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Aerodactyl struck like a guided missile, sending Alakazam flying through the air. Alakazam tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop, barely managing to remain conscious.
The combination of Flying-type STAB damage, Brave Bird's tremendous power, and the type advantage against Alakazam allowed Aerodactyl's assault to deal devastating Alakazam. Alakazam was left severely wounded and teetering on the edge of fainting, clinging to consciousness by the thinnest of threads.
However, at that same moment, Alakazam's Pain Split technique successfully connected with Aerodactyl. Eerie Ghost-type energy activated around both Pokemon, equalizing their HP levels by draining health from Aerodactyl to heal Alakazam's injuries. The previously near-defeated Alakazam began to recover slowly as its life force was restored.
Aerodactyl's expression twisted in pain as it felt its HP being constantly drained away. Despite its efforts, there was nothing the ancient Pokemon could do to prevent the energy transfer.
"Roar!"
The injured Aerodactyl's savage nature was further inflamed by the pain, making it even more ferocious. It glared at Alakazam with the intensity of a predator that had found its prey.
"Roar!"
Aerodactyl suddenly released a thunderous roar that echoed throughout the entire cavern. It then beat its wings powerfully and soared toward the cave ceiling, circled once in the air, and immediately dove back down toward Alakazam with renewed aggression.
At the same time, Flying-type energy began gathering around Aerodactyl's body once again. The energy enveloped its entire form almost instantaneously, creating dense concentrations that resembled light blue flames emitting a brilliant, dazzling glow.
Clearly, after tasting success with its previous attack, Aerodactyl intended to use the same strategy again by unleashing another devastating Brave Bird.
"Alakazam, use Protect!"
After the brief respite, Alakazam was able to successfully execute Protect this time, raising a shimmering barrier of light in front of its body.
"Boom!"
Aerodactyl streaked through the darkness like a bolt of lightning, crashing directly into the protective barrier that Alakazam had raised.
The tremendous force caused the light shield to shake violently, making Jacob wonder whether the Protect barrier would be strong enough to withstand Brave Bird's incredible power.
Fortunately, Jacob's concerns proved to be unfounded. Although the light shield created by Protect trembled intensely under the assault, it remained intact and successfully deflected Aerodactyl's Brave Bird.
It had to be acknowledged that Protect was truly an incredible defensive technique. It could block virtually any attack, and unless the opponent's strength far exceeded the user's capabilities, all attacks were rendered equal before its protection.
"Alakazam, this is your opportunity! Counter with Ice Punch immediately!"
After successfully blocking with Protect, it was the perfect moment for Alakazam to launch a counterattack.
Upon hearing Jacob's command, Alakazam didn't hesitate for even a second. A section of ice blade formed from concentrated Ice-type energy materialized, stretching outward from its arms.
Pushing off forcefully with its legs, Alakazam practically launched itself forward, swinging its hands slashed toward Aerodactyl.
Simultaneously, Ice-type energy surged outward, spreading across a large area in front of Alakazam as it aimed directly for Aerodactyl's vulnerable throat.
After suffering through a series of setbacks, Alakazam was no longer holding anything back. It was going all out, targeting Aerodactyl's most critical weak point.
"Roar!"
Aerodactyl's reaction time was remarkably quick as well. It immediately opened its massive jaws, with fire energy building up inside its mouth. In the blink of an eye, Fire-type energy enveloped Aerodactyl's razor-sharp fangs as it bit down fiercely onto the incoming ice blade.
"Fire Fang!"
The collision between Fire Fang and the ice blade resulted in an evenly matched struggle. Sparks flew in all directions, and for several tense moments, neither Pokemon could gain a decisive advantage over the other.
Just then, Aerodactyl suddenly began beating its wings frantically. It was attempting to lift Alakazam directly into the air along with itself.
Sensing Aerodactyl's movement, Alakazam reacted with lightning-fast reflexes. It swung the ice punch on its other arm with tremendous force, slicing directly into Aerodactyl's wing membrane.
