At the very last moment before Raticate was about to crash into Eevee, Eevee's body shifted ever so slightly to the left—just enough for Raticate's charge to skim past its fur.
Raticate pounced at empty air, its four paws scrambling across the grass for two steps before it steadied itself. It whipped its head around, surprise flickering in its large brown eyes.
"Use Hyper Fang!" A-Cheng's command came fast, leaving Eevee almost no time to catch its breath.
"Ratta!"
Raticate turned around, launched itself forward again, and lunged fiercely at Eevee with its mouth wide open, its two front teeth gleaming white in the sunlight.
Eevee remained where it stood, its brown eyes fixed on the figure rushing toward it. The instant those front teeth were about to bite down, it lowered its body and slipped beneath the attack.
Raticate's Hyper Fang missed again, its teeth clacking together with a crisp snap.
Watching his attacks miss twice in a row, A-Cheng did not grow impatient. Instead, excitement flashed in his eyes. "Brother Xinhai, your Eevee is way too nimble! How did it judge the direction in such a short time?"
"It wasn't judgment. It was instinct." Xinhai stood at the edge of the field with his hands in his pockets, his tone casual but instructive.
"Also, although your Raticate is already very fast, it has a small tell before it moves—every time it sprints, its front paws tap the ground first to build up power."
"That habit isn't a problem during ordinary training, but in battle, especially against skilled opponents, that tiny delay is enough for them to evade."
A-Cheng froze for a moment and lowered his gaze toward Raticate. Raticate looked back up at him, its four little paws shifting uneasily against the ground.
"I... never noticed that." A