Xia Hunan dispatched the captain precisely to disrupt the opponent's plan. Knowing they had a Sturdy Pokémon with Perish Song, his strongest fighter absolutely could not be saved for last. If Perish Song were to trigger, the advantage would be significantly reduced.
The fourth match was different. When the opponent couldn't anticipate our lineup, they wouldn't risk using a Perish Song Pokémon for an exchange, as it would only lead to losing their final fighter.
As Xia Hunan had predicted, Kawamoto's fourth fighter was a Blastoise. Blastoise against Feraligatr.
Xia Hunan gave the two Pokémon's attributes a quick glance. While he knew Blastoise wouldn't learn an absurd move like Perish Song, one had to learn from experience.
The Feraligatr, after rigorous training, was now level forty-two, while Blastoise had only recently evolved. In terms of pure level, Feraligatr held the advantage.
The battle began. Both were powerful offensive Pokémon. Soon, they were locked in a strength contest at the center of the arena. Although Feraligatr had a level advantage, Blastoise held the upper hand in raw power. Xia Hunan could clearly see Feraligatr being pushed back step by step under Blastoise's onslaught, its momentum suppressed.
"Feraligatr, use that!"
Use that? What was "that"?
Amidst everyone's confusion, Feraligatr pushed Blastoise back with a powerful shove, then landed a punch on Blastoise's shell.
"Feraligatr, follow up with Close Combat!"
Xia Hunan nodded. "So that's what it was. Why use such a vague term? You wasted my emotions."
Lu Bingming, standing nearby, whispered, "Maybe the captain thought 'Punching Mount Nan to the nursing home' sounded too vulgar, so he called it 'that'?"
"Shut up. Dare to speak such blatant truths again and see how I deal with you!"
The focus returned to the battle arena. Feraligatr's Close Combat landed steadily and powerfully on Blastoise's body. Now, it was Blastoise's turn to retreat step by step.
"Blastoise, stabilize and use Aqua Tail!"
Honestly, Xia Hunan couldn't imagine how Blastoise's little stubby tail would execute Aqua Tail.
Suddenly, a large amount of water droplets appeared on Blastoise's tail. These droplets then coalesced into a massive tail, striking towards Feraligatr.
Although Feraligatr was hit by Aqua Tail, it continued its assault, relentlessly stacking damage on Blastoise with its fists.
"Blastoise, retract for defense!"
Feraligatr's punch landed on Blastoise's shell, but it had no significant effect.
"Blastoise, Rapid Spin!"
"Feraligatr, hold him down!"
Blastoise's shell began to spin, while Feraligatr directly pressed its two hands onto it. The Rapid Spin move was like that; once it started spinning, it was hard to stop. However, before it could spin up, it was still manageable.
Blastoise wobbled on the ground without moving. A student from Kawamoto University called out, "Damn it, Blastoise, use Water Pulse!"
"Feraligatr, another punch!"
Blastoise gathered Water Pulse within its shell, but before it could release it, Feraligatr punched its shell. The intense vibration shattered the Water Pulse within.
Having used "Punching Mount Nan to the nursing home" twice, Feraligatr's stamina was rapidly depleting. It paused its attack to recover, retreating to regain energy. Blastoise, dazed from the strong impact inside its shell, also needed to recover. Both sides entered a temporary respite.
Finally, Blastoise recovered first, emerging from its shell and charging furiously at Feraligatr.
"Blastoise, Water Pulse!"
This time, Blastoise successfully gathered a Water Pulse. However, unfortunately, dealing with wave-based moves was a mandatory subject at Six Spirits University. Whether it was Water Pulse, Dragon Pulse, or Dark Pulse, they were all largely the same. Under Xia Hunan's Tai Chi-style training, everyone had developed some strategies for dealing with pulses.
"Feraligatr, ignore it and charge with Crunch!"
Feraligatr charged directly into the Water Pulse, and then Crunch hit Blastoise.
"Feraligatr, another punch!"
Feraligatr landed another punch on Blastoise's head, knocking it completely down.
Xia Hunan nodded. Given Feraligatr's current condition, defeating the next opponent wouldn't be particularly difficult. Even if the opponent sent out that Perish Song user, they could still reliably secure one point. Victory was within their grasp.
After Feraligatr defeated Blastoise, Kawamoto University's team became flustered. "Wh-what should we do? Who should we send out last?"
The student who had previously used the Perish Song user stepped forward. "I'll go. I'll switch out for Blastoise. That way, there's still a chance."
Kawamoto University's coach nodded. "Very well, then it's up to you."
The seventh match of the singles competition, and theoretically the second to last, was Feraligatr versus the Perish Song user.
