The main stadium was deafening.
No one had expected Smeargle to sacrifice itself at the last moment to restore the next Pokémon to enter the field to full strength.
Healing Wish!
A self-sacrificing move of astonishing power!
After Tailwind and Light Screen, it was yet another move with immense utility.
"..."
Baimu rubbed his temples. This match felt more mentally taxing than all his previous ones combined.
Smeargle truly lived up to its reputation as the father of the Land Group, the culprit behind Darkrai's nerf, and one of the finest support Pokémon of its time.
Without a limit on its moves, it had far too many cards to play. At any moment, it could spring a move with some remarkable effect.
Unless it was defeated immediately, it could torment its opponent with all manner of Status Moves.
Baimu knew that firsthand.
Still, battling a Pokémon like Smeargle was fun. It had shown him some of the appeal of competitive battling, almost like returning to the days when he played ranked matches.
His battle with Ilima had kept this tournament from becoming too monotonous.
For a moment,
Baimu even felt an urge to raise a Smeargle.
He knew the Pokémon could be stronger still. Its Hidden Ability, Moody, for instance, sharply raised one stat at random while lowering another.
Stall long enough, and sooner or later it could reach a terrifying level of power. Then it could pass those boosts to an attacking Pokémon with Baton Pass. Who could stop that?
That was to say nothing of moves exclusive to Mythical Pokémon, such as Dark Void and Lunar Dance.
The same urge struck many trainers watching the Ever Grande Conference, both in the stadium and beyond. Smeargle's versatility had them itching to get one.
And compared with Porygon, whose means