"Now, use Rollout!" Ash pressed his advantage without missing a beat.
Shen Xunge was not about to let Ash have his way. He quickly called, "Sneasel, hurry and use Protect!"
But Sneasel clearly had yet to recover from the lingering shock of Astonish. Applin, already cloaked in Rock-type energy, slammed into him and knocked him down.
Ash smiled faintly. "Looks like my gamble paid off."
That last Astonish had not just been an attack. It had also been a test to determine Sneasel's Ability.
Since he could be startled, and even made to flinch, his Ability probably was not [Inner Focus]. It was more likely something like [Keen Eye]. Pokémon with that Ability generally had better eyesight.
After knocking Sneasel down, Applin did not stop rolling. Instead, he continued circling the battlefield.
This was a habit he had developed while sparring with Lu Ming, allowing him to bring out Rollout's maximum power at any moment.
Ash's seamless chain of three moves right at the start left the students watching from the sidelines dumbstruck.
Was this really the same homeroom teacher who had beaten them so thoroughly that they could not even fight back?
By then, the three boys who had previously provoked Ash had returned from the infirmary, just in time to catch his battle with their homeroom teacher. Their fists unconsciously clenched, though no one knew what they were thinking.
Shen Xunge shook his head with a wry smile. He had meant to put Ash in his place right at the start, only to have the tables turned on him.
Since Rock-type moves were super effective against Ice types, Sneasel had taken considerable damage. He struggled a little as he climbed back to his feet.
He had already lost the initiative. To keep things from getting worse, Shen Xunge