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Encouraged by Hughes, Absol struggled desperately to break free from Tentacruel's restraints. However, as Tentacruel's Wrap continued and Absol gradually fell deeper into the poisoned state, its struggling grew weaker and weaker.
Before long, Absol finally collapsed to the ground unwillingly.
"After an intense exchange, the winner has finally been decided! Contestant Tyler's Tentacruel has shown astonishing strength. With just a single mistake from Absol, he completely reversed an extremely unfavorable situation. Contestant Hughes' Pokémon has finally suffered its first defeat in this battle arena!"
The referee, hovering in midair with the help of a flying pack, silently counted for several seconds. Seeing that Absol still did not stand up, he immediately blew the whistle in his hand and loudly announced the result through the microphone.
Clap clap clap~~
As soon as the result was announced, the audience burst into applause for the winner. Some male spectators even shouted loudly, hoping Sato would defeat Hughes' remaining two Pokémon as well.
Yes—this was a three-on-three Pokémon battle, and Hughes was still far from defeated.
"Come back, Absol. You already did very well. I'm sorry… I misjudged the attack speed of Tentacruel's tentacles. Next time, I won't make the same mistake."
Seeing Absol lose, Hughes quickly recalled it into its PokeBall and spoke apologetically to the PokéBall.
"Absol actually lost… That commoner named Tyler trained his Tentacruel extremely well. Those tentacles strike so fast. His ability to seize opportunities is incredible. Mr. Hughes made just one mistake and the entire situation was reversed. What a pity."
In the front row of the audience seats, Sonoko said regretfully as she watched Absol fall to Tentacruel.
"It's not just that he trained Tentacruel well, Sonoko. If earlier I was only guessing, now I'm one hundred percent certain he's a Psychic."
"The reason Tentacruel won wasn't only because it grabbed Absol with its tentacles. The real key was that Tentacruel secretly used Reflect Type on a certain Ground-type Pokémon present on the field. That's what caused Absol's Thunderbolt to fail."
"You have to remember—because Absol previously copied Pikachu's Lightning Rod ability through Role Play, its Special Attack had already been raised to a very high level during its earlier battle with Pikachu."
"If Tentacruel hadn't used Reflect Type so covertly, Mr. Hughes would definitely have reacted in time. Absol wouldn't have lost so badly—it might even have turned the tables. I remember Mr. Hughes' Absol knows many moves of different types, including the Water-type move Water Pulse."
"So in my opinion, Tyler must have secretly used the Psychic technique most favored by Psychic Trainers during battle: telepathy."
Alice also felt regret over Absol's defeat, but after hearing Sonoko's words she shook her head and calmly analyzed the battle further.
"Giving commands secretly with telepathy? How can that be allowed? Isn't that cheating? That's really underhanded!"
After hearing her young lady's explanation, Sonoko looked shocked. When she looked at Sato again, her gaze turned somewhat disgusted and resentful.
"Enough, Sonoko. Never say that again."
Alice's expression instantly turned cold as she quietly reprimanded her.
"I told you to read more books, but you never listen. Listen carefully—according to the battle rules issued by the League, Psychic Trainers are allowed to use telepathy during Pokémon battles. Mr. Tyler did not break any rules."
Sonoko naturally didn't dare to argue with Alice. She nodded quickly, indicating she understood. However, due to her earlier bias—and her tendency to dislike anyone her lady disliked before—her gaze toward Sato still carried a trace of displeasure.
"The next battle won't be easy for Mr. Tyler to win."
In the aisle of the spectator stands, Elesa—disguised—watched as Sato successfully commanded Tentacruel to defeat Absol. Though she was happy for him, her tone remained cautious.
"I know Hughes. He's extremely competitive. While he values fairness, he values victory even more."
"Miss, I think we're worrying too much."
Manager Okuma stood slightly in front of Elesa, shielding her with his body. After hearing her words, he sounded rather optimistic.
"Mr. Tyler has excellent command ability and can flexibly use Psychic powers to issue instructions. Hughes' Pokémon might have higher levels, but taking advantage of him won't be easy. The outcome is still uncertain."
As Elesa's manager, Okuma not only arranged her daily schedule and handled logistics—sometimes he even acted as a bodyguard.
In fact, before becoming a manager, he had been a fairly well-known Trainer himself. His experience and judgment were naturally sharp.
Since he already knew Sato was a Psychic, he clearly understood the crucial difference in the previous battle. The difference between commanding with voice orders and commanding without them was enormous—the latter generally had a much higher chance of victory.
"So it's Psychic power… It seems I'll have to reveal a bit of my strength. Otherwise, I might actually lose."
Hughes came from a prestigious family, and his insight was no worse than Alice's or Manager Okuma's. The conclusions they could reach, he could as well. While recalling his Pokémon, he had already figured out how Sato secretly commanded Tentacruel to use Reflect Type.
"So then… how will you deal with this Pokémon?"
After realizing Sato was very likely a Psychic, Hughes quickly decided which Pokémon to use to counter Sato's telepathic command method.
"Come forth—Zoroark!"
Hughes took out a jet-black PokeBall from his pocket, threw it into the air, and shouted loudly.
In the next second, a beam of white light burst out from the opened PokeBall. Soon after, a fox-like Pokémon appeared before everyone's eyes.
But the moment it landed on the ground and opened its eyes, the audience suddenly felt their vision blur.
Then, before everyone's stunned gaze, the fox-like Pokémon on the grassy battlefield strangely transformed into a puddle of flowing water—and vanished completely.