"Kadabra, use Kinesis."
Kinesis is a move exclusive to Kadabra and Alakazam. By bending its spoon, it can captivate the opponent's attention and, at the same time, lower their accuracy.
Azure's strategy was correct: given that his opponent was trying to increase speed and attack power, if he managed to reduce the enemy's accuracy, their attacks would miss, nullifying the benefits gained from those two moves.
This method is effective against most Pokémon.
However, upon hearing the command, Cain smiled slightly, and a hint of mockery appeared in his dark eyes.
Azure's choice to use this move revealed that he didn't fully understand Sneasel or its ability.
Sneasel can have three possible abilities, and one of them is Keen Eye. Pokémon with this ability cannot have their accuracy reduced by any means, and any attempt to raise evasion against a Pokémon with Keen Eye will also have no effect.
Since his opponent was unaware of this ability, Cain saw no reason to correct him.
With a smile on his face, Cain continued, "Sneasel, keep using Agility, then Hone Claws."
Azure was surprised to hear Cain's command, thinking he was trying to compete in stacking buffs.
After all, the additional effects of Agility and Hone Claws are superior to those of Kinesis.
However, Azure was confident his Kadabra could gain an advantage by using Kinesis, as he had defeated several Dark-type Pokémon with that strategy.
This time, however, he decided not to give the command verbally. Instead, he used his psychic abilities, communicating telepathically with Kadabra.
Azure's eyes glowed with a bluish light as he sent the command to Kadabra.
Kadabra, accustomed to fighting this way with his trainer, immediately used Kinesis again.
Watching the battle, Sabrina opened her eyes in astonishment, noting Azure's confidence. She looked at Cain, who remained calm, and murmured, "Are we watching an idiot fight?"
Umbra couldn't help but laugh, his face trembling from restrained laughter, and finally burst into laughter, "Ha, ha, ha, ha! It's true, you psychics sometimes rely too much on your abilities."
Having been called a "Muggle" earlier by Sabrina, Umbra now felt he had regained some dignity.
Sabrina shot him a disdainful look in response to his mockery.
The battle continued, but those hoping for a good show began to get bored. With support moves looping, the battle seemed stagnant.
Buffs have a limit, and although Sneasel kept stacking benefits with Agility and Hone Claws, Kadabra had reached the limit for accuracy reduction.
Azure soon realized something wasn't right. Cain's expression was too calm, showing no concern for the accuracy reduction. In fact, he seemed to be...smiling?
Deciding not to keep playing this game, Azure made Kadabra's eyes glow again and ordered him to attack.
Kadabra raised its spoon to its chest, but this time it didn't bend. Instead, a wave of pink psychic energy emanated from the spoon.
As a psychic, Cain could also sense the powerful psychic energy in Kadabra's spoon, and he realized Azure was done playing.
"Run, Sneasel!"
With the speed buffs obtained, Sneasel moved quickly, dodging the strange beam that shot from Kadabra's spoon.
The Psychic-type move, Psybeam.
Sneasel ran toward Kadabra, closing the distance between them. But Kadabra, under Azure's telepathic command, continued to move its spoon, using its powerful mental force to track Sneasel.
"Sneasel, use Ice Shard while running!"
Since the enemy was so determined to attack, Cain decided it was time to launch an attack too. He'd see if Azure chose to dodge or continue his offense.
Ice shards began to form in Sneasel's hands as he ran, throwing them at Kadabra.
Just as Cain had predicted, Kadabra didn't stand still to take the hit.
Kadabra is a Pokémon with high special power but low physical endurance, so taking multiple hits could be fatal.
Teleport!
Unlike the long-range Teleport move used by Slowpoke, Kadabra can use Teleport at short distances almost instantly.
Since Kadabra had only known the Teleport move since its Abra stage, it had become extremely skilled at using it, to the point of being able to use it in combat.
"Sneasel, use Quick Attack!"
Although Kadabra's Teleport was fast, after the speed boosts, Sneasel was even faster with Quick Attack.
The battle area wasn't large, and for Sneasel, covering the distance with Quick Attack was a matter of moments.
Kadabra had barely finished using Teleport to dodge the Ice Shard move when Sneasel, now a black blur, appeared right in front of it.
Azure and Kadabra weren't worried about Sneasel's attack, confident that Sneasel's accuracy had been lowered due to the multiple uses of Kinesis.
However, just as Azure wore a confident smile, Cain smiled too and gave a new command: "Sneasel, Bite!"
The sudden strategy change had always been a weakness for Sneasel, due to its lack of synergy with Cain, which made executing new commands slower.
This time was no different. Sneasel took a moment to react to Cain's command, but it didn't matter this time, as his opponent was already convinced of victory and didn't attempt to dodge.
Sneasel's sharp fangs, wrapped in a dark, sinister energy, sank into Kadabra, dealing significant damage.
"Ka-daaaaa!" Kadabra cried out instinctively in pain.
Azure, his eyes glowing, ordered Kadabra to use Teleport again to get away from Sneasel.
Close combat against Sneasel was a death sentence for Kadabra.
After giving the command, Azure looked at Cain and then at Sneasel with a look of disbelief.
From the shadows, Sabrina slapped her forehead in frustration and said, "Let's go, this is pointless."
With a mocking smile, Umbra was teleported out of the place by Sabrina.
For them, the battle was no longer interesting.
Because Cain had already won.
This is what the power of knowledge means!
(End of chapter)