"Dohtay."
Even in its frenzied state, Shiftry showed a hint of astonishment as it watched its own "Hurricane" morph gradually into a "Blizzard."
Under Vulpix's psychic enhancement, the "Blizzard" spun faster and faster, drawing in more snow and ice particles.
"Oowu."
Controlling the snow and ice, Vulpix tilted its head slightly.
So this is… what it feels like to control a "Blizzard"?
The fierce, icy winds covered Shiftry in a layer of frost.
The bone-chilling cold snapped Shiftry out of its momentary daze, and a dark glow surged over its body. Its speed shot up, and it rushed towards Haunter, who was closer!
Sucker Punch!
Using the speed boost from "Sucker Punch," Shiftry managed to evade the very center of the "Blizzard."
However, under Johan's command, Haunter smirked and quickly disappeared underground.
Shiftry reacted swiftly, immediately redirecting its target to Vulpix.
This pivot in its "Sucker Punch" showed that its strength was indeed formidable, with a mastery of moves far superior to that of a typical wild Pokémon.
"Oowu!"
But with this change of direction, the speed advantage from "Sucker Punch" was lost.
A shimmer of psychic light appeared in Vulpix's eyes.
An invisible, transparent barrier appeared between Vulpix and Shiftry.
Bam!!
Shiftry had no time to react and crashed headlong into the "Reflect" barrier.
As a Dark-type, it belatedly sensed the presence of the "Reflect" wall.
However.
As it got up to try to find a way around the "Reflect" barrier…
Bam!!
It crashed into the hard, steel-like transparent wall again.
This time, Shiftry was genuinely puzzled.
It reached out to feel the surface—it was solid.
Then it felt the top, the left side, and the right side…
"Dohtay?"
What…?
Who made a "Reflect" barrier this big?!
"Oowu." Vulpix let out a small sigh.
That was close—just by a hair.
Shiftry was now more than five meters away from it.
Johan glanced at Vulpix with an odd expression.
Because he noticed… that Vulpix had unconsciously built a snowman right in front of it, an exact one-to-one replica of itself.
Even if Shiftry had managed to break through the "Reflect" wall, its target… would likely only be this snowman decoy.
'Has it made so many snowmen that it's instinctive now?'
And besides…
With Shiftry being "Burned," its physical attack was greatly reduced, and with "Reflect" and the defense boost from the "Snow" condition…
'Being cautious never hurts.'
Seizing the moment of Shiftry's confusion, Johan quickly issued a command:
"Vulpix, Aurora Beam."
"Oowu—"
Vulpix focused, its mouth slightly open as a silver beam tinged with a hint of blue shot out, covering Shiftry—already frosted over—with a thick layer of ice crystals.
The power was almost as strong as an "Ice Beam"!
Crack crack crack—
In the blink of an eye, Shiftry had turned into an ice sculpture.
Haunter, who had just peeked out from underground, shrank back.
"Ka-kah."
Guess I'm just here for support…
"Vulpix, that's enough. Save your strength to freeze other Pokémon."
Johan couldn't help but say.
"Oowu!"
Vulpix nodded solemnly, noticing that the ice around Shiftry was already three to four meters thick.
But it thought to itself—
If only it had a stronger Ice move, it could freeze things even more solidly. "Aurora Beam" still seemed a bit lacking…
With Haunter and Vulpix joining forces, along with Arcanine and Tinkatink's teamwork, and with powerful wild Pokémon like Shiftry and Mightyena out of the way, the remaining wild Pokémon, even in a frenzy, couldn't withstand the onslaught.
Seeing the defeated wild Pokémon lying around, Arcanine couldn't help but let out a triumphant howl.
"Owoo!!"
Stop pulling! You're going to pull all my fur out!!
"Chu?"
Only now did Tinkatink realize what it had been doing.
It released Arcanine's mane from its grip.
But it already had a handful of golden fur in its hand.
Embarrassed, Tinkatink scratched its head.
"Chu."
Uh… It was like that already—do you believe me?
"Owoo… (ノへ￣,)"
Tinkatink scampered off, and Haunter approached.
It looked at Arcanine in surprise.
"Ka-kah?"
Why is your fur falling out? Are you malnourished?
"Owoo…（ＴДＴ）"
"Officer Jenny, did you guys handle all this?"
When the support team finally arrived and saw the scene of devastation, with at least forty wild Pokémon lying incapacitated, a Kanaz Alliance officer gulped and asked.
Officer Jenny shook her head solemnly.
But before the young officer could breathe a sigh of relief, Officer Jenny added:
"More or less, but Johan pretty much handled it all on his own."
"On… on his own?!"
Officer Jenny gave a wry smile. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it either.
