Pokemon: Gym Leader

"Pecharunt! Prepare for battle!"

Dylan threw out Pecharunt's Luxury Ball, and with a flash of white light, a Pokémon resembling a mochi appeared, floating in front of him.

"Pechapecha!"

A low, raspy cry echoed as the mochi-like shell split open, revealing the Pokémon's true form within.

"...This Pokémon's appearance is definitely a bit... peculiar," Iono remarked, trying to choose her words carefully, as it was someone else's Pokémon.

"While it doesn't align with mainstream aesthetics, Pecharunt is very strong," Lillie said with a blink of her big eyes, defending Dylan's choice.

"But isn't big brother being a bit too harsh? Nemona hasn't even pulled a golden one yet..."

Lillie couldn't help but stick out her tongue adorably. After Okidogi, now it was Pecharunt, making it hard not to wonder if Munkidori and Fezandipiti would follow.

"Actually, it's not too bad. I don't think Okidogi and the others are stronger than his Drapion team, especially since they were only captured yesterday," Ilene shook her head, doubting that Okidogi's group had better combat power than Dylan's well-trained Drapion team.

"Wait, what?!"

Iono froze for a moment after hearing this.

"They were just caught yesterday?"

The Okidogi from earlier was captured yesterday?

Iono was stunned. While Okidogi had ultimately been defeated, its performance had been exceptional!

Not only did it have the Toxic Chain ability, but its sheer strength was impressive—enough to outmatch Nemona's veteran Revavroom in direct combat.

If not for Revavroom's Explosion forcing a double knockout, Okidogi would have been hard to stop.

But to think it was only caught yesterday?

On the field.

"Another Pokémon I've never seen before."

Nemona observed this unfamiliar Pokémon with great interest.

"Pecharunt is a Poison/Ghost-type. You'll need to be careful, Miss Nemona. My Pecharunt is quite strong," Dylan said with a smile.

"Pechapecha"

Pecharunt let out a delighted hum, clearly enjoying the compliment.

"Tauros!"

After some thought, Nemona decided to send out her fourth Pokémon.

With a low roar, a robust black bull landed heavily in front of her.

The Pokémon resembled a bull, with thick black fur around its neck decorated with blue teardrop-shaped markings. It had three black tails and broad horns extending from its head, which had three blue spots on its forehead.

This was the Paldean Tauros (Aqua Breed).

'Beep—Tauros (Paldean Form, Aqua Breed), Fighting/Water-type, the Wild Bull Pokémon.

Ability: Intimidate.

Moves: Close Combat, Wave Crash, Raging Bull, Zen Headbutt, Aqua Jet, Thrash, Earthquake...

Description: This variant of Tauros swims by spraying water from its horns. Its high fat content helps it stay afloat. (Paldean Form, Aqua Breed)'

Another regional form of Tauros.

Ilene watched curiously. This Aqua Breed Tauros was visibly more imposing and intense compared to the Kantonian form.

"An Aqua Breed Tauros, huh," Dylan observed the black, water-type Tauros carefully.

Strictly speaking, Nemona had chosen a Pokémon with a type disadvantage for this battle.

After all, Pecharunt's Ghost typing rendered Fighting moves ineffective.

"Testing the waters, perhaps? Interesting," Dylan smiled faintly.

Flygon had fallen earlier because Nemona wasn't familiar with Okidogi's ability, so it made sense for her to use Aqua Breed Tauros now to probe Pecharunt's abilities.

Although Fighting moves wouldn't work, Tauros's Water typing still gave it options.

Aqua Breed Tauros let out a low growl, its Intimidate ability lowering Pecharunt's Attack by one stage.

"Tauros, Aqua Jet!"

Nemona initiated the attack without hesitation.

"Mean Look," Dylan responded calmly.

Water energy surrounded Tauros as it sprinted toward Pecharunt at high speed.

Aqua Jet – a priority Water-type move!

The speed boost from the move allowed Tauros to close the distance quickly.

Pecharunt's eyes glowed with dark energy as it locked its eerie gaze on the charging Tauros. A layer of black light spread across Tauros's shadow, anchoring it to the field.

With Mean Look, Tauros could no longer be recalled under normal circumstances.

But Aqua Jet had already connected. Tauros leapt into the air and slammed into Pecharunt.

Bang!

Pecharunt grunted as it was knocked back slightly, but that was the extent of the damage.

"High defense," Nemona noted. She realized that Pecharunt was built for endurance. And since it used Mean Look, it seemed Dylan wanted a decisive outcome.

Nemona grinned. In that case—bring it on!

"Raging Bull!" Nemona shouted, full of spirit.

Tauros roared, surrounded by a watery aura. Energy gathered around its horns, forming massive projections.

Raging Bull—a signature move of the Tauros line. The move's typing matched the Tauros's form, meaning this Aqua Breed's Raging Bull was Water-type.

The frenzied bull charged straight at Pecharunt.

"Withdraw."

Dylan's eyes narrowed slightly. Counter it? No need. Pecharunt's strength wasn't in attacking; its greatest asset was its incredible physical defense.

Pecharunt instantly withdrew into its mochi-like shell, its body glowing with a faint blue light—Withdraw, a Water-type move.

Boom!

The raging Tauros crashed into Pecharunt, relentlessly slamming it into the ground.

Crash!

The sheer impact of Aqua Breed Tauros's charge caused the ground to quake, a testament to its raw power.

As the dust settled, Tauros leapt back, trying to maintain its distance.

"Toxic Chain."

Suddenly, two deep purple chains shot out, whipping through the air and coiling tightly around Tauros's neck.

The chains wrapped several times, binding Tauros.

Aqua Breed Tauros roared in frustration, thrashing its neck to break free.

