Swanna was weak to Rock, had 75-63-63 bulk, and had her movements restricted by Lapras's interference.
It looked like there was no suspense left...
"Hm?"
"Whoa-"
Amid the audience's gasps, Swanna narrowly dodged part of the Power Gem attack and activated Aqua Ring, gaining an ongoing HP recovery effect.
Through sheer execution, she had raised the ceiling of what she could actually do.
Even in this irreversible downward spiral, Swanna still hadn't given up!
As the Pokémon who had been with her the longest, she knew the burdens her Trainer carried and what she persevered for.
"Swanna..."
Tears glimmered in Flula's eyes. At this moment, she was far more alive than before.
"Let's fight together!"
"There's nothing wrong with Swanna." Koji interrupted the brief warmth. "You're just too bad at this."
Lapras squirted a Water Gun at Flula. Swanna tried to block it, leaving her unable to dodge the Power Gem coming from behind.
Swanna's Barrier Points fell below 90%, and Flula lost.
Koji adjusted his baseball cap with a stylish gesture. "You're not the only one who believes they have to win."
"I..." Flula stood frozen. "I lost?"
"What's so strange about losing?" Koji looked at her in puzzlement. "If you'd drawn our senior Shen Qi, you'd have been crushed ages ago."
"I..."
Cheers came from behind him. Unable to contain his joy, Koji sprinted toward the Pokémon High School camp, a stark contrast to Flula, who had slumped to the ground in dejection.
"Not bad!"
Iron Pipe hugged Koji tightly. "So many new ideas!"
"Iron Pipe... Teacher Tieguan, I'm going to... suffocate."
Shen Qi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "That Perish Song of yours was purely a scare tactic."
"Hehehe..."
Starmie and Swanna had switched out, clearing their Perish Song marks. There was nothing unusual about