A transparent Bubble swept through one of the Snorunt.
With the sound of bubbles striking the ground, the Snorunt that had been hit dissolved into the air.
For the move Double Team, its greatest strength was the extremely high chance of avoiding an opponent's initial attack. Because of this, it was highly favored by Trainers.
Compared to Substitute, which required a considerable amount of stamina, or Protect, which carried significant tactical implications, Double Team had very few drawbacks and consumed relatively little energy to maintain.
The only real issue was that many Pokémon possessed methods of identifying the real target.
For example, Psychic powers, Aura, Abilities such as Keen Eye, or natural talents like an exceptional sense of smell.
However, there was no question that the Piplup on the battlefield possessed none of those abilities.
As a result, it inevitably appeared somewhat helpless.
Snorunt was one of the rarer Pokémon that developed fairly evenly in all aspects.
Although Piplup was a Water-type starter Pokémon, at this stage it did not possess a significant advantage over its opponent.
The battle quickly fell into a stalemate.
Every time Piplup used Water Gun to destroy one of the copies, Snorunt immediately created a replacement.
After four or five repetitions, Piplup was inevitably breathing heavily.
Silas frowned as he carefully observed Snorunt.
His gaze swept across the icy battlefield.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find a single flaw.
Even though it was only a Gym Battle Pokémon, this Snorunt's performance in every area was exceptional.
"Piplup, use Dig."
Left with no better option, Silas temporarily ordered Piplup to evade.
During the past few days traveling through underground caverns, Piplup might not have learned much else, but it had become extremely proficient at Dig after practicing with Blaziken and the others.
"Piplup!"
Taking a deep breath, Piplup leaped forward and drilled straight into the ice-covered ground.
Soon, the battlefield contained only several Snorunt and a mysterious tunnel entrance leading underground.
"Stay alert."
Pryce's cold command immediately caused Snorunt to stop using Double Team.
Although the move consumed relatively little energy, Pryce always conserved every bit of stamina possible.
Snorunt lowered its already short body and practically sat on the ice.
"Troublesome."
Watching this development, Silas felt a headache coming on.
Ice was different from ordinary soil.
It transmitted vibrations extremely well.
Combined with Snorunt's Ice typing, this tactic effectively neutralized Dig as an offensive option.
Auntie Sima, acting as referee, watched the scene with a cheerful smile.
As a veteran Trainer, Pryce's handling of battle details was unquestionably ahead of younger Trainers like Silas.
That was the result of countless years of accumulated experience.
"So, how will this young man respond?"
Auntie Sima looked forward to finding out.
She casually glanced at the time on her wristwatch.
Meanwhile, Brock sat in the spectator area, frowning as he analyzed the battle.
He tried imagining himself in Silas's position and quickly discovered he had no answer.
Under Pryce's command, Snorunt was clearly determined to play a game of hide-and-seek.
As long as Piplup appeared, Double Team would remain active.
Unless Piplup could unleash a large-scale attack capable of destroying all the copies simultaneously, Snorunt could simply restore them immediately afterward.
Suddenly, the Snorunt on the field turned toward an ice pillar.
"Powder Snow."
Pryce's command followed instantly.
Crash!
A portion of the long ice pillar was immediately shattered by Snorunt's Powder Snow.
The hidden Piplup behind it was forced to reveal itself.
It had planned to use the pillar as cover while launching an attack, but its opponent gave it no opportunity.
Silas fell into thought.
After another quick look at the battlefield, an idea quickly formed.
"Piplup, use Agility, then close in with Peck!"
Piplup nodded vigorously.
White light enveloped its body.
Its movement speed instantly increased.
At the same time, Flying-type energy gathered around its yellow beak, further accelerating its charge.
Pryce and Snorunt responded exactly as before.
Double Team.
Peck was a straightforward attack.
There was no way it could destroy every illusion at once.
Furthermore, once Piplup overshot its target, stopped, turned around, and prepared another charge, Snorunt would have more than enough time to react.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of impacts echoed across the battlefield.
These sounds weren't the result of Piplup hitting Snorunt.
Instead, Piplup repeatedly lost control and slammed into nearby ice pillars.
