"After watching Yishan Middle School's match, what do you all think?" Teacher Zhou asked everyone solemnly at the dining table.
"Terrifying," Zhao Shimo said. "At least, neither of my two Pokémon could possibly survive in there."
"Their Sandstorm team has already taken shape. Hippopotas's own Ability paired with Larvitar's Sandstorm move gives them double insurance, and Sandshrew is far too fast with Sand Rush." Cheng Tian looked weighed down with worry.
"We'll have to find a way to take out their Hippopotas," Lin Lin said.
"No." Teacher Zhou shook his head. "You should find a way to take out their Larvitar. That little fellow also knows Sandstorm, and it has a sandstorm-boosted Earthquake, too. If you can't knock it out the moment you take the field, you could very well lose."
Everyone fell somewhat silent. Taking Larvitar straight out of the match as soon as they took the field was easier said than done. None of them could withstand an Earthquake from it.
"Look on the bright side," Bai Yun said, trying to liven up the atmosphere. "Maybe we'll get a bye this round. Who knows?"
In his hotel room, Cheng Tian took two small boxes out of his backpack. When he opened them, a Mystic Water and a Hard Stone came into view.
These were the two items he had bought at Suning Plaza earlier. In the previous matches, Cheng Tian had actually been worried about them getting damaged, so he had avoided using them lightly. But now, he could no longer afford to worry about that.
After summoning Frogadier and Aron, Cheng Tian first equipped Aron with the Hard Stone, then cut a length of cord, threaded it through the Mystic Water, and put it on Frogadier.
The Mystic Water, with its smooth, lustrous surface, gave off