The battle between Xia Hunaohao and Arthur ultimately became the crucial match influencing the outcome. Millen's plan was sound: gain a lead of at least two points in the first five matches to ease the pressure for the final battle. However, plans rarely go as expected, and in the end, it all came down to Arthur.
Xia Hunaohao looked at Arthur's ashen face and shook his head. "No, you don't look well. Do you need me to find a doctor or something? Our Ming Long Kingdom's medical standards are quite good. The Ming Long doctor on our team can definitely offer you extraordinary help with kidney replenishment."
Xia Hunaohao's rambling grew further afield, and Arthur's expression darkened. Fortunately, the referee was present, preventing an outright conflict.
The match began, and Arthur's chosen Pokémon was a Primeape. It was a fearsome-looking Primeape at that, not only stout but also covered in visible scars, with injuries around both eyes.
Xia Hunaohao shook his head. "Even after evolving, a cute Mankey shouldn't be this ferocious. What did you do to the Pokémon?"
Arthur didn't answer Xia Hunaohao's question and urged Xia Hunaohao to send out his own Pokémon. To be fair, Xia Hunaohao had recently faced opponents whose single Pokémon could counter his entire team. However, Xia Hunaohao had also planned his battle strategies in advance.
Xia Hunaohao tossed a Poké Ball in his hand and casually threw it forward. "Come out, Aipom. It's up to you now."
After Aipom jumped out, it chattered a few times at Xia Hunaohao and then began to taunt the Primeape.
"Oh no, a Normal-type Pokémon is taunting a Fighting-type Pokémon!"
At the same time as Xia Hunaohao and Arthur, another member of Millen's team sent out their Pokémon: a Blissey. Xia Hunaohao found this support-type Pokémon quite agreeable, a proper gentleman's duel in a two-on-two match, with one as the attacker and the other as support, much like his own pairing of Aipom and Gardevoir with Mu Zhishui.
The battle commenced. Xia Hunaohao launched the first attack. Aipom's form flickered, and a bright red object streaked across the sky, hitting the Primeape.
The Primeape showed no reaction to this attack. After all, the move "Throw" wasn't particularly powerful, and given the Primeape's typing, it barely tickled. But that wasn't all. After throwing the red object, Aipom rushed forward, seemingly determined to settle the score with the Primeape.
Arthur welcomed this kind of "honorable" fight. He also commanded the Primeape to charge forward. As they closed in, they exchanged punches. Aipom, agile, jumped onto the Primeape's head and attempted a low blow before the Primeape could extend its claws.
Fortunately, the Primeape's claws arrived in time to snatch Aipom away, preventing any untoward consequences. However, the Primeape, gripping Aipom, felt a surge of heat, and it immediately released Aipom.
Arthur looked at his Primeape in confusion. Normally, a Primeape wouldn't let go once it grabbed something. What was going on?
Off the field, Chu Xiaodie frowned in thought and then clapped her hands. "It's the 'Throw' style. It's been a while since I've seen Coach Xia use this battle tactic."
Just as Chu Xiaodie was explaining Xia Hunaohao's previous "Orb Style" tactic to Yu Longdu and others, Xia Hunaohao was also explaining it to Arthur, or rather, provoking him.
"Haven't you seen a Flame Orb? It's an item that causes a burn status. This thing, when thrown, also inflicts a burn. With the item reserves Zhuo Lei has, you shouldn't be unaware of this."
Arthur nodded and then glanced at his teammate. The teammate immediately had the Blissey use Heal Bell, but it was clear that Mu Zhishui's side had a countermeasure ready: "Gardevoir, use Skill Swap!"
A mysterious force bound the Blissey, and its intended Heal Bell was instantly interrupted. The Pokémon stood awkwardly behind the Primeape.
Xia Hunaohao continued to rile Arthur. "For a Blissey, it's obvious it would use Heal Bell and Healing Wish. Coincidentally, Gardevoir can also use those. Just wait for your doom."
Without any sustained healing, the situation became extremely disadvantageous for Arthur. Arthur, whose attention was entirely occupied by Xia Hunaohao's Pokémon, had chosen Primeape, which could indeed counter many of Xia Hunaohao's Pokémon. However, this poor creature was quad-weak to Fairy-type attacks, and Mega Gardevoir was a Pokémon that heavily relied on Fairy-type output. One month of power and it would be game over.
Fortunately, Gardevoir was playing a support role in this match. At least the three skills that had appeared so far had no offensive power. As for the fourth, it was a gamble.
