Amidst the towering smoke, the entire audience stared fixedly at the arena, unwilling to look away for even a moment.
On the field, Whimsicott cackled gleefully, its tiny white-glowing paws clapping softly.
Amoonguss was surrounded by spores, which had already covered a large area of the battlefield.
It wanted to reach out and touch Whimsicott—its opponent was four times weak to Poison, making it an easy target. But the distance between them was too great, and even with Tailwind, Amoonguss wasn't fast enough to catch Whimsicott.
Behind Amoonguss, the two members of Celestial Team - Group 2 had grim expressions.
Helping Hand plus Ice Punch—that was more than Garchomp could withstand.
Li Xiang had clearly been planning this for a while!
Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. A single gap in information could be fatal!
It wasn't just Garchomp; any other Pokémon would have suffered the same fate. With such a fast execution, unless they had prepared beforehand, there was no way to react in time.
If they had known in advance, Amoonguss wouldn't have wasted time with Spore—it would have used Rage Powder instead!
The smoke cleared, revealing Garchomp half-buried in the ground, with the other half frozen solid. Above it stood Metagross, limping forward step by step.
One-hit knockout!
And it had triggered a frozen status, which was irrelevant now.
One simple mistake, and the opportunity was seized so easily.
Celestial Team had lost a fierce fighter—and a chance to turn the match around!
Li Xiang let out a small sigh of relief. The opponent sending out Garchomp was an unexpected boon.
He had been expecting Mamoswine or Gastrodon. He never thought they'd send out a Garchomp with a four-times weakness to Ice. They really hadn't learned their lesson.
They thought Tailwind made it the fastest on the field, didn't they?
That Metagross couldn't hit it with Rock Slide?
Too bad.
Still, the "reverse gear" attack relied heavily on Whimsicott's direction—it would position itself at the opponent's ten o'clock during the switch, using Helping Hand as a cue. It was very passive.
The opponents had been cautious enough: one had recalled their Pokémon first, then the other, so that Spore almost reached Metagross. Getting put to sleep would have been disastrous.
So Li Xiang's side had also been lucky, barely pulling it off.
These tactics were risky—use with caution.
Li Xiang watched Metagross stagger back. The opponent's Garchomp had the Rough Skin ability, which caused recoil damage when hit by contact moves. Since percentage-based damage didn't exist here, it was replaced by a more ambiguous form of injury.
Right now, the three claws on Metagross's hind leg were shattered from hitting Garchomp, which was why it was limping. But it could fly—why wasn't it? Maybe it just had a thick skull.
"Fall back. Quit while we're ahead."
"Yeah."
They exchanged quiet words and recalled their hard-fought Pokémon.
Outside the arena, that single Ice Punch had startled quite a few people.
Whether in speed or power, it exceeded normal standards.
And on top of that, Metagross had been moving in reverse!
But the flaws were also clear. First, Metagross could only charge in a straight line; trying to turn at that speed would flip it over. Second, it required suitable terrain—obstacles mid-charge would interfere. Finally, it consumed a lot of stamina.
Back in the team lounge, several people were analyzing that terrifying strike. It was a bit like Monday-morning quarterbacking, but who knew when they'd face this guy again? Analyzing it couldn't hurt.
Li Xiang was quite cunning too. Judging by the power and speed of that Ice Punch, he could have caught Whimsicott off guard at the start and taken it out easily. Instead, he pulled off this "feign weakness" move to mislead the opponent.
That Whimsicott's Charm was probably meant to force Excadrill to switch out.
The male member of Celestial Team Group 2 had gotten a bit anxious; even after being forced to switch, he hadn't sensed anything wrong.
In short, Garchomp's fall made perfect sense.
But how did a freshman develop such meticulous thinking and battle-hardened tactics? Even if his Pokémon were picked up halfway, combat experience isn't so easily cultivated, is it?
Was he really fifteen?
They stared at Li Xiang's still-youthful face through the screen, somewhat skeptical.
Regrouping.
Only one had fallen—no reason to surrender yet.
The two quickly adjusted their mindsets, and the male member sent Excadrill back out.
They had to make the most of Magnet Rise while it lasted.
The spores had already scattered completely.
Across the field, Li Xiang and Su Qian sent out their second pair: Wash Rotom and Gardevoir.
In the games, Trace only randomly copied one of the opponent's abilities, but here it could affect all three.
Gardevoir's eyes glowed faintly blue. Without any system prompt, the four could only judge by sight what ability Gardevoir had copied.
—It was floating!
It had copied Levitate!
Without a doubt, Levitate was the most useful ability among the three on the field!
That saved Gardevoir from having to use Telekinesis.
The Celestial Team duo clicked their tongues. Fate wasn't on their side—from their perspective, Mold Breaker would have been the best ability for Gardevoir to copy.
