Whimsicott plus Excadrill as the opening pair.
Quite common in the games, and a solid choice here too. Prankster sped up key status moves like Taunt. Mold Breaker could also ignore Corviknight's Mirror Armor and Mimikyu's Disguise—used well, it was undoubtedly a top-tier ability.
The only drawback was that Whimsicott itself wasn't very bulky and had many weaknesses. Without a Focus Sash to guarantee survival, it needed to invest heavily in defense.
In singles, it was usually limited; you couldn't afford to put too much into bulk because you also needed speed and special attack to maintain offensive pressure.
But the Shen Island players in doubles didn't care about that. They built their mons purely for doubles, which made their Whimsicott tougher than expected.
Plus, having a teammate to block attacks increased its survival rate.
Most importantly, both of these Pokémon seemed to be specifically targeting Corviknight.
Regular Taunt couldn't outpace it, but Prankster-boosted Taunt certainly could?
Mirror Armor? What use is Mirror Armor against Mold Breaker?
It was a solid plan. The key question was whether Li Xiang's side would take the bait and whether they'd be intimidated by this setup—
Of course not.
Because Li Xiang's side also had a Whimsicott swaying in the wind, spinning like a puffball of cotton.
Except this one's cotton was fluffier, with an irregular mix of pink and white—clearly dyed later on.
In Su Qian's team, after the dancing Gardevoir and the dramatic Clefable, this was the third unusual variant.
Li Xiang called it the "punk" Whimsicott.
It was male, with the same Prankster ability as its counterpart.
As a common and versatile Pokémon, few Fairy-type trainers could resist Whimsicott.
Its teammate was a silver, flat, four-legged steel crab with a golden X pattern embedded on its face.
"Shiny Metagross!"
"It's the Metagross from the promotional video!"
The audience buzzed with excitement.
Shiny Pokémon always drew attention, especially rare ones like Metagross that were hard to come by on the streets. If a fully evolved pseudo-legendary was a luxury car, then a shiny pseudo-legendary was a limited-edition supercar.
Many spectators followed Li Xiang precisely because he had a Shiny Metagross.
Even the opponents' faces showed a flicker of envy upon seeing it.
But the match had already begun; there was no time to get distracted.
Both sides made their moves!
Among the four Pokémon that landed almost simultaneously, Su Qian's Whimsicott acted first, with the opponent's just milliseconds behind.
Both black-hearted cotton balls raised their little paws, summoning a clear, gentle breeze to boost their side's speed.
Beside them, Metagross and Excadrill floated off the ground in an almost unnatural manner, electricity swirling around their bodies.
Tailwind plus Magnet Rise. Both teams used the exact same opening—cautious and calculated.
Neither dared to rush in.
This "timid" approach disappointed many who had been hoping for a rampage from Corviknight.
But unexpectedly, after setting up Tailwind, the punk Whimsicott charged straight at the opponent!
It was like a support that should be protecting the ADC suddenly rushing to the front line, ready to act as a meat shield and sacrifice itself.
As it charged, it used Cotton Guard, causing the cotton behind it to swell several times over, tightly wrapping around itself.
Behind it, Metagross, levitating off the ground, used Hone Claws and quickly ascended into the air!
The distance between them widened instantly.
Was this... sacrificing its teammate?
But the strange move didn't faze the opponents.
The two Shen Island players exchanged glances and nodded firmly.
"Dig!"
Seeing the punk Whimsicott closing in fast, Excadrill didn't bother engaging. Instead, it dove straight into the snow.
In this state, it was immune to Electric moves while airborne and immune to Ground moves while underground.
Not using Dig would be a waste.
For a moment, only the two Whimsicott remained on the field, staring at each other—one of them still charging forward like a suicide bomber!
"Taunt!"
The female player shouted, waving her hand.
With Tailwind's boost, the punk Whimsicott moved at lightning speed. Seventy meters was nothing—just a few breaths away!
The opponent had just used Cotton Guard and couldn't act again in time. This was the perfect moment to strike!
"Heehee!"
The Whimsicott let out a weird cackle, its eyes darting around its counterpart's head, making faces.
A dark gleam flickered across its body.
Its expressions were so lively, combined with that mood-affecting dark light, it was like a walking taunt machine—anyone would get angry!
But just before the Taunt could take effect, the punk Whimsicott's body suddenly twitched!
In an instant, it swapped places with Metagross, who was over thirty meters away!
Ally Switch!
In that split second, the dark light of Taunt was absorbed by Metagross!
But Metagross used that moment to close in on Whimsicott, striking at the one that had just used Taunt!
A brilliant light flared on its hammer-like fist!
Threads of energy streamed behind its fist like a comet's tail, like an aurora in the night sky!
