"Venusaur, I choose you!"
At the referee's signal, Zhang Cheng and Wang Lu sent out their lead Pokémon at the same time.
Zhang Cheng did not send out Poliwrath this time. He knew that after the previous rounds, the other Trainers had figured out his usual strategy and would certainly send out Pokémon with an advantage against Poliwrath.
Most of these top students from Modu University had starter Pokémon as their strongest partners. A starter that could counter Poliwrath would most likely be a Grass-type, so Zhang Cheng chose Pidgeot as his lead.
His reasoning proved sound. His opponent had indeed sent out the Grass-type starter Venusaur, who was at a disadvantage against the Flying-type Pidgeot.
Wang Lu was a little surprised that Zhang Cheng had not sent out Poliwrath, as she had researched his Pokémon beforehand.
When she learned that Zhang Cheng usually sent out Water-type Pokémon, Wang Lu had secretly rejoiced. Her Venusaur could perfectly counter both his Poliwrath and his Swampert.
But Wang Lu had never expected Zhang Cheng to break from his usual routine and send out the Flying-type Pidgeot.
Seeing Wang Lu's Venusaur, Zhang Cheng felt that everything was going as expected. Without showing any surprise, he opened the Detection System to check Venusaur's stats:
``` Name: Venusaur (Level 43)
Gender: Female
Potential: B+
Types: Grass, Poison
Held item: Miracle Seed (Boosts the power of Grass-type moves used by the Pokémon holding it)
Basic moves: Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Take Down, Razor Leaf, Growth, Sweet Scent, Double-Edge, Worry Seed
Learned moves: Petal Dance, Grass Whistle, Mega Drain
Inherited moves: Protect, Sludge Bomb, Toxic
Ability: Overgrow (Boosts the power of Grass-type moves when the Pokémon's HP falls below a certain threshold.)
Notes: Venusaur, the Seed Pokémon, is the evolved form