I Sting (Pokemon Poison Type Specialist)

Chapter 16

In a show of extreme pettiness, Calvin kept copying Virah's commands throughout their battle.

And thanks to her constant need to change commands, Virah has only ever gotten Nitro to hit their opposing Magnemite with String Shot once. And even then the Steel/Electric Type shrugged it off like it was nothing.

All the blasted thing had to do to escape from the webbing was shock it with electricity and then move forward.

Since Magnemites didn't have wings to flap or hands to move, its flight wasn't hindered by the webbing.

Everyone knew that in order for a Magnemite to get from point A to point B they just had to… float towards it, uncaring about any need for “natural” movement but to a Magnemite, hovering off the ground is as natural as it could possibly get for its movement so all it had to do to shrug off the weakened webbing of Nitro was move.

Right now, they were at a stalemate but Virah didn't think that would last for long because Calvin would want to end this quickly, he's impatient like that.

True to Virah's expectations, her opponent was the first one to break the silence and commanded his Magmenite to- “use Thunder Shock!”

The Steel/Electric Type let out a yellow bolt of electricity from its singular eye, and like lightning made manifest, the bolt careened towards the closest object- Nitro, who couldn't have possibly dodged something that moved so fast.

“Alright!” Calvin pumped his fist, “now use Thunder Shock again!”

“Nitro, run directly below it,” Virah commanded calmly and as her Pokemon moved, she thought about how to win something like this but got almost nothing, if she taught her Weedle Drill Rush instead of Roost this would have been more viable but since she didn't…

Virah bit her lip, the only real way she saw herself winning this was if she could somehow get the Magnemite to be covered in String Shot which… isn't going to happen any time soon…

Nitro, who kept moving despite the electrically charged Magnemite hovering above it, managed to dodge its attack and then Calvin just commanded his Magnemite to do it again and the steel ball started charging up the attack.

Virah saw the opportunity and took it, “Nitro, use String Shot while it's still charging up, intercept the Thunder Shock with your own move if you have to,”

“Weedle!” Nitro stopped running and raised several of its segments into the air, it pulled its head back and fired thick webbing just as the Magnemite shot out its own attack, both moves met in the air, with the String Shot… neutralizing the electricity.

Huh.

Virah eyed Nitro, he was no worse for wear, though admittedly he also looked a bit tired but he should move fine even if he was covered in his own webbing right? He lives in a dome of the stuff so it should work.

Virah sucked in a lungful of air in anticipation of her admittedly insane command, “Nitro, String Shot, fire it on yourself,”

“We-” Nitro's powerful cry in response died and he stared at her weirdly, “Weedle?”

“Just do it!” Virah shouted, “String Shot! Aim it at yourself! Now!”

She may have sounded harsh but it did the trick and Nitro's nose puffed up, a second later, his webbing was stuck to his body, and the Weedle, although immobile, looked no worse for wear, Virah commanded him to take the next Thunder Shock while attempting to get out of his own silk.

The bolt of electricity came and struck Nitro, making him cry out his name in pain.

Virah watched on, “Nitro, bear with it,” it most likely wasn't obvious from the outside perspective but Nitro's cry of pain had been much lighter than it was the first time he was hit by the same attack, and Nitro most likely hasn't realized that too, “Nitro, stop trying to get out and use Roost,”

The line of webbing stopped moving and then a second later, it glowed white, Calvin scowled, “what? That's cheating!”

“Nitro try to get out again!” Virah didn't have the time nor was she planning to banter with her opponent.

Nitro called his name out in strained, struggling cries as he wiggled out of the prison web he put himself into- with Virah's command, - and then it all stopped when another bolt of electricity came for him, after that, Nitro didn't bother to let out sounds and just focused on getting out of his webbing.

Then, finally he was out and Virah sighed in relief when she saw some of his own webbing was stuck to his body and a few strands even touched the ground- that should work as a pseudo Lightning Rod ability.

If not then Virah just wasted her time- but she's sure that she didn't. She's confident.

Virah doubled down.

“Nitro, do it again!” Whitney, her opponent, and even the spectators looked at Virah as if she had gone insane, “use String Shot on yourself!”

