Just as the opponent tried to flee after setting the rain, disdain flashed in Kirlia's blood-red eyes.
With a simple wave of her hand, a surge of powerful Psychic energy locked onto the glowing green orb that Pelipper had turned into.
In an instant, the orb reverted back into Pelipper. Its U-turn was forcefully frozen midair by Kirlia.
"Hisss~"
Gasps echoed through the audience stands. Every time they saw this Darth Kirlia perform so brilliantly, that sense of disbelief resurfaced all over again.
"Pelipper, use a dazzling Tailwind to break free!"
Wallace didn't dare to twirl this time. Among Pokémon of the same level, Psychic-types rarely dominate; their biggest weakness was their physical frailty.
…But when there was a clear strength gap between the two, Psychic control became nearly impossible to overcome.
Although both Pelipper and Kirlia were at Ace level, the difference in power was too great. Pelipper was completely suppressed.
"PEEER!"
Pelipper let out a loud cry and began flapping its not-so-strong wings with all its might, trying desperately to break free from the restraint.
Pop!
Kirlia suddenly released her control, and Pelipper, unable to react in time, crashed awkwardly to the ground.
"Kirkirkir~"
Kirlia suddenly covered her mouth and giggled like a little girl who'd just gotten candy. Her smiling eyes and curved brows once again won over a wave of fans.
--
"How… how can a Pokémon be this cute… AND THIS STRONG?!"
Someone in the stands shouted their honest feelings, immediately sparking a wave of agreement and nods.
Had they uploaded this moment as a "short", it would've gone viral!
--
Meanwhile, Pelipper's escape may have been clumsy, but at least it managed to activate Tailwind.
With its Speed massively boosted, Pelipper felt liberated and began circling Kirlia at high speed.
"Pelipper, use Hurricane!"
"Pelii!"
Hurricane -a powerful Flying-type offensive move- matched in might with Blizzard or Fire Blast.
And in rain, Hurricane never misses!
"Kir!"
This time, Kirlia raised both hands, a flash of seriousness appearing in her blood-red eyes.
Just as she was about to use Confusion again to stop the Hurricane in its tracks, Sato's slightly helpless voice came through: "Kirlia, stop playing. Finish the battle first, and I'll let Skorupi play with you as much as you want after."
--
In the inner courtyard of the Gym, watching the battle: Skorupi: …?
--
"Kirkir~"
Kirlia paused mid-cast, then pouted in dissatisfaction. 'That little scorpion isn't nearly as fun as this big dumb bird.'
In the next moment, Kirlia vanished from her spot and reappeared right in front of Pelipper.
Hypnosis!
Bzzzzzz~
The roaring Hurricane scattered and instantly collapsed into nothingness.
Meanwhile, Kirlia hovered calmly in midair, while Pelipper began to fall in free-fall.
"Sleep Talk!"
Wallace's voice rang out suddenly -he clearly hadn't given up on that dumb… ahem… Pelipper.
"Pelii~"
Still asleep, Pelipper let out a soft cry, then suddenly flared open its wings and soared upward in a 180-degree vertical rise, flying straight toward Kirlia.
Was that… Wing Attack?
Wallace instinctively covered his face. Just his luck… like a leaky roof getting rained on all night. His bad luck was truly beyond words.
And then… Pelipper was frozen in place by Kirlia again.
A flash of lightning, Kirlia landed a point-blank Thunderbolt directly onto Pelipper. With a 4x type weakness, Pelipper's health/stamina dropped straight to zero.
Fwoosh~
"Pelipper has lost the ability to battle. Trainer Wallace, please send out your next Pokémon!"
4:2
Wallace lost another round!
--
"GOOD KID! You've grown so fast, I feel like it won't be long before you catch up to me!" Lance suddenly slapped the table and exclaimed excitedly.
The other League representatives all jumped in shock, mistakenly thinking Charles Goodshow had slammed the table again, nearly giving them heart attacks.
"Hahaha, truly a generation of rising stars. That Kirlia is still hiding its true power. I'd say it's already reached Elite Four-level combat power!"
Charles Goodshow didn't care at all about Lance's outburst. In fact, his own hand was itching too… but one glance at the nervous League reps made him think better of it.
"Elite Four level…? That Sato kid..." Lance was stunned, overwhelmed by a sudden sense of crisis.
He couldn't let himself be overtaken just like that!
--
Back on the battlefield, Wallace slowly recalled Pelipper into its Poké Ball, still maintaining his "charming" smile under the pouring rain.
"I really can't trick you at all, Sato-kun. You didn't even let U-turn go through, tch...
Now comes the one… my true warrior~"
Sato blinked. 'Finally not another one of his "performance Pokémon"?'
A flash of red light, and a massive red Crawdaunt appeared before everyone's eyes. Sato instantly understood why Wallace had called it a "warrior".
Clearly…
Because Crawdaunt wasn't pretty or charming enough!
But Sato quickly grew extremely wary. This unremarkable-looking Crawdaunt… had already reached Peak Ace level.
'No… higher than that!'
Half-step to Elite Four?
'So this was Wallace's "true" power?'
"Kirlia, return for now."
A red light flashed. Sato, for the first time, chose to actively switch Pokémon as the Trainer.
"Ariados, prepare for battle."
"Battle, resume!"
"Ariados, use Toxic."
"Crawdaunt, Crabhammer, be gentle, okay~"
Splash~
Toxic landed without surprise, but Crawdaunt didn't slow down at all. Even with just a pair of thick, stubby legs, it moved so fast it left behind afterimages.
In the blink of an eye, Crawdaunt was beside Ariados, and a massive Crabhammer came crashing down!
Rumble rumble rumble...
Sato instinctively grabbed the railing on the side of the command platform, feeling the terrifying force of the Crabhammer.
With all the rain, there wasn't any dust in the air, but the spot where Crawdaunt and Ariados stood had already turned into a puddle.
Moments later, Crawdaunt climbed out of the puddle, dragging behind it a dazed, spiral-eyed Ariados.
"Crawcraw!"
Crawdaunt tossed Ariados aside, raised its massive pincers, and looked menacingly at Sato, issuing a challenge.
"Ariados has lost the ability to battle. Trainer Sato, please send out your next Pokémon!"
Without a word, Sato recalled Ariados into its Poké Ball. "Zoroark, prepare for battle."
"Crawdaunt, close your eyes and use Crabhammer on the ground!" Wallace called out, closing his own eyes as well.
The next moment, the entire battlefield began to shake violently again.
Sato calmly held onto the railing, already certain in his heart: this Crawdaunt possessed the hidden Ability… Adaptability!