Charmeleon and Jolteon both nodded. Only Kirlia and Haunter watched him with worried eyes.
"Then make sure you're careful," Haunter warned. "Whatever you do, don't get caught up in the battle!"
"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Xia You patted Kirlia's shoulder, then sent out Gyarados and Wartortle. "I'll have these two act as guards, as well as reserves ready to strike at any moment. With them here, my safety is fully covered, so go all out and give this battle everything you've got!"
"Wartortle! Wartortle!"
Wartortle nodded to Haunter, a resolute look on his face that said, "Leave things here to me!"
"Good. We're going in!"
Haunter grinned excitedly and charged toward Articuno with the other Pokémon.
High in the air, Articuno surveyed these ill-intentioned intruders and flapped its wings. A powerful gust swept past, seemingly an attempt to intimidate these Pokémon that had yet to reach their final evolutions into backing down!
"That presence really is oppressive!" Seeing this, Xia You shouted to them, "Don't back down, everyone! Kirlia, use Confusion! Jolteon, use Thunder Shock! Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Three different moves shot toward Articuno at once. Faced with these attacks, Articuno naturally dared not be careless and hastily whipped up a Hurricane, canceling them all out.
Just then, a sudden Shadow Ball caught it off guard and struck its back!
Articuno cried out in pain and turned to look. Haunter had quietly appeared behind it and launched a sneak attack!
It hurriedly fired Icicle Spear at Haunter, only for Haunter's body to vanish outright amid a burst of wild laughter!
The icicles passed through empty air and struck the wall behind him.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Sinister laughter echoed in Articuno's ears. Before it could work out where the sound was coming from, another Shadow Ball struck its body!
Now