"Corviknight, Bulk Up!"
Since the challenger has the first-move advantage, Poppy immediately gave her command.
While flexing its muscles in the sky, Corviknight's offensive and defensive capabilities greatly increased.
"Not a bad idea."
Aiden narrowed his eyes slightly, not rushing to give a command.
Corviknight is a Pokémon with balanced offense and defense, so boosting at the start was the safest choice.
Moreover, due to its Mirror Armor ability that reflects stat-lowering effects from opponents, its boosted stats were hard to negate through conventional means.
"Glimmora, Stealth Rock."
After Aiden gave the command, Glimmora immediately shot out countless shards of rock that floated around the battlefield before quickly vanishing.
"Air Cutter!"
Poppy quickly responded.
As long as Stealth Rocks were present, Corviknight's movements would be significantly restricted; they needed to be removed as soon as possible!
Corviknight flapped its wings, creating powerful gusts that turned into projectiles shooting downwards.
However, its target wasn't Glimmora but rather the Stealth Rocks previously scattered in the air!
The sharp gusts roared past, instantly shattering most of the Stealth Rocks hovering above the field.
You can do that?
Even Aiden was taken aback; he hadn't expected Air Cutter to clear Stealth Rocks so effectively.
But it didn't matter much.
"Glimmora, Power Gem!"
Aiden commanded again.
This time, Glimmora emitted dazzling energy waves resembling gemstones instead of tiny Stealth Rocks.
"Corviknight, use Fly, then—"
"Brave Bird!"
Poppy seized the moment Glimmora attacked and commanded Corviknight to first fly high into the sky to avoid the opponent's attack.
At the same time, while keeping a safe distance, it prepared to unleash Brave Bird, the ultimate move of Flying-type Pokémon!
Corviknight soared into the sky and quickly waited for an opening after the opponent's move ended. It then dived rapidly from high above, aiming straight for Glimmora!
"Spiky Shield."
As soon as Aiden finished speaking, Glimmora immediately contracted its body into a tight ball, assuming a defensive stance. Simultaneously, the poisonous spikes on its shell fully unfolded unnoticed, with faint traces of purple liquid visible on the surface.
Boom—!
The Brave Bird plummeting from the sky smashed into the ground, instantly emitting a loud rumble.
Nemona, acting as the referee, couldn't help but sweat for Glimmora.
Although Flying-type moves might not be very effective against it, it looked really scary...
Come to think of it, this little one named Poppy is terrifyingly strong!
So far, none of the gym challengers she had seen could match her, and even the Grass Gym Leader might be slightly inferior in strength.
Is she really a seven-year-old elementary school student?
While Nemona pondered silently, the duel between offense and defense finally bore fruit.
Due to the impact, even though Glimmora defended itself, it was still pushed back quite a distance, with slight wounds appearing on its body.
Meanwhile, Corviknight also suffered recoil damage from its full-force attack, shedding a few steel feathers.
Simultaneously, a deep purple glow subtly appeared on its chest, quickly causing some poison spots to appear on Corviknight's surface.
Poisoned?
Poppy furrowed her brows.
In theory, Steel-type Pokémon naturally have excellent resistance to toxins and should be impossible to poison.
And Corviknight, covered in steel feathers with no openings…
This was precisely why she temporarily replaced her starter with it.
But now, it clearly showed symptoms of poisoning!
Seeing this, Aiden smiled faintly.
"I warned you before the battle that sometimes type advantages can become traps that paralyze opponents."
"Because you never considered that Corviknight could be poisoned, this Glimmora with the Corrosion ability was able to approach it easily and make it severely poisoned all at once."
Besides the Toxic Debris ability of Geeta's Glimmora, its other ability was somewhat sinister.
Corrosion.
This is a very rare ability found only in Salazzle and Glimmora.
Simply put, because the venom these two Pokémon produce is so potent, even Steel and Poison-type Pokémon cannot completely resist it.
Thus, the scene of Corviknight being poisoned just occurred.
This ability is quite useless in the game, only allowing opponents to be poisoned without ignoring immunities or dealing normal damage.
However, in reality, the corrosive power of venom often equates to its lethality.
Therefore, the venom produced by this Glimmora with the Corrosion ability is far stronger than that of other Poison-type Pokémon!
Originally, he borrowed this Glimmora intending to delve deeper into the "Toxic Stall" tactic discussed last time, showcasing how Poison-type Pokémon can win through defense.
Unexpectedly, the first challenger happened to be this future Steel-type Elite Four member.
Compared to the shock received, the continuous erosion effect of severe poisoning made Corviknight even more unbearable, instantly causing it to cry out in pain.
"Corviknight..."
Poppy suddenly panicked, but the calmer she needed to stay at this moment.
"Hold on a bit longer, use Steel Wing to finish off the opponent in one go!"
Corviknight demonstrated remarkable tenacity, flying back into the sky despite being severely poisoned, continuously closing in on Glimmora.
At the same time, its steel wings, enhanced by Steel-type moves, emitted crisp sounds, ready to strike.
"Glimmora, Acid Armor."
Aiden smiled faintly, showing no fear towards the incoming Corviknight.
Isn't this exactly what we specialize in?
Some Poison-type Pokémon have a unique skill where they alter their cellular structure to partially liquefy their bodies.
Through this process, they offset the impact of physical attacks, significantly increasing their defense.
The effect is similar to Iron Defense.
Before Corviknight's Steel Wing struck, Glimmora completed Acid Armor first, drastically reducing the effectiveness of the opponent's attack.
"Flash Cannon!"
Seeing her attack ineffective, Poppy decisively issued another command.
Time was running out for her and Corviknight.
"Glimmora, continue using Spiky Shield."
Aiden's lips curled into a smile.
This is the most orthodox and traditional way for Poison-type Pokémon to fight.
Stall, just stall hard!
In the following exchanges, Poppy became noticeably more anxious.
But the more she rushed, the more powerless she felt against Glimmora' impenetrable defense.
Even when Poppy tried to adjust her rhythm in the middle and used Roost to forcibly sustain herself, she still couldn't penetrate the opponent's armor.
Finally, watching the last Flash Cannon break through and successfully deal heavy damage to the opponent.
But before Poppy could smile, she heard Corviknight let out a scream, then heavily collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again.
This small gap in stamina, at this moment, seemed like an insurmountable chasm.
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