A massive wound tore open instantly, and blood began spurting out. However, the blood froze immediately upon contact with the air due to the Ice-type energy. The freezing energy spread rapidly, coating most of Aerodactyl's body in a layer of frost.
"Roar!" The wounded Aerodactyl released a hoarse, agonizing roar of pain. Its eyes blazed with fierce intensity, and its nostrils flared as it breathed heavily while launching a wild counterattack.
Aerodactyl suddenly extended its powerful claws, kicking Alakazam away with one swift motion, then immediately took flight toward the cave ceiling.
Due to its injured wing, Aerodactyl's flying speed was noticeably reduced. Even so, it showed absolutely no intention of retreating from the battle. Instead, after circling in the air above, a surging wave of Flying-type energy once again enveloped its entire body, causing it to glow with brilliant light.
A brutal Pokemon like Aerodactyl would never flee from combat. It would rather fight its enemies until the very last moment, regardless of the consequences.
"Brave Bird!"
"Roar!"
Aerodactyl dove rapidly from high above, crashing toward Alakazam like a falling meteor. The intense light from its attack illuminated the entire cavern.
Jacob's brow furrowed with concern. Without Protect available, Alakazam was truly defenseless against Aerodactyl's Brave Bird.
As he watched Aerodactyl descending toward them, Jacob suddenly recalled a famous battle tactic from his previous experiences: the Flying Sweep strategy.
The Flying Sweep tactic involved relying on a team of Flying-type Pokemon to bombard enemy defenses in succession, forcibly breaking through their defensive lines through sheer overwhelming force.
This strategy was purely based on aggressive offense, and it had risen to prominence because many trainers, in their efforts to ensure comprehensive team coverage, would build perfectly balanced defensive strategies.
While perfect defense meant strong overall defensive capabilities for a team, it also meant that they wouldn't focus heavily on guarding against attacks of any single type.
This created opportunities for certain aggressive specialists. As long as they could break through the enemy's Pokemon that defended against Flying-type attacks, they could potentially tear through the entire opposing team.
Of course, besides Flying Sweep, there were similar strategies like Ice Sweep and others. So why had Flying Sweep become so well-known?
The main reason was that Flying-type had access to Brave Bird, an extremely high-power move. At the same time, Flying-type attacks were only resisted by Rock, Steel, and Electric types, with no type immunities to worry about.
Jacob was now experiencing firsthand what it felt like to face the Flying Sweep strategy: he knew his opponent's tactic was to continuously use Brave Bird, but he simply couldn't find a way to stop it.
However, fortunately, Alakazam had access to another unconventional technique—Destiny Bond. This move was the ultimate equalizer.
"Use Destiny Bond, Alakazam!" Destiny Bond was simply the perfect last resort technique.
No matter what complex strategies the opponent employed, Jacob could force a mutual knockout, similar to how Self-Destruct tactics worked.
Brave Bird crashed into Alakazam with devastating force, but Alakazam's Destiny Bond had already connected with Aerodactyl first, linking their life forces together through supernatural energy.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous crash, Alakazam was sent flying through the air, slamming into the cavern wall before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.
At the same time, Aerodactyl felt its HP being drained away by Destiny Bond. It struggled desperately to resist the effect, but found itself completely powerless against the supernatural link. Ultimately, it too collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Jacob immediately threw a Poké Ball without hesitation, successfully capturing the defeated Aerodactyl. At the same time, he recalled Alakazam to its Poké Ball for rest and recovery.
"Let's go. We need to leave this place immediately," Jacob said as he gathered the Poké Balls and prepared to exit the dangerous Underground World. With Alakazam no longer able to battle, they had lost their qualification to continue exploring these treacherous depths.
Unless Jacob was willing to reveal his secret weapon—Iron Valiant.
However, just at that moment, a pair of crimson eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness, staring directly at the two humans. A tremendous sense of oppressive force swept over them, instantly engulfing both Jacob and Amelia, as well as their Pokemon.
The immense Psychic power felt as though it wanted to crush them both under its overwhelming pressure.
"Metagross!"