And so, Paul was about to experience firsthand the terror of a true Psychic-type master.
"Drapion, prepare for battle."
Having just watched his Ninetales, despite mastering Psychic abilities get taken down with ease, Paul immediately called upon his Dark-type trump card: Drapion.
"Speed. Pin Missile!"
"Draah!"
The moment Drapion entered the field, it seized the opening granted by its immunity to Psychic-type attacks. With both claws raised, it launched a flurry of Pin Missiles into the air. The barrage blanketed the battlefield like a storm of needles, locking onto Alakazam with deadly precision.
"Psychic."
With a mere flicker of thought, Alakazam halted the storm midair—each missile suspended weightlessly in space. Then, with a second surge of will, the barrage reversed course and rained down upon Drapion.
"Night Slash! Go for a vital point!"
Just then, Drapion having secretly used Acupressure to boost its speed, darted through the oncoming projectiles with blinding agility. Before the deflected missiles could make contact, it reappeared beside Alakazam, its gleaming claws swinging down in a vicious arc.
Shhhhk!
Yet just before impact, Alakazam vanished in a flash of light—Teleport and reappeared far off in the distance. Its eyes flickered open and shut as a strange violet glow enveloped Drapion.
Miracle Eye—a move that allows Psychic-type attacks to affect Dark-types, and even pierces through substitutes.
The moment Paul saw the energy of Miracle Eye begin to manifest, a deep instinctual sense of danger gripped his chest.
"Dig, now!"
"Draaah~!"
Drapion, fully aware of how dangerous its opponent was—didn't hesitate. It dove into the ground with practiced skill, disappearing from sight.
"Find it. Drag it out."
Sabrina, now fully in sync with the battle's rhythm, issued the order with icy calm.
"Zaaam~"
A radiant gleam surged in Alakazam's gaze as waves of psychic energy cascaded downward, sweeping through the earth in search of its hidden foe.
BOOM!
Before it could locate Drapion's position, the ground beneath Alakazam exploded. Drapion erupted from below, its three claws now coated in shadowy energy as it struck upward.
Shhhhk!
Alakazam's form twisted impossibly, slipping through the attack with another Teleport, reappearing behind Drapion in a blink.
"Draaah—!"
But Drapion wasn't caught off guard. It twisted its body 180 degrees mid-air, locking eyes with its foe just as a plume of toxic mist erupted from beneath its exoskeleton and engulfed Alakazam.
Toxic.
The venom seeped into Alakazam's body, and even Sabrina linked psychically to her partner, flinched from the pain.
But soon after, both their expressions hardened—cold rage flashing in their eyes.
An overwhelming surge of Psychic power erupted, laced with fury and precision. The moment Miracle Eye connected, Drapion was caught in a mental grip so intense that it couldn't even blink, much less breathe.
"Hyper Beam! Let it out!"
Paul's voice cut through the battlefield like a whip. But Drapion only twitched, its pained expression intensifying without so much as a sound.
It couldn't even cry out in pain, how could it possibly muster the strength to unleash Hyper Beam?
And yet… that very helplessness fueled a deeper rage and burning defiance within it.
Since the day it was born, Drapion had endured countless setbacks. Defeats were nothing new. But never—not once had it been so utterly crushed. It wasn't just unable to fight back. It couldn't even scream.
The opponent could've ended this quickly.
So why draw it out like this?
Humiliation.
This was humiliation.
Rage flared in Drapion's eyes, now burning a searing crimson. Its gaze locked onto the distant figure of Alakazam, unwavering and filled with fury.
It looked motionless. But inside, Drapion was fighting with everything it had left, waging war against the psychic forces pinning it down.
"Aaagh!!"
Time seemed to slow as, at last, a roar shattered the silence. A thunderous cry tore from Drapion's throat, fueled by sheer desperation—it broke free of the Psychic suppression and launched Hyper Beam with every ounce of strength it had.
The attack slammed into the invisible psychic barrier conjured by Alakazam's mental power. It didn't break through. But it didn't have to.
It roared. It resisted. It endured.
It hadn't been crushed in silence.
"That's enough. You did well."
