The battle continues: semifinals (4)

"Swalot, Stockpile!" Reggie's command came just then.

Facing the incoming Fire Blast, Swalot suddenly stretched forward and opened a mouth wildly out of proportion to its body, sucking in the flames. Its entire body abruptly grew much taller, then it spat out a little black smoke that slowly dispersed in the air.

Silence, shock, sharp gasps... only after a moment did the audience erupt into thunderous applause.

"Impressive, Reggie. Your Swalot really is something. You even absorbed Fire Blast as energy," Liu Qing praised despite himself. Reggie was putting pressure on him! Look, my Swalot can even absorb your Fire Blast. Whatever else you have, bring it on.

"Heh!" Reggie merely smiled.

"Then let's try this! Arcanine, Bulldoze!" Liu Qing shouted.

"Roar!" Arcanine, who had also been startled earlier, immediately used Bulldoze at Liu Qing's command. With a rumbling crash, a powerful wave of air swept up the dust and bore down on Swalot. Its rubbery body swayed under the force, but it remained firmly anchored to the ground, minimizing the damage. It used Stockpile again, growing even taller.

"What a flexible body!" Liu Qing frowned. This can't go on. Swalot has already used Stockpile twice. One more time, and its attack will be far too powerful. Even an ordinary Legendary Pokémon couldn't withstand it.

"Arcanine, Flamethrower Flame Wheel!" This was the only move Arcanine had left that could deal with Swalot, so Liu Qing gave the order without hesitation.

"Swalot, use Stockpile again!" Reggie commanded as well.

On the field, Arcanine opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of flames that formed a giant 大 shape in the air. It immediately used Flame Wheel and leaped into the center of the Fire Blast, absorbing its fiery energy. Before long, it had become a Flame Wheel roughly three meters in diameter, blazing with blue-white flames as it charged straight at Swalot.

Meanwhile, after its third Stockpile, Swalot's body had grown to nearly four meters tall.

"Swalot, Spit Up!" The sight of the Flame Wheel blazing with blue-white fire sent a jolt of alarm through Reggie. Although it was smaller than the one he had seen last time, it was at least several times more powerful.

All the spectators fell silent, their eyes fixed on the battle.

Boom! The instant Flame Wheel struck Swalot, an enormous red-white beam several meters thick engulfed Arcanine. Everyone was dazzled by its brilliance and forced to close their eyes. At that moment, even Hyper Beam would have paled beside it.

When the beam vanished, everyone involuntarily gasped. A massive trench roughly half a meter deep stretched from Swalot's feet all the way to the edge of the arena, where Arcanine lay unconscious. Wisps of heat still rose from it, showing everyone the lingering force of that attack.

"Arcanine is unable to battle!" the referee declared, lowering his flag.

"What an astonishing sight! Not only the Spit Up unleashed by Swalot, which is still standing, but also the now-defeated Arcanine! It just showed us an immensely powerful combination move that produces blue-white flames, called 'Flamethrower Flame Wheel.' A very fitting name..."

"You did very well, Arcanine!" While the Announcer was speaking, Liu Qing ran over to Arcanine, stroked its head, and recalled it into its Poké Ball before returning to the trainer's platform.

"At this point in the match, Liu Qing has lost two Pokémon, Scizor and Arcanine, while Reggie has lost four: Ludicolo, Bibarel, Empoleon, and Ninetales..."

"Liu Qing, I never imagined you'd develop that combination move from back then to this level. You really surprised me," Reggie said before the Announcer could finish.

"Its power is decent, but there's still room to improve. My goal is to turn the flames white, or take them a level beyond that, and make it a little smaller too," Liu Qing said, openly sharing his plans.

"I wish you success!" Reggie said with a nod.

"Your Ninetales has enormous potential too. I hope you can unlock the power hidden in its nine tails soon. And this Swalot actually swallowed Fire Blast. That's unbelievable," Liu Qing said.

"Heh, the Announcer is almost finished. Send out your next Pokémon," Reggie said with a smile.

"Go, Exeggutor!" Liu Qing took out a Poké Ball, enlarged it, and tossed it into the air.

With a flash of white light, Exeggutor appeared on the field and roared toward Swalot.

Swalot has very little stamina left after taking Arcanine's Flamethrower Flame Wheel, and it's burned too. Better finish this quickly. After briefly checking Swalot's injuries, Reggie called out, "Swalot, Sludge Bomb!"

