Surging Muddy Water rushed toward the two Fire-type Pokémon.
Rain, a Life Orb-if the opponent was unprepared at the start, that single Muddy Water could all but decide the match.
But a match at the top of the ladder was never that simple.
The red light of a recalled Pokémon and the transparent shield of [Protect] flashed almost simultaneously.
The next instant, Torkoal returned to its ball, replaced by Jumpluff, which resisted Water-type attacks.
Meanwhile, Charizard perfectly weathered the Muddy Water with the [Protect] it had used immediately upon entering battle.
The crisis vanished in an instant.
That on-the-fly command-nothing less from Giovanni!
That was Xia Chi's heartfelt assessment.
But how will you deal with this next move?
"Politoed, use Encore on Charizard!"
"Kingdra, get ready to use Muddy Water!"
At his command, Politoed clapped its hands at Charizard.
Encore-the affected Pokémon could only repeat its most recently used move for its next three moves.
And Charizard's most recent move was none other than Protect!
As everyone knew, Protect had a quirk: its success rate dropped with consecutive uses.
That left "Giovanni" in a bind-
Would he gamble on Charizard successfully using Protect again, or switch in a reserve to take the Muddy Water Kingdra was deliberately holding back?
Real-time commands left "Giovanni" little time to think.
Without hesitation, he withdrew his main attacker, Charizard, and sent Torkoal back out to restore the sunlight.
Muddy Water instantly engulfed Jumpluff and the newly arrived Torkoal, but unfortunately, the weather had already changed.
Even with Kingdra holding a Life Orb, that Muddy Water did little damage in the sunlight.
Meanwhile, Jumpluff aimed its signature control move at the opposing artillery piece, Kingdra: Sleep Powder!
Dark green particles of energy drifted lazily toward Kingdra beneath the newly cleared sky.
"Kingdra, dodge it!"
Xia