Suddenly, a bold and boisterous male voice called out from not too far away.
"Hey, kid! The moment I arrived, I heard all kinds of strange noises. What the hell are you doing? Are you a poacher?"
Paul turned around and spotted a burly man draped in a cape, his upper body completely bare. He was striding over, his sharp gaze scanning both Paul and the uneven, chaotic terrain surrounding him.
Paul recognized this man instantly—he was Crasher Wake, the Gym Leader of Pastoria City's Gym, also known as the Extreme Mask.
"Mr. Crasher Wake, good evening. My name is Paul, and I'm from Veilstone City. I'm here capturing Croagunk and Skorupi for the Pokemon Center, and I've already reported it to both the authorities and the Pokémon League."
Paul responded politely.
"Reported it? Hmm… I think I heard something about that..."
As a Gym Leader, Crasher Wake was responsible for overseeing various affairs in the city, so he was vaguely aware of such matters.
"And what's your relationship with Reggie? Have I seen you before?"
After all, an outsider coming here to capture a large number of Croagunk—Pastoria City's mascot—was definitely worth looking into.
But the more Crasher Wake looked at this kid, the more familiar he seemed.
"We're brothers. A few years ago, when my brother was traveling, he challenged you."
Since Paul had traveled alongside Reggie back then, it wasn't surprising that Crasher Wake would have some impression of him.
"Ah, so it was you! Now I remember. You're not just here to catch Pokémon, are you?"
Crasher Wake had an expression of realization, his scrutinizing gaze shifting between Paul and his Pokémon.
"I plan to challenge you after this."
"Haha! Then I'll be looking forward to seeing if you're any stronger than your brother."
"I won't disappoint you."
"Alright, I've got other matters to attend to, so I'll be on my way. But Croagunk are the pride of Pastoria City—don't catch too many! If you're going to catch something, catch more Skorupi instead!"
Laughing heartily, Crasher Wake gave Paul a firm pat on the shoulder before heading deeper into the Great Marsh.
Paul watched him leave, and in the next moment, completely disregarded the suggestion about catching more Skorupi.
With so many Croagunk around, why wouldn't he prioritize catching them?
Time passed quickly, and soon, all 100 Poké Balls Paul had brought with him were used up. Just as he was about to leave, he realized that one of his Pokémon was missing.
"Where's Skorupi?"
"Buzz?"
"Chaa?"
"Ursa?"
The three Pokemon exchanged glances before shaking their heads—they hadn't noticed.
"Troublesome... Electabuzz, search this area and track mine and Skorupi's location. I'll head to the lookout tower."
Recalling all his Pokémon except Electabuzz, Paul sprinted toward the Safari Zone's observation deck.
As the tallest structure in Pastoria City, the lookout tower allowed one to survey the entirety of the Great Marsh through its telescopes.
If Skorupi had been gone for this long, it wasn't simply lost—it had to be caught up in something.
Rushing to the observation deck, Paul swiftly scanned the marsh through one telescope after another, meticulously searching the vast expanse.
After an extended search, he failed to find any trace of Skorupi in the outer regions, forcing him to shift his focus toward the inner areas of the Safari Zone.
Finally, near the northeastern corner of the Safari Zone, he spotted his Skorupi locked in a tense standoff against a Drapion.
"What the hell is it doing all the way over there?"
Paul was perplexed—Skorupi had been staying in the outer marshlands, so why had it gone so deep inside? And why was it in such a remote area?
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it. He waved to Electabuzz from afar, signaling it to return before recalling it into its Poké Ball. Then, without hesitation, he entered the Safari Zone.
After explaining the situation to the staff, Paul didn't even bother taking any Safari Balls with him. He simply boarded the train that took him straight to the farthest station.
After spending some time maneuvering through the overgrown swampy terrain, he finally arrived at the scene.
There, in the murky waters, Skorupi and Drapion stood locked in an intense standoff.
Now that he was close enough, Paul could finally understand why Skorupi had been unwilling to leave.
Drapion's massive pincer was tightly clamped around a peculiar, dark purple stone slab—The Toxic Plate.
Half an Hour Ago...
Skorupi had been diligently digging burrows, searching for its kin. Suddenly, it sensed an unusual energy—weak, yet irresistibly compelling.
Realizing that it had stumbled upon something valuable, Skorupi wasted no time, immediately burrowing toward the source of the energy.
Eventually, buried dozens of meters beneath the marshland, it unearthed the Toxic Plate.
