Pokemon: Master of tactics
Chapter 167 - Pokemon Master Of Tactics: 167

After the start signal, Alex and Jasmine started giving out their orders at the same time.

"Crobat, use Shadow Ball while maintaining a distance of 40 meters from Steelix." ​​

"Steelix, use Sandstorm."

Although most Pokémon can dodge an attack from Crobat over 40 meters, Steelix was an exception due to his towering height and sluggish speed.

And Crobat, who was 40 meters away from Steelix, could easily dodge all of Steelix's attacks. Thus, this combat range was optimal for Crobat.

Crobat finished first and sent a purple-black ball in the direction of Steelix, who was still preparing his move.

Steelix couldn't evade and was hit by Crobat. Even though he was hit, it didn't look like it did much harm. Alex would estimate around 10-15% HP was lost.

When Alex saw how Crobat's best move only did so little harm, he couldn't help but be happy that he didn't use a physical attack.

If that were a physical move, Alex thinks it would have done less than 5% damage. Internally, he was really glad that Crobat can use [Shadow Ball], along with it being on the Expert rank.

"Crobat, keep on blasting Shadow Ball."

Steelix, who had prepared his move, covered the whole battlefield with a stream of sand.

Jasmine hadn't trained [Sandstrom] like Alex did to make it as dense as possible. And Steelix did not use a move to generate dust, so Alex could still see everything on the battlefield.

Although the Sandstrom would do a bit of damage, Alex wasn't worried about a non-Expert rank [Sandstorm]'s damage.

"Steelix, use Rock Polish 3 times."

Alex, who heard this, couldn't help but think it was a risky move.

Crobat and Steelix were only given command for 1 move, so the same moves were used for a short period of time.

After a few seconds, Steelix was able to successfully use [Rock Polish] 3 times.

And since the [Shadow Ball] is on Expert rank, it is naturally faster than a non-Expert move. So Crobat was able to use the Shadow Ball 4 times in the same period Steelix used his move 3 times.

Steelix with 3x [Rock Polish] was now many times faster than before, though still a bit slower than Crobat.

Although Steelix was a bit slower, he could still hit Crobat on the battlefield.

In order for Crobat to be able to successfully use the hit-and-run tactic, he has to be much faster than the opponent since the border limits the area and will obstruct him if he doesn't fly away fast enough.

Alex remembered his childhood when he used to play catch. Even if Steelix is slightly slower, it is easy for him to intercept Crobat in this limited area.

For example, you play catch in a 10x10 meter space. Even if the person running away is a bit faster than the catcher, the catcher can still easily catch the person since the runner will have restricted places to run. The catcher has to be a good deal slower than the person running away for him to not being able to catch up.

Jasmine knows that too but chose not to chase after Crobat right away. She gave her next command, "Steelix, use Rest."

Alex, who saw Steelix start preparing this [Rest], said with a winning smile, "Crobat, fly in front of Steelix and keep on using Shadow Ball."

Jasmine was confused when she heard this.

If Steelix uses [Rest] & [Sleep Talk], Steelix can use a random move. So it's disadvantageous for Crobat to be in close range of Steelix as he could get hit by melee moves of Steelix.

Crobat started using Shadow Ball and hovered in front of Steelix, waiting for Alex's next order.

Steelix, who had already received 7 [Shadow Ball], had wounds all over his body. It looked like he didn't have much HP left.

Steelix was done with his preparation and immediately used [Rest].

His body fell asleep on the floor, and after only 1 second, all injuries on his body were almost gone.

Alex, who saw how powerful the healing power of [Rest] was, wasn't even a bit surprised.

He knows from practice he did with Eevee and books he has read how powerful the move [Rest] is. But it is not without any cons.

[Rest] that is not on the Expert rank will make the Pokémon sleep for a very long time. If you are unlucky, you may get attacked 10 times by your opponent before you wake up.

Alex smiled when he said.

"Crobat, use Haze."

Although [Haze] cannot remove all of the reinforcements, it can remove most of them.

Jasmine, who heard this, showed a grave expression but didn't know what to do now.

Before the fight, she had the feeling that she would win easily. But now, she noticed how Alex totally led her by the nose in this fight.

Her whole strategy was interpreted entirely by her opponent and completely countered without giving her any chance.

Jasmine thought for a moment, but she couldn't think of anything in this short time, so she helplessly said, "Steelix, use Sleep Talk."

Crobat, who started earlier, used [Haze] and lightly hit Steelix, who was currently sleeping on the floor.

"Crobat, use Shadow Ball while keeping a 40-meter distance."

Jasmine, hearing this, knew she was in a very bad position. She could only hope that Steelix would wake up soon before getting defeated by Crobat, which was really unlikely.

If she had known this beforehand, she would have preferred using [Stone Edge], which has a large attack area.

Although Crobat could dodge most attacks due to 40 meters gap, it wouldn't be impossible to hit Crobat often and fast enough for Steelix to win.

But this method is very dependent on luck and only be successful if the Goddess of Luck gives her a blessing.

Jasmine wasn't ready to use a tactic that only had a 25% chance of success in a fight where she thought she had the upper hand.

After Steelix woke up, he only had around 20% HP left. Even though Steelix woke up, he was too far and too slow to hit Crobat.

Jasmine had no other choice but to use the [Rest] again and hope that Steelix would wake up earlier.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. You know, the Murphy's law...

...

Steelix and Crobat fought for another 40 seconds before Steelix lost unconsciousness.

When Alex looked at the unconscious Steelix on the floor, he couldn't help but think, "Hmm, easier than expected."

"But if Rest had been on the Expert rank, this fight would have become more difficult. Not that it's important."

Crobat, who didn't have a wound on his body, showed an arrogant expression as he looked in the direction of Scizor.

Alex, who saw this, couldn't help but think, "Crobat, If I were the trainer of Steelix, I would have beaten you with as much difficulty as snatching candy from a kid. Welp, it doesn't actually matter."

Although Alex thought that he had gotten a bit arrogant, he really had some good ideas to use Steelix's moveset and strengths optimally.

Jasmine, who saw her mighty Steelix unconscious, couldn't help but think, "H- How did this happen? I've never been so badly defeated by Pokémon on almost the same level, not to mention even lower level. Steelix is so strong, and yet he easily lost because of my incompetence."

After a few seconds of grief, she gave a long sigh and thought, "I need to become a better trainer."

When she had this thought, she couldn't help but look in the direction of Alex.

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