"Come out, Weavile." Han Ye sent out his second Pokémon. "I originally prepared this one for your Gengar, but it'll work just as well against Exeggutor."
"Sunny Day!" Against the Dark- and Ice-type Weavile, Exeggutor was at a complete disadvantage. Confusion was practically useless, though Grass-type moves and Nature Power were still viable. Weavile was simply too fast, however, so Sunny Day would give Exeggutor a chance to keep up.
"Weavile, Ice Punch!" Han Ye had no intention of letting Exeggutor use a move to enhance its abilities and immediately shouted his command.
On the field, Exeggutor instantly formed a ball of light above its head and launched it into the sky. Meanwhile, Weavile's right fist glowed icy blue as it charged toward Exeggutor, trailing a powerful chill.
Boom! Just as Weavile's Ice Punch was about to land, Sunny Day took effect. Exeggutor swiftly dodged to the side, and Ice Punch grazed its body before smashing into the ground, instantly freezing a section of the field. Even that glancing blow left a pained expression on Exeggutor's faces.
"Weavile, keep attacking! Pursuit!"
At Han Ye's command, Weavile reacted swiftly. Its right arm glowed black as it attacked Exeggutor again.
"Solar Beam!" Liu Qing's command came at that very moment.
On the field, the leaves atop Exeggutor's head absorbed sunlight at incredible speed. The instant Weavile's attack landed, a greenish-white beam shot from the mouth of Exeggutor's middle head straight at Weavile. Its immense power sent Weavile flying, and an earth-shattering boom rang out when it struck the ground. Yet no dust rose, because the huge crater blasted out by Solar Beam had turned into a red, lava-like mass, constantly giving off scorching heat. Weavile knelt on one knee beside the crater, heat steaming from its body as it panted heavily.
"Is that really a Grass-type move? With that much heat, it's definitely more terrifying than some Fire-type moves." In the stands, Reggie couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. "Han Ye's in trouble."
"Exeggutor, Nature Power!" Liu Qing wasn't about to stop attacking just because Weavile was catching its breath. Besides, after taking a double-strength Pursuit, Exeggutor wasn't much better off than Weavile. He hadn't expected this Weavile to be so fast—it could even rival Scizor.
"Oh no! Weavile, jump!" Han Ye hadn't expected Exeggutor to launch another attack so quickly when it, too, was badly exhausted. He hurriedly shouted, but it was already too late.
Rumble! As the ground shook violently, Weavile cried out and collapsed, its eyes turning into spirals!
"Weavile is unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"Han Ye has lost two Pokémon now, but Liu Qing clearly hasn't gained much of an advantage. Exeggutor and Scizor are both almost unable to continue. Overall, the two are still on equal footing," A Xuan told Reggie and Xiao An.
"That's true, but with Weavile—the Pokémon specifically prepared to deal with Gengar—out of the battle, he'll probably be in trouble when Gengar comes out," Reggie said.
"There's no need to worry about that. Besides Weavile, Han Ye also prepared a special Pokémon from his home region that completely counters Gengar," Xiao An said, then thought to himself, And Han Ye has an absolute ace ready, too—the starter Pokémon he received from the Moonlight Clan! If he still loses, Liu Qing's strength really is terrifying.
"From the Johto Region? I wonder what Pokémon could deal with Gengar." A Xuan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Just wait and see," Xiao An said.
At last, Han Ye sent out his third Pokémon: Xatu, a Pokémon combining the Flying and Psychic types.
"Exeggutor, Solar Beam!" Liu Qing seized the initiative.
Sunny Day was still in effect, so Solar Beam fired exceptionally quickly. Almost as soon as Liu Qing finished speaking, the greenish-white beam shot toward Xatu in the air.
"Teleport!" At Han Ye's command, Xatu instantly vanished from in front of Solar Beam and appeared elsewhere. But another Solar Beam was already coming straight at it, forcing Xatu to use Teleport again to evade it.
