Initial Battle

Facing the ball-shaped Snorlax, Fang Yuan gave a simple command.

"Eevee, approach it carefully, then use Sand Attack!"

Eevee was very clever. Its day-to-day companionship with Fang Yuan had allowed it to understand the deeper meanings behind most of his commands.

After receiving the command, Eevee slightly raised its forepaws, then gently set them back down, slowly walking step by step toward the ball-shaped Snorlax.

Watching Eevee stroll over as if it were a wealthy lady's pet, Liu Le's expression changed, and he grew a little annoyed.

How could he have known that when Eevee was at its most relaxed, its Anticipation Ability was at its most sensitive?

Eevee walked very slowly, and every step placed immense pressure on Liu Le. The crucial part was that he could not have Snorlax take the initiative, because speed was not Snorlax's strength.

So he waited, waiting for Eevee to approach Snorlax.

After a while, Eevee finally reached what Liu Le considered a suitable distance.

"Snorlax, Lick!"

Fang Yuan froze for a moment. Lick was a Ghost-type move, and it would have almost no effect on a Normal-type Eevee...

Unless Liu Le was an idiot, there had to be a trick to it.

Fang Yuan had already prepared himself mentally, but Snorlax's change still surprised him.

Somehow, the ball-shaped Snorlax gained a burst of momentum. Glowing white all over, it rolled toward Eevee at high speed. It somewhat resembled Rollout, yet it was not Rollout.

"It used Defense Curl to disguise itself as a ball and hide its mouth, then used the force from Lick against the ground to accelerate its body, making Tackle resemble Rollout..."

"Old Liu, your kid is clearly a genius."

Shan Mi said in surprise.

Father Liu said nothing, but he was quite satisfied with Liu Le's little cleverness. Of course, it would have been better if Liu Le had been a little more serious.

However, what surprised Shan Mi even more came afterward.

Faced with the sudden attack, Eevee's expression did not change at all. It nimbly leaped aside, and Snorlax's now-increased speed still seemed hardly worth mentioning in its eyes.

"This Eevee has great reaction speed and a very agile body. It can dodge even in such a dangerous situation—it must have undergone specialized training," Shan Mi added.

Snorlax's attacks did not stop. Liu Le knew Snorlax was slow, which was why he had devised this attack pattern.

Using Defense Curl, he had Snorlax curl into a ball. Since a ball's mass was evenly and symmetrically distributed, its center of gravity did not change height as it rolled over a level surface, meaning it did not consume energy. Therefore, if all other external forces were ignored, once a ball started rolling, it would continue rolling.

Although Snorlax encountered friction while attacking, it could use Lick to propel itself and change direction, so maintaining a stable movement speed was no problem at all.

If it had been anyone else... they might already have fallen for it.

Fang Yuan was now certain that the opponent's nineteen consecutive victories were no fluke, because this Snorlax had barely managed to overcome its disadvantage in speed.

Unfortunately...

It had encountered Eevee.

It had encountered an Eevee that could already use Quick Attack proficiently and move freely even through a dense, tangled forest.

Nimbly evading Snorlax's rolling Tackles again and again, Eevee wore a sly grin, as though it were teasing Snorlax.

"Keep using Sand Attack," Fang Yuan immediately commanded.

Though it had made up for its speed deficiency, Snorlax's next weakness had now been exposed.

After using Defense Curl, Snorlax could barely see its direction at all. Its attacks relied entirely on reckless force. As long as Eevee did not clash with it head-on, it would be difficult for Snorlax to hurt it.

"Vee!"

At that, Eevee slapped the ground, sending up large clouds of sand. It moved while stirring up sand, turning the air throughout the entire field murky. Now it became even harder for Snorlax to determine Eevee's exact location.

"Snor! Snor!!"

After a while, Snorlax let out an uncomfortable cry, then quickly stood up and looked around in panic.

Covering its mouth and nose, it searched for Eevee, but Eevee's fur was very close in color to the sand. Snorlax could only attack wildly.

"Calm down, Snorlax. Eevee is right in front of you. Take a gamble with Metronome," Liu Le said.

Hearing its trainer's command, Snorlax stopped panicking and began rhythmically waving its finger. The next moment, a layer of white light spread over Snorlax's fist. Metronome was highly random; by waving its finger to stimulate its brain, it could use any move, so it was not strange for Snorlax to use Mach Punch through Metronome.

"What move is that..." Liu Le was stunned.

Mach Punch was extremely effective. As a Fighting-type move, it greatly increased Snorlax's punching speed, making Eevee far more wary of it than Tackle. It was a move whose speed could rival Quick Attack. Although Liu Le did not understand it, that did not stop him from noticing that Snorlax's punches had become much faster.

Delighted, Liu Le ordered Snorlax to attack. However, he had not noticed at all that Snorlax's body had become extremely uncoordinated. At this moment, the speed granted by Mach Punch did more harm than good for Snorlax. It was speed Snorlax simply could not control, and it had played directly into Fang Yuan's hands.

"Mach Punch... what good luck. But it's still useless. Eevee, take the initiative. Use Quick Attack."

"Vee!"

Eevee revealed a victorious smile. The moment Snorlax charged out of the sand cloud, it pounced to Snorlax's side and unleashed Quick Attack with all its strength.

When Mach Punch came flying at it, Eevee easily dodged. Snorlax instinctively tried to change the direction of its punch, but the awkwardness of its body made it miss its best opportunity to attack. By then, Eevee had already slipped past it and leaped behind it. Without hesitation, Eevee cleverly changed direction several times by stomping the ground, disrupting Snorlax's judgment as it targeted Snorlax's weakest point—the back of its neck.

Snorlax wildly threw Mach Punches, panting from exhaustion, yet it could never touch Eevee. It was extremely frustrated.

Until Eevee delivered the fatal strike.

With a bang, Snorlax's neck suffered a heavy blow. Its whole body swayed dizzily, and within seconds, it fell into a sitting position on the ground.

Eevee landed at the same time, but did not lower its attacking stance.

"What happened?" Liu Le's eyes widened. He could not understand why Snorlax had become even more sluggish than before.

"It was Sand Attack. After Eevee used Sand Attack continuously, it not only filled the air with sand but also covered the ground with a layer of it. While Snorlax was rolling, its long fur—which could even hide food—had already become filled with sand. That was the main reason it felt uncomfortable and had become sluggish," Fang Yuan explained.

It was over...

The referee glanced at Snorlax's condition and directly announced the result. "Snorlax has lost its Combat Ability. Therefore, the winner is Fang Yuan."

"Looks like the result is in. This Fang Yuan really exceeded my expectations. Aside from Body Strength, this Eevee's basic attributes have all been trained to a higher level than Snorlax's, especially its speed, which far surpasses Snorlax's. But what surprised me most was that this kid did not simply rely on that advantage. Instead, he chose to expand it further. That was an exceptionally cautious approach," Shan Mi said from the stands.

"What do you mean?" Father Liu looked at Shan Mi.

"I originally thought Sand Attack was only meant to disrupt Snorlax's vision, but I never expected him to use it to make sand accumulate in Snorlax's fur... For Snorlax, having its fur filled with sand definitely would not be comfortable. It would irritate its fat, affect its senses, and make it lose its battle rhythm."

"Alright, let's go down."