"Toxicroak, Thunder Punch!" As the waves parted, Toxicroak came into view. Xun Chaoze remained calm and quickly issued his command.
Toxicroak clenched its right claw into a fist, gathering dazzling golden light that crackled in the rain. It instantly leaped up, its right fist drawn back at its waist, and positioned itself directly beneath Archen's path before Archen could hit Politoed. Its fully charged fist swung upward, electricity blazing and electrifying the surrounding rain. Before the punch arrived, the current had already reached its target through the rain.
Yet Archen seemed to have anticipated the sudden attack from below. Following the trajectory of Toxicroak's swinging fist, it gradually leaned back and climbed higher. At that speed, of course, Archen could never escape the current spreading from Thunder Punch; the electricity might even hamper it enough for the punch to connect. Just then, however, a snow-white figure came through the curtain of rain and leaped up, appearing a short distance in front of Toxicroak.
"Absol, Psycho Cut!" At Liu Qing's command, Absol roared, its sickle-shaped horn shining with multicolored light, and collided directly with Toxicroak's fist, stopping its pursuit of Archen. Powerful energy gathered at the point of impact, sizzling and keeping even the rain at bay. Archen seized the chance to slip completely out of Thunder Punch's range and rushed toward Politoed, which was about to land.
"Politoed, Bounce!" Seeing Archen's attack almost upon Politoed, Xun Chaoze glanced at Toxicroak and Absol, still locked against each other. Though he had already worked out his strategy, he could not help clenching his fist as he hurriedly issued the command.
The instant Politoed landed, it lowered its center of gravity. Just as Archen's attack arrived, its bent legs straightened like lightning, and it shot skyward in a streak of green. Archen swept