A brilliant, emerald green Energy Ball was slowly taking shape in the cold, indifferent Shiny Elgyem's hand, accompanied by a low, compressed energy sound.
With a hum, this Energy Ball, imbued with terrifying power, shot forward like a meteor, aiming directly at the Crawdaunt, which was less than three meters away!
Seeing this, Xia Yong was startled! He had been immersed in his ingenious plan, and he never expected things to develop to such an extent. He thought that as long as he successfully used Taunt to seal Shiny Elgyem's status moves, he would easily defeat his opponent with an overwhelming advantage.
However, at this moment, facing that whistling, fatal blow, Xia Yong, after all, was a Pokémon bandit who walked between life and death. His life of licking blood from the knife's edge kept him agile enough to respond to crises at all times.
Boom!
The emerald green Energy Ball skill directly hit the Crawdaunt that was close at hand. Instantly, rampant Grass-type energy stirred up dust.
Everyone in the Research Institute thought this short battle should end here. It should be known that with Shiny Elgyem's Analytic ability as a boost, the power of the moves it releases can increase by a full 30%! Not to mention that this ultimate move was originally a Grass-type skill, and Grass-type is doubly effective against Water-type Pokémon—and Crawdaunt happens to be both Water and Evil-type.
How could the latter possibly withstand such powerful lethality and Crawdaunt's dismal special defense? Undoubtedly, it would only be one-shot.
As the smoke was about to clear, Xia Yong confidently shouted, "Crawdaunt, Night Slash!"
Amidst the rolling thick smoke, a blurry shadow darted out like lightning. It was tall and mighty, inspiring fear; a giant, crimson-glowing claw was raised high, as if to tear all opponents apart. The dense, black Dark Pulse energy surged around its giant claw like tumultuous waves, constantly rolling and churning.
At this moment, this figure was pouncing towards Shiny Elgyem with the force of thunder. Its speed was extremely fast, like a meteor streaking across the sky, carrying endless killing intent and determination. In the blink of an eye, it had already arrived above Shiny Elgyem.
And the move used for this attack was Crawdaunt's most powerful Evil-type move—Night Slash! This skill has astonishing power, and once it hits a vital point, it will surely cause severe or even fatal damage to the opponent!
Chen Chunjiang and Beheeyem were old partners after all, and Psychic Pokémon can easily communicate with humans. They instantly thought of the best way to dodge. Before Chen Chunjiang could even give a command, Beheeyem instinctively used Teleport.
But it failed! Chen Chunjiang suddenly woke up, thinking, "I was hit by Taunt just now! Tsk! I was careless!"
Immediately after, Crawdaunt unhesitatingly swung its powerful claw, full of explosive strength, down hard on Shiny Elgyem. Accompanied by a piercing whoosh, the Adaptability ability activated! That powerful Dark Pulse energy transformed into a sharp move, directly striking Shiny Elgyem's body, a faint pink glow of a barrier protecting Beheeyem's front.
With a loud "bang!" Beheeyem was helpless, directly smashed into the ground by Crawdaunt's full-force attack. Amidst the flying dust, a deep pit appeared before everyone's eyes.
Even before being attacked by Taunt, Beheeyem had already used Reflect. For the next period, any physical moves targeting it would have their power halved. However, even so, facing Crawdaunt's fierce offensive, Beheeyem still found it difficult to resist, and ultimately suffered severe damage.
Xia Yong's slightly upturned lips formed a playful smile: "Hmph! You researchers who only talk about theories and fight on paper, after all, lack a bit of ruthlessness. How about it? This time, I'm afraid you're going to lose to me!"
Chen Chunjiang responded with firm eyes: "It's too early to conclude the outcome at this moment." As soon as he finished speaking, the Shiny Elgyem, which had been buried deep in the pit, began to gradually emerge to the surface. Everyone looked closely and saw that this Beheeyem had clearly suffered no minor injuries.
Crawdaunt struggled to drag its broken body back to Xia Yong's side, confronting Beheeyem. Neither side dared to act rashly, and the atmosphere was tense to the extreme.
At this moment, Crawdaunt was covered in hideous wounds, especially its chest, where the originally hard crimson shell had completely cracked, and blood continuously gushed out, staining the surrounding ground a shocking dark red.
In fact, Zhang Heng had already noticed this. He knew in his heart that this Crawdaunt was already at its limit, and its pitifully meager special defense could not withstand a powerful Grass-type Energy Ball attack boosted by the Analytic ability.
However, surprisingly, even after suffering such heavy damage, this Pokémon still possessed powerful combat capabilities. Recalling the attribute panel information he had seen before, Zhang Heng instantly understood—it had used a skill called "Endure"! This skill allows a Pokémon, no matter how severe the damage it takes, to retain at least 1 HP without being knocked out.
This was Zhang Heng's first time witnessing a battle between Trainers, a life-and-death struggle between good and evil in the Wilderness Area. Although it was only a few rounds, the offense and defense were extremely precise.
Chen Chunjiang: "Stop, A Yong, the police are everywhere outside. You don't want your Crawdaunt to die here, do you?"
Zhang Heng looked at Dr. Chen in surprise, thinking: "This old man isn't playing a meme, is he? Is he also a transmigrator? I'll have to sound him out next time."
Xia Yong knew that Crawdaunt had reached its limit. But years of bandit life meant he wouldn't give up easily, as bandits who surrender either die or spend their lives in prison. Either way was not an option. He scanned the group of Research Institute members opposite him, his eyes filled with ruthlessness.
Xia Yong said sinisterly: "This Crawdaunt also lives in this Wilderness Area. The Corphish population has been almost completely captured by us. This one is the best I picked from them. I won't feel bad abandoning it."
"Crawdaunt! Double-Edge! Attack Chen Chunjiang!"
How pathetic! Crawdaunt seemed to have foreseen its end, but it still unhesitatingly obeyed its Trainer's command. Instantly, a powerful Normal-type energy surged from its body, swirling around it like tumultuous waves.
This Double-Edge skill is a desperate, mutually destructive technique. It has a high power of 120, but the user takes recoil damage equal to half of the damage dealt to the opponent. It will exhaust Crawdaunt's last bit of stamina in exchange for massive damage to the enemy.
Bang!
While Crawdaunt was accumulating power, the Water Blade Gang members threw smoke bombs, instantly filling an area of nearly 15 meters with black smoke. They were preparing to retreat.
That's right, these damned Pokémon hunters used Crawdaunt as a discarded piece!