A few more days passed, and time and location shifted to the semi-final arena. The Ming Long Country team, invigorated by days of strategy and secret training, stood proudly on the field.
Xia Hu Nao clapped Wang Zhen on the shoulder. "Old Wang, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Even if you slip up, we've got your back. Go ahead and battle with confidence."
Wang Zhen swatted Xia Hu Nao's hand away. "Can't you say something more encouraging? Just watch me take them down."
Wang Zhen stepped onto the stage and challenged the opponent's Drapion with his Blacephalon.
Xia Hu Nao stroked his chin. "To be honest, it's easy to find Water-type Pokémon in Man Ying. After all, Man Ying is small and surrounded by water on all sides, so I wouldn't be surprised by any Water-type Pokémon they bring out. But then again, Wang Zhen is lucky. Although Blacephalon has 'turtle' in its name, it has Dragon typing, so it's completely immune to Drapion's attacks."
As they spoke, the battle began. Wang Zhen didn't rush to attack. Instead, he and Blacephalon adopted a defensive formation. To put it plainly, Blacephalon turned its back to the opponent, using its shell to guard against Drapion's assaults.
This move proved effective. Drapion was indeed a physically stronger opponent, and Blacephalon's shell could counter-attack when hit by physical attacks. This also prevented Drapion from targeting the small opening on Blacephalon's belly. That spot was a critical weakness, and if hit, it would trigger a critical hit.
However, this strategy had a drawback: Blacephalon's ability, Shell Trap, required significant growth to master.
"Is Wang Zhen trying to bluff? But then again, Shell Trap isn't exactly easy to judge. Maybe he can really fool them."
Blacephalon walked forward with its back to Drapion. Drapion, being somewhat hot-tempered, wanted to attack proactively. However, its trainer, who had clearly studied the relevant knowledge well, dared not directly engage Blacephalon.
The distance between the two Pokémon slowly closed. When they were less than three meters apart, Wang Zhen issued his first command: "Blacephalon, use Head Smash!"
A powerful blast of gas erupted from the small opening on Blacephalon's belly, propelling it towards Drapion. Furthermore, during its flight, Blacephalon seemed to have used Shell Smash. The attack landed on Drapion with a resounding thud.
"Being big can be useful sometimes. Look at this Head Smash; Drapion can't get up. But then again, how will Blacephalon get up?"
While Xia Hu Nao admired Wang Zhen's maneuver, he also noticed a problem: Blacephalon was a turtle. Smashing down on its back was impressive, but how would it get back on its feet?
Whether Blacephalon could get up was unknown, but Drapion managed to rise. With a pincer, it struck Blacephalon's shell.
The Man Ying team members were reluctant to test the shell's resilience, but they couldn't remain passive. This strike yielded a result that was both loved and hated.
On one hand, the Man Ying team confirmed that Blacephalon had not mastered the explosive shell technique. On the other hand, this pincer strike allowed Blacephalon to get back on its feet. Although Blacephalon's body wobbled momentarily, once its feet were on the ground, it could exert force. With a great effort, Blacephalon stood upright!
The situation became awkward again. Although Drapion could attack with physical moves, Wang Zhen adopted a posture of "if you dare to attack, I dare to crush," making it difficult to proceed. Drapion, standing at one meter tall and weighing only sixty kilograms, found it hard to mount an effective frontal assault against the two-meter-tall, four-hundred-and-twenty-kilogram Blacephalon's Head Smash.
"Drapion, move! Find a way to get to Blacephalon's front!"
Drapion began to move its stubby legs, while Blacephalon remained in place, watching it turn. Blacephalon couldn't possibly spin along with it, as it might topple over.
Suddenly, Drapion found an opening. The Man Ying player quickly commanded, "Drapion, Dual Chop!"
Although Dual Chop sounded like a secret technique, its rarity was moderate. Many could use it; Xia Hu Nao himself knew it, having previously used Water Pulse and Dark Pulse simultaneously as a basic application of Dual Chop. During internal sparring within the Ming Long team, everyone had encountered this move to some extent. Wang Zhen was naturally aware that this was a maneuver that could be performed with self-coordination.
However, Drapion's Dual Chop was quite deadly. One pincer used Shell Blade, while the other used Night Slash. The order of these moves was crucial. Wang Zhen's brief assessment confirmed that Shell Blade would strike first.
