Under Tetsuya's command, Spinarak used String Shot, then immediately began swinging the threads around. Before long, it had woven an "impenetrable" barrier in front of itself. Poison Sting came flying toward it, but every needle was knocked to the ground by the whipping threads, causing no damage to Spinarak at all.
Next, Ariados used Venom Drench, spraying poison over Spinarak. However, Spinarak made no attempt to dodge, letting the poison to fall all over its body. It even licked up every drop of poison it could reach.
Spinarak's toxicity was far beyond anything this poison could invade. It was no different from giving Spinarak a bath.
"Use String Shot to seal off Ariados' movements," Tetsuya commanded. This was their only opening.
Spinarak fired String Shot, wrapping it around one of Ariados' legs. Ariados immediately became flustered. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Spinarak began circling around Ariados. Before long, Ariados had been wrapped into a giant cocoon, its movements completely sealed.
Ariados was unwilling to accept this. It had actually been defeated by its own unevolved form… and one that had only just been born!
"End it while it's still unwilling to accept its defeat," Tetsuya said calmly, because Spinarak had already lowered its head and charged forward with Megahorn. Using the silk thread for momentum, it rapidly closed in on Ariados.
In the end, Spinarak's Megahorn still pierced all the way into Ariados' abdomen. What followed was a scene that left onlookers in disbelief…
Spinarak burrowed directly into Ariados' body, devouring everything inside. By the time Spinarak crawled back out, Ariados had been reduced to nothing more than an empty shell.
This time, Spinarak lay contentedly on the ground, while Tetsuya had no choice but to dispose of Ariados' corpse.
Well, this certainly complicated matters. This Spinarak would only eat live prey, making its diet far more difficult to manage. Fortunately, the remaining six Ariados would be enough to sustain it until he reached the Kanto region. Even so, that meant Spinarak could only have one proper meal each day, while its other two meals would have to make do with poison sacs.
---◓---
The following day, Tetsuya and Morty each brought out their Pokémon for morning warm-up training. In the afternoon, the Pokémon battle they had agreed upon officially began.
"I'll be the referee. How do you two want to do this?" Ryuto asked.
"Let's use Ecruteak Gym's rules," Tetsuya said.
"All right! Then it'll be a Triple Battle. Bring out your best Pokémon. My first Pokémon is Mismagius."
After speaking, Morty sent out his first Pokémon, Mismagius…
Mismagius excelled at using illusions, making it the perfect test for Weezing, even though Weezing was not the most suitable Pokémon for the matchup.
"I'll make the first move. Mismagius, use Shadow Ball!"
As soon as Morty gave the command, Mismagius chanted its spell -move-, launching five Shadow Balls from around its body.
Against such an ordinary opening move, Weezing no longer required detailed commands. It spun with Gyro Ball and launched Sludge Bomb.
The Shadow Balls were knocked away one after another by the Sludge Bombs, exploding in midair. However, Weezing's momentum remained undiminished as it closed in on Mismagius.
"Mystical Fire, Double Team!"
Having been completely suppressed by Tetsuya after only a single exchange, Morty shouted his command. Flames immediately surrounded Mismagius, flickering as they gradually rendered its body ethereal.
In an instant, the field appeared to be engulfed in a sea of fire. Hundreds of Mismagius appeared, chanting within the flames!
Tetsuya stared intently at Mismagius.
This was no longer Double Team. Morty's move command had merely been a smokescreen. If it had really been Double Team, there was no way Pokémon moving at such speed could produce hundreds of copies. Even Legendary Pokémon could not achieve such an effect. This was clearly a Mismagius' illusion.
Sure enough, Weezing's Gyro Ball and Sludge Bomb spun through the swarm of Mismagius.
Every attack passed directly through Mismagius' body. If these had been Double Team copies, the clones would have disappeared as the attacks passed through them. Instead, when Weezing's attacks passed through, the illusions remained completely unaffected, continuing to drift where they were.
Weezing was forced to stop. The moment it looked at the illusory Mismagius floating through the air, it was drawn into the illusion trap that Mismagius had created.
At that moment, Weezing's painful past replayed itself in its mind once again. Although it no longer feared those memories as it once had, it was still affected by Mismagius' illusion and wandered within the illusionary world.
"Come out, Weezing! A trivial illusion like this can't stop you!"
Tetsuya said. His voice already carried psychic power, weakening the influence surrounding Weezing.
The instant it heard Tetsuya's voice, Weezing suddenly came to its senses. After breaking free from the illusion, all it could see was a single Mismagius surrounded by Mystical Fire.
Morty had no choice but to accept that the illusion had been broken. Now he could only rely on Mismagius' own capacities. Every Mystical Fire was launched at once.
These flames had special properties that ordinary fire did not, making them much more likely to leave the opponent with a burn.
"Fire Blast, Flamethrower."
As soon as Tetsuya gave the command, Weezing launched Fire Blast, immediately followed by Flamethrower, whose flames further increased its power.
Boooom!
A big explosion erupted as flames scattered in every direction. Had Mismagius' Mystical Fire not already been charging from the moment it began using its illusion, releasing such power, it would never have been able to contend with Weezing's attack.
Morty was secretly shocked. He had spent so long charging Mystical Fire, intending to catch Tetsuya off guard, yet he still found himself at a slight disadvantage.
"Now, attack."
With just those two simple words from Tetsuya, Weezing released Poison Gas, immediately followed by Icy Wind, which wrapped around the Poison Gas and drove it toward Mismagius.
There was no way Morty would allow the Poison Gas to reach Mismagius. He had no choice but to do everything he could to resist it. However, after spending so much time charging Mystical Fire, Mismagius no longer had enough energy left to contend with Weezing.
In the end, Weezing's Icy Wind gradually suppressed Mismagius until all of the Poison Gas completely shrouded it.
However, fighting alone meant Weezing had no choice but to turn its heads to use its Fire-type moves.
The instant Weezing turned its heads was the opponent's opportunity. Mismagius should have been able to break free from the Poison Gas completely. Yet the Poison Gas seemed to be guided by some mysterious force, following Mismagius wherever it went.
Tetsuya appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was using his psychic powers to control the direction of the Poison Gas.
Only after Weezing turned back did it unleash both Fire Blast and Flamethrower. The moment the flames reached the Poison Gas, Tetsuya withdrew his power.
...Booooom!!!
This explosion sent flames shooting into the sky. Even Tetsuya, Morty, and Ryuto were affected by the blast wave, forcing all three of them to stumble backward repeatedly.
From the smoke left behind by the explosion, a Pokémon fell to the ground.
It was Mismagius…