As Piloswine's body shook violently, the surrounding temperature began to drop sharply. Tetsuya had already made preparations and retreated far away.
Soon, dark clouds covered the sky, and hail and snowflakes arrived as expected.
The hail struck Houndoom with crackling sounds, and Houndoom naturally revealed a trace of difficulty…
Cold could not defeat a blazing heart!
Houndoom forcibly rallied its spirit and was about to use Flamethrower, but Piloswine was nowhere to be seen.
Snow Cloak… activated!
However, Tetsuya was very clear that such an Ability would not work against a nose like a dog's.
"Piloswine, use Icicle Crash!"
Houndoom was just about to "move" its nose to track Piloswine's position when it heard a whistling sound in the air.
Looking up, it saw seven or eight icicles forming a circle and crashing down toward it!
Houndoom was startled and quickly dashed out. Just as it stopped, the icicles crashed down behind it.
A narrow escape, even Houndoom felt lingering fear. Fortunately, its audition was sharp, otherwise, with such thick icicles crashing onto its body, how could it possibly continue fighting?
"Earthquake!"
Taking advantage of the moment when Houndoom had not yet located Piloswine's position, it was necessary to immediately launch the most advantageous attack.
As the ground trembled, the damage from Earthquake began to assault Houndoom's body!
Houndoom had weak resistance to Ground-type moves. In an instant, it showed signs of dizziness and had no choice but to leap up to avoid the shaking ground.
"Icicle Spear."
Houndoom in midair was full of openings, and Piloswine was also very skilled in using Icicle Spear. This attack would definitely hit Houndoom!
Three consecutive Icicle Spear shots were like bullets fired from a barrel, fast and fierce. Such impact-based moves were difficult to resist in a short time. This was also one of Tetsuya's commonly used tactics.
If Piloswine had used Freeze-Dry at this moment, even in such a state, Houndoom could still use Flamethrower to resist. But Icicle Spear, Flamethrower would still be pierced through by it.
Just as Icicle Spear was about to completely hit Houndoom, Houndoom casually fired a Flamethrower, striking the rocks on the ground. Its body rose slightly with the impact, and it was precisely this slight elevation that allowed Houndoom to avoid the damage.
After successfully landing, Houndoom had inadvertently figured out a method of dodging moves.
Fire Blas!
An alpha~ would not have its combat power affected by the slightest setback. The moment Houndoom landed, it used Odor Sleuth and quickly locked onto Piloswine's position. A Fire Blast was pushed out through the Hail, aimed directly at Piloswine's location.
"Piloswine, use Icicle Crash to block!"
Although he could not see Piloswine, from Houndoom's reaction, Tetsuya could clearly understand Piloswine's current situation. Fire Blast had a wide range and great power, but its accuracy varied depending on the user.
If it were some small Pokémon, they could completely pass underneath the large character shape -大- of Fire Blast, making the move useless. But for larger Pokémon, it was difficult to dodge, so they could only endure it head-on.
As Fire Blast approached, Piloswine appeared within sight, but soon a row of icicles stood in front of it.
A large character -大- appeared on the icicle wall, followed by a cry from Piloswine.
'Such power…' Tetsuya had still underestimated the explosive power of Fire Blast at the moment of impact. The icicle wall failed to block Fire Blast's attack and even injured Piloswine.
Houndoom's eyes glowed red, appearing especially eerie within the Hail…
Nasty Plot!
It could stimulate a Pokémon's nervous system¹[1], greatly increasing its ability to perceive energy, and correspondingly increasing its Special Attack.
The terrifying aspect of Houndoom as a Pokémon lay in the fact that both its Attack and Special Attack were not weak, its Speed was also good, and it also had the move Howl to increase Attack and the move Nasty Plot to increase Special Attack. It was truly a very powerful Pokémon.
At the very least, it could now be confirmed that this Houndoom's constitution was capable of withstanding the boosts from using Howl once and Nasty Plot once. Although it was only once, without long-term training, it would be impossible to reach the level where it dared to use boosting moves like this.
Immediately after, Houndoom used Flamethrower once again.
"Earthquake!"
Now Tetsuya wanted to verify something, so he had not yet let Piloswine use its "final move".
Although Houndoom currently appeared to have the advantage, its energy had already been greatly depleted, and having just used a mentally exhausting move like Nasty Plot, it would be difficult for it to last much longer.
Piloswine used Earthquake, and Houndoom used Flamethrower. These two moves did not exist in the same space, and were destined to result in both sides being injured.
Houndoom's Flamethrower struck Piloswine from the front, while Piloswine's Earthquake made Houndoom dizzy and its blood surge.
Having suffered two hits from Fire-type moves, Piloswine had already taken considerable damage. Many parts of its body were covered in wounds and burns.
Tetsuya carefully looked at Piloswine, its red nose had turned purple, and its body was in abnormal discomfort.
Poisoning!
His guess was indeed correct.
"Piloswine, use Rest!"
His assumption had now been verified, and this battle should come to an end. Houndoom had suffered two hits from Earthquake, and with the lingering damage from its earlier battle with Beedrill, its energy had already reached its limit.
At this moment, the situation of the battle was completely under Tetsuya's control.
Piloswine's limbs went soft, and it lay on the ground, falling into a deep sleep.
Seeing that Piloswine had fallen asleep, Houndoom -like Beedrill before- saw an "opportunity" and could not let it pass. It forced itself to run forward, opening its bloody maw, intending to bite a piece of meat from Piloswine.
However, as it ran, it only felt the hail striking its face painfully, forcing its speed to slow down. It suddenly sensed something was wrong…
How could a sleeping Piloswine still maintain such a fierce Hail!
"Sleep… Talk!"
Tetsuya shouted. For the past few days, Piloswine had only been training one move. Now the move that Sleep Talk could use would definitely be one it frequently used or had recently used, so Tetsuya could almost be certain what move Piloswine would utilize…
Blizzard surged out!
Hail and Blizzard mixed with the force of Icy Wind and the chill of Freeze-Dry, crashing head-on into Houndoom. Houndoom used Flamethrower to resist, but such resistance appeared utterly weak.
The flames dissipated within the Blizzard, and Houndoom was swept up, with various forms of damage assaulting its body.
Immediately after… [Blizzard Cyclone]!
The collisions and impacts between the tornadoes had already caused Houndoom unbearable pain. Within such a terrifying move, it could not even let out a howl, its mouth tightly controlled by the force of the wind.
Finally, [Blizzard Vortex]!
Houndoom had already lost consciousness, spinning within the vortex like a dead body…
•.
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¹. Pokedex: The user stimulates its brain by thinking bad thoughts. This sharply boosts the user's Sp. Atk stat.
[1] Pokedex: The user stimulates its brain by thinking bad thoughts. This sharply boosts the user's Sp. Atk stat.