Chapter 477: A Dangerous Premonition
Once he decided to act, he knew he had to act fast. Facing the Sandslash leader, who was hiding behind a screen of more than twenty Sandshrew, Arthur first sent out Specter.
"Specter, fly in and use Astonish!"
He didn't have Specter Mega Evolve. Firstly, he didn't think it was necessary to be so high-profile, and secondly, it was a waste of time. Mega Evolution took about a second, and in this battle, Arthur considered even a single second of wasted time to be too much.
Specter flew into the air, let out a shriek, and unleashed its illusion. In an instant, more than half of the Sandshrew were frozen in fear, unable to move. When the power gap was this large, the chances of a move's secondary effect activating increased significantly.
"Slash!"
The Sandslash leader, a skilled commander, reacted quickly. It barked out an order, and the remaining Sandshrew that could still move launched a counter-attack into the air. Most of them fired Poison Sting and Swift. Neither was very effective against Gengar, but those were generally the only two ranged attacks wild Sandshrew knew. You couldn't ask for much more.
But even so, Arthur gave them no quarter. A flash of red light. Specter, having completed its mission, was immediately recalled by the Poké Ball's beam.
At the same time, Arthur's commands continued without pause: "Water Shuriken!"
Greninja, standing beside him, had already completed its Bond Phenomenon transformation. It then launched a massive, oversized Water Shuriken.
SHIING—BOOM!
The giant shuriken slammed into the enemy ranks and exploded, sending the remaining handful of Sandshrew flying.
"Old Flame, Seismic Toss!"
With the guards cleared, Old Flame immediately sprang into action. It charged into the fray at high speed, grabbed the Sandslash leader, which was still in its move's cooldown period, spread its wings, and soared into the sky. It carved an arc through the air before diving back down, slamming the Sandslash hard into the ground. The Fighting-type move: Seismic Toss.
This grab-and-throw maneuver not only separated the leader from its pack but also conveniently dropped it right into the middle of Arthur's carefully laid trap.
"Little Lapras, Icy Wind! Mismagius, Hypnosis!"
From the left, the moment the Sandslash landed, Little Lapras opened its mouth and exhaled a blast of freezing wind, landing a critical hit and slowing it down. From the right, Mismagius's eyes began to glow as it started to chant Hypnosis. The two Pokémon, one on each side, gave the Sandslash the full VIP treatment.
"SLASH!"
But this Sandslash's willpower was surprisingly strong. Even at this point, it struggled to its feet and, with its eyes closed, swung its claws at Mismagius. Closing its eyes could effectively slow down the effects of Hypnosis, and with two stacks of Swords Dance, a captain-level claw attack was still formidable, even without a special move.
Unfortunately for it, it was facing Arthur.
Red light! Another precise flash of red light. Mismagius was instantly recalled. Sandslash's attack hit nothing but air.
At the same time, Arthur gave his final command. "Little Eevee, Grass Knot!"
While Greninja was undergoing its transformation, Little Eevee had also been released from its ball and had evolved into its Leafeon form. It used Grass Knot, and a thicket of grass ropes shot up from the ground, entangling the Sandslash's limbs and torso, pulling its claws wide apart and exposing its chest and head.
"SLASH!!"
The moment it was ensnared, the Sandslash began to struggle furiously. But then, its instincts screamed at it—an extremely deadly danger was approaching.
In front of it, Arthur was cracking his knuckles, walking step by step toward the bound Sandslash with a steady gait. As a leader, this Sandslash was much larger than its peers, standing nearly five and a half feet tall, about the same height as a human. This made it a very convenient target for Arthur's fists.
"SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!!"
The Sandslash's cries suddenly became sharp and piercing. Its keen battle intuition was telling it that it had to break free from the grass ropes and escape immediately, or it might actually die. It didn't understand why this sense of danger was coming from the human in front of it, but ever since it had gained its intelligence, it had never doubted its instincts. Its premonitions were never wrong. I have to run!
But it was too late.
The next moment, Arthur took a deep breath, stepped forward, and, as he exhaled, twisted his waist and swung his arm. His fist shot out like a battering ram.
THUD!
With a dull thud, the grass ropes on the ground were instantly pulled taut to their limit. Thanks to the ropes, the Sandslash leader didn't fly too far. By the time the ropes snapped back, it was already lying limp on the ground, unable to get up.
In the distance, Amani, who had just pulled some Potions from the back of the car, was completely dumbfounded. "Team Leader Arthur, maybe you should wait for backup to... uh, Team Leader Arthur, is that...?"
She couldn't believe her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. How long had she been gone, just getting something from the trunk? Including their earlier chat, it couldn't have been more than ten seconds. And for the first few seconds of that, Arthur had been talking to her. So, in the last five seconds, maybe even less, the Sandslash leader that had been so powerful just moments before, the one that had held off an entire group of people, was just... down?
Arthur rolled his shoulders, frowning slightly. He hadn't warmed up, and he'd used a bit too much force. His muscles were a little sore. But it was nothing serious. He turned to Amani. "Where are the Potions? Let's give it some."
"...Do you need Potions or an Awakening? Is it asleep? I think I heard you call for Hypnosis."
If it was just asleep, Amani could accept that. After all, even a Pokémon in peak condition could be taken down quickly if it was unexpectedly put to sleep.
But Arthur immediately corrected her. "No, just Potions. The Hypnosis failed. I just knocked it out. It might have a slight concussion, but with a Pokémon's constitution, it should be fine."
Arthur felt he had been very restrained. He hadn't even drawn his sword.
But Amani was still looking at him as if she had seen a ghost. Pokémon physiology was different from humans. They were almost never knocked unconscious by a single critical hit unless their injuries accumulated to a certain point and triggered a self-preservation mechanism. Otherwise, a Pokémon wouldn't easily lose consciousness in a battle.
"Slight concussion" was just an excuse. You basically just scrambled its entire brain!
Amani looked around, hoping to confirm her suspicions by the reactions of others. She saw Ferruccio standing nearby, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit a whole egg. He was so stunned he didn't even react when sand blew into his mouth.
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