Nine-Tails hopped lightly twice on the ground, then, under Su Xiao Jiu's command, it bolted. The short legs of Golem couldn't possibly catch up to Nine-Tails. Even with Rollout, Golem maintained a considerable distance.
The two Pokémon, one pursuing and one fleeing, once again plunged the match into a soul-crushingly boring stalemate. While Pokémon had finite stamina and endurance, with Nine-Tails, known for its speed, outrunning Golem, known for its endurance, there was no issue of stamina depletion. Nine-Tails would run a few steps, and Golem would spend half the time chasing.
The referee detested this kind of hide-and-seek battle. Since no damage could be dealt, it dragged on even longer than before.
Fortunately, the trainer from Lixing Country had already prepared a contingency for such situations: "Golem, use Rock Throw!"
Golem hurled several stones at the fleeing Nine-Tails, hoping to interrupt its movement. However, Nine-Tails was agile and nimble, dodging the stones. Although Golem threw and chased simultaneously, the gap between them did not shrink.
After a few minutes of this cat-and-mouse game, the onlookers were falling asleep. Xia Hu Nao propped his chin and mused, "How should I put it? Su Xiao Jiu's Nine-Tails has incredible stamina. It's been running for so long and isn't even panting."
As he spoke, both Pokémon on the field stopped moving. Golem was the first to stop, stomping its feet randomly in place, its actions unclear. Since Golem had stopped, Nine-Tails naturally had no reason to continue running. However, this very pause provided Golem with a crucial opportunity.
After stomping its feet haphazardly a few times, Golem began moving towards Nine-Tails again. As Nine-Tails was about to move, it collided with an unseen object.
"Stealth Rock! While it may not damage Nine-Tails on the field, can it slow down its speed?"
Xia Hu Nao analyzed this unexpected move, but Golem was already closing in on Nine-Tails. Despite Nine-Tails' agility, as soon as it moved, it would hit the Stealth Rock and be forced to stop. Before long, Golem caught up and, with great effort, initiated Explosion.
A violent explosion reverberated throughout the battlefield. When the dust settled, both Pokémon lay on the field with their heads touching, the match ending in a draw.
Xia Hu Nao picked up his walkie-talkie again and began to converse with Kas Weiding: "Kas Weiding, your student still has some tricks up her sleeve. Are you going to use this same tactic in the third match? It's been five rounds, and I'm already tired of it."
On the Lixing Country side, Kas Weiding pried open a bottle of cola and gulped it down. "No, I'm tired of using the same tactic too. I'll switch tactics for the next match. You can continue to rely on your old strategies."
Xia Hu Nao couldn't entirely believe or disbelieve Kas Weiding's words. However, he had already prepared other moves for the next match, so everyone could try something new.
On the field, the third match began. Lixing Country sent out a Pokémon that Xia Hu Nao was very familiar with: Shuckle. It possessed the highest defense and special defense on the entire Lingyao Star, but also the most useless offense and speed on the entire Lingyao Star.
Xia Hu Nao maintained his usual listless posture, propping his chin. "This has been researched. Knowing that an Ice-type Nine-Tails is left, they specifically chose a Shuckle that wouldn't be at a type disadvantage. And if they're unlucky enough to encounter the Sturdy ability, even Sheer Cold would be unusable. But if it's not Sturdy, then it's useless. This Shuckle hasn't appeared before. If it's not a trump card, then it's a newly captured Pokémon. Newly captured Pokémon are difficult to surpass Nine-Tails in level."
Yu Long Du, standing nearby, observed Xia Hu Nao's expression. "You don't seem very anxious. Do you have any other trump cards for her?"
Xia Hu Nao spread his hands. "Where would I get any trump cards? The situation is in my favor right now. No matter how Su Xiao Jiu plays, she won't completely lose the advantage. What I hope for now is that Su Xiao Jiu can build her confidence and not feel too much pressure."
Despite saying this, Xia Hu Nao muttered to himself. Their initial strategies were completely different. Although Xia Hu Nao had initially considered not letting Miao Long Que win three to zero, after the opponent was drugged and Miao Long Que was in no condition to battle for days, he changed his strategy. He aimed to prolong the battle to the next day, creating more variables. The opponent's life-for-a-life tactic was to exploit Xia Hu Nao's weakness of not having Z-Moves today. Why had they suddenly switched to a prolonged battle?
Xia Hu Nao pressed the Rotom Dex. Rotom's face was almost distorted into gibberish. Xia Hu Nao still couldn't find any options that would allow Shuckle to end the battle quickly. Power Trick combined with Gyro Ball had its limits.
While Xia Hu Nao was pondering, the referee was also thinking: What were these two sides trying to do? Did they switch tactics? But wasn't it still a one-hit KO against a prolonged battle? It seemed like another long grind was ahead.
