Misdreavus vs. Dugtrio

Gurdurr threw a punch, and Growlithe lay in the pit with Swirl Spirals in Eyes. In the end, it had still lost to a well-timed [Detect]. If only... but there were no ifs.

"Growlithe is unable to battle. Gurdurr wins."

As the referee announced the result, Sui Yan silently recalled Growlithe.

Sui Yan looked at the Poké Ball in his hand and revealed a faint smile.

"You worked hard, Growlithe. This time, it was my fault. Looks like I need to train harder after I get back too. At the very least, I can't hold you back, right?"

After saying that, he kissed the Poké Ball, then turned and left the field, walking toward where Lu Ze and the others were seated.

Lu Ze watched Sui Yan approach and stood up, ready to comfort him.

"Save the comforting words. I wasn't good enough, no need to say more. I'll work hard and learn."

Sui Yan seemed to have seen through what Lu Ze wanted to do. He stretched out a hand to stop him and spoke first.

Lu Ze rolled his eyes, slapped his hand aside, and sat back down gloomily. He had worried for nothing over this heartless guy.

"Ah, what a pity. In the end, Gurdurr had still come out slightly ahead. It relied on [Detect] to dodge Growlithe's fatal blow, then won with a single [Thunder Punch]."

The commentator first summarized the previous match. Before long, the draw for the sixth match was announced.

"Let's see which two contestants will be competing in the sixth match."

"For the sixth match, Yin Hanling will face Zhou Yunyi. Both contestants, please take the field."

When Yin Hanling saw the result of the draw, she jumped up happily, then hugged Youyu You beside her and kissed him on the head.

"Wonderful, I didn't get matched against one of us. Everyone, I'm heading up first."

Yin Hanling happily strode onto the field, while Youyu You sat in his chair with ears burning red. However, because he often kept his head lowered and Lu Ze and the others were focused on the field, no one noticed him.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon."

Yin Hanling sent out Misdreavus, while her opponent released a Dugtrio.

Pokémon: Dugtrio

Gender: Male

Type: Ground

Ability: Arena Trap (prevents all non-Ghost-type Pokémon on the ground on the opposing side from fleeing, switching Pokémon, or running away)

Aptitude: Blue

Basic moves: Sand Tomb, Night Slash, Scratch, Growl, Tri Attack, Sand Attack, Astonish, Mud-Slap, Bulldoze, Sucker Punch, Slash, High Horsepower, Hyper Beam

Egg Moves: Headbutt, Hone Claws, Memento

When Zhou Yunyi saw that Yin Hanling had sent out Misdreavus, his mindset nearly collapsed on the spot. His Dugtrio was a Ground type, and most of its moves were Ground type as well.

It simply could not hit a Misdreavus with the [Levitate] Ability. Misdreavus was also a Ghost type, which meant the [High Horsepower] and [Hyper Beam] TMs he had bought at great expense were completely useless.

Zhou Yunyi steadied himself and comforted himself.

"Luckily, Dugtrio also learned the Dark-type moves [Night Slash] and [Sucker Punch]. Not only can they hit it, they can even deal double damage."

Whoosh.

The flag fell, and the battle began.

"Dugtrio—[Night Slash]!"

"Misdreavus—[Psybeam]!"

Dugtrio rapidly closed in on Misdreavus, then extended a black claw from the ground and struck Misdreavus with a single blow, sending the Misdreavus that had just finished using its move flying.

Dugtrio was also hit by Misdreavus's [Psybeam].

"As we can see, both contestants are quite aggressive. They went head-to-head with powerful attacks right from the start. After trading a wave of damage, the two Pokémon charged at each other again."

"Dugtrio is still using [Night Slash], while Misdreavus has released three purple flames. It's Will-O-Wisp! It hit! Dugtrio is at a disadvantage now!"

"Although it landed a double-damage hit on Misdreavus, the Will-O-Wisp status will not only drain its stamina, but also halve its Attack stat. That is going to be very uncomfortable for a Dugtrio that relies on its Attack stat."

After taking another [Night Slash], Misdreavus panted heavily in midair. Two moves that countered its type had nearly taken it out, but fortunately, Will-O-Wisp had been inflicted.

Yin Hanling had not expected this Dugtrio to be so fast. She had also suffered from the speed gap in their first clash. She had originally thought [Psybeam] could hit Dugtrio while it was charging in and interrupt its move.

But Dugtrio was simply too fast, forcing Misdreavus to trade damage. Because of that speed, it had to get closer to ensure the accuracy of [Will-O-Wisp].

As long as it was not knocked out instantly, Dugtrio's fate was already sealed once it had been inflicted with [Will-O-Wisp].

"Misdreavus—[Hex]!"

"Dugtrio—Again, [Night Slash]!"

This time, Misdreavus had no need to trade blows. It swiftly widened the distance between itself and Dugtrio, trying not to let Dugtrio get too close, while continuously firing dark spheres of light through the air at its opponent.

If [Hex] hit an opponent with a status condition, its damage doubled. Dugtrio did not dare be careless and rapidly dodged the attacks Misdreavus sent its way.

Dugtrio truly was extremely fast. Though it could not reach Misdreavus in the air, dodging Misdreavus's light-sphere attacks was quite easy.

And so, one attacked while the other dodged. As time dragged on, Zhou Yunyi's expression grew increasingly bitter. He understood that he had already lost this match.

Even if Misdreavus's moves never hit, [Will-O-Wisp] would still burn through Dugtrio's stamina.

Watching Dugtrio continue desperately dodging the skill spheres on the field, Zhou Yunyi felt some regret. I should've followed up with [Mud-Slap] after that last attack. Then Misdreavus's final bit of stamina would've been taken out too. What a pity, what a pity.

No one knew what Zhou Yunyi was thinking, but everyone knew Dugtrio's defeat was inevitable.

Before long, Dugtrio's stamina was exhausted. It fell to the ground with Swirl Spirals in Eyes, unable to rise again.

"Dugtrio is unable to battle. Misdreavus wins."

Zhou Yunyi bitterly recalled Dugtrio, then turned and walked off the field. He had been eliminated, falling short of the top eight.

"Let us congratulate Yin Hanling! Her Misdreavus has claimed another victory and advanced into the top eight. There are only two top-eight spots remaining: one from the final match, and one lucky contestant."

"Now, let's see who this lucky contestant will be."

Lu Ze turned to Tang Yunqin and said,

"Only the two of us are left. Will that strange luck of yours work this time? I really don't want to fight an internal match."

Tang Yunqin propped up her little face and muttered,

"How would I know? Besides, that luck isn't something I can control. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Ever since the last Academy Battle Tournament, Lu Ze had noticed that Tang Yunqin seemed to have some rather strange luck.

There had only been a few rounds in the Academy Battle Tournament with bye slots, yet Tang Yunqin had gotten every single one.

And when they had gone out to have fun that day, she had encountered the Shellder they had only mentioned the day before. It was even an exceptional Shellder with the Egg Move [Rock Blast], not to mention its [Skill Link] Ability.

From that day onward, Lu Ze had paid more attention to Tang Yunqin. He found that her luck was ordinary in everyday matters, but whenever it involved Pokémon, her luck became unbelievably good. He had no idea why.

"Oh! The draw result is out. The lucky contestant receiving a bye this match is..."

PS: In the end, people become what they hate most. (What a handsome cliffhanger.)