There was nowhere to run!
Like a falling meteor, Metagross pounced without mercy, pouring all its power into a single devastating punch!
Bang!
BOOM—!!
The snowfield shuddered!
Countless snowflakes erupted into the sky, blanketing everything!
Whimsicott—
Its fate was unknown!
But Metagross wasn't the only one with surprises. At the same moment it attacked, not far away, the punk Whimsicott had just swapped positions.
Bang!
The snow's surface suddenly shattered!
A massive hole appeared.
A metal drill bit, its tip coated in purple energy, burst out of the ground, shrieking as it shot straight up!
Its target: the just-transferred punk Whimsicott!
Whoosh—
The air churned!
A white vortex accompanied a piercing howl, showcasing the drill's terrifying speed.
The punk Whimsicott found itself completely unable to respond, forced to watch as the attack slammed into its chest!
Bang!
Smoke exploded in midair!
A moment later, snow erupted from Metagross's Meteor Mash—two fireworks, one after the other.
"Ow!"
Pain flickered across the punk's face.
But thanks to Cotton Guard, and because Excadrill hadn't boosted, even the quadruple-effective Poison Jab couldn't take it down!
It was still standing!
A defensive and speed-focused Whimsicott was terrifying!
"Charm!"
Su Qian's voice rang from afar.
The punk Whimsicott sneered arrogantly, flashing an adorably cute expression at the descending Excadrill.
Charm!
Excadrill's Attack plummeted!
After that, the punk descended gracefully, its posture defiant, unafraid of retaliation.
With Cotton Guard and Charm, Excadrill couldn't hurt it anymore.
At the same time, as it descended, the punk used Taunt again.
Excadrill had to throw up Protect to avoid being Taunted, retreating to create distance.
Damn it!
It was all because the Taunt had missed!
The male player gritted his teeth in frustration. If that Taunt had landed on the punk Whimsicott, it would have been dead for sure!
But at this rate, was there any point in keeping Excadrill on the field?
He had no choice but to switch.
The male player recalled Excadrill.
On the other side, Metagross emerged from the snow, smoke curling off its body, looking displeased.
In front of it was a pit several meters deep, inside which lay Whimsicott—pained but still resilient.
It had managed to throw up Protect at the last second, blocking a significant portion of the damage.
And compared to last year, this Whimsicott was noticeably bulkier!
Metagross was furious.
If Li Xiang had let it open up the throttle, this thing would have gone down for sure!
Even with a regular Meteor Mash, it had given it everything it had—and still came up short.
Forget it, no point chasing.
Metagross's crimson eyes shifted.
Across the pit, the female player didn't dare leave her weakened Whimsicott on the field. Using Charm like the punk had done would be pointless—Metagross had already retreated too far, and the slope made targeting awkward.
The Ally Switch trick was obvious to veterans like them; they had seen through it and planned to turn it into a one-for-one trade, or even a zero-for-one.
They hadn't expected both Whimsicotts to be so tough!
No choice but to switch.
The female player glanced at Metagross, then at her waiting teammate, and recalled Whimsicott.
In its place, she sent out a large mushroom with a Poké Ball-style cap and two Poké Ball shields on its hands.
—A Grass/Poison-type Amoonguss with the Regenerator ability.
A Pokémon infamous in the games for putting countless opponents to sleep.
"Spore!"
The moment it landed, it attacked!
Pfft!
Like a puff of gas!
Amoonguss shook its plump body, releasing a cloud of fine spores that spread rapidly in the wind!
But just as they were about to reach Metagross—
A terrifying ice-blue lightning erupted beneath the massive Pokémon, and its body shuddered!
Like a Transformer, its legs merged into a battering ram, and it reversed with a deafening roar!
In an instant, it had become a speeding glacier, radiating icy cold, charging unstoppably toward the newly arrived Garchomp!
I've been waiting! Waiting for you all along!
In the ice-blue glow, Metagross's eyes gleamed with sharp, piercing cold!
During the Spring Tournament two months ago, it had only used this move once—and that was as a late-stage backup. The opponent might assume the charge had a long wind-up.
But no!
After seven months of training on Mirage Island, Metagross's charge wind-up had been drastically shortened!
It could even use it in reverse—with its own feet!
All it needed was a target!
Finisher!
Full throttle!!
The charging Metagross's body nearly warped under the speed!
Whoosh—
The air screamed!
"Protect!"
The male player shouted in horror. The newly landed Garchomp crossed its arms defensively, trying to use Protect—but Metagross was simply too fast!
Boom!
A deafening explosion!
Metagross sent Garchomp flying, tearing across the field and slamming it into the arena wall!
The protective barrier flared up, emitting a teeth-grinding crackle of electricity!
The entire stadium erupted!