Roar: forces the opponent to switch out and sends out another backup Pokémon at random. Sato had no say in who would appear next.
Red light flashed repeatedly. After Zoroark was forcibly withdrawn, a bewildered Ariados appeared on the field.
"Ari…? DOOOOS!"
Ariados quickly came to its senses and immediately let out an "intimidating" cry, but it clearly had no effect on Vigoroth.
The next instant, Shuto and Sato shouted their commands almost simultaneously.
"Vigoroth, Focus Energy and Slash!"
"Ariados, Swords Dance, Cross Poison."
At the Elite Four level, support moves like Swords Dance and Focus Energy could be instantly fused with attack moves and activated simultaneously.
But the fact that both Vigoroth and Ariados chose to brute-force it confused many onlookers.
Wasn't Ariados supposed to be a poison specialist?
Why engage in close combat on purpose?
Was it holding back, or a mistake?
Soon, all their doubts vanished.
Cross Poison and Focus Energy-powered Slash collided directly, and a powerful shockwave burst forth from the center of the clash, spreading rapidly outward.
But before even two seconds of stalemate passed, Ariados had forcefully overpowered Vigoroth with sheer strength.
Ariados… overpowered Vigoroth?
For a brief moment, everyone doubted their own eyes.
But Ariados didn't care what the crowd thought. It pinned Vigoroth's hands down with its two front legs, while the spider limbs on its back swung into position with uncanny flexibility.
Splat~
Toxic was sprayed directly onto Vigoroth's face. In desperation, Vigoroth could only shut its eyes and hold its breath as the poison drenched it completely.
Poisoning was inevitable!
"Venoshock."
"Facade!"
The commands rang out again, and both Pokémon reacted swiftly.
Ariados's spider limbs stayed in place as it unleashed another powerful stream of poison.
At this point, Vigoroth was already Poisoned, so Venoshock's damage was doubled.
But Facade also doubles in power when poisoned, and with the STAB boost, it was now on par with Giga Impact, and even stronger than Venoshock.
And it had no side effects!
With that surge of strength, Vigoroth finally turned the tide, even slamming Ariados away with force.
"DOOOS!"
That blow left Ariados badly hurt, but halfway through its backward flight, it recovered, spraying sticky webbing across a large portion of the battlefield to cushion the fall and prevent additional damage.
Vigoroth was in even worse shape now. Its body constantly made "splat… splat…" sounds, clearly the result of intense corrosion from the poison.
Just hearing it was enough to make one wince in pain!
"Venoshock."
"CHARGE IN, FACADE!"
By now, the fight had gotten serious. The fast pace of the battle left both sides with no time to change tactics.
But truthfully, neither Shuto nor Sato had any intention of changing tactics yet.
Having absorbed the Draconpoison Husk, Ariados no longer suffered from the frailty typical of Bug-types. It had no fear of direct confrontation.
And Shuto wasn't in a hurry, precisely because Vigoroth still had hidden aces up its sleeve-claws.
Every one of Ariados's attacks seemed to deal significant damage to Vigoroth, but that was only on the surface. It just looked worse than it actually was.
Aside from the ever-present poisoning, Vigoroth wasn't actually badly injured.
Because it was carrying a rare item…
Eviolite: when held by a non-fully-evolved Pokémon, it greatly boosts both Defense and Special Defense.
---◓---
"…Again, Facade!"
"Venoshock, keep going."
The interval between this third clash was noticeably longer, and both Sato and Shuto wore slightly grim expressions.
'Why hasn't Ariados/Vigoroth gone down yet!' x2
Very quickly, Sato figured out the likely reason. Eviolite was his top suspect.
And Shuto had researched Sato's lineup before the match, so he had already anticipated Ariados's exceptional endurance.
But now… it seemed he had underestimated it!
"…Venoshock."
"Facade!"
Old tricks can still work! Same moves, same direct clash.
Only this time, both Pokémon, going all out, had reached their limits.
Ariados had been building up power for a while, but still couldn't spit out even a single drop of poison.
Vigoroth staggered forward toward Ariados, but the poison suddenly flared up, draining every last bit of its stamina!
Flash!
"Vigoroth is unable to battle. Ariados wins. Trainer Shuto, please send out your next Pokémon!"
Even after forcing a switch with Roar, Vigoroth still lost.
But if not for the need to counter Gengar, Shuto most likely wouldn't have sent Vigoroth into this match.
Unfortunately, Gengar hadn't even touch the field yet, and Vigoroth had already gone down early.
The battlefield never develops according to anyone's wishes.
A flash of red light, and Shuto decisively recalled the fallen Vigoroth. Without any hesitation, he immediately sent out his next Pokémon.
"Lopunny, Quick Attack!"
The moment the Poké Ball was thrown, Shuto's command followed instantly.
Sato silently muttered 'not good' and barely had time to use synchronized resonance to transmit one instruction to Ariados.
At the same time, the flickering red light gradually formed into a cute brown bunny, unmistakably the Sinnoh-native Pokémon, Lopunny.
Before it had even fully "materialized," it had already transformed into a streak of Quick Attack, slamming fiercely into Ariados.
Smack…
BOOOM!
Two sharp sounds rang out in quick succession, accompanied by Ariados being launched and crashing to the ground.
And… a purple orb suspended in midair.
Pop~
The purple orb suddenly burst, and a massive downpour of poison rained down over half of Shuto's side of the battlefield.
The move: Toxic Spikes, it poisons opposing Pokémon that enter the battlefield!
At the very last moment, Ariados had squeezed out a tiny bit of recovered poison to cast Toxic Spikes, giving its teammates a clear path forward.
Flash!
"Ariados is unable to battle. Trainer Sato, please send out your next Pokémon!"
"Good work… leave the rest to the others now."
Sato recalled Ariados and gently spoke to the Poké Ball. Then, without any hesitation, he threw out the next one.
"Gardevoir, it's your turn!"
"Gar~"
Red light flashed, and the Psychic Queen in her black dress made her entrance. Her blood-red eyes, rather than looking sinister, radiated a "cold and majestic" air of solitude.
And Gardevoir's level left the crowd deeply stunned…
Peak Elite Four!
Then they looked again at the adorable, bashful Lopunny~
Many suddenly realized a hard truth…
In front of a queen, cuteness is worthless!