Trick Room took effect instantly, turning Dragonite's Extreme Speed into a crawl. The sudden deceleration almost made it throw up its breakfast.
Fortunately, Dragonite's physical resilience was strong enough. After adapting, it switched from offense to defense and rationally stopped using Extreme Speed.
"Moonblast."
To deal with a Dragon-type, of course you use sparkly energy. Gardevoir and Sato had the exact same thought, attack and command came out almost simultaneously.
A phantom moon inverted overhead, and pink energy gathered into a massive sphere before firing a lightning-fast beam.
"Steel Wing!"
"Draa…~"
Dragonite let out a soft cry, not the least bit flustered by the incoming Moonblast.
Silvery metallic light coated its tiny wings. Then, with a flick of its large tail, it spun rapidly in place.
In the blink of an eye, Steel Wing had transformed into a metallic Barrier, effortlessly blocking the full force of Moonblast.
What's more, Dragonite kept spinning madly as it closed the distance toward Gardevoir.
"Voir!"
This time, Gardevoir didn't back down. Her eyes flickered with deep purple light as powerful Psychic energy exploded toward the oncoming Dragonite.
"D-DRAAA!!!"
Psychic hit, and Dragonite's spinning came to a halt. The powerful mental force bored into its mind, forcing a pained scream from its throat.
Compared to the occasional Dark-type moves Gardevoir used, Psychic had always been her deeply honed primary type.
Even Sato had never known the full extent of Gardevoir's Psychic strength.
'So this time… just how much was she truly unleashing?'
"Dragonite, Brutal Swing!"
"D-Draa!"
Hearing Lance's command, Dragonite responded immediately, even through the piercing headache.
Protected by its Inner Focus ability, the pain never once dulled its courage.
Dark energy shimmered over its body, a thin layer that blocked further intrusion from Psychic. Then, all the Dark-type energy converged on Dragonite's tail, extending outward over ten meters.
And then… snap!
A crisp whip-crack echoed across the stadium. Everyone instinctively looked toward Gardevoir!
…Only to find she was no longer in her original position.
Knocked away?
Just as confusion took hold, Dragonite let out a cry of pain once again.
On the far side of the field, Gardevoir had fired off another Psychic, continuing to make Dragonite suffer.
After several exchanges, it seemed Gardevoir could predict Dragonite's every move.
Trick Room had crippled Dragonite's Speed, the timing of Psychic was flawless, and even Teleporting to dodge Brutal Swing looked effortless.
Then, just as Brutal Swing faded, another Psychic came crashing in!
'This was supposed to be Elite Four Lance's "ace" Dragonite?
Wasn't it just… way too underwhelming?'
"SWAGGER!"
Lance gave the next command, and Dragonite continued to follow orders without hesitation, howling and jeering at Gardevoir.
But Gardevoir simply stared quietly at Dragonite, without the slightest hint of anger.
With her unparalleled mental strength, Gardevoir was basically immune to status moves like Swagger, Captivate, and Taunt from opponents of equal level.
"Roost!"
Lance still pressed on, showing no concern that Swagger had failed to work.
He even had Dragonite willingly give up its Speed advantage to land on the ground and use Roost to restore its stamina.
Sato stared intently at the battlefield. He had already figured out what Lance was planning… he was clearly buying time.
The goal was to wait for Trick Room to expire, then launch a full-on assault.
But Trick Room wasn't a one-time move. Once it expired, they could just cast it again. If all Lance was doing was stalling, it couldn't possibly break this domain move.
And that, Sato knew Lance had to understand. So there was definitely more to his plan!
What critical detail was Sato missing…?
His brain was working at top speed, but before he could come up with a reasonable answer, Trick Room had already expired.
Sato hardened his heart. Even though he knew it wouldn't be that simple, he still commanded Gardevoir to use Trick Room again.
With Dragonite now fully capable of keeping up with Gardevoir's Teleport thanks to Extreme Speed…
Without Trick Room, Gardevoir would eventually be caught, and victory would be impossible.
The cube-shaped Trick Room once again enveloped the entire battlefield, seamlessly following up the previous one.
But at that moment, a smirk tugged at Lance's lips as he softly gave a command: "Dragonite, use Mimic."
"Draa~Gon!"
A red flash flickered in Dragonite's eyes, and the cube-shaped Trick Room flickered once again.
Under the effect of Mimic, the two instances of Trick Room canceled each other out… meaning Dragonite was no longer affected.
"EXTREME SPEED, DRAGON CLAW!"
Lance's command came through again. Dragonite flapped its wings fiercely, accelerating in place, and in nearly an instant, appeared right in front of Gardevoir.
"Substitute! Teleport!"
In this crucial moment, Sato could only prioritize Gardevoir's survival and use Teleport to widen the gap.
Trick Room had been Mimicked. For a short time, Dragonite could directly override Gardevoir's Trick Room.
In other words, that move was now effectively disabled in this match!
On the battlefield, Gardevoir's Substitute had just been cast, but Dragonite in Extreme Speed mode immediately slashed it apart with a single claw.
Fortunately, that brief half-second was already enough for Gardevoir to use Teleport.
Seeing Gardevoir escape the spot, Dragonite didn't show a hint of discouragement.
It turned and scanned the entire field. Detecting a clear energy fluctuation at the 11 o'clock position, it maintained Extreme Speed and blinked toward the spot where Gardevoir was about to appear.
A white flash, and Gardevoir found herself awkwardly face-to-face with Dragonite.
That dopey look, those big adorable eyes… in that moment, they felt like the most lethal kind of mockery.
'Go ahead and blink~ I dare you to believe I won't catch you every time!'
Gardevoir was infuriated, but helpless. In this small arena, even Teleport had its limits. For Dragonite, surpassing that threshold wasn't difficult.
And as Dragon Claw once again came slashing in, Gardevoir could only close her eyes in resignation…
Sure, she could stall a little longer with moves like Protect and Substitute. But that clearly wasn't her style.
Memento!
The next second, Dragon Claw landed, sending Gardevoir crashing to the ground, where she promptly lost the ability to battle.
But a gray, shadowy energy suddenly surged out from Gardevoir's body and shot straight into Dragonite.
At once, Dragonite's overwhelming aura collapsed into weakness, a heavy fatigue smothering its entire body.
Memento: sacrificing oneself to drastically lower the opponent's Attack and Special Attack!
A red light flashed. Sato gently recalled Gardevoir.
"I'll leave the rest to Zoroark… This battle's victory belongs to us!"
He spoke softly to Gardevoir's Poké Ball, then without delay, threw out Zoroark's.
"Zoroark, use Taunt."