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The moment Jumpluff fell into the water, disaster struck.
The cotton spores covering its body, famous for their incredible water absorption, instantly began to swell up like crazy.
Within seconds, Jumpluff's entire body had become as heavy as a rock. If not for the vine-like roots formed by Leech Seed, it might have already sunk straight to the bottom.
To make matters worse, the water field had been contaminated by Jumpluff's own Poison Powder. For a Grass-type Pokémon, falling into such toxic water was no different from plunging into acid.
Now submerged, Jumpluff was in agony.
Even though it was a plant-based Pokémon, it still needed air to breathe. Trapped underwater, its consciousness began to fade rapidly.
And as if that weren't enough, within mere seconds, a faint purple glow appeared on its body — the telltale sign of poisoning.
Meanwhile, the situation grew even worse. The roots formed from Leech Seed were only temporary — hastily generated using Jumpluff's own energy — nothing more than rootless weeds.
Under the constant erosion of the poison-tainted water, those roots quickly began to wither away.
At that moment, under Sato's command, Staryu hardened its body using Harden and increased its cellular activity. Its edges became razor-sharp, and with a perfectly timed Rapid Spin, it cut itself free from the withered vines.
Then came Staryu's showtime. Calm and precise, it used Recover to heal its injuries, then began to toy with the now-immobile Jumpluff like a cat with its prey.
It was obvious — the battle's outcome had completely reversed the instant Jumpluff fell into the water.
The audience was stunned by Sato's brilliant turnaround command that had turned defeat into victory.
In the end, if Sato hadn't taken pity — mindful of the match organizers' reputation — and ordered Staryu to carry the unconscious Jumpluff out of the water, the poor Pokémon might very well have drowned.
"Jumpluff has lost the ability to battle! The winner is Staryu!"
The referee raised his flag as Staryu brought the fainted Jumpluff ashore, officially declaring the result.
The match between Staryu and Jumpluff had been a high-level battle — a true underdog reversal. The crowd went wild, cheering and applauding Sato's stunning comeback.
Kirk's face darkened like the bottom of a burnt pot as the cheers roared around him. Those cheers — they were supposed to be his. Now they belonged to someone else, and that stung more than the loss itself.
What made it worse was the furious voice of his superior screaming in his earpiece, demanding he end the battle quickly or face the consequences.
"Damn it… so this is the true strength of a Blood Axe Squad member? Isn't Baku supposed to be a lunatic? How can he fight with such calm precision? What rotten luck — he even got a Staryu that knows Gravity…"
Of course, Kirk didn't dare talk back to his superior. All he could do was vent his frustration inwardly, directing his anger toward the smugly composed Sato standing across from him.
"Go, Victreebel!"
After handing the defeated Jumpluff over to the medics, Kirk immediately threw out his next PokeBall.
He didn't change his lineup or tactics — even knowing Staryu's current Poison-type status, he stubbornly sent out another Grass-type Pokémon to face it.
In the next second, a massive Victreebel appeared on one of the floating platforms of the watery battlefield, glaring viciously at the Staryu bobbing on the surface.
"Victreebel, use Stockpile!"
The moment the battle began, Kirk gave his command.
Victreebel opened its jagged, fanged maw and took in a deep, forceful breath before snapping it shut. Its entire body swelled as a faint glow surrounded it — the visual cue of a stat boost.
"He's planning to use the Stockpile and Spit Up combo to finish off Staryu in one hit… He's just relying on his level advantage."
Sato instantly understood Kirk's intent. Victreebel was level 35, while Staryu — even after defeating Jumpluff — had only reached level 27. An eight-level gap was no joke.
The moves Stockpile, Swallow, and Spit Up worked in tandem — Stockpile being the foundation. Not only did it build special energy within the user's body, it also temporarily boosted both defensive stats by one stage.
If a Pokémon used Stockpile three times, then followed up with Swallow, it could completely restore its health — a perfect combo for tank-type Pokémon.
Victreebel's defenses weren't extraordinary, but they weren't weak either. With the level advantage and the boosts from Stockpile, Staryu's attacks would barely scratch it.
As for Staryu's only Psychic-type move, Psywave, that one wasn't exactly reliable — it ignored type effectiveness but dealt damage based purely on the user's level.
(Note: Psywave – Deals damage equal to the user's level × a random value between 0.5 and 1.5. Does not affect Pokémon immune to Psychic-type moves, but ignores other type resistances.)
Thus, given Staryu's current level, Psywave would barely hurt Victreebel at all.
If Victreebel skipped Swallow and went straight for Spit Up after three Stockpiles, the move's power could reach 300. With Staryu's fragile body, even if it hid underwater, that would be a guaranteed one-hit knockout.
Sato understood the plan perfectly — but there was nothing he could do. He could only command Staryu to use its most damaging option, Swift, to strike back.
Predictably, after using Stockpile, Victreebel barely flinched from the barrage of Swift stars.
Just as Sato expected, Kirk kept stacking Stockpile. After Victreebel reached three stacks, he finally shouted:
"Victreebel, Spit Up!"
Now nearly twice its original size, Victreebel unleashed a terrifying energy blast from its mouth. The beam pierced through the entire water field, detonating upon contact with the surface in a massive explosion.
Even though Staryu had tried to dodge underwater, the battlefield was simply too small — only about 60% the size of a standard League arena. There was nowhere to run.
The resulting underwater explosion blasted most of the water sky-high, sending waves crashing outward. Staryu was thrown out with the surge, tumbling helplessly into the air.
In midair, without any point of traction, Staryu panicked. Sato quickly ordered it to use Rapid Spin to regain control — but Staryu hadn't trained enough under him yet. It couldn't execute the move properly on the fly.
In the next moment, Victreebel lashed out with its Vine Whip, snaring Staryu midair. It then slammed it twice in succession with Slam, ending the battle decisively.
Sato's Staryu had fallen.
A helpless defeat.