"Coward? How could that be, go Ye Yi Bu!" he said, taking out a Poké Ball and flicking his right hand upwards from below in a circle.
The Mán Yīng team made the first move, and Xià Hú Nào wouldn't just stand by. He spun his hat backward and said, "Then let's go, Guā Guā!"
After they each released their Pokémon, Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ and another Mán Yīng member also released theirs: "Go, Magearna."
"Good luck, Gengar."
Seeing that the opponent had sent out Pokémon for a one-on-one match, Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ knew this must have been planned to treat the two-on-two as two singles battles. However, it didn't matter if a double battle was turned into singles; Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ was confident in his ability to stall.
"Magearna, use Mirror Shot!"
"Gengar, use Sucker Punch!"
Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ moved first, and the opponent, understanding that they needed to actively engage to prevent their teammate's solo battle from being interfered with, prioritized attacking to gain the initiative. With the same objective, the first to strike would win. In this situation, Sucker Punch was undoubtedly the superior choice. Gengar's Sucker Punch was fast, but Magearna's Mirror Shot was equally swift. Just as Gengar hit Magearna, Magearna accurately struck Gengar on the head in return.
Both Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ and his teammate were engaged in such intense battles, let alone the main protagonists, Xià Hú Nào and his opponent.
Xià Hú Nào's left hand made a grabbing motion at his waist, and his right hand mimicked drawing a sword. "Guā Guā, draw your sword and rush him!"
Guā Guā drew its Water Shuriken and dashed rapidly towards Ye Yi Bu. Ye Yi Bu took two quick steps and leaped, using its tail to strike the Water Shuriken with Leaf Blade. The clash was brief, and Xià Hú Nào became slightly intrigued. Leaf Blade was a move Ye Yi Bu learned at level forty-five, suggesting this Ye Yi Bu was somewhat powerful. In the current tournament, Xià Hú Nào hadn't encountered any Pokémon above level forty-five, though some were above level forty.
Leaf Blade and Water Shuriken exchanged several blows, but neither side gained an advantage. On Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ's side, despite being at a type disadvantage, they held the tactical advantage. Although Magearna was hit by Gengar's Sucker Punch, the damage wasn't significant. Instead, after Mirror Shot, it retaliated with a Dazzling Gleam, suppressing Gengar.
Xià Hú Nào let Guā Guā play freely and taunted Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ's opponent: "Your Gengar choice isn't great. There's no type advantage, and just defending won't win you the battle. Plus, you've overlooked something: Magearna knows Volt Switch!"
Volt Switch, an Electric-type move, allows the user to switch out for a reserve Pokémon after attacking. It functions similarly to U-turn. Hearing this move, the Mán Yīng members felt a pang of unease. While they also used this move, the Ming Long Kingdom's side had been using it too frequently. The referee was thinking the same; in a best-of-six battle, over twenty Pokémon had already been used, and they were still switching.
Having said his piece, Xià Hú Nào left the rest to Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ. As long as Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ didn't use a fourth move, the move in question would be Volt Switch, forcing the Mán Yīng member to be cautious and preventing them from fighting freely. If an opening appeared, Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ would simply Volt Switch and finish them off.
Meanwhile, on Xià Hú Nào's battlefield, the clash between Leaf Blade and Water Shuriken had resulted in a clear victory for him. After all, Xià's Shuriken had a bug where it didn't consume PP unless thrown, but Ye Yi Bu's Leaf Blade seemed unaffected. After a few exchanges with Guā Guā, it was nearly depleted. To continue the battle, Ye Yi Bu actively created distance and resorted to other means to confront Guā Guā.
Seeing Ye Yi Bu create distance, Xià Hú Nào stopped paying attention to it. "Guā Guā, let's go bother Gengar. Use Water Shuriken."
Gengar, currently confronting Magearna, was caught off guard. It was hit directly by the rapidly spinning Water Shuriken. The trainer looked at Xià Hú Nào in confusion: "Didn't we agree on one-on-one?"
Xià Hú Nào nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes, one-on-one. Didn't you hear what we said? Me and him, that is, Guā Guā and Ye Yi Bu, are one-on-one. You two can't interfere. But what's wrong with Guā Guā taking on two? Guā Guā, keep hitting him!"
Although Xià Hú Nào said this, Ye Yi Bu's attack was already coming. Guā Guā quickly used Double Team to dodge the move and resumed its engagement with Ye Yi Bu.
Ye Yi Bu abandoned Leaf Blade and switched to Razor Leaf for long-range attacks. Guā Guā placed a Water Shuriken in front of itself, completely unconcerned, and with Double Team active, dodging presented no pressure. The situation on the other side was also overwhelmingly in Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ's favor. Magearna was already on the offensive, and Xià Hú Nào had added a surprise Water Shuriken attack midway. Gengar's health bar was starting to flash red and emit sounds, in Xià Hú Nào's estimation. In contrast, Magearna had only taken a light, insignificant hit from Sucker Punch and was still fighting leisurely.