"Piplup..."
Clutching its reddened forehead, it looked thoroughly dizzy.
"Agility, then Peck."
The familiar command rang out once more.
Piplup sighed and resumed charging.
Although it felt the tactic was pointless, it wanted to prove that it could hit the enemy at least once.
Since Water Sport and Water Gun weren't producing results, Piplup knew that close-range combat was its only option.
At first, Brock couldn't understand Silas's strategy.
But as he carefully observed the battlefield, his frown gradually disappeared.
"So that's what he's doing..."
His quiet murmur went unheard.
At that very moment, the battle finally began to change.
"Piplup, use Water Gun!"
After another failed Peck attempt, Silas suddenly changed his command.
"Piplup!"
Piplup instinctively started to charge again before abruptly stopping.
It turned toward Silas.
"Trust me."
Silas's confident gaze and tone immediately eased its worries.
Opening its beak, Piplup unleashed a high-speed stream of water.
"That won't work."
Pryce's voice echoed throughout the Gym.
As if to prove his point, several Snorunt deliberately charged straight into the incoming Water Gun.
The destruction of illusions had no effect on the real body.
"Not necessarily."
For the first time since the battle began, a smile appeared on Silas's face.
BOOM!
An ice pillar behind Snorunt suddenly collapsed.
"Snorunt?!"
Startled, Snorunt turned around.
All it saw was a massive cascade of ice blocks crashing down toward it.
Its vision instantly darkened.
The real Snorunt and all of its copies were buried beneath the falling debris.
The illusions vanished into the air, leaving only the real Pokémon trapped underneath.
"Very good."
Pryce's expression remained completely unchanged.
However, he finally offered praise.
"Excellent use of the environment."
Pryce's expression remained unchanged as he offered Silas a rare compliment.
"But that wasn't the best response. You could have had Piplup rotate its body while using Water Gun, creating an effect similar to a wide-area attack."
Perhaps because he was in a good mood, Pryce unusually began giving Silas battle advice.
Silas nodded.
"But I only caught Piplup recently. It hasn't undergone that kind of training yet. I was worried that spinning around would create too many openings."
"What about the water from Water Sport after it was frozen?" Pryce asked, leaning on his cane.
"You could have used Pound to knock those ice fragments outward.
Because of Water Sport's effect, I had to make Snorunt seal that move off. You had plenty of opportunities to experiment.
Even if that failed, you could have tried using Growl or Charm to disrupt Snorunt. Especially Charm, it had a good chance of causing Snorunt's Double Team to fail.
As for timing, Dig was already a perfect setup move. From the moment Snorunt detected you to the moment it reacted, there would always be a brief delay. That amount of time was more than enough."
In only a few sentences, Pryce provided multiple ways to deal with Double Team.
Silas had actually considered some of those options before. He had simply rejected many of them instinctively.
In his view, they all involved too many uncertain factors.
Using Peck to collapse the ice pillar and bury Snorunt was a far more reliable solution.
Pryce seemed to see through his thoughts.
"Sometimes one failure exists only to prepare for a better response next time. Don't pursue tactical success rates too obsessively."
Silas nodded.
He understood that battles changed in an instant, but his command style had always been like this. It wasn't something he could change overnight.
To put it simply, he thought too much during battles.
Sometimes a Trainer needed the passionate aggression and all-or-nothing momentum of someone like Ash.
Even while reflecting on that, his expression remained calm.
"Piplup, Water Gun."
He ordered Piplup to continue pressing the attack.
"Heh."
Aunt Sima couldn't help laughing.
"Looks like your little distraction trick didn't work, Pryce."
During their conversation, the Snorunt buried beneath the ice debris had quietly changed positions.
But both Silas and Piplup had noticed.
As a result, Water Gun struck Snorunt directly and sent it flying.
Pryce's mouth twitched slightly, whether that counted as a smile was hard to tell.
"Not bad."
Silas smiled faintly.
He had used that same trick plenty of times himself. There was no way he would fall for it.
"Follow up. Use Pound."
"Piplup!"
Without Double Team interfering anymore, Piplup became far more aggressive.
Wrapped in white light, it charged toward the unsteady Snorunt.
