Xia Huanao’s attention shifted to the third match. Yu Longdu was facing his opponent, tossing a Poké Ball. It seemed they were communicating. Xia Huanao chuckled and shook his head, “No way, with his limited Japanese learned from anime, he’s actually chatting with the opponent? He’s fooling nobody.”
Mu Zhishui, standing beside him, produced a pair of headphones. “Look at this. Specially made by Rainbow Star, a simultaneous interpreter. You can communicate directly. I didn’t give you one because you don’t have a communication barrier. Everyone else is equipped now.”
As he spoke, Mu Zhishui pushed his hair aside. “See, I have one too.”
Xia Huanao gave a brief glance before turning his attention back to the arena. Inside the battle zone, Yu Longdu waved a blue Poké Ball. “Come on, let’s see how you deal with the Pokémon in this Net Ball!”
Xia Huanao’s thoughts were logical, but the two opponents from Man Ying didn’t fall for it. This was also a result of Xia Huanao not paying close enough attention to the opposing players. One of the Man Ying members had severe myopia, to the point where even with glasses, they were in a state of near blindness. In this two-on-two battle, they served as a support role, similar to Chu Xiaodie. As for the main attacker, they truly inherited the fine tradition of the Man Ying people; their eyes were located on the crown of their head, completely impervious to visual-based strategies.
The battle commenced. Yu Longdu and Chu Xiaodie sent out Ribombee and Charizard, facing off against the opposing Floatzel and Magmar. Upon seeing the Magmar, Xia Huanao remarked,
“Magmar, this is a new trump card. We haven’t seen them use this before. But it doesn’t matter, Charizard, attack!”
Xia Huanao could tell that Yu Longdu had thought this through. Normally, when engaging in close-quarters combat, Charizard would choose to fly and use its mobility to quickly resolve the situation. However, this time, Charizard charged directly towards the Magmar.
The two Man Ying players hadn't anticipated this, but they began to react. “Magmar, restrain Charizard and engage in close combat!”
“Floatzel, use Sunny Day!”
Floatzel emitted a glow, and the bubble on its head transformed into a red sun. The sun in the sky grew hotter. Magmar and Charizard clashed, but Charizard’s claws struggled to grip the cannon-like appendages at the front of Magmar’s arms.
“Magmar, use Lava Plume!”
The muzzles of Magmar’s two “hand cannons” glowed red, launching two fireballs directly at the engaged Charizard. Charizard opened its mouth and met the Lava Plume head-on with Flamethrower.
The two massive fire energies collided, sparks flying everywhere. Ribombee, which had been perched on Charizard’s head, couldn’t withstand the intense heat and took to the air. Seeing this, Floatzel fired a Weather Ball at Ribombee.
Weather Ball, under Sunny Day, is a Fire-type move with 100 base power. This would be quite a hit for Ribombee. Ribombee, having just lifted off from Charizard’s head, found it difficult to dodge the Weather Ball in mid-air. However, it was clear that Chu Xiaodie had trained Ribombee well, as it executed a nimble aerial maneuver, narrowly evading the Weather Ball.
Meanwhile, the slugfest between Charizard and Magmar continued. Charizard’s claws were locked with Magmar’s arms. Suddenly, Charizard pivoted on its left leg, whipping its tail at Magmar.
Xia Huanao initially thought it was Charizard’s Dragon Tail, but upon closer inspection, seeing that Magmar hadn’t been switched out, he breathed a sigh of relief. “I knew it. If even Yu Longdu started learning bad habits from me, that would be a big problem.”
Magmar, having been struck by Charizard’s tail, felt immensely insulted. When had a dignified Magmar ever been hit in the face by a tail? Angrily, Magmar punched towards Charizard’s head.
Charizard quickly flew back, creating distance. Magmar, having missed its target, lost its balance and stumbled to the ground. Ribombee seized the opportunity to quickly close the distance, unleash a Dazzling Gleam, and then retreat again.
Similar to Ribombee, Charizard also created distance. Both Pokémon displayed a clear reluctance to engage in a prolonged fight, preferring to maintain separation. Yu Longdu understood this well. Magmar’s primary means of dealing with Charizard at range were Fire-type moves. “Go ahead, use them if you can. I dare you to not blow yourself up.”
However, unexpectedly, Magmar also carried Thunderbolt in addition to its Fire-type moves. A Thunderbolt targeted Charizard’s wing. Xia Huanao, watching from the sidelines, slapped his thigh. “Is this how you project your own preferences? He doesn’t like carrying Electric-type moves, so he assumes everyone else doesn’t either. Fortunately, Chu Xiaodie is there to back them up. This should still be winnable.”
