Xia Huanao, though claiming to trust his most loyal disciple, remained deeply uncertain. This apprehension was evident in his trembling hands, which could have served well for sending telegrams in another time and place.
Beside him, Mu Zhishui offered a colorful ball. "Here, squeeze this to relieve some of your stress. Don't worry too much. At worst, it'll be a draw. As long as we secure a two-zero victory, there will be plenty of opportunities."
Xia Huanao nodded, gripping the ball and kneading it. "What's this made of? It feels so good."
"Oh, this is something we developed using materials like Mareep wool. It's a test product from our Rainbow Star Home Goods. Don't you break it, though!"
They chatted while watching the ongoing match. The two battling trainers displayed entirely different expressions. Chu Xiaodie, while facing a formidable opponent, showed no signs of panic. Man Ying, on the other hand, was already getting a bit arrogant due to his overwhelming advantage. His spectacled teammate reminded him, "You should still be careful. Your opponent might have a trump card."
"Tch, what trump card could they possibly have? How could a Butterfree possibly defeat my Magmortar? Magmortar, go use Thunderbolt!"
Magmortar charged towards Butterfree. Though Butterfree had some flying capability, evading Magmortar's attack was proving difficult. Magmortar's charge was swift to land a close-range Thunderbolt. For some unknown reason, Butterfree launched a suicidal attack at Magmortar.
The two Pokémon made brief contact. Just as Magmortar unleashed its Thunderbolt, Butterfree vanished. The Thunderbolt missed entirely. Chu Xiaodie, standing across the field, threw a Poké Ball. "Go, Beautifly!"
Xia Huanao watched as Chu Xiaodie switched Butterfree for Beautifly and seemed to realize something. "Now this is going to be interesting. My loyal disciple indeed, his idea is the same as mine."
Mu Zhishui chuckled, "U-turn, right? That's indeed a trend you started, and it's likely to become widespread. You'll see, when you return to Ming Long Country, a significant portion of Pokémon battles will employ this strategy."
Xia Huanao waggled his index finger. "Yes, but not entirely. As you know, U-turn is a Bug-type move. Butterfree, Beautifly, Dustox, and Beautifly, all four of these 'butterfly' Pokémon can learn it. So this battle isn't a simple one-on-one or two-on-one; it's a rare four-on-one. Even if these four Pokémon don't have a type advantage, sheer numbers can suffice."
As expected, after sending out Beautifly, Chu Xiaodie immediately used Poison Sting on Magmortar. Then, it fled, intending to wear down Magmortar with the poison status.
Magmortar's trainer was aware of Chu Xiaodie's plan and used Flamethrower to scorch the field, attempting to hit Beautifly with an area-of-effect attack. Without the interference of powder, Magmortar could use Fire-type moves with impunity. Beautifly, relying on its small size and agility, dodged Magmortar's attacks, using Protect when necessary.
On Beautifly's first turn, Chu Xiaodie gained a slight advantage. Man Ying's team changed tactics. Since ranged attacks could be blocked by Protect, they opted for close combat, preventing Beautifly from using Protect.
This, however, proved that the arrogant trainer had not considered the possibility of a secondary U-turn. Just as Magmortar finally caught up to Beautifly, it was hit by another U-turn. Chu Xiaodie switched out Beautifly and sent out their third Pokémon.
"Go, Dustox."
Seeing a new opponent before it, Magmortar's composure began to falter. Such a swarm tactic was overwhelming. Man Ying's teammate was also feeling the pressure. If he couldn't figure out what was happening now, then there was clearly a problem with him.
But even if he understood, what could he do? Magmortar was in an awkward position. If it used ranged attacks, Dustox also had Protect. But if it charged forward, it would be hit by U-turn. Although it had resistances, and the physical attacks of these butterflies weren't strong, repeated hits still hurt.
For a while, Magmortar and Dustox remained in a standoff. Chu Xiaodie was happy to see this situation, as the poison status would continue to deplete Magmortar's fighting strength.
However, after a period of standoff, Chu Xiaodie realized something was wrong. Magmortar, despite being poisoned, showed no signs of losing its fighting ability. It appeared to be in less than perfect condition, but far from being defeated.
Xia Huanao, from the stands, stroked his chin. "They must be using an item to remove status conditions. But the item list shouldn't have anything that can remove poison twice in a row."
