Sneasel had already fallen into a massive crisis in the very first exchange!
Its vaunted Speed had been cut down; even if it used Quick Attack again, it wouldn't be as fast as at the start.
[What just happened? That was so fast!]
[Basically forced through a Quick Attack and countered with Mud Shot.]
[That Mud Shot came out insanely fast. Ridiculous.]
[Looks normal to me.]
"How did this Poliwhirl get trained? I couldn't even see the wind-up for Mud Shot…"
That move made Silver's scalp tingle. Their strengths were supposed to be comparable—so why was every one of Grey's Pokémon so busted?
"Poliwhirl's had some coaching—picked up a bit of insight into Mud Shot."
Grey only said that much.
As for how Poliwhirl had fired it off like that—that was all thanks to Blue. In the training notes Blue sent over, there were pages on Poliwrath; Grey figured waste not, want not, taught Poliwhirl a few tricks from it, and—turns out—its combat power really did climb.
"So we don't have the Speed edge anymore…"
Silver focused on Sneasel.
Given its current state, its Speed was about even with Poliwhirl's.
Call it an 'edge,' but in practice it wasn't much.
Time to shift the plan to power trades up close.
"Huff…"
Silver took a slow breath while Sneasel shook itself, trying to fling the muck off.
No luck—no matter how hard it shook, some dirt clung on and wouldn't come off.
"Sneasel, Fury Swipes!"
If Sneasel couldn't win on Speed, there was still close quarters.
"Snea!"
At Silver's shout, Sneasel's twin claws crossed; white light flared.
The caked mud was blasted away by razor-keen aura, and ten silver claw-slashes unfurled in the air like a reaper's web.
Sneasel kicked hard off the floor, turning into a black-and-white blur.
Blades raked for Poliwhirl's vitals from different angles—
The chest and eyes were Sneasel's focus; every swipe came with a shrill rip of air!
"Bubble Beam."
Grey had a plan for a charging Sneasel.
A single-target bruiser like this? If you want to slow its roll, you blanket it with wide-spread harassment.
Right now, Poliwhirl's Bubble Beam was the right call.
"Poli!"
Poliwhirl's round belly cinched; the spiral on its stomach glowed water-blue.
With a wet "glub," countless crystalline bubbles jetted out of its abdomen.
They weren't normal bubbles; each one wrapped a spinning stream, fanning out to clash head-on with the oncoming claw-slashes!
Crackle—!
The first bubbles burst under the blades, but the high-pressure streams they popped into bled off most of Fury Swipes' force.
The bubbles behind seemed to lock on, herding along Sneasel's path like homing mines!
"Snea?!"
Seeing the Bubble Beam swarm, Sneasel's pupils constricted. It carved flashing arcs in front of itself to split them, but was still driven back step by step.
Watching the wave roll in, Silver thought of something.
"Icy Wind!"
"Snea!"
Sneasel crossed its claws at its chest and blew a pale breath through gritted teeth.
The killing cold swept out—those tracking bubbles froze into glassy beads in an instant, as if someone had hit pause midair.
"Sneasel, use the bubbles to get back in!"
Silver was good at using the field. Seeing the bubbles suspended instead of splattering, he went ahead and borrowed them.
"Snea!"
Sneasel grinned and sprang.
It danced through the frozen bubble field, landing precisely on each icy sphere.
Crack!
Crack!
The shards chimed in a bright chain.
Every footfall launched it forward; popped ice-bubbles bloomed into glittering mist behind it.
In a blink, the blurred streak punched through the bubble screen—claws spearing for Poliwhirl's belly!
Just as Sneasel was about to land the hit, Grey answered: "Brick Break!"
"Poli!"
Poliwhirl's arm muscles hooked tight; the white, glove-like edges of its palms flared a brown Fighting glow.
At the instant Sneasel's claws were about to rake its throat, Poliwhirl spun and chopped down, all force and clean lines!
The air whistled—compressed into visible ripples.
The Brick Break slammed square into Sneasel's chest; the Fighting shockwave shattered every suspended ice-bubble at once, scattering them as sparkling sleet!
"Sne…!"
Sneasel's fur stood on end.
The pain made every muscle seize.
The Fighting energy raged through it like a branding iron.
Four-times super-effective—it tore at every nerve.
If it could do it over, Sneasel would not have tried to trade into Brick Break!
"Sneasel…"
It staggered back several paces; its sharp claws scraped ragged lines across the floor.
A glisten of drool slipped from the corner of its mouth; its fierce aura collapsed by half in an instant.
That Brick Break left it a breath from fainting!
"Pretty sturdy—nicely raised."
Seeing Brick Break fail to outright drop it—leaving only a heavy wound—Grey's brows lifted.
Four-times weakness is hard for most Pokémon to stomach.
Especially a glass-cannon speedster like Sneasel. Surviving it meant Silver had raised it well.
Definite bonus points.
"Snea…" (How the hell is this stupid frog so strong… damn it…)
Sneasel forced itself upright, cursing under its breath even as it glared at the Poliwhirl stepping closer.
"Poli." (You've lost.)
Poliwhirl reached out a hand to help it up.
"Snea!" (I haven't lost!)
Sneasel's claw shot forward—only to be caught one-handed by Poliwhirl.
"Poli." (I said—you've lost.)
Poliwhirl's "gloved" palm clenched; with one press it pinned Sneasel to the floor, leaving it unable to move.
"It's over."
Grey looked to Silver and waved.
"Mm. Thanks."
After those few exchanges, Silver knew exactly where he stood against Grey. He didn't throw good pride after bad—he recalled Sneasel at once.
"Silver, welcome to the Fighting Dojo."
Grey stepped forward and offered his hand.
Silver took it. "Yeah. I've got a lot to learn. Please teach me."
[???]
ID: Giovanni of the Earth
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