As soon as Uncle Fu finished speaking, Cynthia's gentle smile gave way to a look of absolute confidence. With one hand on her hip, she flung out her first Poké Ball. "Come out, Roserade!"
The Poké Ball opened, and a Pokémon about a meter tall appeared on the field, with white petals atop its head and red and blue flowers for hands.
"Roserade, huh? Come out, Gengar!" Liu Qing threw out his Poké Ball as well. A flash of white light revealed Gengar, floating over the field. Its arrival sent the temperature plummeting, filling the entire arena with an eerie chill. Roserade watched Gengar warily, its guard raised.
"Roserade, Energy Ball!" Cynthia commanded calmly.
At Cynthia's command, Roserade thrust one hand forward and instantly fired an emerald-green Energy Ball at Gengar.
"Hypnosis!" Liu Qing's command rang out just then.
Facing the rapidly approaching Energy Ball, Gengar gave an eerie grin. The Energy Ball passed straight through its body, as though it did not exist.
"Roserade, Extrasensory, spin!" A flicker of surprise crossed Cynthia's eyes, but she remained composed.
Roserade stretched both hands out to its sides, releasing multicolored waves of light, then spun rapidly in place. Extrasensory formed a ring of color that spread outward, soon sweeping Gengar out from behind Roserade, a red orb of light held in its hand.
"Shadow Ball!" Cynthia commanded again the moment Gengar was exposed.
"Gengar, Dark Pulse!" Liu Qing shouted as soon as Gengar appeared.
Gengar had been about to ambush Roserade, only to be flushed out by Extrasensory and take some damage in the process. It was thoroughly disgruntled. Now Roserade was even firing a Shadow Ball at it, so it immediately swung its hand back and retaliated with a black Dark Pulse.
Dark Pulse met Shadow Ball midway and instantly swallowed it, then struck Roserade directly, sending it flying backward. Gengar immediately vanished into the air again.
"Hypnosis!" Seeing Gengar disappear right on cue, Liu Qing shouted again.
"Roserade, get up quickly! Use Extrasensory again!" Cynthia's heart lurched at Liu Qing's command, and she immediately called out.
Hearing Cynthia's voice, the blasted-back Roserade had only just risen and prepared to use Extrasensory when Gengar appeared eerily before its eyes, holding a red orb of light. The red light flashed, and Roserade fell asleep.
"Dream Eater!" The instant Roserade fell asleep, a dark silhouette flew out of Gengar and passed through Roserade's body. Pain crossed the sleeping Roserade's face, but it was not knocked out. Gengar was surprised as well. Without even waiting for Liu Qing's command, it fired a Shadow Ball straight at Roserade. After a booming explosion, Roserade lay revealed, unable to battle.
Though it took time to describe, only an instant passed between Roserade being blasted away and Gengar disappearing, reappearing, and putting it to sleep. The ensuing Dream Eater and Shadow Ball were lightning-fast as well. The entire battle had ended in a very short time.
"Roserade is unable to battle. Gengar wins!" Uncle Fu announced without a trace of emotion.
"Heh, looks like our side has taken the first round!" Satisfaction flickered across Bofeng Yu's face as he turned to Kalasina with a smile.
"The match has only just begun. The outcome is still undecided," Kalasina replied calmly.
"Yeah! Keep it up, big brother! Beat her!" Liu Yuan shouted excitedly. Liu Qing glanced his way, then fixed his gaze on Cynthia, waiting for her second Pokémon.
"Return, Roserade!" Cynthia recalled it into its Poké Ball, then released her second Pokémon without any change in expression. "Spiritomb, you're up!"
"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
"Spiritomb, Ominous Wind!"
At their commands, Gengar flicked its hand and fired a purplish-black Shadow Ball at Spiritomb. Facing the incoming attack, Spiritomb blew out a purplish-black whirlwind. When it met Shadow Ball, the spinning wind actually swept the ball up into itself, carrying it along as it rushed toward Gengar.
"What precise control! Gengar, dodge!" Liu Qing praised, without the slightest tension in his voice.
