The Water Pulse unleashed by Poliwrath struck the spot where Mismagius had just vanished, hitting nothing and dealing no damage.
"Poliwrath, quick, use Protect!"
Sensing trouble, Zhang Cheng reacted immediately and ordered Poliwrath to defend with Protect.
"Poli~ Poli~"
At the command, Poliwrath spread both arms, preparing to absorb the surrounding energy and form a barrier. Vast amounts of energy surged toward Poliwrath.
Under Poliwrath's control, the dense energy formed a Protect barrier in front of Poliwrath.
Once the barrier was in place, Poliwrath relaxed a little and waited for Mismagius to attack.
But after a short wait, Mismagius was still nowhere to be seen. Just as Poliwrath began to wonder what was happening, an eerie black shadow suddenly appeared behind Poliwrath.
The shadow passed through the Protect barrier and appeared right beside Poliwrath. Mismagius emerged, a powerful surge of Ghost-type energy bursting from both hands, and slammed it into Poliwrath's body.
Already in poor shape, Poliwrath lost all remaining HP to Mismagius's sudden attack and was unable to battle.
Mismagius's Phantom Force could pass straight through a Protect barrier to attack, so Poliwrath's defense had done nothing.
"Come back and rest, Poliwrath." Zhang Cheng took out a Poké Ball and recalled Poliwrath.
Zhang Cheng knew that Phantom Force could bypass a Protect barrier, but in that situation, ordering Poliwrath to use Protect had been his only option. There had been no other way to defend.
"Ampharos, I choose you!"
After a moment's thought, Zhang Cheng chose Ampharos as his second Pokémon.
Against Ke Jing's Mismagius, Swampert's Ground-type moves would be useless, while Pidgeot was being saved for Serperior. Sending out Ampharos was the most sensible choice under the circumstances.
"Mismagius, use Confuse Ray!"
Ke Jing had great confidence in his Mismagius. As soon as Ampharos entered the field, he