Light flashed.
A Pokémon resembling an ostrich, with multi-layered, pleated, wide skirt-like tail feathers and an appearance as colorful as an Egyptian queen, entered the field.
At the same time, Goodra's slimy body seemed to melt, almost turning into a "slime" puddle before quickly reshaping itself.
Then, red waves of boosted stats appeared on its body.
The Poison-type move "Acid Armor" could greatly increase its Defense, providing excellent compensation for Goodra's not-so-outstanding physical Defense.
—However, Nemona's command had clearly been read by Geeta and taken advantage of.
Espathra, a pure Psychic-type Pokémon.
It had three abilities: "Opportunist," "Frisk," and "Speed Boost."
And Geeta's Espathra had the ability…
Seeing the red waves of boosted stats light up on Goodra the instant it completed its setup, and the same happening on Espathra, Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Opportunist" ability. Its effect was extremely simple: if the opponent boosts its stats, it would follow and boost its own as well.
By analogy, it was something like a "permanently active Stored Power."
The only saving grace was that Goodra didn't have many boosting moves. Otherwise, if it had been Dragon Dance or Calm Mind just now, this would have blown up immediately.
"Lumina Crash!"
After copying the mediocre Defense boost via Opportunist, Geeta unhesitatingly chose to attack.
Espathra's somewhat eerie eyes suddenly lit up. Two purple strange beams shot out from its eyes like lasers.
The lasers flew at extreme speed. In the blink of an eye, they struck Goodra.
Accompanied by the explosion of purple light, Goodra suddenly felt its brain grow hazy, its vision blurring—as if some kind of power within it had been suppressed by the strange light.
From the perspectives of Nemona, Geeta, Lucas, and even the livestream viewers, it was clearly visible that after the stat boost, a blue wave of lowered stats appeared on Goodra.
Immediately after, as Espathra began running with its talons, a second Lumina Crash began charging and then fired.
"Protect!"
Realizing something, Nemona made an instant decision and chose Protect to prevent this wave of attacks from exploding on Goodra.
She remembered what Biology teacher Jacq had mentioned in class when introducing Paldea-specific Pokémon species—the additional effect of Espathra's signature move "Lumina Crash."
—As long as it hit successfully, the light attached to the laser that could even affect the mind would destroy the Pokémon's resistance to special attacks.
In other words, it lowered Special Defense!
And each hit would greatly lower Special Defense. No wonder Geeta still sent out Espathra even though she knew Goodra had outstanding Special Defense.
With Espathra's running speed, it could completely avoid Goodra's attacks while leisurely using Lumina Crash to weaken Goodra's Special Defense to the extreme, finally securing victory in one go.
It could not be hit by Lumina Crash again!
The instant she made the decision, the Protect barrier shattered. Under Geeta's command, Espathra had already dashed to Goodra's side, with the third Lumina Crash charged and ready to fire.
Not willing to gamble on the probability of a double Protect, Nemona said without hesitation, "Power Whip!"
"Gro!"
Goodra responded in a low voice. It slightly lowered its head. Its two ponytail-like tentacles were enveloped in emerald-green light, extending longer in mid-air, and lashed toward Espathra like lightning.
Smack!
A very clear whipping sound rang out. Goodra's powerful force sent Espathra staggering, and the charged Lumina Crash failed to release successfully.
"Toxic!"
Gaining the upper hand, Nemona immediately pressed the advantage.
With the Toxic Spikes poison from Glimmora already inside Goodra's body, using this move would instead make the toxin even stronger.
As long as she could put Espathra into the same state as Goodra, Nemona was confident she could wear it down to death or force Geeta to switch!
But Geeta, who had prepared for this early on, smiled and snapped her fingers.
"I won't let you succeed—Psychic."
After all, Nemona was a student taught by Lucas. Even though her personality meant she didn't like playing dirty, tricky schemes, that didn't mean her Pokémon didn't know those moves—like the current Toxic.
The barely stabilized Espathra instantly erupted with powerful psychic power, firmly blocking every drop of venomous liquid and preventing any from touching it.
At the same time, using its talon feet that had explosive power like an ostrich, it kicked backward and directly widened the distance from Goodra.
Thanks to the previous "Opportunist," even though Espathra took a non-STAB "Power Whip" from Goodra head-on, its boosted physical Defense meant it hadn't taken much damage.
Seeing that the two sides still had a fight ahead, Nemona suddenly raised her hand at this moment.
