The moment Leech Seed touched Mega Mawile, the seeds began sprouting wildly, binding it up tightly in an instant.
But the two giant jaws on the back of Mega Mawile's head suddenly burst into roaring flames.
Due to the angle, however, it could only free the vines wrapped around the jaws for now.
Cacturne naturally wouldn't give Mega Mawile a chance to fully break free. It gathered spiral energy in both hands and immediately struck without hesitation.
"Counter now! Use Play Rough!"
Drain Punch landed perfectly on Mega Mawile. Don't be fooled by its delicate appearance; from the sound of the impact, it was clear that this Steel-type was solid all over.
In the next moment, Mega Mawile ignored the vines binding its body, stomped hard with both feet, wrapped itself in a pink light, and lunged headfirst toward Cacturne's belly.
Cacturne let out a light grunt, a trace of disdain flashing through its eyes. It immediately bent backward in a smooth bridge pose, easily dodging Mega Mawile's charge.
Then, another Drain Punch hit!
Two more clean hits left Mega Mawile dazed for a moment, but during that opening, it finally tore its arms free from the gaps in the vines.
"Mawile, counter with Play Rough!"
Mega Mawile, finally free, glared at Cacturne. Its arms and twin jaws both glowed with pink light as it charged in full force toward its opponent!
It had clearly forgotten…
Trick Room was still in effect!
No matter how fast it was, it couldn't act first!
Luckily, Mega Mawile's defenses were excellent. Despite taking three Drain Punches in a row and having its stamina continuously sapped by Leech Seed, it still had enough to keep fighting!
"Mawile, hang in there!"
"Cacturne, Cotton Spore."
Just as Ryoko was planning to have Mega Mawile endure the last round of Trick Room before counterattacking, Cacturne chose that moment to stop attacking and reduce Mawile's Speed instead.
Cotton Spore burst out instantly and in the blink of an eye, completely wrapped the small-framed Mega Mawile.
And at the same moment…
"Cacturne… DRAIN PUNCH!" Amusement flashed in Sato's eyes as he gave the command loudly.
"Mawile has lost the ability to battle! Cacturne wins! Since Trainer Ryoko has lost three Pokémon, there will now be a ten-minute intermission!"
As the referee made the announcement, the "ace" who had secured two previous victories for Ryoko -Mega Mawile- fell in defeat just like that…
It wasn't just the spectators who were in disbelief, even Ryoko froze for a moment. But in the end, she sighed softly and silently recalled Mawile.
The "stunning" performances of Swampert and Slowking had led everyone to think that Sato had been the one constantly on the defensive.
But in truth, Sharpedo had taken down Swampert, and Honchkrow had defeated Slowking.
Even though Sato seemed to be struggling, in the end, each battle had resulted in a 1v1 win.
And when Mawile was forced onto the field, and Sato responded with Cacturne, Ryoko had still believed that Mawile's type advantage would guarantee victory.
After all, Mawile was her ace Pokémon!
…But precisely because it was her ace, how could Sato possibly have no countermeasure at all?
What made Ryoko even more frustrated was that the key reason Mawile lost was the lingering Trick Room left by Slowking.
Cacturne was only slightly slower¹1 than Mawile, and that tiny gap had been completely closed by a single Cotton Spore.
Every time she thought she was going to win, she ended up losing instead. Whatever pride Ryoko had felt from making it to the semifinals had completely evaporated by now…
During the ten-minute intermission, Ryoko worked hard to suppress the smugness she'd developed from reaching the Top 4. She carefully reviewed every prediction and tactical plan from the night before.
Only when the signal to resume the match sounded did she slowly open her eyes and head back to the battlefield.
"Sato… I won't let you beat me that easily!"
"Ace Tournament Semifinals. Match 1, second half begins now. Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"
Two flashes of red light burst forth. On the newly refreshed battlefield, two Pokémon stood ready to fight.
Ryoko's expression immediately darkened upon seeing that Sato had sent out a Fire-type.
Torkoal had already been used. If she wanted to keep the rest of her lineup hidden, there was a high chance she'd have to send Torkoal back in.
Ryoko had guessed that Sato would expect this and might send out Krookodile or Tyranitar, so she opted to use Sceptile instead. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅✦𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾✦𝗇𝖾𝗍
But clearly, Sato had predicted everything Ryoko just thought of…
And even went one step further by sending out Houndoom.
Even if Ryoko had chosen Torkoal, it would've just led to a Fire versus Fire type battle.
The reason Sato and Ryoko could guess each other's choices so well was because both of their Water-types were already down.
They were very familiar with each other, and that familiarity gave them enough information to predict each other's remaining lineup.
And this time… Sato had won the mind game!
"Houndoom, Fire Blast."
Ryoko knew full well that Sceptile was at a huge disadvantage. She had no choice but to fight while retreating.
Sceptile easily dodged Fire Blast and began dashing rapidly around the field.
"Sceptile, Rock Tomb!"
With Speed increased, Ryoko immediately had Sceptile launch a counterattack. Even while at a disadvantage, she couldn't afford to hesitate!
"Houndoom, Sucker Punch."
Sucker Punch: strike before the opponent moves!
A flash of darkness flickered around Houndoom's body as it suddenly lunged toward Sceptile, closing the distance before Rock Tomb could even be used!
The sharp pain from Sucker Punch made Sceptile cry out in agony.
But seeing that Rock Tomb wouldn't land, Sceptile reacted quickly; without hesitation, it struck back with its most familiar move, Leaf Blade, slashing wildly at Houndoom!
Leaf Blade was razor-sharp, leaving slash marks all over Houndoom's body and making it howl in pain.
At that moment, the unyielding Houndoom responded without hesitation!
In an instant, massive waves of purple flame engulfed both Houndoom and Sceptile before erupting in a thunderous blast!
During that close-quarters exchange, Sato and Ryoko had no time to issue any commands, both Pokémon acted purely on instinct.
The winner was clear…
Houndoom, with its type advantage!
¹.Because of the level, Peak Ace, not by stats.
Because of the level, Peak Ace, not by stats.