As he spoke, Magmortar suddenly attacked, unleashing a burst of fire towards Chu Xiaodie's Dustox. Under Chu Xiaodie's command, Dustox immediately dodged upwards. However, this attack wasn't Flamethrower or Smog; it was Fire Spin.
Dustox attempted to distance itself upwards, but Fire Spin had already expanded, trapping Dustox within the vortex. Although this revealed all four of Magmortar's moves, it didn't matter at this point.
Dustox needed to break free from the Fire Spin's control as quickly as possible. If the Fire Spin dissipated on its own, Dustox would be vulnerable to a single hit.
"Dustox, break out and use U-turn!"
Man Ying's teammate grinned. "I knew it. Magmortar, use Smog!"
Dustox burst out of the Fire Spin, narrowly missing the Smog and accurately hitting Magmortar, switching itself out.
Chu Xiaodie breathed a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, I had that thing Coach Xia gave me, otherwise it would have been trouble."
With that, Chu Xiaodie sent out their final Pokémon, Butterfree, to continue battling Magmortar. Yu Longdu asked, "What did Old Xia give you? With Magmortar's attack power, Fire Spin should have been able to break through Dustox directly."
On stage, Xia Huanao was also asked this question. He explained, "Everyone in the world knows that Chu Xiaodie only has four butterfly Pokémon. So, when facing Chu Xiaodie, they would definitely bring out Pokémon with Fire or Electric types. The common characteristic of these four butterflies is that they are easily defeated when facing moves that are super effective against them. So, you understand."
Mu Zhishui's tone held a hint of surprise. "You didn't happen to give Chu Xiaodie four Focus Sashes, did you? While Focus Sashes are sold in the Rainbow Star mall, four of them would be quite a sum of money."
Xia Huanao glanced sneakily at Meng Tianya. "I know, but our expenses this time are being reimbursed by Boss Meng, so I was a bit extravagant."
Four Focus Sashes. That was truly lavish. But then again, if Xia Huanao had only given Chu Xiaodie one Focus Sash, Chu Xiaodie would never have used or even considered such an annoying tactic.
As the instigator, Xia Huanao was completely unaware of having corrupted Chu Xiaodie and continued to watch the match. The Man Ying team, momentarily bewildered, subconsciously assumed their previous attack lacked sufficient power. Thus, Dustox used Protect, and this time, they unleashed a more potent move.
"Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!"
As soon as Butterfree entered the field, it launched a swift attack. Two types of powder flew towards Magmortar through the air. Magmortar retaliated without hesitation after the Sleep Powder finished, using Thunderbolt. Butterfree was prepared and dodged Magmortar's attack with a dive. Magmortar, after inhaling Butterfree's powders, stiffened again.
Xia Huanao sighed. "If it were Hypnosis, this match would be over. What a shame, what a shame."
Indeed, though it was immobilized by the twin powders, Magmortar still managed to unleash a series of Flame Bursts. The first broke Butterfree's Focus Sash, and the second took Butterfree down. Since Sleep Powder was a combination of three moves, plus a U-turn, Butterfree had no room for Protect.
However, fortunately, Magmortar's Flame Bursts also took it down. Repeated damage from U-turns, combined with the previous exhaustion and the final poison, proved too much even for Magmortar, and it collapsed to the ground. This match ended in a mutual knockout.
Chu Xiaodie recalled their Pokémon and, after paying respects, returned to the stands with Yu Longdu. Xia Huanao comforted them, "A real shame. But that final Flame Burst from the opponent was interesting. Sleep Powder combines multiple moves simultaneously, while Magmortar's attack was a rapid succession of attacks. You both showed some very interesting things."
Yu Longdu glanced towards Man Ying's side. "They're very tricky. Although we still lead by one to zero, the situation isn't very optimistic."
Meng Tianya, accompanied by Miao Longque and Wu Gongping, walked over. "Yu Longdu is right. They haven't used Z-moves or Mega Evolution yet, nor any special ninja or witch techniques. You need to be careful in your second-half battles."
On the other side, at Man Ying's stands, Feng was pleased with his team's performance. "You've done a great job. Just continue playing like this."
Saying this, Feng turned his gaze towards Xia Huanao's group and then sighed.