Pokémon's Master of Rain

“Scree!”

Fearow gave a harsh cry and beat its wings, speeding toward Dragonair to close the distance.

Dragonair could fly, too, but without wings, it was far less maneuverable in the air than Fearow.

That was Fearow’s advantage!

With Agility boosting its speed, that advantage would become overwhelming.

But Caster had no intention of letting Gary have his way. He quickly called out, “Extreme Speed!”

Whoosh!

Dragonair became a streak of light once more. In the blink of an eye, it appeared behind Fearow and lashed out with its thick, powerful tail.

Gary’s lips curled into a small smile. He looked pleased rather than worried.

Boom!

Extreme Speed connected, badly hurting the fragile Fearow.

But the hit only made Fearow more vicious. Its keen eyes flashed, and it pecked furiously at Dragonair with its enormous, chisel-like beak.

“Droo!”

Dragonair cried out in pain. It had taken a hard hit.

“Scree!”

As Dragonair recoiled, Fearow pressed the attack. Its whole body spun, turning its long, slender beak into a whirling drill that drove straight at Dragonair.

A Flying-type move, Drill Peck!

“Droo!”

Dragonair twisted its body and darted aside.

But Fearow kept darting back and forth, stabbing at Dragonair relentlessly with its beak.

Agility had made Fearow so much faster that Dragonair managed to dodge only a few attacks before it could no longer keep up.

Thud!

Drill Peck struck home, leaving a visible wound on Dragonair’s body.

The scales over it had been torn away.

That showed just how hard Gary’s Fearow could hit!

“Fearow, don’t give Dragonair a chance to catch its breath!”

Seeing how badly Dragonair was hurt, Gary decided to press harder and finish the battle. “Sky Attack!”

As long as he took down Dragonair, Caster would lose his weather setter. That would cripple his strategy, making the effort worthwhile!

“Scree!”

Fearow drew in its wings and accelerated. An astonishing surge of Flying-type energy enveloped its entire body as it hurled itself forward.

“Droo!”

At the same time, Dragonair finally snapped.

Terrifying Dragon-type energy covered its body, transforming the elegant blue dragon into a savage beast in an instant. It charged straight into Fearow’s devastating attack.

A Dragon-type move, Outrage!

Boom!

The bird and the raging dragon collided with tremendous force. Neither gained the upper hand.

They pulled back a short distance, then slammed into each other again.

Boom! Boom!

After three collisions, both Pokémon were covered in wounds. Neither had the strength to charge again, and both began to falter in midair.

Dragonair, in particular, had stars circling its head.

It had become confused!

“Scree!”

Unexpectedly, Fearow gave a mournful cry and fell from the sky first.

“Droo!”

Dragonair slowly sank to the ground a moment later, its eyes spinning.

“Fearow and Dragonair are both unable to battle!”

The referee hurried forward to announce the result. “Both Trainers, send out your next Pokémon!”

“Both Pokémon went down at the same time? You don’t see that often!”

On the raised platform, Goodshow stroked his beard. “Caster relies on rain tactics, though. Without his weather setter, his team may have a much harder time performing at its best!”

The weather setter was always the core of a weather team.

Everyone knew that losing it would severely weaken the team.

Lorelei smiled. “Caster might have a second weather setter!”

Others might not know, but she was well aware that Caster’s Slowpoke could control the weather, too.

“Is that so?”

Goodshow looked intrigued.

After all, Caster hadn’t seemed to reveal a second weather setter at any point in the tournament so far.

Gary had lost two Pokémon, while Caster had only lost Dragonair. Still, knowing that Dragonair was Caster’s weather setter, Gary felt rather pleased with himself.

He had achieved his strategic objective.

He sent out his third Pokémon. “Go, my darling!”

The Pokémon was covered in crimson armor and looked impressively sleek. Two pairs of translucent wings extended from its back, and the markings on its pincers resembled eyes.

“Scizor?”

Caster’s eyes lit up.

Scizor actually fit quite well on a rain team. It could switch in to cover its teammates’ weaknesses and help bring them into battle safely.

Caster glanced up at the harsh sunlight and smiled, then threw a Poké Ball of his own. “Go, Gyarados!”

“Roar!”

A deafening roar rang out as the enormous Gyarados appeared on the field.

Gary’s eyes lit up at the sight of it, too.

Gyarados was Caster’s ace. Its physical attacks were exceptionally strong, but its special attacks were fairly ordinary.

Scizor, meanwhile, had strong physical defenses and weaker special defenses. It was well suited to taking on Gyarados.

Gary had intended to use Scizor to help him switch between Pokémon anyway.

If it could handle whatever Caster sent out, it would stay in and give it a shot.

If it couldn’t, it could simply use U-turn to get out and bring in another Pokémon.

For now, Gyarados clearly fell into the first category. Scizor could fight it.

And if the opportunity arose, Scizor could even boost its stats and use Baton Pass to pass those boosts to a Pokémon waiting in reserve.

If it pulled that off, all the better!

The battle soon resumed.

Gary gave the first command. “Bullet Punch!”

Whoosh!

Bullet Punch lived up to its name. Scizor’s punch was as fast as a bullet, landing squarely on Gyarados’s head before it could react.

“Roar!”

Gyarados flew into a rage. Foul-smelling air rushed from its gaping maw, and energy began to gather around its body.

It was about to attack!

Gary swept out an arm. “Scizor, Iron Defense!”

With Scizor’s defenses and resistances, Gyarados couldn’t possibly knock it out in one hit.

Under Sunny Day, Gyarados couldn’t benefit from the rain’s power boost, leaving it much weaker.

Gary felt he could afford to be bold.

Once Scizor finished boosting its Defense with Iron Defense and used Baton Pass to switch out, Gary was confident he might even take down Caster’s Gyarados early and turn the match around.

“Sciz!”

Scizor crossed its pincers in front of its body. Its metallic sheen brightened, and its armor gradually grew harder.

Scizor’s Defense rose sharply!

But a second later, Gary’s confidence fell apart.

Blinding flames were blazing inside Gyarados’s mouth.

“Huh? A Fire-type move? Gyarados knows a Fire-type move?”

Gary froze. For a moment, he couldn’t think at all.

Boom!

Boosted by Sunny Day, the flames in Gyarados’s mouth swelled until they erupted into an enormous column of fire that struck Scizor.

Scizor was still using Iron Defense when the flames swallowed it whole, hiding it completely from view.

A faint smell of scorched metal drifted through the air.

When the flames died away, the sleek Scizor was charred black from head to toe, unconscious with its eyes spinning.

Scizor was unable to battle. The referee should have stepped forward immediately to announce the result.

But the sight was so unbelievable that even the professional referee couldn’t get his thoughts in order.

The spectators and livestream viewers were equally speechless. Up on the raised platform, President Goodshow was no exception. Neither was Lorelei.

That had undoubtedly been Flamethrower.

But how could a Water-type Pokémon like Gyarados use a Fire-type move like Flamethrower?

How did that make any sense?