"Snorrr!"
A sharp cry escaped Snorunt's mouth.
Piplup's body trembled briefly, but its flippers still slammed heavily into Snorunt.
Snorunt tumbled across the ice several times and couldn't regain its footing.
"Finish it with Water Gun."
A small blue stream of water struck Snorunt with enough force to knock it out completely.
"Snorunt is unable to battle. Piplup wins.
Gym Leader Pryce, please send out your next Pokémon. Challenger Silas, would you like to switch Pokémon?"
Facing Aunt Sima's question, both Silas and Piplup shook their heads simultaneously.
Their attention was already focused on Pryce's second Pokémon.
It looked considerably more intimidating.
Its body was primarily black, with a red tail, silver claws, small golden markings on its forehead and chest, and a red left ear.
It was a Dark- and Ice-type Sneasel.
At that moment, Sneasel was leisurely licking its sharp hooked claws and nearby fur.
Its narrowed eyes radiated a chilling light.
"Piplup..."
Piplup unconsciously took a step backward before angrily shouting.
"Inner Focus."
Silas immediately reached a conclusion.
According to official descriptions, Pokémon with Inner Focus could not flinch.
In reality, the Ability's effects seemed much broader.
Besides legendary Pokémon using overwhelming mental force to suppress opponents, Pokémon with Inner Focus often possessed greater psychic aptitude.
Even those without psychic talent benefited from a more concentrated and intimidating presence, a much weaker version of the pressure legendary Pokémon displayed.
Just like Sneasel was doing now.
However, concentrated willpower was not the same as the Ability Intimidate.
For a Pokémon as prideful as Piplup, such behavior was completely unacceptable.
Fury ignited in its eyes.
Even when it had been unable to hit Snorunt earlier, it hadn't been this angry.
Silas still took the initiative.
"Piplup, use Water Sport."
"Taunt."
Right in front of Piplup's furious gaze, Sneasel smirked disdainfully, raised one claw, and beckoned mockingly.
"Piplup!"
With its emotions pushed to the limit, Piplup fell under Taunt's effect.
Not only did it fail to use Water Sport, but the Water Gun it fired became wildly inaccurate.
Sneasel merely twisted its body and dodged effortlessly.
Cunning light flickered in its eyes.
"Calm down, Piplup!"
Silas's warning had no effect.
Pryce's Taunt strategy had worked far better than expected.
"Quick Attack, then Metal Claw."
Sneasel kicked off the ground.
In the next instant, it became a streak of white light racing toward Piplup.
Slash!
Its claws crossed in a vicious arc, leaving several deep wounds across Piplup's body.
"Piplup!"
The intense pain finally pulled Piplup out of its rage.
Immediately afterward, everything went dark before its eyes.
Having moved behind it, Sneasel unleashed a relentless series of claw attacks, dealing massive damage.
Afterward, Sneasel extended a claw toward Silas in open provocation before scrambling up a nearby ice pillar.
Silas silently recalled Piplup.
The little Pokémon still had a great deal to learn.
Especially its personality, it was truly a double-edged sword.
"Then I'll leave the rest to you, Vulpix."
"Vulpix~"
The snow-white Alolan Vulpix stood gracefully upon the ice.
"An Alolan Vulpix. A truly rare Ice-type Pokémon."
The sharpness in Pryce's eyes softened considerably.
His love for Ice-type Pokémon was unmatched.
Perched atop the ice pillar, Sneasel stared blankly at the beautiful Alolan Vulpix below.
Its elongated left ear made it obvious that it was male.
"Snea..."
Sneasel pressed a claw to its chest.
It felt as though it had fallen in love.
"Vulpix, use Charm."
Silas immediately noticed the opportunity.
A smile appeared on his lips as he issued the command.
It was only fair to return the favor.
Just as Pryce had exploited Piplup's anger with Taunt to swiftly defeat it, Silas could now exploit Sneasel's infatuation and captivate it instead.
Vulpix obediently sat down on the ice.
Its large eyes seemed to shimmer with tears as it gazed up at Sneasel.
"Vulpix~"
With its soft cry, pink energy enveloped Sneasel's body.
...
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