A powerful jet of water slammed into the Protect barrier. Under the fierce assault, the barrier began to tremble. As Hydro Pump grew stronger, the barrier finally gave way and was forcibly shattered.
After breaking through the barrier, the remaining force of Hydro Pump struck Swampert. The barrier had greatly weakened Empoleon's attack, so Swampert lost only a quarter of his HP.
Between Empoleon's two attacks, Swampert had now lost nearly half his HP.
"Swampert, use Thief now!"
After Swampert withstood Empoleon's attack, Zhang Cheng ordered him to use Thief to steal Empoleon's held item, the Mystic Water.
Ground-type moves were Swampert's first choice against Empoleon, so obtaining the Mystic Water would not do him much good.
The main purpose of stealing the Mystic Water was to reduce the power of Empoleon's Water-type moves.
"Gana~ Gana~"
Upon receiving the command, Swampert gathered sinister Dark-type energy in his hands. Once the energy had coalesced, he unleashed Thief.
Thief quickly struck Empoleon, taking away a sixth of his HP while also stealing his Mystic Water.
"You actually taught him a move like Thief?" Xia Bin was somewhat surprised by Swampert's move. With the Mystic Water stolen, things might not go so well for Empoleon from here on.
"Empoleon, use Brine!"
With his extensive battle experience, Xia Bin chose to have Empoleon use Brine against the half-health Swampert. This move dealt double damage to Pokémon with less than half their HP, making it well suited to Swampert's current condition.
Upon receiving the command, Empoleon rapidly gathered the Water Energy around him. Under his control, the dense Water Energy formed a slender stream of water containing a large amount of salt.
Brine finished forming. This unusual saltwater attack was particularly effective against Pokémon injured enough to have less than half their HP remaining.
Under