The nameless old man had clearly come with bad intentions, but it was obvious that he was a Poison-type Specialist. It was just that he seemed quite interested in Tetsuya's Pokémon.
The first Pokémon he had sent out was a Toxicroak, but it was obvious that this was merely a redshirt¹.
Now five Pokémon had appeared: Toxicroak, Muk, Weezing, and two Arbok. Tetsuya had no way of knowing whether the old man had even stronger Pokémon, but he already had a preliminary plan for how to deal with these five.
Clearly, the poison of Tetsuya's Pokémon had little effect on the old man's, but his own would not fear their poison either.
Spinarak's combat power was currently limited, and it had also been incapacitated. Drapion could still battle; Weezing, Beedrill and Houndoom would fight, while Miltank provided support. Mamoswine would remain behind to conserve energy, Golurk was naturally reserved for escaping, and Ditto could adapt to the situation as needed.
The old man's gaze was deep as he stared intently at Tetsuya's Poison-types, clearly harboring some ulterior motive.
"Go. Take down those poisonous creatures," The old man commanded.
The five Pokémon stirred eagerly. Muk was the first to move, and with every step(?) it took, the ground turned into a poisonous puddle that gave off a foul stench.
Toxicroak naturally lived in swamps, and on a field like this, it was like a fish in water, moving even faster than usual as its feet stepped across the poisonous puddles. Weezing released a purple Smog, which shrouded the two Arbok coiled around the trees.
Arbok were already skilled at surprise attacks, and with their bodies now shrouded by the Smog, it became even easier for them.
As the configuration of the old man's five Pokémon unfolded, Tetsuya immediately recognized it…
This was clearly the configuration Koga had used in his previous life!
Tetsuya knew Koga, his former "rival", all too well. In his previous life, he had devoted an enormous amount of effort to replacing him, so naturally he understood Koga's tactics inside and out. Of course, he also knew exactly how to break them.
It was just that his own Poison-type team had yet to take shape, and several key Pokémon were missing, so he could only substitute other moves for now.
"Houndoom, use your hearing to guard against Arbok's surprise attacks. Weezing, use Icy Wind to disperse the Smog. Beedrill, use Double Team. Drapion, fire Pin Missile into the Smog. Miltank, use Helping Hand." Tetsuya laid out his plan.
Sure enough, an Arbok suddenly darted out of the Smog. Had Houndoom not already been on guard, this Arbok would have seriously injured one of Tetsuya's Pokémon.
Arbok lunged forward with Poison Fang, but Houndoom unleashed the Overheat it had already prepared. Arbok had no choice but to change moves at the last moment and use Toxic to resist Houndoom's attack before retreating back into the Smog.
Before Houndoom even had a chance to catch its breath, it suddenly felt the ground tremble!
'Not good…' "Speed up your moves! Mamoswine, use Icy Wind too and help Weezing disperse the Smog."
In the end, the capacities of Tetsuya's Pokémon was limited. Even with the boost from Miltank's Helping Hand, dealing with a single Arbok was already Houndoom's limit. After all, an ordinary Toxic from the opposing Arbok had canceled out Houndoom's strongest move, Overheat.
The power of Weezing's Icy Wind was simply too limited. With the opposing Weezing continuously spamming Smog, it was simply incapable to disperse the Smog, leaving Tetsuya with no choice but to send Mamoswine into battle.
Arbok burst out of the ground, striking Houndoom directly with Dig before immediately retreating back into the hole the instant the attack landed.
"Beedrill, use X-Scissor. Houndoom's left side!"
Tetsuya was generally familiar with this battle tactic. He then used his psychic powers to locate the other Arbok.
The purpose of these two Arbok was to launch surprise attacks and disrupt his team's composure. The moment one Arbok retreated back into its hole, Houndoom was left in a state of panic. At that moment, an attack from the other Arbok was certain to succeed.
After confirming the direction of the other Arbok, Tetsuya had Beedrill use X-Scissor to block the lethal strike aimed at Houndoom.
The moment Mamoswine entered the battle, it revealed its might. Icy Wind howled forth, instantly suppressing Weezing's Smog.
Once the Smog was blown away, the two Arbok also lost their ideal environment for hiding. More importantly, it boosted the force of Drapion's Pin Missile, forcing the approaching Toxicroak to retreat and defend itself.
There were two weaknesses in the old man's tactic. The Smog and Arbok's surprise attacks at the beginning were intended to give Muk enough time to complete the "Poisonous Swamp" field.
However, Muk was very slow. It relied solely on Sludge Wave and the potent poison from its body to corrode the ground, so completing such a field required some time. That was why Muk and Toxicroak had been so slow to make a move at the beginning.
Of course, this weakness could be compensated for by increasing the number of Muk. Tetsuya clearly remembered that in his previous life, when Koga wiped out an underground organization, he deployed more than a hundred Muk like these, turning the criminal organization's mountain lair entirely into a "Poisonous Swamp". Not a single Pokémon or person survived!
Because of that battle, Koga's reputation soared, although even more people believed he had done it to silence everyone involved…
Muk was highly resistant to physical attacks. Drapion's Pin Missile prevented Toxicroak from advancing, but it had no effect on Muk at all, which continued moving and releasing Sludge Wave. However, the Smog had been dispersed by Mamoswine.
This was also beyond the old man's expectations. He had not expected Tetsuya to have such a powerful Mamoswine, and furthermore, Tetsuya remained perfectly methodical while countering his tactics.
With the Smog dispersed, all the Pokémon appeared beneath the sunlight. In a battle like this, Mamoswine could no longer play much of a role. First, its resistance to poison naturally could not compare with these highly toxic Pokémon. Second, with such an enormous body, Mamoswine could not maintain its footing in the "swamp", much less move normally.
Most importantly, Mamoswine's ideal field was Hail weather, and such weather would greatly affect Drapion, Houndoom, and Beedrill.
Therefore, until a suitable battle combination was developed, Mamoswine's capabilities could only be considered individual strength. Of course, it had the enormous potential to form a team core of its own, just like Pryce's Delibird, the Steelix from Terra's territory, and other Champion-level Pokémon.
Mamoswine and Golurk continued to hold their positions without making a move.
"Houndoom, use 'Howl'."
Sunny weather would not have any negative effect on any of the Pokémon currently on the field, but it could enhance Houndoom's individual capabilities, so overall, it was still advantageous to Tetsuya.
Seizing favorable weather meant he had already secured the crucial advantage of favorable conditions.
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¹. AKA cannon fodder.