"Cacturne has lost the ability to battle. Trainer Sato, please send out your next Pokémon!"
Even after the referee's loud announcement, the frozen Cacturne showed no reaction at all.
"Vaporeon, use Scald to help thaw Cacturne~" Wallace twirled "gracefully" and spoke with gentlemanly flair.
Sato curled his lips but didn't object. He saw right through Wallace's intentions… he just wanted attention.
Scald sprayed out from several puddles and splashed over Cacturne. In no time, the icy shell encasing it melted away.
Of course, Cacturne had already lost the ability to battle. Its golden body was now covered in large patches of purple, making Sato frown deeply.
As the only Grass-type Pokémon on Sato's team, Cacturne had a very high probability of being selected for this match. Considering its powerful performance in the previous battle, Wallace was definitely keeping a close eye on it.
And when both sides were evenly matched, tactics became even more critical.
Clearly, Wallace had more than one strategy prepared to deal with Cacturne.
With flawless preparation, Cacturne didn't get to display even a shred of its potential. It was effortlessly toyed with by Vaporeon.
Just look at the last round, Wallace barely issued any commands. Everything had clearly been rehearsed beforehand.
"I underestimated you this time…" Sato murmured softly to Cacturne's Poké Ball.
He turned his gaze to the small puddles on the field, then without hesitation sent out his next Pokémon.
"Ariados, Toxic Spikes with Toxic!"
A flash of red light, and Ariados appeared with a massive purple toxin orb gripped in its jaws. As soon as it landed, it flung the orb high into the sky.
Toxic Spikes + Toxic, poison sprayed across the entire battlefield. Any Pokémon touching the ground would be poisoned… and not just poisoned. Badly poisoned!
The toxin orb exploded, and a rain of poisonous liquid showered the entire field, instantly staining it all purple.
In no time, all the puddles became toxic pools. No matter where Vaporeon hid, it would inevitably become badly poisoned.
"Vaporeon, jump out and use Blizzard!"
"Ariados, Electroweb."
After consuming the Draconpoison Husk, Ariados's physique had vastly improved. On top of that, Vaporeon wasn't particularly known for its Speed.
So when Vaporeon had just started to re-form its body from within the puddle, a massive Electroweb was already descending upon it.
Electroweb wasn't especially powerful, but it did counter Vaporeon's type, and its built-in Paralysis effect caused Vaporeon to falter, unable to launch its Blizzard attack in time!
"Follow up, Venoshock."
"Vaporeon, use Substitute to escape!"
Venoshock -double power against poisoned targets- came roaring in, but Vaporeon, hearing its Trainer's command, immediately created a Substitute larger than itself.
Venoshock hit the Substitute, and Vaporeon used the chance to prop up the Electroweb and slip away undetected.
"Ariados, Swords Dance."
Suddenly, Sato stopped Ariados from pursuing, and instead ordered it to boost its Attack.
Sure enough, Vaporeon had once again vanished from sight!
"Knowing it's already poisoned, might as well keep using the toxic puddles to shift locations…?" Sato muttered, but unlike when Cacturne was on the field, he now felt far less urgency.
Poison-type Pokémon excel at stalling tactics. And once the opponent is already poisoned, patience becomes even more important.
Ariados proudly scraped its claws together, thinking that whoever made all these puddles must've been a real ally, this field was just perfect for it.
At that moment, multiple Water-type moves burst out from different puddles. Having already received a signal from Sato, Ariados instinctively used Sucker Punch.
More importantly, it forces close combat!
When Ariados launched Sucker Punch, it felt as if a mysterious force was guiding its entire body, taking it right next to a specific puddle.
Ariados slashed its claws directly into that puddle.
A shriek rang out as a heavily poisoned Vaporeon was blasted out of the small puddle, two deep slash wounds clearly showing the damage dealt by Ariados's Sucker Punch.
This time, Ariados didn't need Sato's reminder; it immediately followed up with Venoshock for a second hit.
Venoshock drenched Vaporeon completely. The damage was massive, and Vaporeon let out another cry of pain.
Then, it collapsed motionless on the ground.
"Vaporeon has lost the ability to battle. Ariados is the winner! Since Trainer Wallace has lost three Pokémon, a mid-round ten-minute break will now begin!"
With the tense battle momentarily paused, the audience erupted. Viewers who had been holding back their excitement now started chatting nonstop with whoever was nearby.
Among them, two loud girls quickly drew a crowd's attention.
"I knew it! Sato-oppa is clearly in the lead! He's seriously amazing!"
"Wallace-sama must be holding back! He's so handsome and charming, he'll definitely make a comeback!"
"Get lost! Sato-oppa is clearly more manly! That Wallace guy is just out here seducing everyone left and right!"
"That just means he's got good relationships! Why hasn't he tried seducing me yet?"
A five-meter radius around the girls instantly went silent. Everyone turned to look at them, trying to figure out which one was so bold.
…And if they had a chance.
Back at the command platform, Sato recalled Ariados and watched as staff members directed Pokémon to clear and replace the entire battlefield.
That's when he noticed that the lower layer of the previous battlefield had been nearly hollowed out by Starmie in such a short time and filled entirely with water.
If Sato hadn't sent out Ariados afterward and released poison into the water, that water-disguised battlefield would have easily taken down another of his Pokémon.
Which just goes to show: battles between Pokémon aren't just about type matchups, but also about the tactical deployment and strategies of the Trainers themselves!
The ten-minute rest period passed quickly. With the battlefield now fully reset, both Sato and Wallace adjusted their mindsets and prepared for the next match.
"The second half of the final begins now. Both Trainers, please send out your Pokémon!"
"Pelipper, take the stage once more!"
"Kirlia, prepare for battle."
A flash of red light, emerging from Sato's Poké Ball was a Kirlia that had already evolved once and now stood at Ace level: Darth Kirlia1.
Dark clouds quickly gathered. Pelipper's Ability Drizzle once again activated.
The next moment, Pelipper didn't even wait for Wallace's command. It turned into a glowing green orb and launched a powerful U-turn directly at Kirlia. Check latest chapters at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