"Kirlia, throw it away."
"Lia~"
With a sweep of Kirlia's arms, the frozen-in-air Charizard was flung backward at high speed and slammed into the wall surrounding the field.
But Charizard was, after all, Alder's ace Pokémon. Even after taking multiple hits, it hadn't completely lost the ability to battle.
"Charizard, pull yourself together!"
Alder once again activated [Revival Roar], and thanks to the deep bond between him and his starter Pokémon, Charizard managed to shakily get back on its feet.
"Take to the air, close in with a spiral dive!"
"CHAAAAAARI-ZARD!"
Charizard let out a furious roar, flapped its massive wings, and soared back into the sky. Then, following its Trainer's command, it began circling around Kirlia from above.
"Not attacking… afraid of Future Sight coming down?" Sato muttered to himself, then gave a new command. "Kirlia, Thun-"
"Charizard, Seismic Toss!"
Sato thought, 'Just as expected.' The opponent clearly intended for Kirlia to take the hit from Future Sight as well, so he changed his command mid-sentence.
"-Der… move!"
Calling out half a move name mid-battle was actually a trainable tactic between a Trainer and their Pokémon. And it could be key in situations like this.
A flash of white light and Kirlia vanished from her spot, and Charizard's dive missed completely.
Before it could figure out where she had gone, a rainbow-colored sphere came crashing down from the sky, striking it directly.
Charizard had only just sensed the danger when it was already hit, and then slammed into the ground in a cloud of dust.
Future Sight…
Direct hit!
When the dust cleared, Kirlia had casually returned to her original starting position, her footprints perfectly overlapping, as if she'd never moved at all.
Meanwhile, Charizard lay twisted on the ground in a strange posture. The flame on its tail flickered weakly; it could no longer continue.
"Charizard has lost the ability to battle! Kirlia wins! The victor is Trainer Sato from Shadownight Town!"
The third semifinalist: decided!
The arena erupted in thunderous applause, for Sato, but even more so for Kirlia!
A Pokémon that hadn't even fully evolved, yet was this powerful.
It felt almost unreal!
In one corner of the stands, Will adjusted his glasses to hide the shock in his eyes. As a Psychic user himself, his sensitivity toward Psychic-type Pokémon was exceptionally sharp.
When he observed Kirlia, it was like staring into the sun. Yet somehow… this sun was only radiating moonlight.
"That's… an Elite Four Pokémon." Will muttered quietly to himself, then turned and left the arena.
After the customary handshake, Sato didn't exchange many words with Alder, whom he didn't know well. Amid the applause of the crowd, he slowly returned to the waiting room.
"Kirlia, you're amazing~ Sato must have saved kittens in eight past lives to have caught you!"
As soon as he entered, Phoebe exaggeratedly rushed over, squatted down, and stared at Kirlia with eyes full of admiration, like a total fangirl!
"…Kirl."
But Kirlia frowned slightly and took two steps back, clearly rejecting the praise.
She hadn't liked getting close to Phoebe even as a Ralts, and that hadn't changed after evolving. Not to mention, Phoebe's words sounded way too much like instigating something.
"Aww, poor thing, getting rejected by a cutie like that~ But then again… it's not surprising. You specialize in Ghost, there's no way a Psychic-type would ever like you."
Wallace sauntered over, deliberately provoking Phoebe, only to earn a dramatic eye-roll in return.
"Alright, that's enough, you two. Time to focus on Ryoko now." Sato waved Phoebe and Wallace away, then turned to Ryoko.
"Yeah. I'll see you all in the finals!" Ryoko gave herself a pep talk, her eyes growing even more determined.
"Good luck!" "You got this!"
Wallace and Phoebe finally dropped their bickering and earnestly encouraged her.
The lively energy among the four of them stood in stark contrast to the lone, silent veteran Trainer waiting nearby.
***
Break time ended. Ryoko and the veteran named Marin stood up and walked straight into the arena. The final semifinalist would be decided between them.
The battle began. Ryoko sent out her Sceptile and Blaziken duo, while Marin responded with Vanilluxe and Eelektross.
It was clear Marin was from the Unova Region.
Overall, both sides had their type advantages, but Marin's Pokémon could both fly, giving him an edge in maneuverability.
However, once again, Ryoko's Double Battle performance shattered everyone's expectations.
Right from the start, she used the Fire Pledge + Grass Pledge combo, turning the entire field into a sea of flames.
Vanilluxe looked so uncomfortable in the heat that people thought it might actually melt…
Sceptile wasn't in great shape either, but it had clearly taken on a support role in this battle, leaving all offensive actions to Blaziken, allowing it to last much longer.
But what truly surprised the audience wasn't the well-known combo; it was how Ryoko had perfectly integrated the core principle of "Fuel for the Fire" into every single attack.
Every time Blaziken used a Fire-type move, Sceptile would follow up with the right Grass-type move at just the right moment.
[Flamethrower + Magical Leaf.]
[Blaze Kick + Energy Ball.]
[Fire Blast + Leaf Storm.]
----
One combined move after another flew across the field. In just a few rounds, Vanilluxe was knocked out cold.
Eelektross managed to take advantage of the fiery terrain to land a critical blow on Sceptile.
But even in a 2v1 situation, it didn't last long. After dealing minor damage to both of Ryoko's Pokémon, Eelektross followed Vanilluxe in defeat.
The battle continued!
Ryoko recalled the more heavily injured Sceptile, leaving Blaziken on the field.
Marin then sent out his third Pokémon.
Golurk!
Ground/Ghost-type. A perfect counter to Ryoko's Blaziken.
Realizing the situation was hopeless, Ryoko instructed Blaziken to inflict a burn on Golurk at the cost of being knocked out.
Then, without hesitation, Ryoko sent in Haxorus!
With overwhelming Attack power, even a burned Golurk stood no chance. Within moments, it was knocked out completely.