Elite Four Tournament Finals, Round Two, Match One.
On the battlefield, Sato and Shuto's lead Pokémon entered the field.
Zoroark, Dark-type, High Elite Four level!
Mienshao, Fighting-type, High Elite Four level!
Type-wise, Shuto clearly had the advantage. After all, Sato had always been known for his Dark-types, making counter-strategies easy to prepare.
But who would come out on top? Only a real match could decide.
"Foresight!"
"Night Daze."
No wasted words, both Trainers issued their commands immediately.
Mienshao stood still, its peach-blossom-shaped eyes slightly glowing red. The world it saw had changed completely.
It could even see the ring of Ghost-type Pokémon hidden just outside the arena, set in place beforehand as a shield to protect the audience from the battle's fallout.
On the opposite side, a violent surge of energy swept in at lightning speed, obliterating everything in its path, leaving no trace of life.
It was none other than Zoroark's signature move, Night Daze!
But due to using Foresight, Mienshao had no time to dodge and was engulfed by the blast.
Heavy damage!
Yet Shuto remained perfectly calm. In fact, he felt it had been worth it.
Zoroark… the Master of Illusions!
'Hmph! Without Illusion, Zoroark was just a relatively strong assassin-type Pokémon.'
In the next moment, three indistinguishable Zoroark charged in from different angles, making Shuto hesitate in confusion.
Did they really think Mienshao's Foresight was just for show?
Or… was there another trick at play?
"Aura Sphere!"
"Shao-Shao!"
Mienshao moved with incredible speed, forming the Aura Sphere almost instantly.
Then… it paused.
With the combined detection of Foresight and Aura, it turned out… all three Zoroark were real!
As the three Zoroark rushed in, Mienshao closed its eyes and launched the Aura Sphere at the one on the left.
Whoosh~
The Aura Sphere practically screamed through the air and struck the leftmost Zoroark.
That Zoroark had charged too fast to dodge and took the hit head-on, causing an immediate explosion.
But in the next second, the other two Zoroark had already flanked Mienshao!
"Aerial Ace."
Swish~
Swish~
Both Zoroark glided in, shrouded in silver streaks of wind, and crossed past Mienshao from both sides.
This wasn't a Dark-type move. It was Flying-type, which dealt double damage to Mienshao.
Mienshao howled in pain, its whole body staggering backward.
"So…Something's wrong… Something is definitely wrong!"
Shuto muttered repeatedly, frowning deeper and deeper. From the very beginning, this battle had felt… off.
Meanwhile, the Zoroark that had been hit by Aura Sphere had already recovered and jumped back into the fray without hesitation.
Though Mienshao hadn't received new orders, it didn't panic.
With its vast combat experience, it used every ounce of its strength and agile melee style to fend off all three Zoroark at once!
"It blocked them all."
"It blocked them… all?"
"IT BLOCKED THEM ALL!!"
Shuto repeated the phrase three times, as if a light had finally gone on in his mind. Without hesitation, he shouted, "MIENSHAO, BOUNCE!"
"Shao!"
Mienshao didn't understand why, but followed the command immediately without question.
After brushing aside a Night Slash from one Zoroark, Mienshao bent its knees and launched itself more than ten meters into the air; its explosive strength on full display!
"Now's the moment! Mienshao, use Smelling Salts on yourself!"
"Mien…!"
In midair, Mienshao heard Shuto's command and couldn't help but flash a look of confusion, but still struck itself hard without hesitation!
SMACK! SMACK!
The next moment, Mienshao's vision shifted again!
It looked down and realized it could now easily distinguish the real Zoroark from the fake ones.
Only then did Mienshao realize, it hadn't been under an illusion. It had been under genuine Hypnosis!
The Zoroark species normally couldn't use Hypnosis, but Sato had once obtained a powerful item in the Hoenn Region…
The Hypnosis Pendulum!
Back then, Sato gave the Hypnosis Pendulum to Gengar to enhance its Hypnosis tactics.
But as Zoroark refined and optimized its Illusion-based strategies, Gengar gradually shifted focus toward developing Spatial energy.
In the end, under Sato's suggestion, the Hypnosis Pendulum was handed over to Zoroark, completing its Illusion tactics.
On top of that, the Miragewater Orb's effect allowed both of Zoroark's clones to possess offensive power.
Illusion + Hypnosis + Miragewater Orb, combined with its signature Night Daze as the opener… Zoroark's illusion strategy now had no weaknesses.
And Mienshao's only way to break the trap was to use Smelling Salts on itself to forcibly dispel the Hypnosis.
Down below, Zoroark had already formed a compressed [Night Daze Sphere], the dark-purple energy flashing ominously, condensed to the size of a baseball. Then, in an instant, it shot toward the descending Mienshao.
"AURA SPHERE, DETONATE IT!"
"Explode!"
Shuto and Sato shouted their commands at the same time, their intentions completely aligned.
Bzzzzzz…
…BOOOOM!
The arena lit up as bright as day, then plunged into complete darkness, black as pitch, not even a hand visible before one's face.
At the same time, a piercing hum rang out, as if eardrums were being torn apart by the explosion!
When the darkness faded and sunlight poured back over the arena…
Gale winds swirled toward the center of the battlefield; a pressure current formed by the obliteration of air following the [Night Daze Sphere's] detonation.
On the ground, Zoroark stood breathing slightly heavily, arms lowered. Across from it, Mienshao was covered in wounds, lying motionless.
"Mienshao is unable to battle. Zoroark wins. Trainer Shuto, please send out your next Pokémon!"
With that, Sato had claimed the first knockout!
A red beam shot across the field and recalled the battered Mienshao. Shuto rubbed the Poké Ball briefly, then slowly drew out another.
Bang!
With a flash of red light, a white monkey appeared, leaping and bouncing in place.
Slakoth's second evolution: Vigoroth!
The audience erupted into loud debate. No one expected to see a non-fully-evolved Pokémon appear in the finals of the Elite Four Tournament.
But once they confirmed Vigoroth's level, many were no longer surprised.
Elite Four… High level!
Compared to Slaking, the typical one-hit powerhouse, Vigoroth's base stats were significantly lower. But in flexibility and tactical versatility, it was far superior.
Not to mention its Ability, Vital Spirit, which grants natural immunity to all sleep-based moves.
If not for Zoroark's unexpected twist, Sato wouldn't even need to guess, this Vigoroth was clearly meant to counter Gengar.
But Sato had taken the initiative. There was no way he would give his opponent another opening!
'Hn…' "Night Daze."
"Roar!"
"..."
(_｀)???