Sure enough.
Cheng Hong froze when he saw Magearna. He had never seen a Mythical Pokémon like that before.
In fact, if Boss Baimu hadn't given him information before the match, he would barely have known anything about Silvally!
For things like Abilities and move pools, he could only rely on the basic information provided by the tournament.
And even Baimu hadn't expected Magearna to appear. There was no way Cheng Hong could have known to research it in advance.
It was almost certainly a Steel type. As for its other type... Psychic? Fairy?
Better test it first!
"Earthquake!"
To play it safe, he chose a ranged Ground-type move.
If his opponent had Levitate or could fly, so be it. But that seemed unlikely—
Holy crap! It really jumped!
Excadrill slammed its claws into the ground, sending out a violent shock wave. Not far away, the enormous metal Poké Ball sprang high into the air.
Midair, it transformed into a small robot and blasted scorching flames at Excadrill!
Flamethrower!
Cheng Hong suddenly sensed something was wrong, but it was too late.
"Magearna" had jumped in anticipation, meaning it had moved at the same moment Excadrill used Earthquake.
Excadrill had no chance to dodge.
But by the time "Magearna" landed, Earthquake was still going. The aftershocks stripped away its false appearance.
Amid cries of shock from the crowd, a sly black fox with a red mane replaced the metallic robot.
"It's Zoroark! I fell for it!"
Cheng Hong was stunned.
He had been so fixated on Magearna that he had overlooked the possibility it was Zoroark in disguise!
Excadrill took Flamethrower head-on, and its condition plummeted.
Even the speed it had gained from Sand Rush fell off.
Cheng Hong hurried to recall it, but that was exactly what Gladion and Zoroark