Gengar gave an eerie grin as well and immediately turned to leave. Strangely, however, Ominous Wind followed right behind it. By the time Gengar tried another evasive maneuver, it was already too late. Liu Qing raised an eyebrow. Cynthia really isn't that easy to deal with.
Boom! Ominous Wind and Shadow Ball struck Gengar directly, triggering a violent explosion. A moment later, Gengar dropped out of the black smoke left by the blast.
"Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!" Cynthia commanded again just then. Spiritomb immediately gathered the energy for Dark Pulse in front of itself and fired it at the falling Gengar.
"Gengar!" Liu Qing immediately shouted.
At Liu Qing's shout, just as Dark Pulse was about to hit, Gengar suddenly stopped falling and vanished into the air. Dark Pulse passed through its former position and blasted a large hole in the field.
"Shadow Ball!" Gengar truly lived up to its countless years as an old ghost, regaining its senses so quickly and evading the attack. Liu Qing could hardly let that opportunity slip away and immediately gave the command.
"Spiritomb, find it!" Cynthia called.
Multicolored light appeared around Spiritomb and spread outward. Clearly, it was using Confusion to search for Gengar.
Whoosh! Just then, a Shadow Ball suddenly appeared above Spiritomb and slammed into it with a boom, exploding in a cloud of black smoke. But just as Gengar prepared to fire another, multicolored light suddenly enveloped its body, holding it motionless. Spiritomb then floated out of the dark mist, its eyes shining with multicolored light.
"Gengar, break free!" Knowing how powerful Gengar's Inner Focus was, Liu Qing immediately shouted.
Gengar was no pushover either. Once it realized Confusion had caught it, it immediately began fighting back with its own Inner Focus. The multicolored light of Confusion flickered violently, then shattered with a pop. With Confusion broken, its user, Spiritomb, immediately showed a pained expression.
"Return, Spiritomb." A clash of Inner Focus was extremely dangerous, so the moment Cynthia saw Confusion broken and pain appear on Spiritomb's face, she recalled it into its Poké Ball without hesitation.
"Gengar, are you all right?" Liu Qing could not help asking as Gengar floated over to him, looking mentally drained.
"I really let my guard down this time," Gengar replied quietly.
"Come out, Lucario!" Cynthia sent out her third Pokémon. With a flash of white light, a sleek blue Pokémon appeared on the field, watching Gengar with its fighting spirit blazing.
"Gengar, Hypnosis!" Ghost-type and Dark-type moves were not very effective against Lucario, so Psychic-type moves were the only option for dealing with it.
"Dark Pulse!" Cynthia commanded directly.
Gengar immediately vanished from the field, while Lucario closed its eyes. Then it brought both hands together toward its right and fired Dark Pulse. A booming explosion rang out in empty air, and Gengar was blasted into view, falling to the ground, unable to battle.
"Gengar is unable to battle. Lucario wins!" Uncle Fu's voice seemed unchanged, but he was, after all, a servant of the Uzumaki, and his loyalties naturally lay with Liu Qing. There was now a hint of deflation in his tone.
"Yeah! Big sister, beat him!" Liu Yuan's earlier excitement had infuriated Lusana. Now that she had her chance, how could she let it pass? She immediately shouted at the top of her lungs. Meanwhile, unwilling to be outdone, Liu Yuan loudly cheered Liu Qing on as well.
"So it was aura. Damn it, how did I forget something that important? And I actually tried to ambush Lucario?" Ignoring Liu Yuan's cheers, Liu Qing sighed helplessly and recalled Gengar. He took out another Poké Ball and threw it. "Arcanine, I'm counting on you!"
"Roar!" White light flashed, and the imposing Arcanine appeared on the field, its mane billowing as it unleashed a mighty roar.
"Arcanine, Fire Blast!" Liu Qing took the initiative.
Arcanine immediately gathered energy and spat out a stream of flame. In midair, it formed a 大-shaped blaze and hurtled toward Lucario.
"Bone Rush!" Cynthia said calmly.
Swish, swish! Facing the oncoming Fire Blast, Lucario brought its hands together, then drew them apart. A bone staff about two meters long appeared in its hands, and it spun the staff rapidly in front of itself. Just then, however, Fire Blast engulfed it.
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