Pokémon: I’m Really Not a Team Rocket Spy

In Ultra Ball level battles, trainers are required to have at least six Pokémon, but only four can be used in a match.

The six Pokémon carried by the trainer are not disclosed to opponents, similar to the approach shown in the anime. Except for the trainers themselves and the officials, opponents cannot know the configuration of each other's Pokémon.

This serves as a test for trainers. If the selected Pokémon are completely countered by the opponent, the trainer will find themselves at a significant disadvantage.

The trainer to Maki's left was the first to release their Pokémon: a Hippowdon and an Excadrill. Their strategy was immediately obvious.

"A Sandstorm team?"

Hippowdon's ability, Sand Stream, changed the battlefield into a sandstorm environment.

Excadrill likely had the Sand Rush ability, perfectly complementing Hippowdon.

Seeing a match start with a Sandstorm team got Maki intrigued.

"Hey, Maki, what did you just say?" Nathan turned to him. His attention had been entirely focused on the battle, and he hadn't caught what Maki had said.

Maki pointed at the Hippowdon and Excadrill on the field, explaining their abilities. "In a sandstorm, Excadrill's speed gets a massive boost. This trainer clearly came prepared."

"So Pokémon abilities can be combined like that?" Nathan exclaimed in surprise. While he could easily name the abilities of both Pokémon, he clearly lacked experience with these specialized combinations.

"This is just the basics," Maki replied, shaking his head, then turned his gaze to the other trainer's Pokémon: a Vaporeon and a Butterfree.

Compared to the intimidating synergy of the Sandstorm duo, the Vaporeon-Butterfree pairing seemed less imposing.

"Butterfree?" Nathan was stunned by its appearance. As a relatively common Bug-type Pokémon, Butterfree's quick early growth made it a frequent choice for novice trainers. However, as trainers caught stronger Pokémon, Butterfree often fell behind.

Bug-types have long been seen as the weakest category, with only a few exceptions like Heracross, Pinsir, Scyther, and Volcarona.

Seeing a Butterfree in a Ultra Ball level match was a rarity.

Wouldn't it just get annihilated by Rock Slide?

Even Maki couldn't help but entertain that thought upon seeing Butterfree.

Bug and Flying-types like Butterfree have a quadruple weakness to Rock-type moves, and its stats weren't known for durability.

To put it kindly, Butterfree was a "glass cannon."

Still, the right-side trainer wasn't entirely at a disadvantage, as Vaporeon posed a significant threat to both Hippowdon and Excadrill, given its Water typing.

Maki recalled that neither Hippowdon nor Excadrill had many moves effective against Vaporeon, apart from Hippowdon's access to Thunder Fang.

"Maki, who do you think will win?" Nathan asked, curious after Maki's earlier commentary.

Maki rolled his eyes. "How would I know? They've only sent out two Pokémon each. There are still four more to go."

"Then, between these four, who do you favor?"

"Hmm… Hard to say. Vaporeon is a strong counter to the left-side team, but the weather advantage lies with them. The key might be Butterfree."

"Butterfree?" Nathan was puzzled. "What can it even do?"

"Just keep watching," Maki said with a mysterious smile.

As if to compensate for the general weakness of Bug-types, Butterfree had access to some powerful abilities and moves.

For instance, Butterfree's abilities—Compound Eyes and Tinted Lens—were both incredibly strong.

Compound Eyes increased the accuracy of its moves, while Tinted Lens doubled the power of moves resisted by the target.

In simple terms, if a Bug-type move was normally resisted by a Fire-type, Tinted Lens would negate the resistance and deal normal damage.

This effectively meant Butterfree had no offensive blind spots.

The battle began, with Excadrill taking the initiative under its speed boost. Its target was, of course, Butterfree.

Rock Slide!

Rock-type energy materialized as Excadrill slashed its claws, sending rocks hurtling toward Butterfree.

If this hit, Butterfree would likely be out of the fight, or at least gravely injured.

Luckily, Butterfree fluttered its nimble wings and narrowly dodged the attack.

But before it could relax, another Rock Slide came flying—this time from Hippowdon! Although slower than Excadrill, its attack was just as powerful.

Boom!

At the last moment, Vaporeon's Water Pulse intercepted the attack, colliding mid-air with Hippowdon's Rock Slide and neutralizing it. The residual energy from the Water Pulse even struck Hippowdon directly.

"What a shame. If Hippowdon were replaced with Tyranitar, things might be different," Maki remarked.

"Why Tyranitar? Doesn't it also have Sand Stream and share the same Water-type weakness as Hippowdon?" Nathan asked, clearly curious.

"There are only four known Pokémon with Sand Stream: Hippowdon, Hippopotas, Gigalith, and Tyranitar. Hippopotas is Hippowdon's pre-evolution, so let's set that aside. The biggest difference between Hippowdon and the other two lies in their typings."

"Typing?"

"Exactly. Hippowdon is pure Ground-type, so it doesn't benefit from the Special Defense boost that Rock-types get in a sandstorm. Tyranitar and Gigalith, being part Rock-type, gain a significant advantage."

Maki gave Nathan a curious glance. "Didn't you go to the Pokémon School in Viridian City? Surely they covered this in class?"

"Well… my grades weren't exactly stellar," Nathan admitted.

"How bad?"

"Top 100," Nathan said.

"That's not too bad. How many students were in your class?"

"Exactly 100."

"…"

Maki understood now. Nathan truly was an underachiever.

"Still, Tyranitar is a pseudo-Legendary, so it's quite rare. Most trainers settle for Hippowdon," Maki concluded tactfully, steering the conversation back to the battle.

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