But now is not the time to think about these things. Before the two Team Magma members can react, they need to act as quickly as possible.
"Skorupi, Poison Spikes!"
"Slowking, Psychic!"
Both Team Magma members were accompanied by a Mightyena, preventing Skorupi from attacking the Trainers directly—but the sudden strike from Slowking could.
After a full day of practicing Poison Spikes, Skorupi's execution was much smoother compared to its first attempt earlier. Though the move was still rare, its control had improved significantly.
A cluster of Poison Spikes scattered across the ground, landing right beneath the feet of the two Team Magma members and their Mightyena.
Then, with its power amplified to the strongest state, Slowking unleashed a Psychic attack—not at the Mightyena, but at one of the Team Magma members directly.
A human body simply couldn't withstand the sheer force of Slowking's psychic power in its current state.
The targeted Team Magma member collapsed to the ground, blood seeping from various pressure points on his face.
His Mightyena stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
Taking advantage of the moment, the remaining Team Magma member sprang into action.
He pulled out two Pokéballs, summoning a Camerupt and another Mightyena.
However, because of Skorupi's Poison Spikes, both the newly summoned Camerupt and Mightyena were poisoned the moment they landed.
Things were going much smoother than expected.
Unexpectedly, they had already taken down one enemy.
The Mightyena belonging to the unconscious Trainer was no longer a threat, and Aoki had already gathered intel on the remaining three Pokémon through his System.
Both Mightyena, of light green potential, were at level 34, while the Camerupt, with green potential, was slightly stronger at level 38.
"Skorupi, Agility and charge in! Venoshock—focus on the poisoned Mightyena!"
"Slowking, Water Gun—lock onto Camerupt!"
As a Fire- and Rock-type, Camerupt was four times weak to Water. With Slowking's boosted Psychic power enhancing its attack, the Supercharged Water Gun struck Camerupt's body with a sizzling impact.
If not for the intensely hot environment weakening Slowking's Water-type moves, that attack alone might have been enough to take down Camerupt immediately.
Meanwhile, Skorupi lunged forward, directly engaging the two Mightyena. Normally, a fully grown Mightyena would be about the same size as Skorupi, but given Skorupi's current strength, gripping one in its pincers was no problem.
Having fought many Mightyena before, Skorupi was all too familiar with their weak points.
It spat out a mouthful of murky venom, striking the already poisoned Mightyena in the face. The potent toxin burned, causing the Mightyena to howl in agony.
With Skorupi's poison sac fully developed—and enhanced by the residual toxins from the shattered Toxic Orb—it now produced highly potent venom!
But Skorupi didn't stop there. Unlike most Pokémon, Skorupi had four attack-capable body parts: its pincers, its mouth, and most notably, the deadly stinger on its tail—its strongest weapon.
"Skorupi, Poison Tail!" Aoki commanded telepathically.
Snap!
With blinding speed, Skorupi's tail hook lashed out, striking the Mightyena's waist at a critical point!
Thanks to its Sniper ability and the prior damage inflicted, the poisoned Mightyena collapsed.
The entire sequence took no more than two or three seconds.
Even in fast-paced battles, it usually took at least five or six seconds for Trainers to issue commands and for Pokémon to react.
But Aoki, issuing orders through telepathy, eliminated that delay entirely.
"Camerupt, Lava Plume! Target Skorupi!"
"Mightyena, Bite!"
The Team Magma member was always a few seconds behind Aoki.
Only after losing one of his Mightyena did he react and give an order.
But even though his command came first this time, his Pokémon lacked the same level of coordination and understanding that Aoki's team had.
And with Aoki's telepathic connection, his Pokémon could receive and act on orders instantly.
"Slowking, Water Pulse—take out Camerupt!"
"Skorupi, don't hold back—Poison Tail Impact! (Poison Tail + Venoshock)"
This time, Aoki and his Pokémon executed a textbook example of seizing the initiative.
Slowking formed a Water Pulse at lightning speed, enhanced by its Psychic abilities, and fired it at Camerupt just as the Fire-type Pokémon had finished condensing its flames.
However, before Camerupt could launch its attack, the Water Pulse struck, completely dousing the fireball and causing severe damage due to its quadruple Water weakness.
Camerupt staggered, suffering even greater injuries.
Meanwhile, Skorupi charged at the remaining Mightyena, gripping its body tightly with both pincers.
The Mightyena struggled, but Skorupi's pincers were its strongest weapons.
Given the gap in their strength, once Skorupi had a hold, escaping was nearly impossible.
The key to Poison Tail Impact was poisoning the opponent first with Poison Tail, then using Venoshock's effect to double the attack power against poisoned targets.
After practicing this combination for a full day, Skorupi had nearly perfected the technique.
Of course, for this strategy to work, Poison Tail needed to successfully inflict poison.
That might be difficult for a standard Poison-type Pokémon, but for Skorupi—whose venom was highly concentrated due to its fully developed poison sac—poisoning the target was almost guaranteed.
Injecting its toxin through its stinger, Skorupi ensured the Mightyena was poisoned. Unless the opponent had extreme poison resistance, there was no avoiding it.
With a flick of its tail, Skorupi landed a direct hit on Mightyena's waist.
Then, it spewed a stream of venom from its mouth, dousing the opponent!
The effectiveness of this combo also depended on Skorupi's sheer physical strength. It needed to be strong enough to keep the opponent restrained while executing the dual-phase attack.
For Skorupi, this was an ideal technique that perfectly suited its battle style—one that few other Pokémon could replicate.
The high demands of strength, multiple attack limbs, and reliable poison induction made this strategy unique to Skorupi.
With that final attack, the last Mightyena fell.
Aoki needed to finish this fight quickly—so he could assist Steven.