Chapter 32: First Battle (Part 2)

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One misstep leads to another. After Ekans fell into a state of confusion, Sato realized the opportunity for a counterattack had arrived. However, he remained cautious, instructing Zubat to use Shadow Ball from a distance.

Due to Ekans' self-destructive state, Zubat's somewhat sluggish Shadow Balls landed successfully in succession. While their power wasn't impressive, the rapid attacks compensated for it, leaving Ekans battered from self-inflicted damage and the attacks from Shadow Ball.

"Wake up, Ekans!!!" Rondo shouted anxiously as he saw Ekans continuously being toyed with by Zubat from afar, still in a state of self-harm.

However, it was clear that Rondo and Ekans' bond was lacking. The confused Ekans completely ignored Rondo's cries and continued to thrash and slam its head into the ground like a mad creature.

"This Ekans is far too vicious. Otherwise, it wouldn't have turned into such a fierce monster just from a bit of confusion. Zubat can't engage it in close combat; otherwise, if Ekans bites down, it would either be dead or severely injured. Rondo has ulterior motives; he wants to cripple my Zubat in this battle," Sato thought to himself, his gaze turning cold as he watched Ekans with its bloodshot eyes exuding a murderous aura.

Meanwhile, Zubat obeyed Sato's command, increasing its flying height to avoid Ekans and maintaining a distance before launching another Shadow Ball attack.

Due to a lack of rigorous training, Zubat's Shadow Ball was relatively weak, about the size of a large egg. However, perhaps because of its small size, Zubat could gather and release the Shadow Balls quickly, almost one per second.

For example, at this moment, Zubat was unleashing Shadow Balls like a gun, hitting Ekans with a high accuracy (about 80% accuracy rate).

Each time Zubat successfully hit Ekans with a Shadow Ball, the onlookers at the edge of the battlefield felt their hearts tighten. Due to the rules of the battle (which forbade interference), they could only pray for Ekans to regain its senses quickly; otherwise, their bets would be in vain.

After twelve continuous and painful seconds, Ekans finally emerged from its confusion. However, it was now covered in wounds, its skin marred by numerous injuries, and blood pooling around it.

Nevertheless, Ekans' willpower was incredibly strong, and its self-healing ability was remarkable. After regaining consciousness, the bleeding wounds quickly stopped and began to scab over at a visibly rapid pace, somewhat restoring Ekans to its original state.

Of course, this astonishing regenerative ability came at a cost. After healing, Ekans' aura weakened significantly, resembling a patient recovering from a severe sickness.

From the current situation, anyone could see that Ekans' was on the brink of collapse. As long as Sato continued to direct Zubat to maintain a safe distance and play keep-away, Ekans was destined to lose.

"Damn it! This guy even taught Zubat to use Protect! If I remember correctly, this guy is just some country bumpkin who knows nothing about Pokémon and is even an undocumented person. Where did he learn about so much about Pokémon?" Rondo thought darkly, seeing Ekans reduced to such a state by Zubat under Sato's command.

Rondo had never expected Sato to teach Zubat a defensive skill like Protect. Because of the information disparity and his own underestimation, Rondo hadn't considered this possibility. He thought defeating Sato's Zubat would be a piece of cake, which was why he recklessly commanded Ekans to use its vicious and signature move to take Zubat out.

Yes, Rondo intended to kill Sato's Zubat in this battle. After all, in a fight, unexpected events are inevitable, right? As long as Sato lost his Pokémon, he would be powerless, and Rondo could manipulate him at will.

But all his malicious plans were thwarted by Sato's hidden Protect move. Following that, Zubat's Supersonic left Ekans in a confused state, making the battle increasingly unfavorable for Rondo.

"Ekans, charge in and use Rock Tomb!" Rondo had not yet accepted defeat. Originally, he had hoped to save this trick for dealing with Tanya's Spearow in the future, but given the current situation, he could only reveal hidden last trump card.

Hearing Rondo's command, Ekans turned its cold serpent eyes toward him for a moment before twisting its body to dodge Zubat's Shadow Ball and rapidly slithered closer to Zubat.

As it approached, Ekans' cold eyes glowed with a brownish light. In an instant, several small rocky fragments formed around it, composed of Rock-type energy, as it closed in on Zubat.

