In the battle arena, Grant's Rookidee moved swiftly, leaving a blur of motion as it cut through the air.
The surrounding trainers could barely catch a glimpse of the bird, only seeing a faint white trace where the air was sliced by its speed.
Everyone understood—Grant wanted to end the battle quickly.
Though Shiro's Rookidee remained unscathed, it was clear that it couldn't match its rival's speed. A single mistake, a Peck to the wing, and the battle would be over.
At the same time, if Grant's Rookidee made a mistake, even a slight Peck to the head or a hit from the Air Cutter could instantly cripple the bird's ability to fight.
The outcome of this Rookidee battle would be decided in a matter of moments.
"Rookidee! Air Cutter!" Shiro's voice rang out in sync with Grant's, both trainers giving their orders at the exact same moment.
In midair, Shiro's Rookidee locked eyes with its adversary, rapidly flapping its wings to gather flying-type energy.
"Speed up!" Watching Grant's Rookidee dart across the sky like a blue blur, Shiro swung his arm, urging his Rookidee to go faster, clenching his fist.
Meanwhile, the trainers outside the arena were buzzing with excitement.
"No, he can't use that move! It's too slow! He won't have time to complete the Air Cutter…"
"The Air Cutter is too easy to dodge! It's not a guaranteed hit!"
"What is Shiro trying to do? He might be using the Air Cutter as a feint, but what's his real plan…"
The older trainer, with deep lines on his face, scratched his gray hair and said, "We'll find out soon enough."
He didn't understand Shiro's intentions either, but he knew that the bond between a trainer and their Pokémon was something only they truly understood.
The wind whipped across the battlefield as the two Rookidees, their deep blue feathers gleaming, crossed paths.
The watching trainers fell silent, their eyes fixed on the battle unfolding before them.
Grant's Rookidee, recalling the previous feint and attack, saw that the Pokémon opposite was merely hovering in the air gathering energy. Unable to tell which move was coming, it followed its trainer's instructions and began spiraling in the air, circling quickly.
After creating a brief blue blur, it suddenly dove sharply, using Peck from below, its beak aimed at the base of opposing Rookidee's wing.
This was one of Grant's usual tactics—using incredible speed to confuse the opponent, only to attack unexpectedly from below.
Normally, no other Rookidee could anticipate such an attack. Those with fast reflexes might try to ascend quickly, but even then, they would still be injured.
Grant's speed-based strategy was highly effective in Rookidee battles, especially since it exploited the weak spot—the wings.
Unable to match the speed, Shiro's Rookidee couldn't target specific weak points like the wings and could only strike wherever it had the chance.
But now, any hit to the opponent would be enough to end the battle!
"Rook-dee!"
Feeling a rush of wind pressure from below, Shiro's Rookidee instantly transformed into a streak of gray light, darting diagonally to another spot.
As Grant's Rookidee froze for a moment after missing, Shiro's Rookidee swiftly launched a surprise attack, crashing hard into the side of its opponent's body.
"Rooook!"
It flipped several times in mid-air before finally crashing into the psychic barrier at the edge of the battlefield. The attack dealt significant damage, causing it to fall straight down from the air.
Seeing this, Grant's eyes widened, and his face twitched in surprise.
He shot a cold glance at his fallen Pokémon at the edge of the battlefield before recalling it into its Pokéball.
The referee, standing at the battlefield's edge, pushed his glasses up and raised his hand to announce.
"Alright! The battle is over! The winner is Shiro!"
The trainers outside the arena remained in a daze, struggling to process what had just happened.
"What the heck, how did that Rookidee suddenly defeat its opponent? I didn't even see it clearly."
"I didn't see clearly either. It didn't seem to use Air Cutter?"
"Of course it didn't! I said it before, how could that Air Cutter even hit the opponent?"
"What do you think, old man?"
The trainers shifted their attention to the gray-haired old man who was pondering the situation. His furrowed brow suddenly relaxed, and his hand that had been gripping his hair lowered as he spoke.
"It must have been Quick Attack. Otherwise, we wouldn't have missed it." He nodded toward Shiro's Rookidee. "That bird wasn't just charging Air Cutter—it was waiting for the perfect moment to burst forward with Quick Attack instead."
"Quick Attack?" The surrounding trainers exchanged glances, not having considered that move. Shiro's unspoken, intuitive command style also left them surprised.
At that moment, both Shiro and Grant removed their identity cards from the metal pillars, and the psychic barrier that covered the entire field disappeared.
The receptionist, who had been the referee, walked over to Shiro, extended his hand, and said.
"Impressive, Shiro. You've successfully won without taking any damage... looks like we'll be colleagues now. My name is Pym."
Shiro shook his hand, offering a simple response.
"Guess I got lucky."
Grant, also walked over. His expression was darker than when he first entered the battlefield, and his face, already resembling the rough texture of bark, was now twisted into a knot.
"Your Rookidee is well-trained," he muttered, his gaze lingering on the small bird perched on Shiro's shoulder. "Especially the muscles around its chest and wings…"
Big Pecks, as a hidden ability of Rookidee, were very rare. The Pokémon academic world had yet to study this hidden ability.
Grant didn't know this was the reason behind it; he just knew that Shiro's Rookidee was an extraordinary one.
"The final evolution of Rookidee is Corviknight, a Flying and Steel-type." Grant's voice was hoarse as he gave one last glance at Rookidee before turning to leave, adding, "Flying refers to the wings, Steel refers to the beak."
The training of Rookidee focuses on strengthening its wings and beak. Shiro understood the point.
Grant only said that much before walking away. He didn't think that Shiro's training was superior to his own, but rather that Shiro won mostly due to his unexpected tactics and command.
"Shiro..." As Grant walked toward the exit, Pym leaned toward Shiro and whispered, "I've seen Grant train his Rookidee before. He bought some Metal Coats and covered his Rookidee's beak with them..."
Shiro listened intently, nodding and smiling at Pym.
"Thanks."
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