Use Small Explosion

If he remembered correctly, that was indeed how it worked.

In that case...

"Agumon, fire a Pepper Breath straight ahead."

Fire-type energy gathered and compressed, and a fireball shot from Agumon's mouth, flying straight into the area shrouded in Powder Snow and leaves.

"Sneasel, don't meet it head-on. Focus on dodging."

Candice called out the instant she saw Pepper Breath.

Having witnessed the power of Agumon's Pepper Breath, she certainly wasn't going to let Sneasel take it head-on.

"Snea!"

Sneasel answered. With its already astonishing speed bolstered by the explosive burst of Quick Attack, it easily swerved around Pepper Breath and continued charging.

Qingliu wasn't surprised that his probing attack had missed.

After all, this was a Pokémon known for its speed. If it couldn't even dodge that, there would have been no point in starting the battle.

But while the speedy Sneasel could dodge it, could the slower Snover and Snorunt do the same?

"Fire a Pepper Breath to the front left, then another to the front right."

By now, Agumon could fire consecutive Pepper Breaths almost simultaneously, sending them flying to either side.

But with the leaves and Powder Snow obscuring its view, the attacks only struck beside Snover and Snorunt. They didn't do much damage, merely interrupting their disruptive moves.

For Qingliu, however, that was enough.

Without the Powder Snow and leaves obscuring it, Sneasel came into view.

It had already closed to within five meters of Agumon.

"Sneasel, Metal Claw!"

"Agumon, block it with Razor Claw."

Silver and orange light shone on Sneasel's and Agumon's claws respectively, swelling into powerful coatings of energy as they struck at each other.

Just then, while they had been gathering energy at an evenly matched pace, a faint white light suddenly flashed across Sneasel's claws.

A moment later, Sneasel's Metal Claw took shape. It struck first, raking Agumon's shoulder.

"Nicely done!"

Candice praised it loudly from the sidelines.

Recalling the information on the panel and that faint flash of light, Qingliu asked, "That was the Quick Claw just now, wasn't it?"

"That's right!"

Candice answered excitedly.

The Quick Claw was a light, sharp held item shaped much like a dragon's tooth.

In battle, it had a chance of speeding up energy gathering and move execution, allowing its holder to attack ahead of its opponent.

It was also one of the reasons she had dared to have Sneasel challenge Agumon earlier.

By combining Sneasel's naturally incredible speed with the Quick Claw's boost, she could suppress Agumon through superior mobility, then look for an opening to break the deadlock. And now she even had Snover and Snorunt providing support.

"Qingliu, you're about to regret that decision."

"Is that so?"

Qingliu smiled. "Don't think you've won just because you landed a hit. Agumon, strike back with Razor Claw."

"What?"

Despite being pinned down by Metal Claw, Agumon suddenly raised its Razor Claw, knocking Sneasel's attack aside. At the same time, it took a forceful step forward and sent its Razor Claw slashing.

Clang, clang, clang!

Amid a rapid series of clashes, Agumon roared and drove Sneasel straight back.

Candice immediately ordered Sneasel to use Quick Attack to put some distance between them.

Even with an advantage, I can't get careless.

Seeing that Qingliu and Agumon could still find gaps in the Quick Claw-enhanced assault to counterattack-and even force Sneasel back head-on-Candice quickly abandoned the complacency she'd felt while holding the upper hand.

Winning three against one was one thing, but if anything went wrong, she'd become a laughingstock.

"We have to nip every possibility in the bud. Snover, Icy Wind! Snorunt, use Double Team and close in. Sneasel, keep your distance and use Ice Shard."

Sneasel hurled sharp shards of ice one after another. As Snover's Icy Wind swept forward relentlessly, it also propelled the shards faster.

Meanwhile, Snorunt split into eight blurry, flickering figures that rapidly approached Agumon.

It was still Candice's specialty: attacking under cover. Under her command, the three Pokémon worked together seamlessly, leaving Agumon almost no room to dodge as each attack pressed toward its blind spots.

"Ignore Double Team. Fire Pepper Breath straight ahead, then charge."

Unlike Candice, Qingliu chose to break straight through the center.

The fiercely burning Pepper Breath melted the ice shards, and its lingering heat blocked Icy Wind.

By then, Snorunt's eight Double Team figures had surrounded Agumon.

"Snorunt, attack with Headbutt."

As Candice's command rang out, the eight blurry Snorunt figures lowered their heads together, exposing the pointed tops of their conical caps, and charged at Agumon.

Seeing Double Team for the first time and unable to figure out how it worked, Agumon leaped up, dodging every attack beneath it.

Just then, Agumon suddenly felt the light above its head dim.

At some point, Sneasel had already jumped into the air and was waiting for Agumon.

It opened its mouth, revealing four sharp fangs wreathed in malicious energy.

"You predicted we'd jump to dodge the attack?"

"Yes. Even if you hadn't ordered Agumon to jump, I would have forced it to with something else."

A confident smile curved Candice's lips. "Ever since you beat me last time, I've been thinking about how to win against you. Snover or Sneasel alone couldn't pull off this attack sequence, but now I have enough Pokémon to put my strategy into action."

"Snover, give it everything you've got! Use Icy Wind at full power into the air!"

The freezing wind rose again. With nowhere to dodge in midair, Agumon had chunks of ice form on its arms, legs, and the rest of its body, completely locking its joints.

Above its head, dark energy blazed around Sneasel's mouth as it opened its gaping jaws and dove.

One created the opening, one restricted movement, and one delivered the attack. It looked like an inescapable finishing blow.

"We've won!"

At the sight, Candice clenched her fist, brimming with confidence.

Even when she saw flames gathering in Agumon's mouth, their heat melting the ice around its head as it prepared to fire at Sneasel, she wasn't worried.

Snorunt, whose Headbutt had missed, had now joined the supporting effort, summoning Powder Snow around Agumon. Together with Snover's Icy Wind, it worked to weaken Pepper Breath as much as possible.

Then, all it would take was for Sneasel's Bite to land. Snover and Snorunt would swarm in, and the battle would be over.

But what Candice hadn't anticipated was that Agumon wasn't using Pepper Breath. It was using a new move it had mastered through intensive training over the past few days.

"Agumon, you're done warming up, right? Use... Small Explosion!"