When Ekans was within five meters of Zubat, these small, sharp rock fragments almost transformed into arrows, shooting toward the airborne Zubat. Due to their conical shape, the rocks significantly reduced air resistance, moving almost as fast as regular arrows.

Generally speaking, Rock Tomb is a move where Pokémon expend stamina (or energy) to create large rocks for attack, but in Ekans' case, this technique had taken on a slight variation.

In order to strike at the fast-flying Flying-type Pokémon, Ekans skillfully transformed the rocks formed from Rock-type energy into smaller but numerous rocks, letting it take their current shape. While its power was still considerably weaker than the Rock-type move known as Rock Slide, it could almost be considered a weakened second-hand version of it.

(Note: Rock Slide is a physical long-range Rock-type attack with the power, accuracy, and effect of piercing enemies with sharp rocks, making it easy to hit vital points.)

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~" A series of whistling sounds filled the air as the sharp rocks clearly had a range of over 10 meters. Several sharp stones shot straight at Zubat, completely covering a two-meter radius around it.

"Quick, dodge, Zubat!" Sato's expression changed as he witnessed a real version of Rock Tomb and immediately shouted at Zubat.

Ultimately, his experience in the game affected his judgment. He miscalculated the attack range of Ekans' Rock Tomb, and since Zubat still had over a minute left on the cooldown for using Protect, he could only think of ordering Zubat to evade.

Unfortunately, facing Ekans' somewhat unorthodox Rock Tomb, Zubat managed to dodge the first few rocks but was hit by the subsequent ones.

"Bang, bang, bang~~" The sharp rocks composed of Rock-type energy hit Zubat and exploded like small bombs, quickly causing the wounds on Zubat's body to accumulate.

Seeing Ekans' Rock Tomb in effect, Rondo immediately ordered Ekans to continue attacking Zubat with another Rock Tomb, causing expressions of surprise and anticipation to appear on the faces of most onlookers at the edge of the battlefield.

"Zubat, use Gust for defense!" Although Zubat tried hard to evade the rocks, it was evidently difficult to avoid the numerous fast-flying rock projectiles completely. In a moment of panic and desperation, Sato had a flash of inspiration and immediately issued a command to Zubat.

Upon hearing Sato's order, Zubat, which had been suffering from the attacks, instinctively unleashed Gust without a second thought. Perhaps feeling cornered or sensing Sato's anxiety and concern, Zubat's power and potential erupted, using up its remaining energy in an instant.

"Zzzz~~" Zubat emitted a sharp cry, and suddenly, under its full power, a big white gust of whirlwind with a diameter of over two meters and a height of about five meters appeared before it (rotating counterclockwise toward the center). The tiny, sharp rocks that Ekans had manipulated again were swept up by the attacks powerful winds.

"Good job, Zubat! Now direct the wind to attack Ekans!" Seeing Zubat's desperate outburst, Sato commanded timely.

Zubat didn't disappoint Sato's expectations. It flapped its wings vigorously, directing the powerful gust filled with sharp rocks toward Ekans on the ground.

"Fuck! Ekans, dig a hole and avoid it!" Rondo's expression changed dramatically as he saw Zubat's desperation, immediately instructing Ekans to burrow underground to evade the attack.

However, to Rondo's despair, the ground was covered with reinforced concrete, making it impossible for Ekans to burrow its head in.

After failing to dig down, Ekans attempted to avoid the attack by moving its body, only to find itself caught in the strong winds of the nearby white whirlwind, drastically slowing its movement. Ultimately, it could only watch helplessly as the white whirlwind controlled by Zubat completely enveloped it.

Once Ekans was sucked into the whirlwind, the invisible blades of wind within continuously sliced at it, while the numerous sharp rocks also struck it repeatedly, causing explosions.

Due to Zubat's full-power Gust, the duration of the white whirlwind lasted about seven or eight seconds. When it finally dissipated, Ekans fell heavily to the ground, its body covered in wounds.

At that moment, Ekans' eyes were swirling, clearly indicating it had lost the ability to fight.

"The Battle is over! Ekans has lost its ability to battle, and the victor of this match is Sato and his Zubat," the referee announced the battle's outcome the next second.