"Chashi!!"
The Crobat flapped its two pairs of broad wings, suddenly breaking through the smoke and dust, reappearing in the sight of the two trainers.
Although it was not as weak as a candle in the wind, its purple skin was covered with blue and black spots, and its eyes were slightly wrinkled—obviously, it had sustained serious injuries.
"Damn it, this Nidorina."
Lambda cursed inwardly. Though Nidorina's level was not high, the power behind its moves was remarkable.
"Is she using a fixed-turret strategy?" he muttered. Still, if she thought she could defeat his ace Crobat with a single Thunderbolt, she was sorely mistaken.
"One sacrifice for a chance to strike—this girl is vicious."
His gaze shifted toward the smoke from another explosion.
Clefairy had traded itself to injure Crobat, embodying the ruthless tactics typical of Team Rocket.
Soon, the smoke and dust cleared, revealing the battlefield. The ground remained unscathed—thanks to the special tiles Silver provided. Otherwise, the aerial strike might have left a massive crater.
"?"
A shape emerged from the dissipating dust, leaving Lambda stunned.
In the midst of it all stood a small pink creature—Clefairy—panting heavily. It bore several scratches and injuries but refused to collapse, still standing firm.
"How is this Pokémon still standing?!" Lambda cursed.
He couldn't believe it—he couldn't even knock out a baby Pokémon?!
For a moment, a thought popped into his mind: Pink devil.
"That is..."
Lambda suddenly noticed something—a small necklace around Clefairy's neck.
Attached to the necklace was a purple egg-shaped stone glowing with a strange light.
"Nice!"
Seeing that Clefairy was still holding on, Little Blue sighed in relief.
In truth, she didn't know much about the stone herself. Her sister, Blue, had stolen it while raiding Clefairy's nest on Mt. Moon.
The stone was peculiar—when worn by Clefairy or Nidorina, it drastically boosted their defenses. But oddly enough, it had no effect on Blue's Clefable.
Regardless, the stone gave Little Blue the idea to let Clefairy endure the blow head-on.
And now it seemed Clefairy's thick skin was paying off.
But Lambda wasn't amused. He felt humiliated and ordered, "Keep using Air Slash!"
"Hmph! Let's see how much longer you can last!"
The Crobat released several sharp air blades, which flew straight toward the turret-like Nidorina, completely ignoring Clefairy.
Little Blue wasn't going to let her opponent attack freely.
"Clefairy, use Protect!" she commanded.
The green barrier shimmered into existence, blocking the incoming air blades with a metallic clang. After a violent tremor, both the attack and shield vanished simultaneously.
"Stalling again? How boring."
Lambda could sense that Nidorina was charging energy again, but this time, the light was a chilling ice-blue instead of yellow.
"Air Slash again! This ends now!" Lambda shouted furiously, his voice filled with frustration.
This time, Crobat knew how to evade—using its speed, it could avoid Nidorina's charged attack before it was released.
"Clefairy, get out of the way! Watch me!" Little Blue yelled.
"Clefairy!"
Clefairy leaped to the side, drawing the Crobat's attention away from Nidorina. Then it raised a finger, as if beckoning the powerful air attack toward itself.
Without Clefairy blocking the way, Nidorina, now fully charged, was exposed.
With a faint hiss, ice-blue energy surged in Nidorina's palms, radiating a bone-chilling aura.
The attack was ready to unleash.
Freeze Beam!
"Hah! A mere freezing beam won't land a hit on my Crobat," Lambda sneered, already anticipating his Pokémon's dodge.
But what he saw next left him confused.
Clefairy, now drenched in sweat from exertion, made an odd gesture—a thumbs-up—just as the air blades closed in on it.
Was Clefairy… encouraging him?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The air blades struck Clefairy head-on. But as the blades connected, Clefairy's thumb lit up with a bright white light—a pulse of pure energy fired straight in one direction.
It was an unexpected move—a memory-killing passage.
Clefairy was once a carefree creature living on Mt. Moon. But one day, a majestic Clefable entered its life and showed it the powerful magic of the moon.
The enchanting fairy aura mesmerized Clefairy, convincing it to travel with humans and see the world.
Determined to master the power of the moon, Clefairy trained relentlessly under Little Blue's guidance.
On the first day, it learned Minimize.
On the fifth day, it mastered Protect.
On the tenth day, it perfected Follow Me.
"These are essential steps to grasping the moon's power," Little Blue told it—her demeanor a bit unusual that day. But Clefairy nodded eagerly.
Just recently, it learned a new move: Help.
*Whoosh!*
Clefairy's glowing thumb released the energy of Help, which merged with the freeze beam in midair. The once small electric-blue snake expanded into an enormous dragon of ice, surging forward with terrifying speed.
Crobat: "?"
Sizzle!
Before it could dodge, the empowered freeze beam struck Crobat squarely, enveloping it in ice.
In an instant, half of Crobat's body was encased in a solid block of frost.
Clefairy closed its eyes with relief, knowing it had done its part.
Am I strong enough now? it wondered. Perhaps soon, Little Blue would finally teach it the full power of the moon.
In its hazy thoughts, Clefairy could almost hear her voice, comforting and encouraging it.
"Good job, Toolhide~"
Clefairy: "?"
Just then, another barrage of air blades struck it. This time, even the evolution stone wasn't enough to protect it. Clefairy's vision darkened, and it collapsed.
The mental strain it endured far outweighed the physical damage.
"Crobat!!"
Lambda roared as Crobat, still partially frozen, spread its wings with difficulty.
With a powerful storm of flapping wings, it shattered the ice imprisoning its body.
"Crobat…"
Hovering midair, Crobat gasped heavily, visibly weakened. Despite enduring two devastating, type-disadvantage attacks—one boosted with Help it was still standing, proving the vast level difference between the opponents.
The fact that Lambda's ace had been pushed to the limit by a rookie trainer filled him with rage and shame.
"Crobat, use Leech Life!"
He sneered. "Clefairy is down. Let's see who saves you now!"
In a flash, Crobat darted toward Nidorina, who was still charging Thunderbolt.
"Chashi!!"
Crobat bit into Nidorina's neck, its sharp fangs sinking deep into her scaly skin. Instantly, energy began flowing into Crobat's body, revitalizing it.
"Nidorina!" Little Blue cried, frantically pulling out a Poké Ball to recall her Pokémon.
But before the red light could fully engulf Nidorina, Lambda grinned maliciously.
"Crobat, Pursuit!"
Crobat delivered a crushing blow to Nidorina's belly just as she was being recalled.
The doubled damage from Pursuit made Nidorina's eyes roll back, knocking her out cold.
The red beam finally enveloped Nidorina, pulling her into the safety of her Poké Ball.
"Old trick," Lambda muttered.
Just as Little Blue prepared to send out her next Pokémon, Crobat appeared behind her in an instant.
Its razor-sharp wings hovered inches from her neck.
"Little girl, I don't have time to play games with you," Lambda hissed, capturing her effortlessly.
(End of Chapter)