Shell Blade could potentially lower the opponent's defense, while Night Slash had a considerable chance of hitting a vital point. Although both moves had a chance of triggering other effects, Wang Zhen's Blacephalon had already undergone a Shell Smash, reducing its defense once. If both attacks landed successfully, the damage would be substantial.
"Blacephalon, block it!"
Blacephalon extended its arms and met Drapion's two pincers head-on, preventing Drapion from hitting its vital points. After being blocked by Blacephalon, Drapion's pincers quickly parted and then snapped shut, clamping onto Blacephalon. Blacephalon swung its arm, throwing Drapion aside, thus exposing its vital spot.
However, this swing also threw the Drapion that was clamping it aside, so the exposed weakness was not exploited.
After a brief exchange of blows, both sides had a basic understanding of each other's strengths. The Man Ying team, leveraging Drapion's speed advantage over Blacephalon, began a hit-and-run strategy, launching surprise attacks periodically.
Fortunately, Blacephalon was quite resilient. After stubbornly resisting several surprise attacks, it seized an opportunity and retaliated with Dragon Claw to Drapion's head. Drapion rolled on the ground twice before flying backward. As it stopped itself with its pincers, it opened its mouth as if about to unleash a powerful move.
Wang Zhen quickly reviewed the powerful long-range moves Drapion might have learned and realized something was amiss. None of them involved using its mouth.
Indeed, Drapion had no moves that involved its mouth. It opened its mouth simply to stall for time. While it couldn't stall for long, it was enough to regroup.
As Drapion tried to stall, Blacephalon didn't stand idle. It repeatedly used Head Smash on the ground.
We know Head Smash has 15 PP. Using it a few times in succession wouldn't deplete it significantly. These slams not only shook the ground but also created a pit on the field. Blacephalon retracted its head and limbs into the pit and remained motionless.
This posture made Blacephalon look like a landmine buried in the ground. The Man Ying players chuckled at the sight. "I already know you don't have Shell Trap. Why bother with such a petty trick?"
Without Shell Trap, Drapion could attack Blacephalon with impunity. The emboldened Drapion strode towards Blacephalon, but Blacephalon remained motionless, showing no intention of counter-attacking.
Regarding this situation, Xia Hu Nao merely smiled. "He didn't think about it. With Dragon Claw, Head Smash, and Shell Smash out, who knows what the fourth move might be? You dare to attack?" Feng and Mei shared the same assessment. The ninja's creed did not allow them to attack directly when there was still an unknown danger.
The distance between the two Pokémon slowly closed. Drapion raised its pincers, and as a storm of rapid attacks was about to rain down on Blacephalon's shell, Wang Zhen issued a defensive command: "Blacephalon, hold steady!"
Drapion's pincers struck Blacephalon's shell with a loud thud, triggering a massive explosion. A violent gust of wind and dust swept over the spectators. Xia Hu Nao spat out sand from his mouth. "How annoying. Why bother?"
After the dust settled, the Man Ying team saw that Drapion on the field had fainted. They pointed at Wang Zhen and exclaimed, "You, you actually made Blacephalon hide its learned Shell Trap?"
Feng, standing on the Man Ying observation deck, shook his head. "Sigh. Such impatience. Tell him to return."
Xia Hu Nao couldn't help but laugh out loud. "This kid is so adorably foolish. Wang Zhen didn't hide any Shell Trap. Such a powerful Shell Trap, it's amazing he could even imagine it."
Chu Xiao Die asked, "If it wasn't Shell Trap, then what was it?"
"You should have seen it last year. Explosion. Given the state of both Pokémon, Wang Zhen clearly intended to trade blows with the opponent."
Chu Xiao Die nodded. "I see. But didn't you have that Focus Band? Why didn't you lend it to Wang Zhen? Wouldn't that have secured the win?"
Xia Hu Nao glanced at Chu Xiao Die. "This is a deficiency in our teaching process. Generally, in Ming Long Country, we don't teach students about dangerous moves like Explosion. So, you probably don't know that after using Explosion, the user is always rendered incapable of battling. Whether it's a Focus Band or Sturdy, once Explosion is used, regardless of the outcome, the user will lose the ability to battle. The only way to avoid this is to prevent it from being used. For example, by using a Pokémon with Damp."
As they were talking, Wang Zhen recalled Blacephalon. After bowing to his opponent, he returned to the Ming Long Country spectator stands. As he passed Xia Hu Nao, he nodded and said, "My mission is complete. The rest is up to you."
Xia Hu Nao waved him away dismissively. "Go on. You're talking about achieving a backup plan as if it's something to brag about."