"Politoed, Ice Beam!" A faint smile crossed Xun Chaoze's face as he gave his command. As for Toxicroak, he had no need to worry.
"Psycho Cut!" Liu Qing narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected Xun Chaoze to find a counter on only the second attempt. Fortunately, Absol was already racing toward Archen.
At Liu Qing's command, the scythe on Absol's forehead shone with multicolored light. With a swing, it released a flurry of small, crescent-shaped blades that flew into the purplish-gray gas. In moments, the entire cloud burst apart, revealing Archen within. The remaining blades spiraled into Politoed's Ice Beam and exploded with a boom.
"Whoa! Archen has broken free of the poison dust blast, but its secondary effect has left Archen poisoned!" Zhuguang immediately shouted.
"Keep it up! Attack from both sides and finish it in one go!" Xun Chaoze shouted. "Politoed, Surf! Toxicroak, Thunder Punch!"
Politoed and Toxicroak moved at once. A torrent of water surged skyward, forming an enormous wave that came crashing down over everything. On the other side of the wave, Toxicroak raced toward Archen, both fists wreathed in golden electricity.
"He's using its ability again! That means Surf won't hurt Toxicroak even though it hits everyone!" In the stands, Liu Yuan and Lusana couldn't help growing tense.
"Archen, pull yourself together! Take Absol and fly up!" Liu Qing's eyes flashed as he quickly gave the command.
Archen looked listless. After all, among conditions such as freezing, burns, and paralysis, being poisoned was second only to being badly poisoned in terms of discomfort. Still, faced with this crisis and encouraged by Liu Qing, Archen flapped its wings and dipped down to catch Absol as it jumped, then shot into the sky. In an instant, they were beyond Surf's reach.
"Where do you think you're going?"