The Pokémon journey begins in Galar

Since the opponent hadn't activated Trick Room right away, Marie initially assumed he didn't have the TM for it.

Although Trick Room wasn't exactly unobtainable, it was still expensive. Marie had guessed that the boy might've only managed to get a single-use TM, which he taught to his Hatterene.

Still, there was always the possibility that his Type: Null knew the move as well. If this was a dedicated Trick Room team, then what would the third Pokémon be?

At the moment, Marie didn't have any reliable counters to a Trick Room team. Maybe someday, once Silky had learned how to reverse Trick Room, she'd have a proper response. But for now, she had to grit her teeth and play defensively.

"Hmph... Let's finish this quickly."

The white-haired boy carefully returned Hatterene to its Poké Ball, then turned his gaze toward the two Pokémon on the field. His self-assured expression made Marie uneasy.

Trick Room had a time limit. The logical thing would be to launch an all-out offense now, not waste time with idle talk.

"Light Screen. Reflect."

"Not attacking? Dark Pulse!"

A Type: Null couldn't take too many Dark-type hits from a Moonlight Umbreon. If he was still sending out a Psychic-type after seeing Eiji, it meant either he had a counter prepared or all his Pokémon were Psychic-types.

Due to Trick Room's effect, Eiji's attack didn't land until after both Light Screen and Reflect had been set up. Even so, it hit its mark.

"Juuhh! (That tickled! That all you got?!)"

Type: Null took the hit head-on without flinching.

Marie frowned. Type: Nulls were rare, and she didn't know much about what moves it could learn. It was hard to tell how well-trained this one was. Maybe it was on par with Hatterene, or maybe it was stronger.

She still couldn't figure out the boy's strategy. Maybe he had a trick up his sleeve. Marie hesitated, wanting to slow down the tempo, but her opponent wasn't about to give Eiji any breathing room.

"Hammer Arm!"

"Dodge and counter!"

"Juuhh! (Come here and let me smash you!)"

"Yahh! (In your dreams.)"

Thankfully, Eiji was already used to fighting faster opponents. She narrowly dodged with Quick Attack, gritting through the pain as Type: Null's fist grazed her hind leg. Her silver-glowing tail whipped around and struck him cleanly.

Even as her opponent was sent flying, Eiji didn't relax. He had activated Trick Room to reverse the speed order, yet still tanked all her attacks like a reckless brute.

What was with this guy? He talked like a show-off and fought like a brawler. Was this really a Trick Room team?

The Type: Null might have looked adorable, but its trash talk was outrageous. Marie couldn't figure out the boy's mindset. He used Trick Room but then wasted turns. He was fast enough to dodge yet chose to take every hit like a tank.

Eiji crouched slightly, favoring her back leg where she'd taken the earlier blow. She kept her center of gravity low, ready to spring into motion at any moment.

"Juuh~ Juuh? (That's it? You're Dark-type, right? That attack was weak! Can you even fight?)"

"Yahh... (Tch...)"

Unfazed by the taunt, Eiji held her stance and waited calmly for Marie's direction.

Marie recognized the move from earlier it was a Fighting-type attack. But since Type: Null wasn't a special attacker, it would need to land several clean hits to knock Eiji out.

On the other hand, Eiji's Dark-type moves could absolutely bring him down first, if she landed enough of them.

"Your Pokémon's pretty tough. Thunderbolt."

"Protect. Then Dark Pulse!"

Type: Null charged up a Thunderbolt fast enough to nearly catch Eiji off guard, but she managed to block it just in time. Then she countered with a concentrated blast of dark energy.

Another clean hit.

That made three consecutive attacks. Even with Light Screen and Reflect active, Type: Null was clearly struggling now.

"Hmph... Hammer Arm."

"Protect."

"Juuhh! (Again! Hit me again! Come on!)"

"Yahh... (What are you trying to pull?)"

"Juuh~ (Wouldn't you like to know~)"

Crash!

"Now!"

Just as Eiji's barrier shattered, the silver-haired boy revealed a triumphant grin. In that instant, Type: Null lunged and wrapped its arms tightly around Eiji.

"Juuhh! (This was my plan all along!)"

"Yahhh!!"

A white light erupted from Type: Null, engulfing Eiji as it launched a frenzied assault. The moment she heard Eiji's cry of pain, Marie realized what was happening.

Frustration.

That explained why it had willingly taken three consecutive hits. Marie cursed herself. She'd studied the move before but hadn't known Type: Null could learn it.

If only she'd realized sooner...

No regret wouldn't help now. She looked toward the field, where Eiji had finally been released.

"Yahh... (Hah... hah...)"

"Juuhh... (Haha... cough, cough... How's that feel?)"

Both Pokémon were in bad shape now.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Trick Room!"

Boom!

Eiji managed to strike first and land the blow. But even as Type: Null collapsed, it succeeded in resetting Trick Room just before falling.

With no strong defensive options and its energy nearly spent, the Type: Null was finally defeated.

The silver-haired boy quietly recalled it, then took out his final Poké Ball.

"Let's finish this, Gothitelle."

"Fweee~"

With a soft laugh, a dark, gothic Pokémon that looked like an elegant noblewoman stepped onto the field.

"Another Psychic-type..."

Now it was certain. The boy was a specialist a Psychic-type Trainer. All three of his Pokémon were Psychic.

But Eiji was in rough shape. If she hadn't taken that Frustration earlier, she might've stood a chance. As things stood now, Marie would have to bring Baru back in.

"Then I'll switch too. Eiji, come back for now."

"Yahh... (Got it...)"

Eiji nodded weakly, barely standing, as Marie returned her to the ball.

Baru stepped forward onto the battlefield once more.