The Kawamoto University student immediately commanded his Pokémon to use Harden, then, while hardening, charged at Feraligatr. Li Qiufeng, however, completely abandoned his close-combat style and commanded Feraligatr to evade, avoiding direct contact with the opponent.
"Captain, why aren't we fighting back? Even a mutual knockout would secure us the win in singles!"
Xia Hunan sighed. "This is your captain. Right, Ruo-jie?"
Tong Ruo agreed with Xia Hunan's sentiment. "Mm, this is your captain. He's trying to secure this point, to enter the team battle with an absolute advantage of five to zero and seal the victory. He's putting pressure on himself."
Xia Hunan let out a long breath. "As a coach, of course, I want Li Qiufeng to win. It would make the team battle easier. But I can't say that when strategizing. Asking him to defeat a Perish Song Pokémon would make him hesitant to fight, do you understand what I mean?"
"Sort of."
"To put it plainly, Li Qiufeng is executing the most logical, yet also the most unreasonable, strategy. It's tough on him."
On the field, seeing Li Qiufeng constantly creating distance, the Kawamoto University student grew angry. "Damn it, are you a coward? Why don't you fight me head-on! Fish, use Salty Water!"
Seeing the Pokémon inflate, Li Qiufeng understood that if Feraligatr were to take a direct hit from Salty Water in its current state, it would be over.
"Feraligatr, dodge and use Crunch!"
Feraligatr sidestepped, causing the Salty Water to miss harmlessly, then bit down on the opponent.
The moment it bit down, a pained expression flashed across Feraligatr's face. It was clearly affected by the opponent's poison sting.
"Oh no, the situation is about to reverse."
Xia Hunan knew that now it was the opponent's turn to dodge, and Feraligatr needed to attack aggressively. Otherwise, if it dragged on, Feraligatr would fall due to the poisoning, and its remaining HP was already low.
Both sides understood the situation. The Kawamoto University student immediately commanded his Pokémon to use Rollout to create distance. Li Qiufeng, hoping for a quick victory, said, "Feraligatr, chase him down and grab him!"
The chase reversed, but the larger Feraligatr quickly cornered the opponent.
"Feraligatr, use Mutual Destruction Fist!"
The Kawamoto University student was stunned. What kind of move was that? Xia Hunan was also taken aback, then realized, "Oh, it's that. You scared me."
The so-called Mutual Destruction Fist was actually the complete version of Xia Hunan's "Punching Mount Nan to the nursing home." It rapidly accumulated all its energy and unleashed it all at once. This move was quite powerful, especially against Pokémon like the one facing them, which didn't have high HP or defense.
Feraligatr roared and punched the opponent. A surge of immense power erupted, directly knocking the Pokémon unconscious. Feraligatr, however, swayed and also fell onto the battlefield, affected by both poison and backlash.
The referee promptly raised his flag. "The battle has ended. It's a draw. The singles competition is over. The score is four to zero. After a ten-minute break, we will proceed to the team battle. Both teams, please prepare."
Li Qiufeng returned to the preparation area. Xia Hunan arranged for Guo Shuang'er to take the Pokémon balls for recovery, while he applauded Li Qiufeng. "Li Qiufeng, you're a good captain, but sometimes don't put so much pressure on yourself. You have teammates. Five points or four points make no difference to us."
Li Qiufeng nodded. "I know, but I'm the captain. It's my responsibility to reduce everyone's pressure."
Xia Hunan picked up a bottle of water. "Captaincy is responsibility, trust, and ability, not pressure. Forget it, I won't try to convince you. If you could change, you wouldn't be Li Qiufeng. Go back and let my sister treat you."
Hearing Xia Hunan mention this, Li Qiufeng immediately became timid. "No, no, I'll try my best to change. Just don't tell her."
Guo Shuang'er was quick. Before long, she returned with everyone's Pokémon balls. "Coach Xia, I'm back."
Everyone took back their Pokémon balls. "Very good. Next, I will begin planning the strategy for the team battle. Wei Chiting, Chu Xiaodie, Zhu Feng, the three of you must participate. For the remaining three, Wei Chiting, you choose."
Wei Chiting blinked. "I choose?"
Xia Hunan nodded. "Yes. If the league hadn't distinguished between team battles and free battles in the three-on-three format, and if the team battle required six people, I think the three of you would have been enough."
Wei Chiting glanced at the two teammates who had confirmed they would fight with him, then said, "In that case, I'll choose Tan Yue, Yan Chunyu, and… hmm…"
The last pick seemed difficult, but after a period of thought, Wei Chiting decided. "For the last one, I choose Tu Zhuanghai!"