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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Both plans had their risks, and both had their benefits. The best case scenario for trapping Dodrio was forcing it to ineffectually wait out its pump while steadily chipping away at its vitality, but it left an active (albeit limited) combatant on the field. Trapping Corviknight risked waking it up, but if successful would have given Isaac and Ash time to pummel a sitting duck. In the end, Isaac went for the less risky but perhaps less reward option, and was rewarded with another hit to Ash.[break][break]

Had Gavin come to the same conclusion that Isaac did? With Sanford's impact lessened, Gavin seemed ready to wear Ash down while Isaac could only watch.[break][break]

"Thanks for the tip! But something tells me keeping up this whirlpool's more trouble than it's worth, anyway," Isaac figured. Electric. Steel. Steel. Normal. And an enemy Ghost. This battlefield wasn't Sanford's ideal. But with how much of Gavin's team had been scouted out by the constant switches, Isaac knew a Pokemon far better suited for the fight.[break][break]

He recalled Sanford with the toss of a Pokeball, and as soon as Ash tossed Bongo let fly a replacement of his own. "Kitchen nightmare, hurry!" he called towards the indeterminate spot of red light.[break][break]

There was no way Gavin would know which of Isaac's Pokemon had a passion for cooking. But Ash would be all too familiar as red light gave way to even redder magma. Perhaps Bongo's attack would connect. Perhaps it would miss. But the second the Sandslash committed to a movement, the freshly-released Camerupt would have finished drawing power, launching a massive burst of lava right towards the pesky interloper.[break][break]

A pair of one-two punches from the shadows, each strong enough to shatter bone. If Gavin wanted dirty tricks, he'd get dirty tricks, alright.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"All the more reason to not give it a chance to show that anger," Isaac said. Yet, did they really have a choice? In the miasma and the snowstorm, the Sandslash was practically invisible. That hail would need to be handled before they could even fathom getting a hit in edgewise.[break][break)

Isaac dared to stand against the snowstorm nonetheless. Kilimanjaro's hump steamed from where hailstones rained into its crater, already melting into nothingness just from convection alone. While he couldn't keep the hailstorm at bay in full, he could at least blow giant chunks out of the cover the Sandslash hid within. Maybe that'd be enough, creating little openings that Bongo could attack through as snow melted and shadows illuminated.[break][break]

Maybe that was what went through Isaac's head as Kilimanjaro readied another Eruption. Or maybe that was all smoke and mirrors, just some big misdirection before Isaac ordered him to "Flip the grill!"[break][break]

The Camerupt wheeled around, his aim adjusting from the Sandlash he had been facing to the Dodrio that had seemingly escaped his notice. The bird was already further from its paetner due to its rush to attack the retreating Sanford. With that distance and the focus on Sanddlash established, would it even know that it was under attack until the burst of lava was coming?[break][break]

But the snow wasn't only for Gavin's Pokemon. One of Ash's reserves was also resonating with it; dazed and worn from the earlier fighting, the light of evolution had graced her with new power and a second wind. "Alright! Way to go, Maple!" Isaac cheered, shooting the newly-christened Glaceon some encouragement.[break][break]

Already, Isaac could see the game plan forming against Gavin's fearsome fivesome. But just who was that sinister sixth?

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Kilimanjaro tried to intervene. He really did. But the Camerupt wasn't exactly a runner, and the unforgiving cold made it hard to even locate the Thwackey at first. By the time he arrived, hump bubbling with freshly-generated lava, the poor thing was already frozen solid. Even if Kilimanjaro's thick fur and boiling lava managed to unfreeze Bongo, he would have already succumbed to the cold.[break][break]

"I'm sorry. I should have been closer," Isaac said. With his focus elsewhere, the already-slow Kilimanjaro had no chance of avoiding the incoming Dodrio. It burst from the steadily-diminishing Whirlpool like the birth of Venus, bull rushing the Camerupt right in its flank.[break][break]

Ash's words echoed through Isaac's head. Maybe they couldn't win. But before their teams were systematically picked apart, they could at least bloody Gavin's nose. "Brace yourself and hang on!" Isaac shouted, even as the force of the Shadow Dodrio on Kilimanjaro's side threatened to make him crumple. Instead, the Camerupt grit its teeth, leaning into Dodrio in a makeshift clinch. Its large, sturdy chin hooked around the Dodrio, pulling it closer against his side.[break][break]

