Both sides were caught off guard by the sudden news, but looking at Liu Ling Da's expression, the members of Beimo University were even more confused: "Wait, isn't this your surprise attack? Why do you look like this?"
As if sensing what the Beimo University team was thinking, Wei Chiting looked over: "Don't think about it, we just found out about this news. Right before we came to compete, we all thought our coach was coming back."
"So your coach is confident enough in you to beat us?"
"I don't know, but since it's like this, we'll just have to fight this way."
The two sides chatted briefly about the situation before the match began under the referee's guidance.
In the coin toss segment, since Xia Huanao was absent, no one could cooperate with Chu Xiaodie, so Chu Xiaodie stepped forward to call the coin: "Referee, we choose tails."
Beimo University didn't seem very eager to contest the coin, so they let Chu Xiaodie choose tails. Although Xia Huanao's absence had some impact on Chu Xiaodie's state of mind, her instinct for coin tosses allowed her to win the toss. Liu Ling Da decisively chose to go second. Beimo University indifferently took the eastern half of the field. The first match of the free battle was Liu Ling Da's three-on-three, and the second was Beimo University's two-on-two.
As the two sides entered the preparation area, Wei Chiting held his tablet and said: "Beimo University is very different from Ming University before. Although they also use self-destruction and explosion as their ultimate moves, these skills are just trump cards they use when the situation is unfavorable. We still need to fight them normally. For the first round, I, Lu Bingming, and Tu Zhuanghai will go out. We'll talk about the second round later."
After both sides decided on their participating players, the match began. Beimo University's lineup was: Golem, Voltorb, and Forretress. Liu Ling Da's team consisted of: Dusclops, Scyther, and Wailmer.
"Golem, use Rock Throw."
"Scyther, dodge at high speed, and use Swords Dance behind Wailmer!"
Golem threw a large rock towards Scyther. Scyther, with its agile movements, dodged and positioned itself behind Wailmer, then began to spin, raising its attack power with Swords Dance. Seeing Scyther hiding behind Wailmer, Beimo University's player began to attack Wailmer.
"Voltorb, use Charge Beam!"
Voltorb emitted a glow from its body, and then a beam of electricity shot towards Wailmer. Wailmer didn't stand by idly; it directly spat out a violent vortex in front of itself, which collided with the incoming beam, scattering water and sparks.
"Forretress, use Heavy Slam!"
Forretress charged towards Dusclops. Given the weight difference between Forretress and Dusclops, the attack's power was maximized.
"Fortunately, there's no Minimize move, otherwise wouldn't this attack instantly defeat Dusclops?"
Seeing Forretress charging, Dusclops didn't stay put and instead floated towards Wailmer. As the heaviest Pokémon on the team, having Wailmer take the hit would surely minimize the attack's power.
However, Beimo University's player had anticipated this: "Forretress, use Speed Boost!"
Forretress, which was initially charging, suddenly began to spin, crashing towards Dusclops like an out-of-control truck. There was still some distance between Dusclops and Wailmer, but Forretress was already approaching with immense power.
"Dusclops, use Protect!"
A fluorescent barrier appeared in front of Dusclops, blocking Forretress. However, Dusclops was still pushed back a considerable distance by the impact.
Seeing Forretress disengage, Tu Zhuanghai quickly commanded Wailmer to use Whirlpool to trap Forretress. This created a brief three-on-two situation.
"Scyther, use Slash on Golem!"
"Voltorb, roll over and use Thunder Ball!"
Although Scyther's speed was not slow, Voltorb's speed was no less. Moreover, Voltorb was closer to Golem, successfully intercepting Scyther on its attack path. The Thunder Ball successfully hit Scyther, and the crackling electric sparks made Scyther feel tingly.
"Now's the chance, Voltorb, hit it with Charge Beam!"
If this Charge Beam landed, the already "near death" Scyther would be knocked out. However, at this moment, Wei Chiting stepped in to influence the entire battle: "Dusclops, use Trick Room!"
"Wailmer, use Hydro Pump!"
A massive surge of water erupted from Wailmer's position, rushing towards Voltorb. Due to Trick Room, the speed of this water flow was even faster than they could react.
Hydro Pump successfully hit Golem and Voltorb, and also took down Scyther in the process. The situation on the field shifted from three-on-three to two-on-two, but neither side had a decisive advantage.