Seeing that his teammate was in trouble, Ye Yi Bu's trainer had an idea. "Quickly have Gengar hide behind me, that way Magearna's attacks will be sealed."
This was a viable strategy. Under the gentleman's agreement of one-on-one, only Xià Hú Nào's Guā Guā could attack Gengar. After all, Magearna's attacks would likely hit Ye Yi Bu while striking Gengar. Although it sounded somewhat dishonorable, what was face compared to victory?
Xià Hú Nào found this tactic completely useless because Guā Guā could simply overwhelm both of them. Magearna might have had difficulty attacking, but Guā Guā had no such reservations.
"Guā Guā, use Water Shuriken, Shadow Clone, throw them relentlessly, indiscriminately bombard them, take them all down!"
The Mán Yīng member's expression froze for a moment, then he rolled up his sleeves. "Alright, let me use this to block your shuriken."
Xià Hú Nào saw the Z-Ring on the Mán Yīng member's wrist and frowned. "It's a Grass Z-Move, as expected. But he can probably only use it once."
The Mán Yīng member heard Xià Hú Nào's guess and replied, "That's right, I only have one chance, but so what? We've also studied Z-Moves. The Z-Move triggered by my Leaf Blade is definitely stronger than Water Shuriken. Moreover, I have a type advantage. Take this, Bloom Doom!"
Intense Grass-type energy, accompanied by the Mán Yīng member's movements, gathered in his and Ye Yi Bu's hands. Xià Hú Nào sighed. "A Z-Move, of course, it must be countered with a Z-Move. But who told you I only have one Water Z-Crystal? Guā Guā, pause the shuriken preparation, we need to change tactics."
As Xià Hú Nào spoke, he raised his hand. The Z-Ring on his wrist emitted a soft white glow. Xià Hú Nào tapped it lightly, and then a dazzling flash erupted. "I didn't want to do this, but without it, the chant would take too long. Watch this, Icefall Blast!"
Xià Hú Nào's use of a second Z-Move in the semi-finals instantly made Mì Lún and Lì Xīng, who were watching, look on in disbelief. In an era where obtaining even a single Z-Crystal was difficult, Xià Hú Nào possessed two. How could this not make them envious?
Not only Mì Lún and Lì Xīng, but even the people from the Ming Long Kingdom were surprised that Xià Hú Nào had such a trump card. Only Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ and Zhèng Xiāo Xiāo had some inkling. Perhaps Chǔ Xiǎo Dié knew something too.
Back on the battlefield, Guā Guā's Icefall Blast, carrying a biting chill, surged towards Ye Yi Bu. Although Ye Yi Bu had also used Bloom Doom, just as the Mán Yīng member had said, Xià Hú Nào's Ice Z-Move was triggered by Ice Beam. Ice Beam has a base power of 80 and is Ice-type, while Leaf Blade has a base power of 90 and is Grass-type. Although there was a slight difference in power, with the type advantage, Xià Hú Nào's side held the upper hand.
The two masses of energy collided, intertwined, and crashed, finally exploding, sending Guā Guā and Ye Yi Bu flying. Even Magearna and Gengar, who were observing from behind, were caught in the crossfire and were pushed back.
However, of the four Pokémon on the field, only Gengar was truly unlucky. The other three Pokémon, though in poor condition, were not completely incapacitated after taking the brunt of the Z-Move clash. Gengar, already in a critical state, couldn't continue fighting after being hit by the energy surge.
Still, Xià Hú Nào had Guā Guā struggle to its feet and fire a final Water Shuriken, as a last show of respect.
The situation on the field had now become a two-on-one for Xià Hú Nào and Mù Zhǐ Shuǐ. However, in the spirit of honesty and integrity, Xià Hú Nào decided to finish this one-on-one battle with his opponent.
Ye Yi Bu, covered in dust, crawled up and charged towards Xià Hú Nào. Guā Guā extended its hands, seemingly preparing to block Ye Yi Bu with Tai Chi. But halfway through its charge, Ye Yi Bu suddenly stopped and then swept a Leaf Blade towards Guā Guā's feet. Guā Guā, unable to dodge, was hit by the Leaf Blade. The Water Shuriken, used to finish off Gengar earlier, now became a problem.
Fortunately, Guā Guā was still in decent condition. Despite taking a Leaf Blade, it didn't fall. However, if it continued to be careless, the outcome could be uncertain.
At this moment, Xià Hú Nào's hand reached for his waist. Hanging there was another Poké Ball, a purple one that resembled a Master Ball.