A few seconds later, the hot wind in the air dissipated, and a completely blackened Togekiss fell from the sky.
"Thump~"
"Toge…"
Having been hit head-on by Volcarona's Heat Wave, Togekiss had lost its ability to battle.
"…Come back, Togekiss."
Seeing that even Togekiss had been defeated, Cynthia hesitated for a moment before taking out a PokeBall and recalling Togekiss.
Then—
"Since Flying-type isn't working, I'll use Water-type! Come out, Prinplup!"
"Prinplup~"
After recalling Togekiss, Cynthia sent out another Pokémon. With its blue body and somewhat vacant expression, it was an adorably goofy Prinplup.
"Oh, Prinplup. Hehe, I actually really like Prinplup at this stage of its evolution. It's so honest and cute. Since you've sent out Prinplup, alright then. Come back, Volcarona."
Seeing Cynthia send out Prinplup, a smile appeared on Liam's lips. He took out a PokeBall and recalled Volcarona.
But Cynthia immediately protested angrily when she saw what he was doing.
"Hey! Mr. Liam! We agreed beforehand that you weren't allowed to switch Pokémon! How can you cheat like that?! If you do that, it should count as Volcarona being eliminated! Hmph!"
Liam immediately laughed when he heard this.
"Hahaha, alright, alright. Then let's count Volcarona as eliminated. After three battles, Volcarona's stamina should already be pretty much exhausted anyway. It's time to let it come back and rest. How impressive, Cynthia! Your Prinplup defeated my Volcarona without even having to attack! You should be happy about that."
As he spoke, Liam casually switched the PokeBall in his hand.
"Prinplup ~"
After hearing Liam's praise, Prinplup immediately looked extremely proud. It planted its flippers on its hips, puffed out its round belly, and cried out proudly.
"…Prinplup, this really isn't something to be proud of."
Cynthia covered her face, looking completely helpless as she stared at her Prinplup.
"Haha, I told you Prinplup was cute. But I wonder how strong it actually is? Go, Empoleon! I choose you!"
"Empo!"
With a flash of white light, Empoleon's imposing body appeared in front of Prinplup.
"Prinplup!"
A terrifying-looking figure suddenly appearing in front of it—
Empoleon: ???
Prinplup immediately jumped in fright! Before it even had time to get a good look, it screamed and turned around, running toward Cynthia.
Then—
"Why are you running, you idiot?! Get out there and battle! Go, Prinplup! Use Peck!"
Just as Prinplup was about to reach Cynthia, she suddenly grabbed it by the head and held it in place. With a helpless expression, she then actually picked Prinplup up by the head, spun it around in the air once, and shouted as she hurled it toward Empoleon!
"Prinplup !!"
Thrown into the air, Prinplup's pointed beak quickly began glowing white. Taking advantage of the momentum from being thrown, Prinplup closed its eyes and shot toward Empoleon at high speed!
"Empoleon! Block it with Metal Claw!"
"Empo!"
The Prinplup that had been thrown back at him was moving incredibly fast! Liam didn't even have time to marvel at the girl's impressive arm strength before he gave Empoleon his command.
Hearing the command and seeing Prinplup already charging straight toward him, Empoleon—
Bang!
With a crisp smack, Empoleon's metallic claw slammed directly into Prinplup's face, distorting its entire expression as it sent the little Pokémon flying!
Thump!
Prinplup flew high into the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Prinplup !"
When Prinplup finally climbed back to its feet, it covered its freshly battered cheek with one flipper.
Then—
It plopped down on the spot and began bawling loudly!
"Empo… Empo…"
To be honest, this was the first time Liam had ever seen a Pokémon get beaten to tears in the middle of a battle.
He was certainly learning something new today.
At this moment, however, Cynthia angrily shouted at Empoleon.
"Hey! Empoleon! My Prinplup is a girl! How could you hit a girl in the face?! That's absolutely horrible! Prinplup! Stop crying! Let's show this bad guy what we're really capable of! Use Hydro Pump!"
"Prinplup!!"
Hearing the command, Prinplup used its flippers to wipe away its tears. It stood up with an angry expression, took a deep breath, and puffed out its cheeks.
The next instant, a powerful Hydro Pump burst from Prinplup's mouth!
Boom!
"Empo…"
The Hydro Pump struck Empoleon head-on. Empoleon raised both arms to block the force of the water, its body slowly being pushed backward.
It then turned around and looked at Liam with an utterly innocent expression.
"Uh… Empoleon, use Water Pledge."
"Empo!"
Not knowing what else to say at this point, Liam simply gave Empoleon an attack command.
And so—
The moment Empoleon heard the command, it let out a powerful roar and stomped one foot onto the ground.
Then—
BOOM!!
"Prinplup!!"
A powerful column of water shot directly upward from beneath Prinplup!
The tremendous force sent Prinplup flying high into the sky!
Thump!
With another heavy impact, Prinplup came crashing back down onto the ground.
Its head lolled to the side, and it fainted.
"Prinplup!!"
Seeing Prinplup defeated, Cynthia immediately covered her mouth and rushed over.
She picked Prinplup up and carefully checked it over. Only after confirming its condition did she take out a PokeBall and recall it.
"You worked hard, Prinplup. Get some good rest."
After recalling Prinplup, Cynthia was left with only her final Pokémon—Gible's evolved form, Gabite.
She lowered her head and silently returned to her position before releasing Gabite.
"Gaa~"
Just like its name suggested, Gabite had a mouth full of sharp teeth. The moment it appeared, it let out threatening growls at Empoleon, the sharp teeth in its mouth gleaming coldly.
"As expected, the last one is Gabite. In that case, naturally I'll have to bring out Garchomp too. Come back, Empoleon. And then—Garchomp!"
Seeing Gabite enter the battle, Liam recalled Empoleon and then sent out Garchomp.
"Gaa!"
"Gaaarr!"
The moment Garchomp appeared, Gabite immediately let out a battle cry at it, and Garchomp responded in kind.
Although Gabite and Garchomp had already become quite close after getting to know each other last night, a battle was a battle. There was no room for friendship on the battlefield now.
"Gabite, it's starting! Let's show our senior what we're capable of! Go, Gabite! Use Dragon Claw!"
"Gaa!"
At Cynthia's command, Gabite's two small claws quickly began glowing with a blue-purple light as draconic energy filled the air.
Then!
With its claws transformed into longer, sharper weapons, Gabite lowered its body, let out a low growl, and charged toward Garchomp!