Chapter 294: Little Bit of a Conscience 

"Magnezone might be a decent counter, but the good news is it doesn't have many moves that can actually hit Whimsicott effectively."

Leaf glanced at the Magnezone—it was clearly strong.

Magnezone was a top-tier special attacker. Sure, it had a 4x weakness to Ground, but with Levitate, it could often avoid Ground-type moves altogether. Outside of Ground, it only feared Fighting and Fire. Its resistances, though, were absolutely stellar.

Beep~ Magnezone, Electric/Steel type. Magnet Area Pokémon.

Ability: Sturdy

Moves: Zap Cannon, Lock-On, Light Screen, Flash Cannon, Tri Attack, Hyper Beam…

Dex Entry: Evolved from Magneton due to a special magnetic field. It emits magnetic waves from its three units.

Yep. Pretty formidable.

Lillie stared at the Pokédex and turned to her brother and Whimsicott, curious how he'd handle it.

"Magnezone, Tri Attack!" Kukui called.

Flames, ice, and lightning surged around Magnezone, merging into a triangle of swirling energy that shot toward Whimsicott.

"Professor Kukui, don't you think it's a little optimistic to think that kind of attack will hit my Whimsicott?"

Dylan chuckled softly.

Even without Tailwind, Whimsicott's agility made dodging something like that a breeze.

Indeed, the fluffy trickster leapt backward easily, letting the Tri Attack sail harmlessly past.

"Light Screen," Dylan added.

A transparent screen shimmered into existence in front of Whimsicott before quickly vanishing into its body.

With Prankster active, Whimsicott's support moves were lightning-fast.

Kukui's expression turned grim—now that Light Screen was up, things were even worse.

"This kid…" Itto muttered. "How's Kukui supposed to win now?"

"Magnezone, Swift—go for wide coverage."

Kukui pivoted strategies, trying for a fast, area-spanning move.

"Encore," Dylan said simply.

Whimsicott clapped gleefully, giggling as mysterious energy washed over Magnezone—locking it into its last move.

It couldn't use anything but Swift now.

Kukui's expression darkened further.

This cotton gremlin was getting more annoying by the second!

"Magnezone, get in close. Tri Attack."

If they were stuck with it, might as well try to make it work.

Magnezone hovered forward. But its approach wasn't fast, and Whimsicott didn't even bother moving.

Once in range, Magnezone unleashed another swirling triangle of elemental energy.

"Leech Seed."

Whimsicott casually drifted to the side, easily dodging, and sent a flurry of glowing seeds flying. They latched onto Magnezone, sprouting vines that sapped away its energy—transferring it into Whimsicott.

"…" Kukui's face twitched. The tension in his whole body was almost visible.

"Tri Attack!"

Kukui took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.

Leech Seed didn't deal immediate, devastating damage—it was chip damage. But it added up. Fast.

Another Tri Attack formed—Whimsicott dodged again with ease.

"Cotton Guard."

Whimsicott puffed up dramatically, its cotton-like body fluffing out as its defense skyrocketed.

Tailwind faded.

Leech Seed continued draining.

"Tri Attack."

Kukui was now visibly weary. This was… tiresome. Nothing was landing.

"Tailwind."

Whimsicott drifted sideways to dodge and reignited Tailwind with a swirl of wind behind it.

Finally—Encore ended.

Kukui exhaled sharply. At least he could use a new move.

"Magnezone, Lock-On!"

He had a plan now. Even if it just forced Dylan to use Protect, at least it'd be progress.

"Encore."

Kukui blinked in disbelief.

Whimsicott clapped again, giggling sweetly—"Let's keep doing that, big bro Magnezone!"

Lock-On failed to complete.

Encore locked Magnezone back into Tri Attack.

Kukui's face went stone-cold.

His fists clenched as he stared at the smug, dancing Whimsicott.

Cute on the outside—but inside? Pure evil.

"Professor Kukui's looking a little scary…" Amelia said nervously. "You think he's going to snap?"

Even she could tell Kukui was about to lose it—and he was known for being calm and cheerful.

Leaf and Lillie exchanged awkward, polite chuckles.

"If it were me," Itto said solemnly, "only one of us would be walking out of this arena."

"Shut up," Amelia snorted.

"But that Whimsicott is strong. I'm definitely breeding one."

He was already imagining the satisfaction of watching opponents' expressions twist in frustration. Yes, he needed one of these.

Back on the field—

"Professor Kukui, aren't you going to attack?"

Dylan tilted his head innocently.

Kukui tried to smile—but his lips barely moved.

Attack? What attack?

All he could do was use Tri Attack, and that hadn't connected once.

Even when he tried to lock-on, Dylan didn't even wait for the combo—he just Encored the setup.

Was this mercy!?

What kind of hell were the trainers of Kanto living in every day!?

Kukui silently vowed to go back and study every review of this gym. Dylan's "strategies" had to be borderline war crimes.

He sighed. Honestly, his enthusiasm for the battle had been thoroughly drained.

Maybe… maybe it was time to throw in the towel.

"Well, I guess Whimsicott really isn't suited for dealing with your Magnezone, Professor. I'll swap it out."

Dylan seemed to sense Kukui's breaking point and kindly decided to ease off—at least for now.

He absolutely could've won through stall tactics—Leech Seed was still active.

But Kukui was visibly on the edge.

"Whimsicott, U-turn."

Boosted by Tailwind, Whimsicott zipped forward and slammed into Magnezone—vanishing in a flash of light.

"Looks like Dylan still has some humanity left in him," Kukui muttered, finally exhaling.

That thing had been psychological warfare disguised as a Pokémon.

"Rillaboom, let's go!" Dylan threw his third Poké Ball.

A powerful brown gorilla landed in front of him, pulling a massive drum from its back.

It was Rillaboom.

"The Grass starter from Galar, huh?" Kukui recognized it immediately.

Looked normal enough—but he wasn't letting his guard down. Whimsicott had tricked him once.

As Rillaboom touched the ground, green light spread over the battlefield—Grassy Terrain activated.

"Magnezone, Tri Attack!"

Kukui was back in the game. He wanted to test the waters.

Fire, ice, and lightning formed again in front of Magnezone.

But Leech Seed still drained it—transferring energy to Rillaboom.

"Fake Out!"

Rillaboom lunged, smacking Magnezone right in the face with a sharp slap.

The metal Pokémon flinched backward—flinching.

Kukui grimaced. It didn't hurt much, but it was annoying.

"High Horsepower!"

"Watch out, Magnezone!"

Rillaboom followed through, flipping around and stomping its glowing leg into Magnezone.

A devastating Ground-type attack—Magnezone's 4x weakness.

BOOM!

The impact sent Magnezone flying backward, crashing into the ground with a metallic screech. The earth trembled.

"Damn… this ape is intense."

Itto whistled. That High Horsepower kick was no joke.

"Rillaboom is my brother's physical attacker in his Grass team. He's very strong."

Lillie beamed with pride.

Unlike Whimsicott and Amoonguss, who were support-oriented, Rillaboom was a straight-up brawler.

Kukui nodded solemnly.

This one was legit. Powerful, straightforward—a true test of strength.

Not like that cursed Whimsicott, which messed with your team AND your mind.

That wasn't real battling.

If Magnezone had actually been stalled to death by Whimsicott, Kukui would've sworn off battling for a week.

Absolutely certain.