"Now make Bonjo and Reinhardt proud!" The Camerupt bellowed furiously as, once more, its humps began to bubble with lava. However, if its previous endeavors relied on a focused burst of power, this next technique was focused on maximizing area of effect instead. A wide burst of lava spewed from its humps, the Lava Plume aiming to cover damn near the entire battlefield.[break][break]

In the ideal circumstance, this could be a momentum shifter. Dodrio may have been grappled against Kilimanjaro's flank. Sandslash may have been rendered too drowsy to dodge. With a little bit of luck, both of them may have been seared badly by the Camerupt's last stand. Even if luck wasn't on his side, all of the lava would wreak havoc on the snowfield and cast light within the Miasma. Would the Sandslash be nearly so dodgy with its advantages stripped away?[break][break]

The counterpunch would inevitably spell Kilimanjaro's doom. Isaac could only hope they'd make this final burst of defiance count.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac's fist clenched as he realized that his technique had gone horribly right. The Sandslash was buried in lava, and for the first time today they had bloodied Gavin's nose. Dodrio was soon to follow, barely spared a battle-ending burn by his companion's last Safeguard. But in his haste to throw this one two punch, he had tossed an elbow his ally's way. Maple, freshly evomved, may well have been next.[break][break]

But Ash was not one to be counted out, and neither were his Pokemon. A Snow Cloak became an ice wall as Maple unleashed her fledgling control over the air's temperature. It bought her just enough space to push away from the lava, trading a surefire burn and a world of pain for a sprained ankle and the momentum advantage.[break][break)

Isaac always put his faith in Pokemon to do the unpredictable and survive the unthinkable. In moments like this, his faith was rewarded. So, too, would be the Pokemon that had put in such hard work.[break][break]

Dodrio slammed into Kilimanjaro one more time. This time, the great camel collapsed, letting out a mournful howl as his world went dark. "You really outdid yourself, buddy," Isaac said as he recalled him. But as he recalled with one hand, he tossed his next Pokeball with another. "Charles, triage!"[break][break]

Maple would find her sprain eased and her wounds healed as Isaac's final Pokemon, a Galarian Rapidash, emerged from his ball. The noble unicorn aimed its horn at the brave Glaceon, rewarding its endeavors with the soothing light of a Heal Pulse. Frankly, Isaac knew Charles would be the prime target as soon as he'd hit the battlefield. But that was why Isaac had held him back for so long.[break][break]

Isaac turned to Ashley. "Hey. Bongo and Rein. Do any of them have any fight left in them. Even a drop?" If he could squeeze off any extra attacks, he'd gleefully take the chance. But if he couldn't . . .[break][break]

Sometimes, a wish was all it took.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]All eyes were on Maple now. Gavin seemed hellbent on knocking one of the two fighters out of the battle early. In some regards, it was a sensible idea. Two half-strength fighters were capable of dishing out twice as much pain as one at full power, so every effort to eliminate Ashley from the fight was just a further step towards securing his own victory.[break][break]

Yet to let one's attention wander on the battlefield was a massive risk in its own right. With nobody keeping Charles in check, Isaac was able to keep the momentum in his favor. "Now!" he called, an orb of bright pink Mystical Fire forming at the tip of the Rapidash's horn. With the Dhelmise committed to its heavy swing, Isaac was sure he'd be able to sear the seaweed colony before it could pull back.[break][break]

There was no way he'd land the KO, of course. Dhelmise were made of sterner stuff than that, Shadows were hardier still, and it had yet to be touched this battle. But Isaac needed to claw for every advantage he could get, even if it put his own Pokemon at risk. If he let a fully-healed Charles faint, he was effectively trading one Pokemon for another. There would be no further progress made. He had to commit; one hit, one round's worth of exertion, even one wasted minute of Gavin's time would take this gambit and turn it into a full-on trade.[break][break]

"I just wanted to make sure they were okay," Isaac said, his tone casual and neutral. He wasn't going to let Gavin onto his scheme. "I know your Pokemon are real special to you, and aren't always the in-the-ball type. Bongo, especially. Must be killing the little dude, having to wait around like that." A silent promise followed those words. Bongo wouldn't be left waiting for long, so long as Isaac had his way.[break][break]

Everything was coming together perfectly. And all Charles had to do was live long enough to die.

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