Pokemon: Skybound

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As the match began, Luana instantly shifted into battle mode. She withdrew her usual smile, and her entire demeanour transformed. With a sharp, commanding voice, she ordered, "Alakazam, Marowak! Let them see what we're capable of!"

At her command, Alakazam and Marowak charged fiercely toward Charizard and Scyther.

One wielded a spoon, the other a bone club both armed, unlike most Pokémon, giving them a distinct advantage from the start.

However, facing these two Pokémon, Kai did not back down. With a swift motion of his hand, his Scyther and Charizard rushed forward to meet them head-on.

The distance between both sides rapidly closed.

Once they reached a certain range, Alakazam was the first to halt, raising its spoon and unleashing Confusion toward Charizard.

Unfortunately for Alakazam, its actions did not escape Kai's keen observation.

From the moment the battle started, Kai had been closely monitoring their movements. The instant he saw Alakazam targeting Charizard and lifting its arm, he immediately issued a command.

"Charizard! Watch out for Alakazam's attack dodge quickly!"

Charizard flapped its wings and took to the air, manoeuvring skillfully in all directions to evade Alakazam's line of sight.

Meanwhile, Scyther and Marowak clashed.

Marowak swung its bone club, unleashing Bonemerang, while Scyther countered with its scythe-like arms, engaging in direct combat.

Clang! Clang!

Marowak's bone club was incredibly sturdy, and as it collided with Scyther's bladed arms, sparks flew in all directions. The clash even produced a sharp, metallic ringing sound!

Alakazam, having lost sight of its target, did not remain idle. It quickly turned its focus to Scyther and unleashed a Psybeam, striking Scyther and sending it crashing to the ground.

However, seizing this opportunity, Charizard retaliated from above, releasing a stream of flames that scorched Alakazam.

The first exchange of blows resulted in both sides sustaining damage But the outcome was far from satisfactory for Kai.

Seeing that the battle had turned into a chaotic skirmish rather than a coordinated double battle, he knew he needed to adjust his strategy.

"You two, switch targets! Scyther, go after Alakazam! Charizard, you handle Marowak!"

To his surprise, however, Scyther seemed to completely ignore his command. After picking itself up from the ground, it immediately charged at Marowak once more!

'This guy…' Kai let out a helpless sigh.

Due to its nature and former status as a leader of its group, Scyther possessed an undeniable sense of pride. Since it had been caught recently, it still had trouble following orders and integrating with the rest of his Pokémon.

Over the past few days, through conversations, feeding, and careful attention, Kai believed he had made some progress.

He thought that during battle, Scyther would listen to him better. However, today's match once again exposed its issues!

Now, it was clear Scyther had gotten too caught up in the fight…

Given the circumstances, Kai had no choice but to adjust his approach. Instead of prioritizing Alakazam, he shifted his focus to taking down Marowak first.

"Scyther, just keep fighting Marowak. Charizard, stop bothering with Alakazam and go help out!"

On the other side, Luana had, of course, overheard Kai's instructions.

Her gaze lingered on Scyther for a moment before she smirked and said, "What's wrong? You still can't fully control your own Pokémon?"

Kai forced a smile. "Not much I can do. This Pokémon is still newly caught. As a former leader, it's clearly not used to taking orders from someone else yet. Getting it to fully obey me will take time."

"Oh?" Luana seemed intrigued. "So you're using a newly captured Pokémon to challenge my Kumquat Gym. Is it because you don't have any other Pokémon to switch in, or do you have absolute confidence in its strength?"

Kai simply shook his head, offering no further explanation.

In truth, Gym Battles weren't the end-all, be-all. Even if he lost, the Gym wasn't going anywhere. As a challenger, he could always rest, regroup, and challenge it again!

Take Ash Ketchum, for example. Throughout the entire series, he didn't lose every Gym Battle, but at least seven or eight out of ten times, he had to challenge a Gym multiple times before winning

Back in the battle, the situation continued to shift rapidly. While the two trainers exchanged words, their Pokémon had already clashed again.

At this point, Kai knew he couldn't count on Scyther. The best possible outcome was for it to take down Marowak on its own.

That said, he wasn't about to leave things entirely to chance.

"Charizard, use Smokescreen!"

Charizard released a thick cloud of black smoke onto the battlefield, quickly shrouding half of the arena in darkness!

Marowak and Scyther had been locked in an intense struggle when the Smokescreen suddenly engulfed them.

They glanced around, confirming no immediate danger, but when they tried to relocate their opponent, they had already lost sight of each other!

Even though they knew their enemy was nearby, they simply couldn't pinpoint their location!

Outside the smokescreen, Alakazam hesitated to attack for fear of harming Marowak. Not daring to recklessly charge in either, it could only stand by and wait for the smoke to dissipate.

Kai, on the other hand, remained unfazed. He continued issuing commands.

"Charizard, aim at the smoke use Dragon Rage!"

Charizard momentarily hovered in the air before unleashing a blast of energy from its mouth, firing it directly into the smoke.

The attack not only dispersed the thick haze instantly but also struck both Marowak and Scyther at the same time!

Boom! Boom!

Both Pokémon were hit by Dragon Rage, reeling backwards from the impact.

"This…"

Self-inflicted damage?!

Luana watched in shock. She never expected Kai to be so ruthless that he would even attack his own Pokémon!

Kai, however, ignored her reaction. Instead, he turned to Scyther and spoke coldly. "Well? Have you calmed down now?"

At a crucial moment like this, disobedience was unacceptable. Kai needed Scyther to regain its composure.

Sure enough, the surprise attack from behind left Scyther momentarily stunned. It turned to look at Kai, the wild ferocity in its eyes fading away. Finally, it gave a small nod.

"Good." Seeing this, Kai let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Don't just stand there switch targets and go after Alakazam!"

Without hesitation, Scyther changed course and charged toward Alakazam. Marowak, unwilling to let its opponent escape, tried to chase after it, but just as it moved forward, Charizard swooped down and blocked its path.

On the other side, Alakazam saw Scyther approaching and once again used Confusion, attempting to stop it from a distance.

But at the critical moment, Scyther activated Quick Attack, not only dodging Confusion but also rapidly closing the gap. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Alakazam!

The next second, both of Scyther's blades gleamed with a chilling light as they crossed in midair. Then, with a forceful downward slash, they struck Alakazam with devastating power!

X-Scissor—activated!

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Don't forget to drop some Power Stones!

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