Ferrothorn is a Pokémon extremely rare in places like Kanto. But in the distant Unova Region, Ferrothorn's vicious reputation is known by all.
Taking the nastiest hits while playing the dirtiest shield… that's what it's famous for!
Sato glanced at the spike-covered Pokémon and didn't hesitate for a second before switching out his own.
"Block!"
With Sen's command, a flash of red light suddenly shot out from Ferrothorn's eyes and struck the bristling Weavile in the very next instant.
No chance to dodge!
Sato frowned as he put the Poké Ball away, realizing that if Sen had sent out Ferrothorn, there was no way he'd allow Weavile to continue rampaging unchecked.
With its Grass/Steel dual typing, Ferrothorn possessed exceptional resistances. Aside from Fire- and Fighting-type, all other attacks paled before its massive defenses.
While Sato remained silent, Elite Four Sen casually issued another round of instructions.
"Stealth Rock, Spikes!"
"Uh… as expected." Sato let out a sigh; there was no way a Ferrothorn wouldn't be using those two moves.
Stealth Rock and Spikes, despite differing in type, had the exact same effect.
They dealt fixed damage to every Pokémon that entered the field. Without modifiers, that meant Sato's Pokémon would lose a quarter of their vitality just by switching in.
Completely dishonorable!
And sure enough, next came…
"Gyro Ball!"
Sen's third command matched Sato's prediction exactly.
The greater the speed difference between attacker and target, the higher the damage dealt by Gyro Ball.
And between Weavile and Ferrothorn, the speed gap was about as wide as a tractor versus a jet.
But with no retreat, Weavile had no choice but to keep fighting!
"Focus Blast."
"Weavile!"
Weavile clasped its claws together and formed a pure white orb of energy in its palms. Without hesitation, it hurled the projectile at the approaching Ferrothorn.
BOOOM!!
Focus Blast hit -Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball charge briefly slowed- but it still pressed forward, rolling straight toward Weavile.
…BOOOOOM!
Gyro Ball also landed, sending Weavile flying.
Steel beats Ice. Double damage!
Aside from Blizzard, Weavile's other Special Attack moves were clearly lacking.
"Gyro Ball!"
Pushing its advantage, Ferrothorn -like an emotionless cutting machine- charged again at the kneeling Weavile under Sen's command.
"VILEEEE!"
Weavile let out a furious cry, its hands gathering icy blue and white energy.
In a battle it was destined to lose, Weavile would rather tear off a chunk of its opponent than flee in disgrace!
Sato remained silent. This was Weavile's choice, and he would respect it.
Finally, the silver-spinning Ferrothorn reached Weavile, grinding forward mercilessly.
But Weavile, summoning every last ounce of strength, leapt into the air. Its bone claws gleamed with a chilling light, crossed together, and then slammed down hard, striking Ferrothorn's spinning body straight into the ground!
Rumble… Rumble… Rumble…!
The field shook violently from the impact, leaving a crater and clouds of dust in its wake.
But soon, the harsh screech of grinding metal rang out. Ferrothorn, still in Gyro Ball form, shot out of the smoke and landed back on the field.
Now stationary, a purplish frostbite mark was clearly visible on the right side of its face.
But as the dust settled, Weavile had already collapsed on the ground, unable to battle!
Swish~
"Weavile is unable to battle. Ferrothorn wins!"
The referee raised the flag and immediately announced the result of the match.
A red flash, followed by a blue glow… in that instant, Sato had already completed his switch.
But the moment Sato's second Pokémon appeared, the Stealth Rock surrounding the arena activated and dealt considerable damage right away.
Fortunately, since Spikes is a Ground-type move, it had no effect on the airborne Hydreigon.
"""HY! DREI! GOOON!"""
Three angry roars erupted at once. The three heads howled as they searched for the ambusher, their eyes blazing with rage.
The instant it entered the field, Hydreigon had been unexpectedly struck by Stealth Rock, and now it was burning with fury!
But then, Sen gave another command.
"Ferrothorn, Gravity!"
"Fire Blast."
Sato's brows furrowed. At this crucial moment, he chose to have Hydreigon drop its guard completely, just to get rid of the infuriating Ferrothorn first!
"""HY! DREI! GOOON!"""
Its body rapidly descending, Lefty, Righty, and Middy all simultaneously launched Fire Blast.
Stacking…
And stacking again!
The three Fire Blasts merged midair, their combined power surging exponentially, completely engulfing Ferrothorn in terrifying flames.
BOOOOOOOM!
At the same time, Hydreigon landed on the ground. With only its two hind legs, it managed to stay upright with help from its tail.
The wild, raging flames completely burned away the "Grassy Terrain" Meganium had established earlier. And because of all that combustible plant life, the temperature across the entire arena spiked rapidly.
Suddenly, the referee raised the flag, declaring that Ferrothorn was unable to battle. Beside him, an Alakazam quietly appeared, using Confusion to levitate the unconscious Ferrothorn off the field.
A one-hit KO!
When a 4x weakness meets a triple-stacked Fire Blast, even the sturdiest Ferrothorn stands no chance.
Still, its mission was a complete success. The dual-layer trap of Spikes and Stealth Rock had been set, and Gravity had successfully pulled Hydreigon down.
Sen didn't hesitate and immediately sent out his next Pokémon.
A muscular, cold-eyed… Sceptile. Grass-type final evolution from the Hoenn Region!
As soon as Sceptile entered the field, it casually pulled out a twig and bit down on it, then pointed disdainfully at Hydreigon on the opposite side.
"Scep… Tile?" 'This… guy??
"HY!!"
"DREEEI~"
"GOOOOON…"
Lefty, Righty, and Middy all roared in response. But unable to move freely, they looked as if a grounded dragon was getting bullied by a smug lizard.
"Agility, Dragon Claw!"
At Sen's command, Sceptile vanished from its spot. When it reappeared, it was already in front of Hydreigon!
Its blue-tinged Dragon Claw fully formed, Sceptile slashed down viciously toward Hydreigon!
But before it could land the blow, its gut was hit with sudden searing pain.
A blast of bluish-purple Dragon energy erupted from Middy's mouth. It didn't even need to aim, just opening its mouth was enough to strike the foe directly ahead.
On the command platform, Sato's lips curled slightly. The moment Sceptile entered the field, he had already communicated through synchronized resonance with Hydreigon.
The opponent had high burst potential and would likely try to strike first.
So the Dragon Breath from Middy had been prepped in advance as a counter to Sceptile's attack.
And all of it had been analyzed and predicted based on the data Sosuke had gathered…
Once again, Sato silently gave Sosuke a big thumbs-up!