Especially with that Shiftry…
But what piqued Officer Jenny's interest even more was Johan's "Beat Up" tactic.
For now, though, she needed to address the immediate situation.
The farm had suffered extensive damage, but the Alliance would cover compensation, so there was no need to worry too much.
Thanks to Johan and Jenny's timely arrival, the two colleagues who had gone missing earlier were found, albeit unconscious and with minor injuries.
Meanwhile, Johan sat on a fallen tree.
Next to him.
Haunter, Vulpix, and Tinkatink sat neatly in a row, each munching on energy cubes to restore their strength.
Johan was deep in thought.
Clearly.
There had to be a reason for the wild Pokémon rampage in Petalburg Woods.
And most likely, if they traced the path of these Pokémon back, they might find some clues.
However, Johan kept this thought to himself.
After all, Officer Jenny was a professional Alliance officer with a long family history in the field, so she likely had far more experience and a more comprehensive plan than he did.
As expected.
Before Johan could think much further, Officer Jenny had already begun organizing teams to search Petalburg Woods for any traces.
"Oowu."
Having finished its energy cubes, Vulpix hopped to the ground and blew a puff of cold air at a nearby rock.
Whoosh—
The icy breath formed a tiny snow tornado but quickly dissipated.
Vulpix tilted its head in puzzlement.
Undeterred, it blew another puff of icy breath and used its psychic powers to maintain the swirling cold.
Under its psychic control, the snow tornado gradually grew larger.
But as soon as its psychic power stopped, the snow tornado would dissipate again.
"Oowu?"
Vulpix scratched its head, confused.
What was going wrong?
Just then.
A hand patted its head.
"'Blizzard' isn't so easy to learn."
It was Johan, crouching beside it with a smile.
"Blizzard" is a move with a high power rating of 110. Although its accuracy is a bit low, it's one of the most powerful Ice-type moves.
If Vulpix could learn "Blizzard" this way, Johan would begin to suspect Haunter had passed on its "genius system" to the little fox.
But if Vulpix could indeed master "Blizzard," with its "Snow Warning" ability, it would be impressive.
Under "Snow" conditions, "Blizzard" gains a significant accuracy boost!
Of course.
Johan was somewhat relieved Vulpix hadn't learned it.
Otherwise…
One "Blizzard" from Vulpix, and his house would be gone.
"Oowu."
Vulpix drooped its head.
"It's alright; there'll be other chances. We can start with other moves…"
Before Johan could finish, Vulpix regained its confidence.
It opened its mouth.
A blue beam shot out, instantly freezing a nearby rock into an ice crystal.
"Wait… Ice Beam?"
In his view, "Ice Beam" gradually appeared in the move list for Vulpix's Pokédex entry.
Johan: "???"
It learned it?
"Oowu?"
Start with this move?
Vulpix looked up at Johan with innocent eyes.
"Cough."
Johan cleared his throat and said seriously:
"Well, 'Ice Beam' may not be the same as 'Blizzard,' but you did a great job."
"Johan, thank you so much for this."
On the way back, Officer Jenny expressed her gratitude earnestly.
"Although… it looks like we'll need you again to calm these Pokémon down."
With Tinkatink nestled in his arms, Johan chuckled and said:
"It's part of the job."
Forty frenzied Pokémon—that's a payout of at least forty thousand Alliance Dollars.
Though it barely covers the cost of raising his three Pokémon, it's still a decent sum.
The key thing is, since this was a serious incident, Johan suggested submitting a "reimbursement request."
Officer Jenny found this reasonable.
After all, technically speaking, Johan was under the Investigation Department and essentially a partner of theirs.
"Oh, by the way…"
Officer Jenny continued.
"Johan, that
'Beat Up' strategy you used with Arcanine… could you tell me more about it?"
"Well, what we used was just the tip of the iceberg. You know the core: combining the move 'Beat Up' with the ability 'Justified,' but…"
Johan explained a few additional tactics that could enhance the strategy's effectiveness.
Not only could it be used in field battles, but it could also apply in real matches or tournaments.
Especially in double battles or team battles.
For example, pairing it with a Whimsicott would add a lot of flexibility.
Or, Pokémon like Dragapult, Indeedee, Durant, Amoonguss, or Eiscue could improve the team's versatility.
As he explained the unique roles of each, Officer Jenny's eyes lit up more and more.
She nodded enthusiastically, clearly impressed.
"In short, the core of this tactic is fixed, but other elements, like counterbalance, support, secondary or even tertiary cores, are quite adaptable. It's an exceptionally versatile strategy."
Officer Jenny wholeheartedly agreed.
And a new idea had already started forming in her mind.
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Powerstones?
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