Bedhead's eyes transformed, all warmth and playfulness draining away until only hollow emptiness remained. Its gaze locked onto Bidoof with an intensity that made the Normal-type visibly flinch. This was exactly what Rika wanted—to break its spirit first, then crush it completely.

  Bidoof seemed taken aback by how quickly its friend had switched personas.

  But of course Espurr would; Rika had a reputation for being ruthless.

  Still, Bidoof appeared unwilling to fight, mirroring Mason's hesitation. Without its trainer's drive, where would it find the strength to resist? It stood there paralyzed, indecisive, waiting for defeat.

  Rika ran through her options.

  Although she and Mason had never battled each other before—making this their first true comparison of skills—she'd watched him train Bidoof multiple times, observing their dynamic.

  Mason rarely showed tactical brilliance. Sometimes, Bidoof would act independently out of frustration with its hisincompetence, leading to unexpected moves that caught opponents off-guard—like during last week's practice match against Shaniqua, where it pretended to jump at her—yes, the trainer—before attacking her Pokémon instead.

  Mason fell short with advanced techniques like item usage or teaching powerful moves. Speaking of which, items were permitted in official matches, though limited to one per Pokémon. This didn't apply to berries, but the nasty side effects they had if overused, stopped people from using more than one in a certain amount of time.

  Rika shuddered at certain memories of a feasting Bidoof she'd rather forget.

  However, there was something important to take away from that. Since the berries in Bidoof's earlier cake hadn't activated their healing properties, it could still use a berry's power in this battle.

  But berries weren't that strong anyway, and Rika didn't have to worry about proper items—Mason wouldn't bother with such expensive tool.

  Unlike her.

  That item she gave Bedhead would be her ace in the hole if things went wrong.

  "Use Confusion!" Rika commanded, pointing at the spaced-out Bidoof.

  Nearly invisible psychic waves rippled through the air, distorting it like heat rising from summer pavement. They slammed into Bidoof's mind, supposedly rattling its very consciousness. Rika could practically see the moment the attack should have scrambled its thoughts.

  Only that this effect somehow failed to appear.

  Instead, Bidoof just blinked at Espurr, completely unfazed.

  "Bedhead, stop being so gentle!" Rika squinted at it. "Give it everything you've got!"

  Her Pokémon whirled around, indignant. "Espurr!"

  She frowned. "I don't speak Pokémon! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

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  "Purr!" It jabbed a paw toward Bidoof, and Rika narrowed her eyes.

  The pieces clicked together.

  Bidoof hadn't actually flinched from Bedhead's Leer earlier.

  And the Confusion attack seemed to have zero effect.

  Could it be...

  This Bidoof is too stupid for psychological attacks to work?!

  "Fine," Rika muttered through clenched teeth. "Then we'll try Psybeam!"

  Bedhead's shoulders slumped, probably having hoped to be spared from such burtal attacks, but it had no choice but to obey. Its breathing came in ragged gasps now, body swaying slightly. Of course—it had been battling non-stop, fleeing from Poochyena and launching multiple attacks.

  I have to work on its stamina after this.

  She winced at that thought.

  After this?

  That would only be if she won.

  Otherwise, her career was over. She wouldn't bother to keep going. Not without Mason; not alone; not for herself.

  The Psybeam took longer to charge than before but finally burst from Espurr's forehead toward Bidoof.

  With surprising agility for its bulk and having clearly anticipated Bedhead's channeling time, Bidoof clumsily hopped aside on all fours. Mason yelped and jumped up as the beam whistled beneath his feet, standing right behind his Pokémon.

  Being a Pokémon trainer meant survival skills too.

  Mason seemed to grasp that now. "Okay, if you want a fight, then you'll get it!" He pointed at Rika, who fought back a smile. "Bidoof, Headbutt!"

  Contrary to her expectations, Bidoof accelerated like a race car, darting straight toward Bedhead. Its metabolism defied logic.

  "Fake Out!" She called, realizing a heartbeat too late she had hesitated.

  The purpose of this attack wasn't to counter Bidoof's offensive directly, but to use the move's speed to dodge. Bedhead understood this—it formed one of their core strategies given its weak physical strength, and the earlier Swagger boost from Poochyena had already worn off.

  Bedhead leaped upward at the last second as Bidoof charged, but miscalculated. Bidoof's rock-hard skull connected with its leg, crushing it with a sickening thud.

  Espurr crashed to the ground, yelping in pain.

  "Get up!" Rika shouted, spotting Bidoof transitioning into its next attack. It transformed its running momentum into a roll—Rollout!

  The Normal-type spun in a half-circle, bearing down on Bedhead again.

  With Bedhead's energy reserves depleted, a Psybeam would take too long to channel, so it defaulted to Disarming Voice to at least exchange some damage.

  Bidoof maintained its rolling assault, its face hidden from view, making it impossible for Rika to gauge the voice's effectiveness.

  Like a loose tire, Bidoof barreled into Bedhead, launching it skyward.

  Rika acted fast. Her arm snapped forward in a small arc, sending a tiny blue object flying through the air.

  Bedhead landed like a gymnast, albeit shakily. It swallowed something, and despite being covered in dirt and looking worse for wear, it remained standing. That would be the only Oran Berry it could eat this fight.

  "Psybeam!" They couldn't waste time.

  "Purr!" It began focusing energy as Bidoof kept rolling, circling around for another approach.

  The Psybeam would take too long. Espurr was too exhausted!

  But Bidoof tumbled out of its roll, clearly nauseated, causing Mason to panic.

  Relief flooded through Rika. She'd been shocked at the creature's unexpected strength, but its mental limitations had finally caught up with it. Still, Mason must have invested more training time than she'd anticipated. Not bad—but victory would be hers.

  Winning felt incredible.

  But Mason wasn't finished.

  More and more energy gathered atop Espurr's forehead as Mason yelled with all he had. "Bidoof, use Hyper Beam!"

  Rika's throat went dry.

  Hyper...? What?!

  "Espurr, avoid the attack!" Her voice cracked with panic. It didn't matter if the Psybeam wouldn't fire off; if Hyper Beam missed, Bidoof would be defenseless, thanks to the move's after-effects.

  But what was up with this boy?! And more so with his Pokémon! When did they train this much?! A Hyper Beam at such a low class was ridiculous! She had clearly underrestimated him.

  "Keep moving!" Rika added, studying Bidoof carefully.

  Suddenly, she felt like an absolute fool. How could she be so stupid?!

  Bidoof wasn't channeling an attack!

  It was…

  Munching on a mixture of berries Mason had tossed its way!

  This had been...

  "Just a trick?"