Nitro didn't even hesitate this time around and did as told, he puffed his nose and then shot himself with his own webbing. The fluid stuck to him and he once again struggled to break out of it, Virah spoke out a command, “stop trying to get out and use Roost to heal yourself!”

“Magnemite shoot it with Thunder Shock! Make it strong!” Her opponent said that last part as if that would somehow make his Pokemon's attack stronger.

Nitro glowed white and then a second later, bright yellow as he used Roost, and the Magnemite’s attack struck him.

“Now Nitro, try to get… out?..” Virah's command went short when the blob of string that was Nitro started glowing white and she wondered what was happening until Whitney breathed it out-

“He's evolving.” She turned to Virah, shocked, “did you know about this?”

Virah certainly didn't, but now that it was mentioned, Kakunas and Metapods were thought to use their own string to strengthen their bodies naturally without using Harden so maybe this was like that?..

Virah played it cool and nodded, “yeah,”

Whitney's impressed look turned dry, “you didn't, didn't you?”

Virah ignored her and focused on Nitro, who, in a split second after glowing, had now turned into a Kakuna. Concern welled up in her chest and she felt tempted to check up on him and how he is after suddenly evolving but that could wait till later, for now, she needed to finish the battle.

Virah swiped her hands, “Harden!”

It was the signature move of Kakunas and Metapods out there and whenever someone hears the word Harden they don't think of anything other than those two things. That was how embedded in the minds of the local people it was.

Nitro's body glowed white, then yellow once Thunder Shock hit it but he didn't seem to have noticed it- or maybe that's because he now lacked a mouth as well as the capacity to show pain after turning into a Kakuna.

“Harden again!”

“Magnemite! Thunder Shock!”

Those two moves repeated themselves- with the occasional Roost from Virah to heal Nitro, - until Nitro couldn't use Harden any longer.

“Nitro, use String Shot!” Virah commanded with a sweep of her arms.

Nitro got paralyzed from the onslaught of electric attacks earlier but that was fine, Kakunas were already unable to move anyway and there was simply no point for Nitro to be worried about something like paralysis when he was already immobile.

“Move out of the way!” Her opponent counter commanded but the Magnemite was too slow and the now stationary Nitro was able to aim just right for him to predict and hit the Steel/Electric type, the Magnemite kept moving despite the stuff all over its body but Virah could tell that the webbing slowed it down, “Magnemite! Shock it-”

“String Shot again!”

“Kaaaaaaaaa-” With a cry of his name, Nitro's two, spear-like hands in front of him opened up and viscous webbing shot out from the orifice he was hiding between them, hitting the already immobile Magnemite.

“Again! Nitro!” It was on the third String Shot when the Magnemite finally used its Thunder Shock to soften the webbing on itself but by then it was too late as the second layer had already hardened and the third one had just landed.

Making the Magnemite's prior attempt at softening the webbing with the heat of its electricity moot.

Virah grinned, “Okay, Nitro, uh-” she eyed the Magnemite in the air in a brief pause, “- use String Shot and pull it to lower the Magnemite!”

“Kakuna!” Unlike its thick netting from before, the string that shot out of Nitro this time was smooth and wire-thin, it struck the web all over his opponent and glued itself there like a harpoon. With a mighty cry, Nitro pulled the Magnemite towards itself.

“Thunder Shock Magnemite!” Calvin now sounded desperate and Virah smirked at the thought of him panicking.

“Not so strong now are you?” She taunted, earning a glare. She glared back before refocusing on the battle, the Magnemite was now within Nitro's reach and Virah commanded him to do a single move, “Nitro, Bug Bite!”

Her Kakuna glowed green and then it bashed its non-existent head against the Magnemite next to it.

“Do it again!”

“Thunder Shock! It's close enough to be affected!”

The two trainers called out at once and although both moves were hitting their opponents, the spectators around them already knew who was going to win, and when they saw the Kakuna look unphased from the electricity that had struck it while the Magnemite wailed out its name in pain from its opponent's retaliatory bash, they knew that all they had to do now was wait for the inevitable victor to win.

And it didn't take long for the Magnemite to soon stop moving, eyes lidded.

Whitney reached a proud hand in Virah's direction, “And the winner is, trainer Virah!”

As everyone around her cheered for her, Virah eyed Nitro in concern- Weedles weren't supposed to evolve in just one month.