The match began. Su Xiao Jiu decided to probe Shuckle's ability first. If it was Sturdy, she would use a different strategy. If not, they would see each other in the next match.
"Use Sheer Cold!"
Shuckle's short legs churned, trying to dodge Nine-Tails' Sheer Cold. Surprisingly, the little legs managed to evade it. The crowd watched in stunned silence. Xia Hu Nao frowned, "Who is playing mind games here? That move just now didn't look like Sheer Cold; it looked more like Ice Beam."
Chu Xiao Die asked, "So, wasn't this a feint to trick them into revealing their ability isn't Sturdy?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Chu Xiao Die realized. If Su Xiao Jiu used Nine-Tails' Ice Beam to impersonate Sheer Cold, wouldn't their opponent also use Sturdy to impersonate abilities like Gluttony or Contrary?
"So, it all depends on Su Xiao Jiu's judgment."
Seeing Shuckle desperately dodge her Ice Beam, Su Xiao Jiu assumed the opponent's ability was Gluttony or Contrary. However, considering her opponent was a member trained by Kas Weiding, she grew suspicious. She decided not to use Sheer Cold anymore and to engage Shuckle head-on.
Lixing's Shuckle dodged an Ice Beam it never intended to hit, then began its counter-attack. Although Shuckle's attack power was less than a tickle, once it inflicted a poison status, the draining battle would be very difficult.
"Shuckle, use Toxic!"
Although the trainer's command was quick, Shuckle's reaction was somewhat disappointing. Su Xiao Jiu's Nine-Tails had already summoned Hail and was using Snow Cloak to hide within the hailstorm when Shuckle's Toxic finally arrived.
Seeing that Toxic had no effect, the Lixing trainer implemented Plan B: "Shuckle, use Power Trick, then Gyro Ball!"
After using Power Trick to swap its offensive and defensive stats, Shuckle spun and charged into the hailstorm, pursuing Nine-Tails. As Shuckle approached, Nine-Tails lightly hopped to the side, then turned and unleashed an Ice Beam at Shuckle's head. Unfortunately, due to the hail and Shuckle's spinning, this Ice Beam had no effect.
Xia Hu Nao sat in the stands and said, "Although Kas Weiding and I both said we would change tactics, seeing this, we're still in sync, putting up a facade of change while sticking to the old ways. I'm using a prolonged battle to counter his rush tactics."
In the hailstorm, Shuckle and Nine-Tails exchanged a blow. Although neither hit, Shuckle still suffered a slight disadvantage due to the hail.
Under the effect of the hail, regardless of Shuckle's ability, with its current defense, it couldn't withstand Nine-Tails' powerful attacks.
Facing this crisis, the Lixing trainer decisively commanded his Pokémon to create distance, avoiding being knocked out in the hailstorm. After creating distance, Shuckle immediately used Power Trick again, restoring its extremely low defense, and then initiated Rest to recover its stamina.
Su Xiao Jiu, observing Shuckle lying on the ground, analyzed, "All four moves have been used. The only remaining variable is this: Nine-Tails, use Sheer Cold!"
Although Sheer Cold's accuracy wasn't high, it was still unacceptable to miss a stationary target like Shuckle, which was sleeping.
Nine-Tails opened its mouth, and transparent ice crystals formed on Shuckle's head, instantly chilling the sleeping Shuckle to the bone. However, Shuckle showed no change. This was within everyone's expectations, as the sleeping state and the fainted state were easily confused. Even experienced referees could make misjudgments, and such incidents had occurred before.
Referee Millen on the field glanced at the Lixing trainer. He had no intention of recalling Shuckle. Because of this, Su Xiao Jiu confirmed that this was a Sturdy Shuckle.
Xia Hu Nao, sitting outside the field, shifted his chin to his other hand. "I've decided to take back what I said earlier. Although our tactics were influenced to some extent by Kas Weiding and me, these two trainees are truly superior to their masters. This isn't just putting up a facade; who knows what's really going on beneath their 'facades'."
Su Xiao Jiu's Sheer Cold didn't secure the victory, but it didn't stop Su Xiao Jiu from continuing the attack while Shuckle was asleep. "Nine-Tails, use Ice Beam!"
Nine-Tails poked its head out of the hailstorm and exhaled at Shuckle. The cold breath spread towards Shuckle, forming a layer of frost on its head.
The Sturdy Shuckle wasn't frozen to death by this move. Instead, it was woken up. It shook its head, looked around, and then began to move with its short legs.
The referee standing nearby felt increasingly uncomfortable. These two were switching tactics back and forth, but what was happening now was still a prolonged battle. Were they here to compete, or to exhaust the referee?