Paul recalled Drapion, his voice was low but resolute.
Failure was expected. Against a skilled Psychic-type like Alakazam, the difference in strength was even more daunting than facing Cynthia's Garchomp.
Because against Psychic-types, the bigger the power gap...the more unconquerable that gap becomes.
This wasn't just a battle—it had been a training session. A brutal, suppressive one.
Without hesitation, Paul drew another Poké Ball and hurled it forward.
"Garchomp. Prepare for battle!"
"Gaaar!"
Garchomp landed with a thunderous impact, but didn't even get a chance to assess the battlefield.
Before it could react, a crushing wave of psychic force slammed it to the ground, pinned and immobilized.
As it raised its head, two figures came into view: a woman it didn't recognize and beside her, a strange ancient-looking fox.
Both their eyes glowed with an eerie blue light as they stared down at Garchomp.
Their gaze carried no empathy. Only disdain—as if looking at an insect beneath their feet.
And that stirred something deep within—Fury.
Red bled into Garchomp's eyes, its bloodline stirred.
Bloodline Reawakening Mode—engaged!
Before it could even strike, Garchomp had already entered a state of Blood Fury.
"Give it everything you've got!"
Paul gave the command.
"Gaaaaar~!"
Garchomp braced itself with its arms against the ground, struggling to rise but just as it lifted itself a few centimeters, a powerful psychic force surged downward, slamming it back into the earth. The pressure grew heavier with every passing moment.
This repeated a few times, and Garchomp's fury had now reached its peak.
Suddenly, a faint purple glow flickered across Alakazam's body.
Toxic—activated!
It wasn't the first time Alakazam had been poisoned, but this time the lingering effects of Badly Poisoned status were beginning to wear on it. The sharp pain disrupted its concentration, weakening its psychic output slightly.
"Gaaaar!!"
That momentary lapse was all Garchomp needed.
Its killing intent, concentrated and overwhelming, locked entirely onto Alakazam. In a split second, all the pent-up power in its body exploded forth. A flash of white light surged around it, and the spectral figure of a dragon shimmered into view.
With a heavy stomp, Garchomp launched itself like a missile toward its foe.
"Psychic!"
Alakazam swept both arms forward. The surrounding spoons floated into a defensive formation in front of it. Its powerful telekinesis surged through them, forming an almost unbreakable shield—solid and unyielding.
No matter how vicious the dragon's assault, the shield held firm.
Gradually, the dragon's fury began to fade, revealing the form of Mega Garchomp beneath.
"Dragon Pulse! Hurricane!"
Without hesitation, Mega Garchomp cut off its assault and shot upward. From beyond the range of the spoon-shield, it unleashed a Dragon Pulse straight toward Alakazam, then immediately followed with a Hurricane, pulling the weakened Psychic-type into the turbulent vortex.
The Dragon Pulse struck true, dealing noticeable damage. With the added pressure of Toxic steadily draining its stamina, Alakazam was visibly weakened.
It looked like just a little more time, or one or two clean hits would be enough to bring it down.
Unfortunately, before Garchomp could press the advantage, Alakazam vanished from within the hurricane using Teleport, disappearing without a trace.
Reappearing far across the battlefield, Alakazam didn't rush to counterattack. Instead, a flash of white light shimmered over its body—Recover activated, healing most of its injuries and restoring a good chunk of stamina.
"Time to go all in!"
The bloodthirst and killing aura radiating from Garchomp was impossible to suppress now. Even if it tried to burrow underground, it couldn't fully conceal itself. The only option was to go all-out while its opponent was still recovering.
"GAAAAAH!!"
With a thunderous roar, Garchomp's many moves seamlessly converged, blending into the shape of a deep blue dragon as it once again charged straight at Alakazam.
Enhanced by the effects of Dragon Dance, this assault was even more ferocious than before.
But this time, Alakazam and Sabrina weren't going to meet the charge head-on.
Just before the impact, Alakazam blinked out of the path of the attack with Teleport, reappearing on the far side of the battlefield.
(End of Chapter)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to access the advance 80 chapters, please visit: patreon.com / PMadz_23