"Confusion!" Liu Qing ordered as well.

At their commands, Swalot had just opened its mouth to fire Sludge Bomb when flames flared across its body. Its face immediately twisted in pain. Just then, a beam of colored light so dense it seemed almost solid struck Swalot, sending it flying before it fell unconscious to the ground.

"Swalot is unable to battle," the referee declared.

"Exeggutor's Confusion is super effective against the Poison-type Swalot! Reggie now has only his final Pokémon, Drapion, left!" the Announcer announced again, while the atmosphere in the arena reached its absolute peak.

In the chairman's office at Huayu Company in Saffron City, Bofeng Yu was watching the televised broadcast of the Indigo League. He told the secretary beside him, "Cancel all my meetings tomorrow morning. Everything can wait until I return in the afternoon."

"Yes, Chairman!" Knowing that the chairman intended to watch his eldest son Liu Qing's final in person, the secretary immediately agreed.

On the field, Liu Qing would have been lying if he said he wasn't excited. After all, this was his first League tournament since coming to this world, and his first time reaching the final. It meant he had a chance to achieve the goal he had set before starting his journey. In the VIP seats, Mili wore a faint smile. Elsewhere, Paul clenched both fists tightly and watched the field anxiously. Although he knew his older brother had little chance of winning, he still hoped for a miracle.

"Liu Qing, this is my last Pokémon." Reggie took out his final Poké Ball and threw it. "Drapion, I'm counting on you!"

"Clack, clack!" The moment Drapion appeared, it snapped the pincers on its arms at Exeggutor, brimming with fighting spirit. Exeggutor answered with a roar from all three heads.

"Drapion, Pin Missile!" Reggie issued the first command.

"Confusion!" Liu Qing immediately ordered a counterattack.

"Although Confusion doesn't work on Drapion, it can still control and send back attacks other than Dark-type moves," Brock said knowingly from the stands as he watched Confusion seize the Pin Missile and reflect it.

"Drapion, charge in and use Cross Poison!" Reggie ordered coldly.

Drapion snapped its pincers together, making them glow purple. Deflecting the returning Pin Missile, it raced straight toward Exeggutor on its four legs.

"Exeggutor, Sunny Day!" This Drapion was far stronger in speed, power, and technique than when Liu Qing had seen it in Fuchsia City. Its pincers swung repeatedly, and the reflected Pin Missile could do nothing to stop its advance. Exeggutor was not a speed-oriented Pokémon either, so Liu Qing could only use the weather and its Ability to improve its chances. He made the decision at once.

At the command, Exeggutor immediately abandoned Confusion and launched a bright orb of light from the leaves atop its head into the sky. Sunlight blazed down in an instant. Having broken through Pin Missile and prepared to attack Exeggutor, Drapion happened to be facing the sunlight. The glare blurred its vision, making it halt its attack. Exeggutor seized the opportunity to draw on its Ability and dodge to the side. Just then, however, a purple shadow flashed past like lightning. In the blink of an eye, Drapion's tail had caught Exeggutor in its pincer.

Oh no! Liu Qing immediately realized something was wrong, but it was already too late to give a command.

Drapion pulled back its tail and swung it, leaving Exeggutor exposed directly in front of Cross Poison. The attack struck a vital spot, knocking Exeggutor out at once.

"How is that possible? Even with a type disadvantage, Liu Qing's Exeggutor shouldn't go down in one hit!" A Xuan, who had battled Exeggutor before, said incredulously from the stands.

"It happened. There's nothing impossible about it." Han Ye looked at the defeated Exeggutor and Drapion on the field, then turned and said, "That last attack must have been a critical hit. But that alone still wouldn't be enough to defeat Exeggutor, so there's only one explanation: that Drapion's Ability is Sniper. Cross Poison dealt six times its normal damage to Exeggutor."

"Now Liu Qing's Scizor, Arcanine, and Exeggutor are all unable to battle, and Gyarados can't fight again either. That leaves only Gengar, who has a terrible matchup against Drapion, and his final Pokémon, which hasn't appeared yet. I wonder what Liu Qing will choose!" Xiao An said expectantly.

"Is there even a choice? Of course he'll use the Pokémon he hasn't sent out yet," A Xuan said bluntly.

"Heh, A Xuan, I guarantee you've guessed wrong." Han Ye shook his head as soon as he heard that, thinking, That last one is probably the trump card he's saving for Lance. How could he bring it out here?