one, to defeat the opponent within five minutes.

Ditto's pincers danced so tightly that the Pin Missiles couldn't get close, not to mention being knocked back. Borrowing the force of Ditto's swings, the sharp needles pierced Drapion, causing even more pain than regular Pin Missiles.

Just from this exchange, the little girl didn't know how to respond. Although her father had crammed hours of Drapion usage into her, he never mentioned this situation.

"Hone Claws."

With an icy expression, as Cain said these two words, the little girl's father was already secretly anxious.

Yan cast an approving glance, even knowing the moves used by Pokémon in the Sinnoh region so clearly. Such a talent would surely bring glory to the Ecruteak Gym.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

The Drapion that Ditto transformed into rubbed its pincers against each other, making them even sharper and more lethal. Its eyes stared straight at Drapion, still recovering from the damage caused by the reflected Pin Missiles.

The little girl had no idea what Cain was doing and hurriedly urged Drapion to attack. "Drapion, go, use Poison Fang, bite it, bite it to death."

As she shouted and stomped her foot, she was merely calling out a random move without considering how to organize the attack, where to attack from, or whether to follow up with another attack or quickly retreat.

Battling isn't as simple as shouting a move's name, and not everyone can become an excellent Pokémon Trainer. If one can't maintain a keen awareness of every detail and see through the situation on the field, they are only pushing their Pokémon into a pit of fire.

Under the little girl's rambling command, Drapion opened its mouth wide, revealing its venomous fangs. Purple venom began to drip from its teeth.

Cain glanced at the ground, where the venom was absorbed by the soil without any reaction.

Could this even be called poison?

Drapion charged forward, opening its mouth to bite Ditto.

"Scary Face."

"Roar!" Ditto let out a terrifying roar, revealing a hideous and evil face that stimulated Drapion's optic nerves. Drapion couldn't handle the sudden fright, its momentum was weakened, and it took a step back, its body becoming somewhat rigid.

"Now's the time, grip its front claws at the second joint."

While Drapion was still in shock, Ditto's pincers reached out, gripping the second joint of Drapion's hooked claws, rendering them powerless and useless.

Ditto, as a Pokémon, knew Drapion's body inside and out.

After sharpening its claws, Ditto's hooks were incredibly sharp, gripping Drapion's joint and piercing its muscles and bones.

Now, no matter how much the little girl shouted, Drapion couldn't move. The more it struggled, the more intense the tearing pain from its pincers became.

"Ice Fang, release it from your pincers."

Cain revealed a cold smile.

The bone-chilling cold was released from Ditto's hooks, penetrating deep into Drapion's muscles and bones.

Its blood and internal muscles and bones were being eroded by the cold, but there was no visible change to its outer shell.

At this point, Drapion's mouth was agape, unable to even let out a roar. The tearing pain and the bone-chilling cold were attacking its internal organs.

The Drapion that Ditto had transformed into was continuously infiltrating cold air. Cain, like an iceberg, remained motionless, his murderous gaze fixed on Drapion.

The breath of death and the look of despair.

It was a devil, a devil!

Drapion was already hallucinating.

"Alright."

Cain said, and Ditto let go of Drapion. Under the current circumstances, he couldn't kill Drapion; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Seeing Drapion freed,

The little girl shouted, "Drapion, attack quickly, attack!"

Cain snorted coldly.

Drapion collapsed with a loud thud.

"It's impossible, impossible! He didn't do anything. How could he defeat Drapion like this?"

The little girl was somewhat frantic, making a scene on the battlefield.

The middle-aged man felt embarrassed and slapped her.

It was the first time her father had hit her in her life. The little girl was stunned, staring blankly at her own father.

"There are always people better than you, there is a sky outside of the sky. Even if you lose, you should lose with dignity. Look at yourself now. Cain is so strong that even your father is no match for him, let alone you. If Drapion hadn't been spared by him, you would have gotten it killed right here."

The middle-aged man retrieved Drapion, bowed to Cain, and left with his daughter.