"Pechapecha"

Pecharunt's raspy voice echoed as it floated back up, its mochi shell opening slightly. The toxic chains had emerged from within its shell.

"Tauros, Wave Crash!" Nemona's eyes narrowed. This move was unfamiliar, but it looked ominous.

Water energy surged around Aqua Breed Tauros as waves began to ripple and condense.

Wave Crash – a powerful Water-type move!

"Pecharunt."

Pecharunt's eyes gleamed with purple light as the toxic chains glowed malevolently.

Boom!

The toxic chains suddenly detonated, causing Tauros to cry out in pain. But the explosion didn't interrupt Tauros's Wave Crash.

"It didn't get poisoned? How lucky," Dylan raised an eyebrow. Pecharunt's signature move, Toxic Chain, had a 50% chance of inflicting Toxic on its target—a fairly high probability.

But probability was probability. Sometimes luck just didn't cooperate.

"Let's try again. Toxic Chain."

"Pecha~pecha!"

Pecharunt retreated slightly, purple light emanating from its shell as two thick toxic chains shot out once more.

However, Tauros had already gained momentum. Its Wave Crash tore through the incoming chains, slamming into Pecharunt with a splash of water.

Pecharunt was knocked back again.

However, this was only enough to push Pecharunt back. Its physical defense was extremely high, and Wave Crash wasn't super effective against it. Furthermore, Pecharunt had already bolstered its defenses earlier with Defense Curl.

Although Pecharunt was knocked back, the snake-like Toxic Chains quickly wrapped around Aqua Breed Tauros with alarming speed.

Boom!

The Toxic Chains exploded once more on Tauros's body, causing it to let out a low roar of pain, enduring the sudden impact.

"Earthquake!"

Nemona seized the opportunity and issued a command to Aqua Breed Tauros. Pecharunt had been knocked to the ground by the previous collision.

A Ground-type Earthquake would be super effective against Pecharunt, and as long as it hit, it could deal significant damage.

Tauros began to raise its front legs, preparing to stomp down, but at that moment, a deep purple toxic glow erupted across its body. Dark purple blotches spread across its skin.

The violent and ominous glow of toxicity corroded Aqua Breed Tauros, causing it to whimper in pain. The unexpected agony interrupted its Earthquake motion.

"Poison again?" Nemona was shocked.

"Wait! No, something's wrong."

Nemona quickly noticed more issues. Aqua Breed Tauros's front legs lowered back to the ground, and its body began to sway unsteadily, its steps faltering.

This wasn't just a sign of poisoning—it was confusion. Tauros had not only been badly poisoned but was now confused as well!

"What's going on? Is it because of those Toxic Chains?" Nemona frowned deeply.

Getting poisoned was one thing, as many Poison-type moves had a chance of inflicting the status. But confusion? That was something else entirely.

"It's because of Pecharunt's ability, Toxic Puppeteer."

Noticing Nemona's confusion, Dylan smiled and explained.

There was no reason to hide it. With Nemona's sharp battle instincts, she would have guessed soon enough that it was either due to the Toxic Chains move or Pecharunt's ability.

Pecharunt, surrounded by a faint purple glow, floated back into the air, its eerie gaze fixed on the confused Aqua Breed Tauros.

"Pokémon that are poisoned by Pecharunt's moves also become confused."

Dylan summarized the explanation succinctly. Yes, this was Pecharunt's ability, Toxic Puppeteer. Pokémon poisoned by Pecharunt's moves would also fall into a confused state.

At this moment, Aqua Breed Tauros was completely disoriented, repeatedly smashing its head against the ground, looking like it was in the throes of a seizure.

"This..."

Nemona was stunned. How was she supposed to fight like this?

"This is bad! Tauros has been trapped by Mean Look and can't be recalled," Iono said worriedly, watching from the sidelines.

Confusion could typically be cured simply by recalling a Pokémon to its Poké Ball.

But with Tauros trapped by Mean Look, recall was impossible.

While in a state of confusion, Tauros would also struggle to hear Nemona's commands. This situation was quickly spiraling into a disaster.

On top of that, Tauros wasn't just confused—it was badly poisoned as well!

"There's no way out of this..." Iono clicked her tongue. Having both poison and confusion statuses at the same time—how could Tauros possibly fight like this?

"Nemona can only hope Tauros snaps out of confusion quickly. After all, Pecharunt's health has been chipped away a bit," Lillie said tactfully.

While confusion was an annoying status, its duration was random. Some Pokémon could snap out of it after a few self-inflicted attacks, while others might knock themselves out before recovering. It was entirely unpredictable.

"But the odds of that happening are so low," Iono said, tilting her head. She didn't think confusion was so easy to shake off.

"For now, that's the only hope. Dylan really lives up to his reputation as a master of Poison-types," Iono remarked, her large eyes sparkling. She was secretly rooting for Nemona to hold on somehow—she was cheering for her after all!

"If Tauros can recover quickly and deal more damage to Pecharunt, it might still work out."

Expecting Aqua Breed Tauros to defeat Pecharunt outright was unrealistic, but even dealing more damage could help Nemona prepare for her next Pokémon.

However...

"Pecharunt, Recover."

Dylan showed no intention of attacking.

Pecharunt's body was suddenly enveloped in a gentle white light, healing its injuries rapidly.

The Normal-type move Recover restored a large amount of health.

Nemona: "..."

Ilene: "..."

Lillie: (—)

Iono blinked and glanced at the still-flailing, seizure-like Aqua Breed Tauros. Well, now it couldn't even reduce Pecharunt's health anymore.

This was overkill. The amount of health restored by Recover was probably more than the damage Pecharunt had taken. Truly overkill.

"Mr. Dylan... he really is cautious..."

(End of Chapter)

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