Honchkrow dove from the sky at high speed, its body igniting from friction with the air until the flames turned blue from the rising heat.
And across from it stood a sleepy-eyed Slowking letting out a lazy yawn.
Just before Brave Bird landed, Honchkrow caught a glimpse of Slowking's drowsy expression and, suddenly, it couldn't help but feel an overwhelming wave of sleepiness.
BOOOM!
Brave Bird hit!
"Kroooow~~"
Honchkrow fell asleep, landing on the swamp's surface and slowly beginning to sink.
"Slowking, Ice Beam!"
"Honchkrow, Sleep Talk."
At this point, Sato had no choice but to gamble. Anything was better than having Honchkrow stay still and sink into the swamp.
Ice Beam struck Honchkrow with no resistance, dealing significant damage.
But the next moment, the sleeping Honchkrow suddenly stretched out its wings and forcefully flapped, escaping the swamp trap with ease.
It spun once rapidly in midair, its body surrounded by streaks of white light, then dove toward Slowking.
It was Aerial Ace!
Boom!
Trick Room may have let Slowking act first, but it couldn't fix its inherently slow speed.
Aerial Ace struck clean!
At the same time, Sato noticed that his Honchkrow was significantly larger than the average of its species. And bird Pokémon have hollow bones, making them very light overall. Which explained why Honchkrow hadn't sunk quickly into the swamp and had managed to break free so easily.
"Honchkrow, Sleep Talk."
"Slowking, Ice Beam!"
Ice Beam once again hit Honchkrow first, but still wasn't enough to take down the last of its health-stamina.
Finally, the advantage of Honchkrow's large size was paying off, its strong physic was letting it hold on.
And if it could survive… there was still hope for a comeback!
"Kroooow…!"
Still asleep, Honchkrow suddenly let out a loud cry; perhaps from how cold the Ice Beam had been. This time, Sleep Talk triggered Heat Wave!
Heat Wave wasn't very effective against Slowking, so the move didn't do much damage. Honchkrow's luck hadn't been great this time.
Sato suddenly thought of Mark… if it were him, the Sleep Talk would've triggered Night Slash at the very least!
Still, the sweeping Heat Wave had a small benefit: it slightly improved the terrain conditions. A good amount of the swamp's moisture was evaporated, and the ground dried up just a little.
And right as Heat Wave ended, Trick Room shimmered once and vanished.
Trick Room…
Expired!
At the same moment, Honchkrow -about to fall again- snapped its eyes open.
Sleep status: removed!
Sato grinned. After such a long, stifling battle, it was finally time to turn the tide!
"Honchkrow, Night Slash!"
"Slowking, Trick Room!"
Boom!
Night Slash landed, and Super Luck activated with perfect precision. The critical hit doubled the damage, Slowking was struck directly in a vital spot!
But just before Slowking fell, Trick Room once again enveloped the entire field.
"Slowking has lost the ability to battle! Honchkrow wins! Trainer Ryoko, please send out your next Pokémon!"
"Torkoal, use Eruption!"
From recalling Slowking to sending out Torkoal, Ryoko didn't hesitate for even a second. And the moment Torkoal entered the field, it immediately unleashed its strongest move.
Eruption's power decreases the lower the user's health/stamina. And Torkoal, freshly sent out, was undoubtedly at full stamina, so Eruption had already reached its maximum power!
"TO~O~O~O~R!"
Torkoal let out a roar as a massive blast of superheated magma shot from the hole in the center of its shell, erupting like a real volcano and engulfing the entire field!
Spectators seated closer instinctively leaned back, the sea of flame and molten rock looked like it was about to rain down on them at any second!
And since Slowking had used Trick Room before fainting, Honchkrow -who was originally much faster than Torkoal- could now only watch helplessly as it was trapped within Eruption's blast range, unable to dodge.
"KROW!"
Suddenly, a fierce resolve flashed in Honchkrow's eyes. Completely disregarding the violent Eruption, it flapped its wings, stirring up a howling "Hurricane" aimed straight at Torkoal.
The next second, Eruption swallowed Honchkrow entirely… but the gust of wind it had released did not stop!
The powerful windstorm roared across the field, even dragging large amounts of flame back toward Torkoal and blasting them into its body.
And the wind brought more than just fire…
It literally blew Torkoal off the field and returned it straight to its Poké Ball.
That wind… was the move Whirlwind!
Bang!
A not-so-heavy landing sound followed, there was no doubt it was Honchkrow, who had fought to the very end to strike back.
"Honchkrow has lost the ability to battle! Torkoal wins! Since Torkoal was forcibly removed from the field, Trainer Ryoko must send out her next Pokémon first, but retains the right to switch!"
The referee, clearly experienced with intense matches, quickly declared the order in which the Pokémon should be sent out.
Torkoal had been forcibly switched, so by rule, a new Pokémon must be sent in to take its place.
But since Honchkrow had already lost the ability to battle, when Sato sent out his next Pokémon, Ryoko would still retain the right to switch afterward as the victor.
"You worked hard… Great job."
Sato recalled Honchkrow and gave a quiet word of reassurance.
At that moment, after hesitating for just two seconds, Ryoko directly sent out her ace from the previous two rounds: Mawile!
Sato glanced at the terrain, which had hardened again due to Eruption, and also noted that Trick Room was still active. Without hesitation, he tossed out his next Poké Ball.
"You're up, Cacturne."
Grass/Dark-type Cacturne was still at a type disadvantage against Mawile, but Ryoko, knowing full well that Cacturne was slower, chose not to switch out Mawile.
"Battle continues!"
"Mawile, Mega Evolve!"
"Cacturne, Swords Dance."
Ryoko blinked: Σ()!!?
Sato gave a slight blink of his own. League rules did state that when a Pokémon is evolving during a battle, the opponent must pause their attack, not interfering with what is considered one of the most important metamorphoses in a Pokémon's life.
However, the rules didn't say anything about Cacturne being unable to use stat-boosting moves during that moment…
Mega Mawile already had terrifying base Attack. In a direct clash, Cacturne couldn't win.
Soon, Mawile completed Mega Evolution, and Cacturne finished boosting with Swords Dance, giving no opening for a sneak attack.
Meanwhile, with Mawile's level boosted to Peak Ace, its Speed was undoubtedly higher than Cacturne's.
Which meant that as long as Trick Room remained active, the advantage would still lie with Cacturne!
"Cacturne, Leech Seed."
"Mawile, Fire Fang!"
Fwoosh~
With rare speed, Cacturne closed the distance to Mega Mawile and, with a flick, launched a barrage of germinating seeds.
Bang bang bang bang bang...