Kay knew that he should find something as soon as possible, as it was clear to Kay that it would be hard for Eevee to finish this battle with its current movepool.
Just a few seconds of thinking were enough, and Kay's eyes glowed while a smile appeared on his mouth; it seemed that he had found something to get out of this situation.
Kay remembered a past battle inside a dungeon, where he and Eevee had faced a Magnemite.
That fight had been just as intense, but they had come up with an effective tactic to win the battle against it; Magnemite had only one eye, and with Eevee's speed, it would be hard for it to follow Eevee's movements.
"Eevee! Double Team! Then Quick Attack, and circle around it nonstop!"
Eevee, still slightly twitching from the last hit, heard the command. A smirk grew on its face. The smirk showed that it understood what Kay was trying to do.
"Good," Kay muttered, noticing Eevee's expression. You know what to do.
Suddenly, several images of Eevee appeared, surrounding Magnemite in a blur of motion.
The real Eevee moved quickly between its illusions, zipping around Magnemite in unpredictable patterns.
With only one eye, the floating Pokémon began to turn in place, clearly struggling to track its target.
Then came a strike.
Eevee leapt in from one side, and used Bite on Magnemite's shell, and disappeared again, circling around for the next attack.
Kay smiled while thinking, 'Bite's mastery level increased in the previous game. That makes its execution faster now…'
But his smile faded when he heard his opponent calmly say, "Magnemite, Charge."
Magnemite's body glowed with a pulse of energy.
Then the man spoke again. "Charge one more time."
A second wave of electric energy pulsed from Magnemite's body. Sparks flew all around it.
Kay knew that Magnemite's electric moves were going to hit even harder now, which showed that his opponent wanted to finish the battle in one attack.
Kay thought while looking at the amount of energy charged by the Magnemite. 'If Eevee gets hit again with all that charged energy… It's over. But I can't stop attacking. That Magnemite's HP is low. One more round might do it.'
Eevee continued circling at high speed, striking when it saw an opening, biting, and retreating with incredible speed.
But then, Eevee's body suddenly flickered, its legs locked up, and it stumbled.
It was the effect of paralysis. It was the worst timing for Kay.
"No!" Kay gasped.
"Eevee! Put some distance between you two! Dodge if he tries to hit you!" Kay reacted quickly.
Eevee gritted its teeth and tried to move, its body still trembling with sparks.
Then the opponent raised his voice, "Magnemite. Discharge. Finish it."
A bright burst of electricity exploded from Magnemite again; this one was far more powerful than before.
The ground trembled as the electric wave surged outward, slamming into Eevee before it could fully react.
The force of the blast lit up the area, and Kay shielded his eyes for a second.
"Eevee!!" he cried.
What shocked Kay was the pace of the execution of the attack; Magnemite was faster this time than the last time.
Kay estimated that maybe it was the effect of Charge that reduced the time needed for the execution.
A thick cloud of smoke blanketed the battlefield after Magnemite's powerful Discharge attack. The flash of electricity had been intense, and now nothing could be seen.
Kay stood still, clutching Eevee's empty Pokéball in his hand, his breath caught in his throat. The silence that followed was unsettling; no rustling, no voices, no footsteps.
Just the lingering crackle of static energy buzzing faintly in the air. The thick, grey smoke hovered low, refusing to clear quickly.
Kay narrowed his eyes, his heartbeat loud in his ears as he tried to peer through the haze, desperate to see what had happened to his partner.
Gradually, the smoke began to thin, pushed aside by the gentle breeze that swept across the open field inside the forest.
Shapes slowly emerged, vague outlines at first. Kay took a cautious step forward, his entire body tense.
As the smoke continued to clear, he finally saw Eevee's small body lying on the ground, unmoving.
Faint trails of electricity cracked across its fur, remnants of the devastating electric attack it had just suffered. Kay's heart sank.
He rushed forward, dropping to his knees and gathering Eevee in his arms, holding it tightly against his chest.
"Eevee!" he cried out, his voice strained and worried. "Eevee, come on, say something!" The Pokémon slowly opened its eyes, its gaze locking onto Kay's face.
Kay sighed a sigh of relief after Eevee opened its eyes; at least it was still alive.
For just a moment, there was a flicker of regret in Eevee's eyes; then, it closed its eyes and fainted completely.
Before Kay could fully process the situation, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed across the field.
The other player emerged from the last of the fading smoke, walking confidently with a slight smirk on his face.
"Give me the map you drew," he said coldly. "Hand it over, and you can keep your life."
The words struck Kay like a slap. His eyes widened, the weight of the situation suddenly pressing down even harder.
'He knows about the map? How did he know about it?' Though Kay.
That map had taken him hours to put together. The idea that this man knew about it and had been tracking him was unsettling. He must have been watching Kay for a long time without noticing. The realization sent a chill down his spine.
The man noticed Kay's reaction and continued with a cruel smirk. "You really thought you were moving freely? I've been watching you ever since the organizers revealed the players' positions. I saw you when you headed for the tall grass field. I had eyes on you even before."
He stepped closer with every word, while Kay, still kneeling, was spraying a potion on Eevee, trying to stabilize it.
"Hurry up," the man added, his tone growing colder. "I don't have the whole day." Kay looked up, his mind racing. His only option was Growlithe.
Slowly, Kay reached into his pocket, pretending to follow the order. His fingers brushed against Growlithe's Pokéball.
As Kay gripped the Pokéball, the man narrowed his eyes. "Don't try anything stupid. The map's in your bag, not your pocket. Magnemite is still floating and fully capable of ending you in a second."
Kay gave a slow nod, his expression unreadable. Then, with sudden speed, he pulled out the Pokéball and hurled it toward the enemy, leaping backward to create space while still holding Eevee securely.
The man's eyes widened as he saw the ball flying through the air. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure if it was a trick or a real Pokéball.
But when the red light burst from the ball and struck the ground, he realized the truth; that Kay had a second Pokémon.
His entire strategy, which relied on the assumption that Kay only had one partner, collapsed in an instant.
Growlithe landed between Kay and the man with a strong bark, fire in its eyes. Kay didn't waste a second.
"Growlithe, Ember, then Double Kick!" he shouted. The other trainer was still stunned by Growlithe's appearance and was a step too slow.
By the time he called out, "Magnemite, dodge!" it was already too late. Growlithe had already launched a glowing ball of fire that exploded against Magnemite's body, flames dancing across its metallic frame.
The Fire-type move hit hard, and Magnemite's Steel typing made it vulnerable to fire.
Magnemite let out a mechanical screech as its hover wavered. But Growlithe wasn't done. With practiced precision, it leapt up and struck Magnemite with both hind legs in a clean Double Kick.
The force of the blow knocked the steel Pokémon from the sky and sent it crashing to the ground.
The man turned quickly to check on Magnemite, his heart pounding. After all the damage it had taken from Eevee's attacks earlier and now Growlithe's brutal combo, Magnemite was done.
It lay on the ground, sparks flying weakly from its body, unable to continue the fight. The battle was over.
Kay stood tall, still cradling Eevee gently in his arms, while Growlithe stood protectively in front of him, flames still flickering in its mouth.
The other trainer stared at his fallen partner in disbelief. Unlike Kay, who had bonded with two Pokémons, he had only one, which meant that it was now under the will of Kay.
See you in the next chapter...
Drop Some Power Stones...