"Forretress, spin in reverse and break out of the Whirlpool!"
Wei Chiting turned to look. Forretress, surrounded by Whirlpool, began to spin at an incredibly fast speed, giving the impression that it was about to tear its way out.
"Wailmer, use Water Pulse to interrupt it!"
"Voltorb, use Thunder Ball on Wailmer!"
Wailmer opened its mouth and spat out a water orb towards Forretress, which was still struggling within the Whirlpool. Voltorb rolled towards Wailmer.
"Dusclops, float over and block it!"
Under the effect of Trick Room, even Dusclops, with its short legs, became an aggressive vanguard, directly blocking the path between Voltorb and Wailmer. Voltorb's attack on Wailmer ended without effect. However, to Wei Chiting's surprise, Voltorb's target was never Wailmer; it was his Dusclops from the beginning.
"Voltorb, Self-Destruct!"
Voltorb's surface emitted a white glow, and then it exploded, taking Dusclops down with it.
"So annoying, it actually managed to explode? It should have been able to withstand it."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing."
With only Wailmer and Forretress remaining on the field, the match entered a protracted battle. Although Forretress could deal damage to Wailmer with Heavy Slam, Wailmer's weight meant that the significant difference in their weights made it difficult for Wailmer to sustain severe damage. On Wailmer's side, to ensure the power of Hydro Pump, it carried Rest, so despite the back-and-forth exchanges, Wailmer didn't take too much damage. On the other hand, Forretress was starting to show signs of strain.
Forretress had already taken a Whirlpool and a Water Pulse earlier. Its condition was already affected. After fighting back and forth with Wailmer for a while longer, how much fighting power could it possibly have left?
"In that case, let's take each other down. Forretress, catch up to Wailmer, and let's explode too!"
Wailmer couldn't evade Forretress's suicidal attack. Accompanied by an explosion even more violent than Voltorb's earlier blast, Wailmer and Forretress both lost their ability to battle simultaneously. The first three-on-three match ended in a brutal draw.
As both sides retreated to their preparation areas, Wei Chiting's forehead began to bead with sweat: "Although I knew they were this kind of team, I still underestimated the power of their explosive moves. To be able to directly knock Wailmer out with Self-Destruct is quite remarkable training."
Zhu Feng shook his head: "No, these two explosions were different. Voltorb's self-destruct light was white, while Forretress's explosion was reddish-yellow."
Wei Chiting pondered Zhu Feng's words. According to the match recordings of Beimo University they had watched, all their self-destruct moves seemed to be white. This yellow-red explosion was clearly not a simple self-destruct.
"It's Explosion, which in a sense is an evolved version of Self-Destruct. Coach Xia said this move's power is greater than Self-Destruct, and it seems to be true."
"So how should we respond?"
"Coach Xia had a plan, but we don't have any Pokémon that can directly prevent the activation of Self-Destruct. In that case, Chu Xiaodie, you and Yan Chunyu will go out in the next match."
The rest period quickly ended, and the two-on-two match officially began. Liu Ling Da's Yan Chunyu and Chu Xiaodie sent out Blissey and Butterfree, respectively. Beimo University sent out Magneton and Numel.
The audience was stunned by the matchup on the field. They were not ordinary people and could analyze the strategic intentions of both sides. Liu Ling Da clearly intended to use Butterfree's Sleep Powder to prevent Beimo University's self-destruction. However, the two Pokémon sent out by Beimo University were not afraid of Butterfree's attacks; they would likely wake up before Butterfree could deal with them.
"Was the strategy guessed? No, Wei Chiting shouldn't be so easily tricked. Butterfree's Sleep Powder is already obvious to everyone. Wei Chiting won't fall for it so easily; there must be another reason."
In the preparation area beside the battle arena, Wei Chiting smiled as he looked at the four Pokémon on the field: "As expected, a team's fighting style is not so easily changed. I still managed to anticipate something. In this match, although Chu Xiaodie and Yan Chunyu are participating together, the main attacker is not Chu Xiaodie, but Yan Chunyu."
The match officially began.
Chu Xiaodie, assigned a support role by Wei Chiting, struck first: "Butterfree, use Twin Powder Whirlwind."
On the opposite side, Beimo University launched a frontal counterattack:
"Magneton, use Thunderbolt!"
"Numel, use Flame Burst!"