In particular, that individual who calls himself the Dragon-Type Champion. According to him, the emergence of the Fairy type has had a considerable impact on trainers like him who specialize in Dragon-type Pokémon.
But the truth is, he's actually a Flying-Type Master, right? However, due to his strength, many people prefer not to mention this fact.
Anyway, the emergence of the Fairy type has had a huge impact on the balance of power; the Dragon type is no longer the sole dominant force.
However, Cain doesn't have to worry about this right now, as very few people know about the existence of the Fairy type; only some scholars dedicated to this research know anything about it.
Even within the League, knowledge of this type is quite limited.
Thinking about this, Cain wondered if revealing this information to the League could help him advance in his career within the organization.
He shook his head, dismissing this unrealistic idea. Right now, the most important thing was to defeat the Dustox leader in front of him.
After the Dustox leader used the Fairy-type move, Moonlight, all the damage she had previously received had been completely healed, except for slight residual damage from the poison that still lingered.
However, being a Poison-type Pokémon, Dustox naturally resisted Poison-type moves well, so the effect of the Poison Jab move wasn't very significant.
"Toxic is still more effective," Cain thought.
Sneasel's Icicle Crash move completely missed, but Dustox had already distanced herself from Haunter, who was still deep in sleep, achieving the desired objective.
Icicle Crash is a high-damage move, but due to its slowness, its accuracy leaves much to be desired.
Cain thought it would be necessary to train Sneasel more in the accuracy of Ice-type moves.
The battle up until then hadn't affected either side too much.
Murkrow launched himself into the attack again, unconcerned about defense, and used the Wing Attack move repeatedly against Dustox.
Earlier, Dustox had taken a direct hit from Murkrow's Wing Attack move, but now, with all her efforts dedicated to dodging, Murkrow managed to land far fewer hits.
"Slowpoke, use Psyshock to assist Murkrow. Sneasel, use Agility and then Quick Attack to get close and strike with Ice Punch. Haunter, use Sleep Talk and try to execute Toxic."
Slowpoke's psychic energy fluctuated as it repeatedly launched its Psyshock move, helping Murkrow reduce Dustox's escape options.
Dustox knew that if Murkrow or Slowpoke managed to reach her, she'd soon face a combined attack from both, so she did everything possible to avoid taking even a single hit.
Meanwhile, Sneasel was moving quickly, increasing its speed with Agility. Once at maximum speed, it used Quick Attack to get close to Dustox and join Murkrow in close combat.
Haunter, eyes closed, floated slowly upward and then charged quickly toward Dustox. A terrifying face appeared on Haunter, and though it failed to use Toxic, it successfully executed Scary Face.
Though it wasn't the desired attack, Scary Face's effect slowed Dustox down, which pleased Cain.
With her speed reduced, Dustox couldn't dodge Murkrow's next move.
The attack struck Dustox directly, throwing her into the air. While she tried to beat her wings to regain balance, Slowpoke's Psyshock reached her, inflicting even more damage.
The Poison type is doubly weak to the Psychic type, so Slowpoke's attack was devastating.
Sneasel, with a mighty leap, concentrated all its energy into its fist, forming a massive block of ice that it then smashed violently against Dustox, causing her to crash to the ground.
Dustox, thinking the barrage of attacks was over and preparing to escape, realized she was mistaken.
"Haunter, use Sleep Talk again! Slowpoke, get close with Teleport and use Water Gun. Sneasel, follow up with Icy Wind to freeze her. Murkrow, use Taunt!" Cain wasn't going to give Dustox another chance to counterattack.
This time, Haunter successfully used Sleep Talk and executed the Toxic move, a bit late but with good effect.
Although Dustox is a Poison-type Pokémon and Toxic's damage is reduced, the true power of the Toxic move lies in the cumulative damage over time. The longer it lasts, the higher the damage.
The type resistance effect only slows this process a bit.
Dustox, who was trying to get up, was quickly knocked back down by Slowpoke's Water Gun, enhanced with psychic energy. At that range, the attack was as powerful as Hydro Pump, leaving Dustox immobilized on the ground, unable to defend herself.
Sneasel took the opportunity to launch Icy Wind, lowering the water's temperature even further and making Dustox's suffering increasingly intense.
Murkrow's Taunt, though not as precise as Sneasel's, worked well in this moment when Dustox was already an easy target, allowing Murkrow to practice its move in a real scenario.
It was rare to find such a good target, and Murkrow didn't let the opportunity slip, using Taunt repeatedly until Dustox lost all capacity to resist.
Thus, Cain's four Pokémon relentlessly attacked Dustox, who lay in the crater they had formed with their blows.
When Haunter awoke from his sleep, he immediately joined the assault.
Dustox was driven deeper into the ground, and the surrounding area gradually caved in.
But none of the Pokémon showed any mercy, knowing that if Dustox managed to use her powerful Psybeam even once more, Haunter could be knocked out.
With that resolve, the Pokémon didn't stop until they were sure Dustox had no chance of counterattacking.
Seeing the intensity of the situation, Skorupi, who was by Cain's side, swallowed nervously, looking at his teammates and Cain with newfound understanding.
Although he had always seen his teammates as calm and approachable, he now realized that in battle, they could be ruthless.
Cain, noticing Skorupi's look, coughed slightly and said, "Ahem, I think that's enough. If we keep going, she might not survive."
Upon hearing Cain, Slowpoke and the others reluctantly halted their attacks.
Dustox had been a very useful training target, but it seemed she could no longer hold out.
Cain approached with Miltank and Skorupi, seeing Dustox lying on the ground, barely conscious. Cain sighed in relief; this Dustox was valuable, and losing her would be a big blow.
But as Cain approached, the ground began to crack beneath his feet, and all the Pokémon looked toward Slowpoke.
(End of chapter)