Just as it was about to claim its prize and leave, a wild Drapion appeared out of nowhere and snatched the plate from its grasp.
Skorupi had once been a dominant force in the wild. Under Paul's training and after learning from other Drapion at the Pokemon Center, it had honed its combat skills. There was no way it would simply accept having its treasure stolen.
And so, the battle began.
Had it been any other Pokémon, Skorupi could have poisoned them and simply waited for them to succumb to its venom.
But its opponent was a Poison-type Pokémon—immune to poison. Worse yet, it was its own evolved form. On top of that, it had the Battle Armor ability, meaning critical hits were out of the question. And with the Toxic Plate boosting its power, the odds were overwhelmingly against Skorupi.
With all these factors stacked against it, defeating Drapion was out of the question—surviving was already an achievement.
Its only advantage? Smaller size and greater agility.
Relying on its nimbleness, Skorupi continuously retreated and repositioned, trying to create openings.
It had even attempted to use Hone Claws and Focus Energy, hoping to boost its offensive power and turn the tide.
But Drapion wasn't about to be outdone. Though it hadn't learned Focus Energy, it knew Scary Face and Hone Claws!
Every time Skorupi tried to boost its stats, Drapion mirrored it. It also used Scary Face whenever possible to slow Skorupi down.
With its superior stamina and relentless offense, Drapion gave Skorupi no room to execute its strategy.
Even after a prolonged battle, Drapion still had the upper hand in both speed and attack power, steadily wearing Skorupi down.
By the time Paul arrived, Skorupi had been forced to boost its defenses instead of its offense—it had maxed out its physical and special defenses through sheer necessity.
Without those defensive buffs, it would have lost long ago.
Paul didn't immediately intervene. He didn't believe in the typical anime-style trope where a struggling Pokémon suddenly gained an inexplicable power-up and won.
Instead, he observed.
How could Skorupi win?
Moves, abilities, typings, stamina… In every aspect except defense, it was completely outclassed.
And that Drapion had an item, too?!
"An item..."
Paul's eyes narrowed.
To prevent the plate from falling, Drapion's pincer had been locked onto it the entire time. That meant it couldn't use Clamping attacks—it could only strike with blunt force.
"Skorupi, dig underneath it!"
At Paul's command, Skorupi—having just been knocked back—immediately burrowed into the swamp, vanishing from Drapion's sight.
"Kuuu!"
Drapion had encountered this situation many times before, so it remained unfazed. With the advantage of the battlefield and its own ability to Dig, it could easily track Skorupi's position.
The moment Skorupi launched its attack, Drapion made a subtle hop, and flames ignited on both of its massive pincers as it struck toward Skorupi's emerging position.
Sensing that Drapion had left its underground position, Skorupi quickly made the decision not to surface. Instead, it dug deeper into the swampy terrain, narrowly avoiding the fiery assault.
"Attack from behind!"
No matter how high Drapion jumped, it would eventually have to land. The moment it touched down, Skorupi sprang out from behind, its claws glowing white as a barrage of Pin Missiles shot forward like bullets.
Sensing danger, Drapion didn't even bother turning around. It immediately swung its tail, unleashing Poison Jab to block the incoming Pin Missiles. At the same time, it spun 180 degrees to face Skorupi, its pincers still alight with Fire Fang, striking once more.
"Leap onto its back!"
Skorupi nimbly avoided the attack, using Drapion's extended tail as leverage to land right onto its opponent's back.
It continued firing Pin Missiles like a machine gun, striking Drapion directly in the face. The repeated impact forced Drapion to roar in pain, its eyes struggling to stay open.
"Aargh!"
Gritting through the pain, Drapion raised its claws in front of its face for defense, shielding itself from the relentless assault. Then, it swung its tail in a sweeping arc, aiming to swat Skorupi off.
"Dodge and strike from below!"
Skorupi made a quick lateral movement, slipping off Drapion's back and tumbling beneath it. As it fell, it fired another wave of Pin Missiles upward, hammering Drapion's underbelly.
Drapion hadn't boosted its defenses or special defenses—meaning the continuous onslaught of Pin Missiles was beginning to take its toll.
"Aargh!"
With an enraged roar, Drapion abruptly let go of the Toxic Plate it had been guarding. It extended its three massive claws from different angles, all striking toward Skorupi simultaneously.
"Dig!"
Skorupi, now fully in sync with the battle, swiftly burrowed back into the swamp's depths.