Tailwind was still active.
Both sides started their moves.
Excadrill silently used Swords Dance to boost its offense. It had lost earlier due to insufficient power, and didn't have enough time to prepare after Digging underground. Now, starting with Swords Dance—what could they say?
Amoonguss quietly used Growth, boosting both its Attack and Special Attack. Though its main role wasn't attacking, it could fill that role when needed.
In the distance, Gardevoir silently used Calm Mind, while Rotom set up Reflect.
The opponents had no Taunt user, but their side did. So Amoonguss wasn't a threat—one Taunt and it would be crippled, leaving it with no choice but to switch out.
Though it was puzzling why the opponents hadn't brought a Taunt user...
But if they were giving away opportunities, who were they to refuse!
"Charge! Defog!"
Li Xiang advanced alongside Rotom toward Amoonguss!
Su Qian and Gardevoir followed behind Rotom, Gardevoir's eyes glowing blue as it tried to sense Excadrill's location underground with psychic waves.
Seeing them approach, Amoonguss began spraying Spore frantically, the spores spreading in all directions at terrifying speed.
Just as they reached Rotom, its chest valve opened, releasing a fierce gust that blew all the spores away!
If the games couldn't handle it, surely reality could?
In no time, Rotom was close to Amoonguss!
The two faced each other across the crater Metagross had created.
"Taunt!"
"Stomping Tantrum!"
Huh?
What was that?
What were two Levitate Pokémon doing using Stomping Tantrum?
For a moment, Li Xiang was confused.
But as Amoonguss jumped, its plump body enveloped in Ground-type energy, and slammed down heavily on the ground instead of targeting Rotom—
Suddenly, realization struck!
"Not good! Charge in and use Protect!"
He shouted. Su Qian also sensed something wrong and had Gardevoir retreat cautiously.
No sooner had he spoken than—
Boom!
With Amoonguss at the center, a shockwave spread across an irregular circle over twenty meters wide!
Under the terrifying yellowish shockwave, snow shot up into the sky like an inverted waterfall!
Li Xiang and Su Qian's entire field of view was swallowed by snow!
The power was devastating!
But more importantly—the snow that shot up came crashing back down!
Like an avalanche!
Tons of snow, to the astonishment of countless spectators, collapsed downward in an instant!
It buried Gardevoir and Rotom instantly!
Even Li Xiang and Su Qian, standing far back, were caught in the splash. Li Xiang turned his back to Su Qian, shielding her from some of the flying ice and snow, his brows deeply furrowed.
No wonder Growth! No wonder Taunt wasn't a concern! No wonder Spore! No wonder Stomping Tantrum!
He hadn't expected the opponents to use the terrain to trap Gardevoir and Rotom!
The combo caught them completely off guard.
First, they deliberately released Spore, only to have it dispersed by Defog. Then they used Stomping Tantrum, whose power increased when the attack missed.
But it wasn't just about causing trouble for Gardevoir and Rotom.
It was also about Excadrill in the snow!
That thing had been lurking in the snow for a while—it hadn't used Dig to burrow down! It had just dug with its claws!
Snow wasn't granite—how much effort could that take?
Just now, when the snow hit, he saw Excadrill lunge at Gardevoir; it had probably landed a hit by now.
Luckily, it had used Protect just in time, and even if the shield broke, Reflect would help absorb some damage.
Careless!
Still, they still had a chance.
Li Xiang exhaled, turning to face the chaotic scene.
Right then—
Bang!
Excadrill burst out of the snow, launching Gardevoir upward. The sharp drill on its head gleamed silver.
"Gardevoir!"
Gardevoir cried out in pain, fear flashing across its face.
It flinched?
Li Xiang frowned slightly. He hadn't expected Excadrill to get lucky and trigger the effect.
But they had luck on their side too!
"Overheat!"
He shouted!
From a snow mound not far from Amoonguss, a blazing light erupted, quickly transforming into fierce flames!
Boom!
A dragon of fire roared, melting snow and crashing into Amoonguss, which had just put up a green shield!
Earlier, he had told Rotom to get as close to Amoonguss as possible—and it had succeeded!
Clang!
The green shield shattered!
The remaining flames engulfed Amoonguss completely!
"Rapid Spin!"
The male teammate shouted. Excadrill transformed into a massive metal drill, spinning violently. It sprayed huge amounts of snow onto Amoonguss, dousing the flames!
Nice! Their support was fast!
"Focus Blast!"
Despite flinching, Gardevoir—Su Qian's ace—recovered quickly, getting up and hurling a brownish projectile.
But its target was unexpected?
The Focus Blast shot straight at Amoonguss.
On Amoonguss's body, a ring of reddish powder was visible.
Rage Powder!
The Bug-type Follow Me!