"Return, Goodra!"
"Please, Ursaluna!"
As the Poké Ball was batted back into Nemona's hand by Ursaluna, the audience immediately realized that, facing the pressure brought by Espathra, Nemona had chosen to switch!
"Because she knew that Ribombee's setup would likely be copied for free by Espathra, she would rather not rely on type advantage and instead try to break through with raw power?"
Lucas analyzed the battle situation with a thoughtful expression.
"Moreover, Ursaluna is…"
His voice paused slightly as his gaze fell on Ursaluna, which had taken the Stealth Rock hit yet was still full of vigor.
The Toxic Spikes on the field activated once more, but before they could inject their poison, they were forced back by the sparks igniting in Ursaluna's fur, unable to advance an inch.
This also meant that Ursaluna had not been affected by the Toxic Spikes.
"I see… It's an item?"
Geeta's gaze landed on the fiery-red orb worn on Ursaluna's chest. She realized that Ursaluna had relied on the fact that it was already in a status condition to avoid the effects of Toxic Spikes.
"Burn… plus Ursaluna's ability. This is going to be quite troublesome."
A grave look appeared in Geeta's eyes. She had no intention of switching out Espathra for now and instead commanded it to attack again.
"Lumina Crash!"
Nemona had thought deeply about the choice to send out Ursaluna. Even though she could have Goodra use that move to remove the poison's effects while recovering most of its lost stamina.
But under Espathra's threat, it was very likely that before it could finish, Espathra would use "Lumina Crash" to lower its Special Defense to the minimum, forcing it into a huge disadvantage.
She had to deal with Espathra or Geeta's other three Pokémon first!
And before solving this problem, there was an even more serious one.
"Toxic Spikes" and "Stealth Rock."
At the very least, she could not let them affect the next Pokémon to enter!
Thinking of this, Nemona immediately said, "Take it, then Earthquake!"
Ursaluna crossed its arms in front of itself. Relying on its tough and thick-skinned physique, it tanked a Lumina Crash from Espathra head-on. As a blue wave of lowered stats descended on its body, Ursaluna raised its head and roared loudly.
"Roar!!!"
Its massive foot slammed onto the ground with tremendous force. Under the boost of its "Guts" ability, Ursaluna's power had already been strengthened to a terrifying level.
A powerful shockwave swept through the battlefield, causing even the entire Pokémon League Headquarters to begin shaking.
If this peak-level battlefield hadn't been built to the highest specifications, it might have been directly collapsed by Ursaluna's quake!
In contrast, the effect of the Earthquake was also quite significant.
This was something she had thought of on the spur of the moment. Even though her team didn't have any specific clearing moves, with Ursaluna's power, it should be able to achieve a literal physical clear!
After the intense shaking ended, the vision-obscuring dust disappeared, revealing a devastated battlefield.
The entire battlefield had been almost completely plowed over, filled with piles of large and small rubble in chaotic heaps. It was completely unrecognizable from its former neat appearance.
The multiple layers of Toxic Spikes scattered by Glimmora had also been shaken out by the intense vibration. Without the ground to root into, these Toxic Spikes that had almost been shaken apart could only unwillingly turn into light particles and disappear.
Meanwhile, the opposing Espathra was not in good shape either. Even though Geeta had reacted in time and used its psychic power to make it float and temporarily avoid the power of the Earthquake, Espathra had still taken the first wave of shaking completely.
If it hadn't copied Goodra's Acid Armor via Opportunist earlier, its stamina might have been like a candle in the wind after that hit.
"What a surprise. There's even a method like this?"
Geeta smiled and clapped, clear appreciation visible in her eyes.
That spur-of-the-moment idea truly deserved to be called a stroke of genius.
"Espathra, Baton Pass."
If she let Espathra stay any longer, it would likely be taken out by Ursaluna before it could defeat it.
Nemona's Ribombee had not yet appeared. To guard against that "Baton Pass" tactic, Espathra could not lose its ability to battle yet.
After having Espathra use Baton Pass to return, Geeta once again sent out a Pokémon she had used earlier.
"Chesnaught!"
Thanks to its Grass type, Chesnaught could gain an advantageous matchup against the Ground-type Ursaluna.
The Defense boost from Baton Pass would also increase its competitiveness.
In terms of physique, only Chesnaught could currently contend with the currently momentum-filled Ursaluna.