Powder moves, due to their light nature, have a very limited duration of effect on the opponent. The effects of the powder had worn off by the time Magmar used Thunderbolt. With the reveal of Thunderbolt, Man Ying’s strategy shifted.
“Floatzel, use Rain Dance.”
The once bright sky instantly became overcast, and Floatzel’s form changed from a sun to water. Once the transformation was complete, both Pokémon pressed forward towards the Ming Long Country side.
Man Ying’s strategic objective had always been clear. The initial Sunny Day was intended to quickly eliminate the support Pokémon, Ribombee, with Fire-type attacks. However, Charizard’s unexpected approach drew their attention, leading to them being hit. After revealing their Electric-type move, their primary offensive focus shifted to the attacker, Charizard.
“Ribombee, use Pollen Puff.”
With the healing from Pollen Puff, Charizard’s condition was still relatively good, but it was uncomfortable facing the aggravating rain.
“Floatzel, use Weather Ball again!”
“Magmar, Thunderbolt!”
Two moves were directed at Charizard. Under Yu Longdu’s command, Charizard quickly took to the air, carrying Ribombee with it to dodge the attack. Yu Longdu wiped sweat from his brow. “That was close. Fortunately, they didn’t bring Thunder, or it would have been dangerous.”
Chu Xiaodie nodded. After a brief exchange of glances with Yu Longdu, they decided to take out Floatzel first, to prevent any further weather changes from causing trouble.
“Charizard, fly higher, and then go catch Floatzel.”
Upon receiving the command, Charizard flapped its wings and ascended higher and higher into the sky, finally hovering at an altitude completely beyond Magmar’s attack range, looking down at the two Pokémon. Although they were instructed to go catch Floatzel, Charizard simply remained airborne, showing no signs of initiating an attack.
“What are they trying to do? They’re just flying there and not coming down.”
Yu Longdu rubbed his nose. “Let them fret for a bit. This is a technique I learned from Xia Huanao.”
Xia Huanao, standing nearby, quickly distanced himself. “Damn it, I never taught him this kind of fighting. He learned it all by himself.”
“You didn’t teach him directly, but you influenced him subtly.”
“Zhishui, don’t undermine me like that.”
Just then, Charizard suddenly plummeted downwards at extreme speed, diving towards the Floatzel and Magmar on the ground, its mouth open in a Flamethrower. Although its power was somewhat diminished by the rain, an attack from above was always difficult to deal with.
Magmar and Floatzel separated, moving to opposite sides, and unfortunately, Magmar was hit. And worse, it was hit by Ribombee’s paralysis powder.
“If that was Sleep Powder, I would have you finished.”
Although Magmar was incapacitated, Yu Longdu’s objective remained unchanged: Floatzel. Charizard’s claws gripped Floatzel as it flew upwards. Floatzel attempted a Weather Ball counter, but due to the orientation of its bubble, it failed. After all, it didn’t have eyes in the back of its head.
However, Charizard’s attack was another matter. Charizard’s head was facing Floatzel. A Flamethrower blast was unleashed, followed by another acceleration towards the ground.
“Superpower? What is that move called on Ling Yao Star? I’ve never seen it before.”
“This, I checked in the Rainbow Star database. It’s called Planet Slam, and its effect should be similar. But given Yu Longdu’s personality, I doubt he’d bring such a move.”
“This is a bug, I think it’s pretty good that it doesn’t take up a move slot but has the effect of a move. Just like my Tai Chi, isn’t it?”
As they spoke, Floatzel was slammed into the ground by Charizard. The paralyzed Magmar briefly shook off its paralysis and unleashed a Thunderbolt at the Charizard that was throwing Floatzel.
The battle was incredibly fierce. Despite Ribombee’s support, Charizard was unlucky this time, suffering a critical hit from Thunderbolt and becoming paralyzed. Its wings faltered, and it crashed to the ground.
Normally, crashing to the ground wouldn't be a problem. However, both sides had overlooked one detail: Charizard had been carrying Floatzel down with it. The impact of the crash directly struck Floatzel. The poor Floatzel was the first to be knocked out of the battle. However, Magmar, having been paralyzed earlier, now held a significant advantage, sending Yu Longdu’s Charizard out of the battle as well. Although Ribombee tried to help, Magmar was clearly focused on Charizard and ignored the former.
The clouds in the sky dispersed, and the hidden sun reappeared. However, the mood among the Ming Long Country group wasn't particularly bright, as everyone knew that Chu Xiaodie’s Pokémon were all Bug-types, which were at a complete disadvantage against Magmar.
At this moment, only Xia Huanao retained a sliver of confidence. “It’s okay, this is my direct disciple.”