A draw to end the battle

"Now that I've explained the rules, let's get straight to the battle."

"As South China City's Gym Leader, it would be a little disrespectful of me not to use a Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon against you."

Misty's words made Liu Xin tense up. She was already a formidable opponent, and now she planned to use a Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon?

Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon were anything but weak.

Anyone who used one knew that.

"Come on out, Super Wooper."

Wooper looked a little like a salamander, with blue skin and a damp membrane covering its body.

The pale purple horns on either side of its head resembled branches, or perhaps parts of a snowflake.

There were three dark blue stripes across its belly.

Since it had no arms, it used its thin but powerful tail to propel itself through the water.

Super Wooper had additional patches of purple on its body and looked even stronger.

The moment it appeared, it squared off against Super Gible, brimming with aggression and taunting it relentlessly.

Super Gible was no different, roaring right back as the atmosphere on the battlefield grew heated.

"This little one is usually pretty well behaved, but it seems to get aggressive whenever it sees a Pokémon of the same kind."

"Looks like Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon have a particularly strong urge to battle one another."

Liu Xin finally understood. Apparently, his own Pokémon weren't the only hotheads after all.

Super Wooper:

Level: 19

Attack: 230

Special attack: 230

Its attack fell short of Super Gible's, but its special attack surpassed it. Apparently, it was a Pokémon that relied on damage from its moves.

Just as with Super Gible at first, he couldn't see its Super Ability. He would have to probe it gradually to find out.

Super Wooper attacked first, sending a Mud Shot hurtling toward Super Gible.

Its Mud Shot was considerably more powerful than an ordinary one, and there was plenty of mud to go around.

Fresh shots kept coming, racing toward Super Gible in an endless stream.

"Use Bulldoze, then close the distance with Tackle."

Super Gible took a deep breath and stamped both feet hard against the ground, unleashing a tremendous tremor.

Loose stones and clods of earth gathered from every direction as the ground ahead cracked open.

The gathered attack surged toward the incoming Mud Shot at full force, and the two attacks collided in an instant.

Amid the dust, Super Gible rapidly closed in until it was barely two fists away from its opponent.

Tackle!

It hit its target, but something felt very strange to Super Gible. It actually slipped downward, smashing its head into the ground and hurting itself instead.

A faint purple glow appeared across Super Wooper's surface. Its Super Ability had just activated.

"Gible!"

Having gotten the worst of that exchange, Super Gible began grumbling angrily. It had clearly landed the hit, so why had it slipped off?

Seeing the slime covering its opponent, Liu Xin understood a great deal more.

Its Super Ability should be Gooey, he surmised. It makes the slime on its body usable, letting it shed most incoming damage while greatly enhancing its own offensive moves.

That slime was the key to Super Wooper.

So that was how it worked. Now that Liu Xin understood, he could certainly devise a counter.

"Keep your distance. Avoid initiating physical attacks as much as possible."

"Sand Tomb!"

Sand and gravel gathered on the ground around Super Wooper, swallowing it like a whirlpool.

The slime on its body could indeed shed much of the sand and gravel, but it couldn't block everything. Super Wooper was still trapped, with its movements restricted in every way.

"Super Wooper, use Rain Dance!"

To deal with an area attack like Sand Tomb, another area attack was the most effective solution.

Super Wooper began swaying its tail and muttering in an incomprehensible language.

Within seconds, a small dark cloud appeared above its head, and rain immediately began to fall.

The rain washed away Sand Tomb in an instant, and their moves canceled each other out once again.

What a troublesome opponent. Liu Xin could tell this would be a tough battle.

Sure enough, Pokémon with Super Abilities were no pushovers.

"Super Wooper, use Slam."

Slam meant closing the distance and engaging Super Gible in close combat.

Super Gible certainly wasn't about to back down from that, charging forward with fierce determination.

Tackle might slip off, but surely ordinary blows wouldn't slide away too?

The two instantly tangled in a brawl, their Super Abilities activating at the same time.

Whenever Super Wooper attacked Gible, it suffered damage—and that damage was doubled.

Super Gible kept slipping off and couldn't land a single blow.

They were evenly matched, and neither could get the better of the other.

Watching the battle before them, Liu Xin and Misty couldn't help laughing. It looked almost like a fight between elementary school children.

Most comically of all, neither could hurt the other. They flashed purple as they traded miss after miss.

The two pulled apart. Continuing like this simply wouldn't get them anywhere.

"Super Gible, use Dragon Breath!"

"Super Wooper, use Haze and Mist!"

Both unleashed their strongest attacks at once. Now they would see who won and who lost.

Drawing a deep breath, Super Gible opened its mouth wide and swallowed the rushing air in an endless stream, gathering it in its mouth.

A blue-green energy sphere hovered within, accompanied by a faint dragon's cry. The ground all around began to cave in, revealing just how powerful it was.

Meanwhile, rain appeared on either side of Super Wooper, freezing into chunks of ice the instant it fell beside it.

Black ice and white ice floated on opposite sides, radiating a terrifying chill.

Frost spread in every direction, its destructive power no weaker than Dragon Breath.

For a moment, the sight before them was truly spectacular.

The black-and-white frost and Dragon Breath erupted in the space of a breath, tearing through the entire area ahead.

The blast sent waves of wind sweeping outward, obscuring both trainers' vision and forcing them to retreat step after step.

Boom!

A tremendous crash rang out as the shock wave blasted in every direction.

Liu Xin exclaimed admiringly, "Whoa, they're really that powerful?"

"I never imagined Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon were this badass. They're completely evenly matched."

Misty stepped back on her own. Having witnessed even more powerful battles, she wasn't quite as awestruck as Liu Xin.

The dust hung over the battlefield for a full two minutes before dispersing.

The result within surprised them both, though they gradually came to see it as only natural.

There was no winner. Both Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon had collapsed, ending the battle in a draw.

Both sides had gained a great deal from the battle.

Misty smiled. "What a wonderful battle. I never expected your Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon to be so strong."

"But we agreed on best of three, and we can't break that rule."

"I'll send mine out first this time. Go, Wartortle."

Her second Pokémon wasn't one of Misty's signature Pokémon either, but one she had newly trained.

It seemed she had put considerable thought into keeping her Gym battles fair.

Wartortle:

Level: 21

Attack: 180

Special attack: 200

It was a perfectly ordinary Wartortle, nowhere near as imposing as the Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon from the previous battle.