Chapter 320: Ariados's Counterattack

Ariados, in the shortest amount of time, used its most powerful STAB move: Megahorn.

At such close range, both sides aiming to clash head-on made it impossible for either to miss.

Megahorn and Fire Punch collided fiercely. In terms of type advantage, Ariados was at a disadvantage, but Megahorn had STAB and greater power than Fire Punch.

Moreover, as a Psychic/Fighting-type Pokémon, Medicham excelled more in Special Attack than Physical Attack.

So, after only two seconds of direct confrontation, Medicham was forcibly knocked flying by Ariados.

"Doos!"

Ariados had always relied on Sticky Web to set traps, limiting enemy movement, and pairing that with Poison-type moves for interference and attrition; rarely ever engaging in direct, hard-hitting battles.

But don't forget, while Ariados's Special Attack might not be impressive, its Physical Attack was definitely above the passing line.

Now, having defeated a fierce-looking Medicham head-on, Ariados was internally thrilled.

"It broke through!"

Seeing Ariados's aura surge to a whole new level, Sato was ecstatic. Compared to the grueling effort it took for Sharpedo to improve, Ariados's progress always seemed so clean and decisive.

Peak Elite Ariados, let's go!

Medicham was sent flying. It now realized its attack power was no match for Ariados's, so it forced itself to endure the effects of Toxic, its eyes suddenly flaring with intense blue light.

Psychic!

"A-Ariados!"

The attack was nearly invisible. Ariados hadn't even recovered from the thrill of its breakthrough when it was suddenly hit by Medicham's move and lifted into the air, held in place.

"Don't panic, just swing Night Slash in place!"

Hearing the command, Ariados's front legs rapidly gathered thick dark energy, and instead of aiming to hit, it simply swung wildly in all directions.

On the other side, Medicham's face visibly paled, large beads of sweat pouring down.

Night Slash constantly disrupted its control of Psychic. After all, Dark-type energy was immune to Psychic-type abilities.

Suddenly, Medicham dropped to one knee.

Psychic vanished.

It was the Toxic kicking in again, leaving it barely able to fight.

"Ariados, Pin Missile."

Sato knew the opponent was already at its limit. And since this Medicham had helped Ariados break through, he actually felt some goodwill… just a light finishing blow would do.

Whoosh!

A flash of white light and the true mastermind, Claydol, finally appeared and blocked Ariados's Pin Missile.

"Clay!"

The red eyes circling Claydol's body now glared with furious intensity. Clearly, it was enraged by Sato's sudden assault on its subordinate.

On the other side, Grumpig had also lost its fighting ability after being squeezed by Arbok. A pure Psychic-type Pokémon getting taken down by a Poison-type.

…It was a bit disgraceful.

"Trooop!"

Up in the sky, a dark silhouette rapidly grew larger. It was Tropius from afar, finally noticing the chaos and rushing in to assist.

"Clay! Claydol!" Claydol gave Tropius two quick commands, then hurled its entire body down toward the ground with force.

Earthquake!

All ground-based Pokémon were hit indiscriminately.

The three humans quickly retreated, clinging to nearby trees to stay upright. Ariados staggered back onto its web, clearly badly injured.

Arbok took a direct heavy hit, Earthquake dealt tremendous damage to it.

At that moment, however, Tropius did not move in to attack. Instead, it took the opportunity to scoop up Medicham and Grumpig onto its back and flew away.

"Claay!"

Just as the aftershock of the Earthquake ended, Claydol's next attack struck. Sharp rocks burst out of the ground one after another, rapidly rising and forming an encircling trap around Ariados.

Rock Tomb!

"Ariados, swing yourself out and use X-Scissor!"

Ariados shot a silk thread and latched onto the Sticky Web above. Then, with a sudden retraction, it leapt out from the rocky blockade and landed back on a higher part of the web.

And from there, it was positioned directly above Claydol. With its front legs slashing down, Ariados unleashed X-Scissor straight at its opponent.

Whoosh~

'Teleport…'

Sato's brow furrowed. The ability to use Teleport was a key marker in judging the value of a Psychic-type Pokémon.

After all, Teleport was considered the strongest known life-saving move whether in or out of battle.

And Claydol's species happened to be one naturally capable of using it.

"Troo~"

By then, Tropius had already returned. Without hesitation, it unleashed a barrage of more than a dozen Air Slashes at Ariados.

Shrrk… Shrrk… Shrrk…

Countless strands of Sticky Web were sliced apart under the assault of Air Slash. At the last second, Ariados swung itself behind a nearby tree to dodge the attack.

"Mark, let me handle this one." Sato stopped Mark, who had been about to rejoin the battle with Arbok. The type disadvantage was just too much.

"Umbreon, your turn!" Sato tossed a Poké Ball, releasing none other than the Low Elite Umbreon. Seeing this, Haruna finally felt a twinge of concern.

'…Wasn't the level gap a bit too much?'

"Umbre!"

Most of the Eeveelutions were quite adorable, but they also possessed base stats on par with starter Pokémon, which made them long-time favorites among trainers.

Don't be fooled by Umbreon's cute appearance… it was fierce!

At that moment, Claydol and Tropius launched another coordinated attack.

Earthquake + Magical Leaf.

Earthquake would hit all grounded Pokémon indiscriminately, while Magical Leaf, with its homing properties, could easily strike airborne targets trying to dodge the tremors.

It was unclear if Claydol had ordered Tropius to pair up this way, but their synergy was undoubtedly high.

"Ariados, pull Umbreon in. Umbreon, use Dark Pulse!"

The silk thread accurately latched onto Umbreon, and Dark Pulse was unleashed to intercept and cancel out the Magical Leaf barrage.

"Charge in."

Sato's command was a bit vague, but Ariados didn't hesitate; Umbreon jumped onto its back, the web was quickly repaired, and both surged forward.

At the same time, Claydol and Tropius began to charge as well. Claydol's two spout-like arms condensed icy blue energy.

Ice Beam.

Not to be outdone, Tropius's four leaf-like wings flared, gathering white-and-blue Flying-type energy.

Air Slash.

"Ariados, Megahorn! Umbreon, Protect!"

Protect always goes first!

Umbreon leapt from Ariados's back to meet the incoming Ice Beam and Air Slash head-on.

Blocked!

Behind, Ariados dropped low and shot forward beneath Umbreon, Megahorn striking directly into one of Claydol's red eyes.