"Aargh!"
This time, Drapion didn't hesitate. It immediately used Dig as well, giving chase underground.
A Dig vs. Dig Battle!
Previously, Drapion had always maintained the upper hand in subterranean combat. But now…
"Skorupi, use your tail for Acupressure!"
Paul gave the command in a calm measured tone, standing still on the wetland's edge as he observed.
"Aargh!"
A fierce roar echoed from beneath the ground, followed by an explosion of purple energy bursting upward.
Skorupi emerged right behind it, extending its claws toward Drapion and unleashing yet another relentless Pin Missile barrage.
The storm of Pin Missiles rained down, and after a prolonged grueling battle, Drapion finally collapsed.
"Kuuu~"
The victorious Skorupi happily scooped up the Toxic Plate with its tail and handed it over to Paul.
"Did you figure out the problem?"
Paul accepted the plate without looking at it. Instead, he locked eyes with Skorupi, questioning it.
"Kuu…"
Skorupi nodded, then shook its head uncertainly.
"Do you know why you couldn't defeat Drapion before?"
"Because you weren't fully in control of your own body."
"Kuu?"
"Didn't you notice when you were learning from Drapion?"
"Drapion has an exceptional level of control over its body—especially its tail, which is even more flexible than its claws."
"In battle, your tail isn't just a weapon; it's a tool for boosting your own abilities. It's not just for show."
"When you're not attacking with your tail, why aren't you using it for Acupressure?"
If Skorupi could constantly use its tail to apply Acupressure while attacking, would Drapion have even had time to use Scary Face? Would it have been able to weaken Skorupi before Skorupi could power up?
"Kuu…"
Skorupi lowered its head in shame.
Up until now, it had focused mainly on improving its offensive techniques and poison-based attacks. While it had trained its tail for striking, it hadn't practiced using it simultaneously for buffing moves like Acupressure.
The only reason it had been able to use Acupressure while digging was that it didn't require much thought—just mindless forward digging, freeing up its mind to execute the move.
"There were plenty of openings in that battle."
"If you can't do it yet, then figure out a way to make it happen. If there's no time, create time."
"No more discussion. Reflect on it, then train harder."
With that, Paul withdrew Skorupi into its Poké Ball.
Only then did he finally turn his attention to the Toxic Plate.
At first glance, it looked like just the Zap Plate that Electabuzz had consumed—except for the color. However, unlike the Zap Plate, this one had no cracks or even a single scratch.
After wiping it clean, it looked more like an exquisite artifact than a mere battle relic.
Paul recalled what Reggie had told him—Plates are incredibly resilient. The one Electabuzz consumed had shattered purely by accident.
This Toxic Plate wouldn't undergo any changes even if Skorupi swallowed it. There would be no additional effects beyond the simple power boost to its Poison-type moves.
Unless surgically removed, it would essentially function as a permanently held item.
Since it wouldn't be useful in the short term, Paul simply stowed it away in his backpack and left the Great Marsh.
Back in the swamp, Drapion awoke to find the plate missing. Recalling how it had been defeated by a mere Skorupi, it roared in humiliation and buried itself deep into the muddy terrain, vanishing from sight.
The Next Day – Pastoria Gym
After a full night of recovery, all of Paul's Pokémon had returned to peak condition.
Early in the morning, he resumed training on an empty field. The main focus? Skorupi.
The training was simple: Electabuzz would launch weakened Thunder attacks at Skorupi, forcing it to evade while simultaneously using Acupressure and looking for an opportunity to counterattack.
Meanwhile, Electabuzz was forbidden from moving—training its control over Thunder's precision.
Gabite had once again consumed its Dragon Fang Soup, continuing its Bloodline Awakening Regimen while practicing Dragon Dance.
Its sparring partner? Ursaring, who had undergone extensive training and could now burn itself within three seconds to trigger its Guts ability.
Ursaring wasn't just standing there either. It was surrounded by a pile of Berries, attempting to control its inner flames.
Whenever it burned itself, it would eat a berry to heal. This cycle allowed it to refine its self-inflicted burn timing.
The goal? To shorten the time it took to activate Guts—ideally to just one or two seconds, or even instantaneously.
Only then could it move on to the next level: achieving a "false burn state"—a condition where it could trigger the Guts boost and Facade's double power without actually taking damage.
Of course, that stage would be far more difficult. The perfect balance would be extremely hard to find and maintain.
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