As the referee announced the outcome of the previous round and notified both sides of the impending field change, Paul calmly withdrew his Pokémon.
"Take a rest." He said as he aimed the Poké Ball at Aggron.
"Aggrrr~"
Aggron turned its head and flashed a toothy grin before transforming into a beam of red light and returning to its ball.
After a fierce round of self-sacrificial exchange where both sides dealt and took massive damage, there was no need for Aggron to keep battling. It was time for another of Paul's Pokémon to take the spotlight.
"Well done, Steelix. Come back."
Drake also recalled his Steelix, a complicated heavy look in his eyes as he glanced at Paul.
Sure, his battle with Red in the past hadn't gone much better, but the difference now was—he had improved since then.
Yet Paul… was still a newcomer. He had emerged only recently. The fact that he was already fighting at this level, before Red had even challenged Drake back then—it was simply astounding.
What made it even more concerning was that Paul hadn't sent out any of the high-threat Pokémon from his profile, except for Ursaluna.
If Electivire or Garchomp came out, Drake honestly wasn't confident he could beat either of them… even with his Dragonite, which had only just broken into the Champion class a few days prior.
Paul, on the other hand, was completely unfazed. He was already strategizing for Dragonite.
A Champion-class Dragonite? He wasn't intimidated.
Unless it had some absurd, Mewtwo-level barrier gimmick and spammed ultimate moves without end, even a "nearly-invincible" Dragonite wasn't as impossible to counter as people thought.
Still, there were factors he needed to consider.
As the two Trainers stood silently on opposite ends of the battlefield—Drake in thought, Paul composed—then the terrain began to shift. The rocky waterfield rumbled and gradually morphed into a quicksand and rock arena.
"Ooh, looks like the new field is a Sand-Rock Terrain!"
The commentator jumped in excitedly:
"This terrain is known for its treacherous footing! Trainers unfamiliar with battling on sand often risk their Pokémon getting stuck while moving or attacking. Many challengers have lost crucial momentum after slipping into hidden quicksand pits!"
"Flying Pokémon or those that don't need to move much tend to have the advantage in this kind of environment."
No sooner had the explanation ended, Drake decisively threw out a Poké Ball.
"Venusaur, let's go!"
"Sauuuur!"
With a low echoing cry, Venusaur stomped onto the field. Its massive body alone drew a chorus of awe from the spectators.
But Paul remained impassive, arms relaxed at his sides as he issued a calm command:
"Froslass. Battle ready."
As soon as the name left his lips, the air around him shimmered, like moonlight on water and shattered. From the ethereal rift, a ghostly figure emerged: Froslass glided soundlessly into the arena.
"She was already outside the whole time?!"
"How did we not notice?!"
"Can Froslass turn invisible?!"
"What kind of ghost-type trickery is this?"
"It's gotta be an illusion… but that strong?"
Whether watching online or in-person, the audience erupted in disbelief.
"…Her illusions have gotten even stronger."
Far away in the Hoenn region, Lucas watched the live stream and winced even before Drake did.
Paul's other Pokémon were powerful, but Froslass was the one he least wanted to face.
She wasn't overwhelmingly strong in raw power, but her illusions and that infuriating Destiny Bond, they were a nightmare.
Indeed, the moment she floated onto the field, Froslass vanished again without a trace.
Meanwhile, the Stealth Rock trap left behind by Aggron was triggered, jagged rocks burst forth and jabbed into Venusaur's side.
"Venusaur, Toxic!"
At Drake's command, the flower atop Venusaur's back flared with a deep violet glow. A cloud of thick, dark-purple poison sprayed into the air and exploded above the battlefield—Toxic Rain drizzled across the entire arena.
Anything still present on the field had to be hit by it.
And yet… nothing.
Not a single sign of contact.
Somewhere within the falling rain, Froslass' icy-blue eyes glowed faintly. Using Psychic, she effortlessly held the poisonous droplets at bay. Paired with her illusions, all traces of her presence were masked.
"Blizzard."
Paul's voice echoed across the field.
Froslass spread her arms. From behind her, a howling whiteout storm surged forward. The entire arena was transformed into a glacial wasteland, Venusaur now looked woefully small and out of place amid the swirling snow.
Still, Venusaur wasn't panicking. It planted its feet, and vines erupted from the earth, slashing through the storm in the direction the snow had come from.
Frenzy Plant!
The vines lashed out—fast, precise, and full of power!
But not only did they fail to land a hit… the storm intensified, changing direction and blasting Venusaur anew.
Unable to land a solid strike, Venusaur had no choice but to rely on Frenzy Plant and Power Whip to block the incoming blizzard, all while desperately scanning for its elusive opponent.
"Shadow Horde."
With Paul's next command, ghostly phantoms began to materialize all around Venusaur—crying, shrieking, taunting illusions.
In an instant, Venusaur felt its strength sapping away.
The storm it could endure. But this relentless spectral assault, that was a different matter entirely.
A single specialty move. A one-trick terror.
Froslass' Shadow Horde—a deadly synergy of illusions and debuffs was every trainer's worst nightmare.
Venusaur tried everything it could to defend and break through the trick. But it was no use.
Seeing his strategy fail, Drake made a decisive move.
"Come back, Venusaur."
A beam of red light shot from the Poké Ball, but before it could reach its target, it was intercepted by layers of ghostly shadows.
Return attempt failed.
"…What?"
Drake refused to give up. He tried again... and again.
Each time, the same result—Blocked.
Meanwhile, still surrounded by the spectral horde, Venusaur struggled—attacking, defending, resisting—but its power continued to drain.
And once its strength hit rock bottom—
The hardened vines shielding it from the snowstorm finally gave out, froze solid, and shattered like brittle glass.
Then came the storm.
"Sauu…"
Venusaur didn't even get the chance to cry out. With its special defense now in shambles, the moment the blizzard hit, it froze solid—encased in ice like a sculpture.
Then Froslass struck with Hex.
"Ka-chhhh~"
BOOM!
"Sauuuur!"
With a wail, Venusaur toppled sideways and collapsed.
Clearly unconscious.
"Venusaur is unable to battle! Froslass wins!"
As the referee delivered the result, Froslass' form slowly reappeared next to Paul—as though she had never moved from his side in the first place.
(End of Chapter)
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