"Exeggutor, Confusion! Seal off the space!" After missing twice in a row, Liu Qing stopped having Exeggutor fire. Multicolored waves of light swiftly spread outward from Exeggutor, soon covering the entire field and immobilizing Xatu just as it reappeared from Teleport.
"Solar Beam!" At Liu Qing's command, Exeggutor gathered energy once more and fired a greenish-white Solar Beam from its middle head. It struck Xatu with a thunderous boom, filling the air with black smoke.
"Xatu, Night Shade!" Though describing the sequence took time, everything from Confusion pinning down Xatu to Solar Beam firing had happened almost instantly, leaving Han Ye no chance to react. But as he watched Xatu fall from the black smoke and saw Sunny Day's effect fade, Han Ye knew his chance had come. He immediately shouted his command.
Xatu's closed eyes suddenly snapped open. It gathered a Purple-black ball of light in front of itself and released several Purple-black rays. They instantly crossed half the field and struck Exeggutor, which no longer had Sunny Day's boost. Exeggutor's faces twisted in pain before it lost the ability to battle.
"I finally took down one of Liu Qing's Pokémon. Now I've got to keep it up!" Han Ye clenched his fists, encouraging himself.
"What a surprising match! Han Ye seized the instant Sunny Day wore off to launch a desperate counterattack and defeat Liu Qing's Exeggutor... What Pokémon will Liu Qing use next?" The commentator took advantage of the pause to speak again.
"Gengar, come out!"
Liu Qing threw a Poké Ball. After a flash of white light, Gengar appeared on the field with an eerie presence. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and the spectators seated closest to the battlefield all shivered.
"Gengar, come out!"
Liu Qing threw a Poké Ball. After a flash of white light, Gengar appeared on the field with an eerie presence. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and the spectators seated closest to the battlefield all shivered.
"Gengar, Dark Pulse!"
"Heh heh..." Gengar gave an eerie laugh and stretched both hands forward. A black pulse swiftly crossed half the field, surging toward Xatu.
"Teleport!" Han Ye already knew how quickly Gengar could launch its moves, so he shouted his own command immediately after Liu Qing.
Whoosh! Xatu suddenly vanished from its spot in the air, dodging Dark Pulse.
"It's no use!" Liu Qing said, shaking his head. Sure enough, as he spoke, Gengar spread its hands apart, turning Dark Pulse into a ring of black light that expanded outward.
"Chirp!" Shortly after the black pulse spread, a pained cry rang out in the air, and Xatu was swept out of hiding by Dark Pulse. The attack's power had dispersed so much that it didn't knock Xatu out, but it was still super effective. On top of that, the disruption of Teleport caused some backlash. When Xatu appeared, it was visibly drained and struggling even to fly.
"Shadow Ball!" Liu Qing pressed his advantage.
"Xatu, pull yourself together! Future Sight!" Hearing Xatu's pained cry had made Han Ye's heart clench. With Shadow Ball hurtling toward it, there was no time to recall Xatu even if he wanted to. Better to leave one final attack waiting for Gengar before Xatu went down—it might produce an unexpected result.
"Chirp!" Hearing Han Ye's voice, Xatu let out a cry, and blue light flashed in its eyes. Then the rapidly approaching Shadow Ball struck it, triggering an explosion. Xatu fell from the resulting black smoke, unable to battle.
"Xatu is unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"Under the relentless attacks of Liu Qing's Gengar, Han Ye's Xatu has finally lost the ability to battle! Han Ye has now lost three Pokémon, while Liu Qing has lost only one. What Pokémon will Han Ye choose for the fourth battle to turn things around...?"
"Mom, why didn't that Xatu's Future Sight do anything?" Liu Yuan asked in confusion.
"It did work. It just won't activate until two turns later. And until that move goes off, it'll put considerable pressure on your big brother," Mili said with a smile.
"But my brother doesn't look nervous at all." Liu Yuan looked at Liu Qing, whose expression remained perfectly calm and unchanged.
"When they're on the battlefield, trainers must remain calm no matter when something happens or what situation they face. Your big brother does that very well," Mili said. "Of course, that will be just as important for you in the future."
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