Arthur's choice was to trade blows with Xia Hunaohao. Firstly, it would give him some satisfaction, and secondly, he was betting that Gardevoir didn't have any attacking moves. In that case, Gardevoir and Blissey's exchange would be fifty-fifty. Even if he lost the exchange, losing by just one point wouldn't be too embarrassing.
With this thought, Arthur commanded Primeape to use Hammer Arm, intending to quickly defeat Aipom while Aipom was trying to trade blows. But Aipom was a Pokémon that could spar with Xia Hunaohao, so an emergency stop was simple for it. Aipom executed a perfect break, abandoned its original attack, and used U-turn to disengage, then switched out for a Breloom, which threw a couple of punches into the air.
Of course, Aipom had two ways to switch out: Baton Pass and U-turn. The reason for choosing U-turn was that Aipom wasn't carrying any boosting moves, and more importantly, U-turn could deal damage.
Seeing the fresh Breloom brought into the fight, Arthur's expression turned grim. He asked the referee, "Is this allowed?"
Xia Hunaohao explained on behalf of the referee. "Of course, it is. While the rules limit Pokémon exchanges, they don't limit move effects. If you wanted, you could have Primeape use Parting Shot, but the problem is you don't know how."
Saying this, Xia Hunaohao continued his offensive. "Breloom, Spore, then use Fire Punch!"
Arthur's spectators: You're doing it again?!
A purple, unknown object shot through the air and struck the Primeape's head, leaving a lump. Xia Hunaohao chuckled. "This time, it's a Toxic Orb."
Regarding how many negative status conditions Reuniclus could stack, it turned out that as long as you wanted to, except for opposing statuses like burn and freeze, you could stack almost all of them.
And Xia Hunaohao's strategy wasn't just about the Toxic Orb. The reason for using Spore first was to absorb health and, more importantly, to trigger his own Poison Heal buff. With this kind of recovery, it would be strange if he still couldn't win in a war of attrition.
Xia Hunaohao confidently began to "swagger" in Mandarin. Chu Xiaodie, off the field, asked Rotom, "What is Coach Xia saying?"
Rotom translated, "This is the power of justice! This is a righteous group beating!"
This wasn't justice at all; it was shameless.
Back on the field, after a couple more exchanges, the Primeape's condition was pathetic. Arthur couldn't understand. How much time had passed? Even if he had burns, poison, and the effect of Spore, only the burn was active. How long had poison and Spore been applied, and why did the Primeape look so worn out?
Xia Hunaohao tilted his head. "So, did you guess Gardevoir's fourth move? You used it before. Trick. We swapped out the Life Orb."
Xia Hunaohao's gleeful expression stood in stark contrast to Arthur's dark, gloomy one. The Life Orb itself was an item that caused damage. With a mess of debuffs piled on top, the Primeape should consider itself lucky to still be standing.
"Breloom, we're changing tactics now. Use Protect and stall. As long as we outlast the Primeape, we win!"
Xia Hunaohao's brutally honest words were like a dagger to the heart. Arthur's gloomy expression darkened further. He had already been frustrated by the impending loss, and to lose in such a manner was unacceptable.
Xia Hunaohao decided to twist the knife further into Arthur's already wounded heart. "Honestly, you should be content. Look at this battle. We used three Pokémon to counter your two. And with poison, life-sapping, and burn, I used three Orbs in a row. No other team has received such treatment..."
Arthur gritted his teeth as he watched his Primeape fall to the ground. Xia Hunaohao cheerfully snapped his fingers and asked the member of Millen's team, "Do you want to surrender? There's no hope anyway, so it's better to do it quickly and not waste Lady Beautiful's time. Isn't that gentlemanly conduct?"
As Xia Hunaohao spoke, he gestured towards the beautiful Mu Zhishui beside him. The member of Millen's team looked back at his teammates. After receiving his captain's consent, he then informed the referee of his surrender.
Xia Hunaohao breathed a sigh of relief and recalled Breloom to its Poké Ball. Mu Zhishui asked him, "I didn't expect you to be so gentlemanly as to allow the opponent to surrender."
Xia Hunaohao, however, stated that he didn't think that way at all. The Primeape's defeat yielded two points of attack that both Aipom and Breloom needed. Who wanted three HP from defeating Blissey? Recovering those effort values would be a hassle.
Mu Zhishui remained silent. This was the Xia Hunaohao she knew...
The match concluded. They bowed and left the field. Xia Hunaohao then directed Aipom to go collect the two Orbs he had thrown out. He had to admit, the Pickup ability was truly god-tier.
After retrieving his used Orbs, Xia Hunaohao waved at the Millen team. "Hey. Everyone from Millen, remember to send the Life Orb to the Ming Long team's camp. I'll need it for the next match!"