Nemona understood this logic very well. Since no matter who she switched in now, Geeta would guard against it, she might as well ride Ursaluna's momentum and sweep away all obstacles!
"Fire Punch."
Nemona clenched her right fist and swung it forward.
Ursaluna roared and made the same motion, charging toward Chesnaught like a land war tank with a fist wrapped in raging flames.
"Stone Edge!"
Chesnaught raised its arms. Countless glowing boulders appeared out of thin air and spun around its body like a ring of light.
The next instant, the rocks shot toward Ursaluna under Chesnaught's control, leaving a series of piercing sounds as they cut through the air.
"Roar!"
Ursaluna's gaze sharpened. It smashed a fist directly at the incoming Stone Edge!
With a bang, the boulder instantly shattered into flying rubble.
The burn on its body continuously drained Ursaluna's stamina, bringing it pain and pressure while also awakening the power hidden deep within, stirring its wild nature.
At this moment, Ursaluna's state could be described as "kill gods if gods block the way, kill Buddhas if Buddhas block the way."
It smashed through the rocks all the way, its speed not decreasing in the slightest. Instead, it sped up even further.
Arriving in front of Chesnaught, Ursaluna's flame-wrapped arms smashed down fiercely toward its head.
Geeta's response was also extremely fast. A "Spiky Shield" let Chesnaught timely form a shield and tank the punch head-on.
—However, from the muffled groan transmitted from beneath the shield when the fist landed, as well as the ground cracking once more, it was clear how difficult it had been for Chesnaught to take that punch.
"Roar—roar—roar—"
Even without breaking through the defense, Ursaluna continued to roar ferociously. Its flame-wrapped fists ignored the injuries from the spikes and rained down like hailstones onto the shield Chesnaught had raised.
Both sides fell completely into a stalemate—
If Chesnaught held on, Ursaluna would lose its ability to battle due to the continuous burn effect.
If Chesnaught couldn't hold on, Nemona would be able to completely open up the situation.
Ursaluna's punching speed gradually slowed. Just as Chesnaught thought it had endured, it suddenly realized that, along with the shield, it had been lifted up.
"Che-naught!?"
Chesnaught looked at Ursaluna in surprise, not knowing what it intended to do.
Ursaluna simply gave a ferocious grin. Under Nemona's command, it directly rolled the Chesnaught that had curled up inside its shield and back shell into a flat, round object—
"Use it to sweep away all the Stealth Rock in one go, Ursaluna!"
As Nemona's voice rang out, by the time Chesnaught realized it was being used as a weapon by Ursaluna, it was already too late to struggle.
A tremendous force came from the position where Ursaluna gripped the spikes on its shell as a handle. Under the dumbfounded gazes of countless viewers, Chesnaught was swung by Ursaluna and smashed toward the position where the Stealth Rock that had ambushed it upon entry had been hidden!
As a rather intelligent and vengeful creature, Ursaluna—evolved from Teddiursa—had clearly remembered the positions of all the revealed Stealth Rock when it had entered.
Bang bang bang bang—!
Under Chesnaught's collisions, countless sharp Stealth Rock were forced to reveal themselves and were smashed into fragments.
In just a short while, all the Stealth Rock had been completely cleared.
And Chesnaught, unable to withstand so many powerful impacts, directly lost consciousness.
"..."
Even someone as calm and composed as Geeta subconsciously opened her lips slightly, her eyes widening a little.
Truly, Nemona's maneuvers had left her dumbfounded.
Could Pokémon battles be played like this?
Not to mention the equally stunned audience, Lucas looked at Ursaluna standing like a war god on the rubble-filled battlefield and revealed a heartfelt smile.
"Sure enough, it's the same style as Ash."
Nemona's spur-of-the-moment ideas always brought pleasant surprises.
With this, Geeta had already lost three Pokémon.
On Nemona's side, only Tauros had lost its ability to battle. Even though Decidueye was in such poor condition that it was barely hanging on by a thread, she still had a full-health Pawmot and Ribombee, as well as a Goodra that could recover itself.
The threats of Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock had also been removed.
The road ahead suddenly became much brighter.
—But would Geeta really let Nemona achieve victory so smoothly and overwhelmingly?
"Huff—it's been a long time since I've been this excited."
Geeta lightly stroked her chest, calming her breathing, and once again took out a Poké Ball.
"Bring me victory, Dragapult!"