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As soon as Hitmonlee fell asleep, Etorre stood up from his seat in the audience.
"You're not watching any more?" Mao asked, causing Ash and the others nearby to turn their heads.
Ettore glanced back and took one last look at the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Luther had recalled Darkrai and sent Azumarill back out, while Barry gritted his teeth and called Staraptor onto the field again.
"Skarmory, Heracross, and Roserade are unable to battle. Hitmonlee is asleep, and whether or not it can wake up is another matter. Staraptor is practically crippled. Empoleon is strong, but its Trainer is not up to the task. The winner has already been decided."
"I'm going out for a bit. I'll come back later."
With that, Etorre turned and left. Mao hurriedly grabbed her bag and chased after him.
"So, what's the real reason you're leaving?" Mao asked quietly after catching up with him.
"I'm changing my team lineup."
Mao's eyes widened in shock.
Etorre had already simulated countless possible line-ups in his mind for the battle with Dakota. Over the past two days, he had revised his team composition countless times before finally settling on one.
And now he wanted to change it at the last minute?
"Does it have something to do with Luther and Barry's battle?" Mao asked.
Etorre nodded.
"Luther's battle style made me realize something. At this stage of the tournament, everyone has already studied ways to counter Darkrai. Setting aside differences in Pokémon strength, their methods all have valuable points."
"Part of Barry's strategy against Darkrai was similar to what I had envisioned. But now it's obvious that my ideas weren't good enough. I need to make changes. My lineup still needs adjusting."
Mao looked at Etorre with concern. Although all of Etorre's Pokémon worked very well together, wouldn't suddenly changing the lineup throw him into confusion?
Unable to tell whether this was the right or wrong decision, Mao could only support him silently. At a time like this, the last thing she should do was cause him any more trouble.
Back inside the stadium, Staraptor had already fallen from the sky.
"Staraptor is unable to battle. Azumarill wins."
Staraptor's performance had been incredibly valiant. Despite being severely injured from battling Darkrai and having lost a lot of stamina, it had forced itself to launch a 'Brave Bird' attack against Azumarill.
Although Azumarill caught the attack head-on with both hands, demonstrating astonishing strength, the damage from Brave Bird still affected her.
Had Azumarill not ended the battle by blasting Staraptor in the face with Blizzard, Staraptor might have managed to use Close Combat for one final desperate attack amid Barry's shouting.
Regardless of his own strength, Barry's Pokémon showed a truly admirable fighting spirit.
Barry had nowhere left to retreat.
Four of his Pokémon had already fallen. Although Empoleon and Hitmonlee were technically still in fighting condition, Hitmonlee was practically eliminated by being asleep.
Not to mention that Luther's remaining Pokémon were all still in perfect condition.
Empoleon's mission was now to turn the battle around.
With Barry's determination behind it, it would fight with its back against the wall.
"Barry has already revealed Hydro Pump. In a battle between two Water-type Pokémon, Water-type moves won't be useful. This means that Empoleon's remaining three moves are extremely limited. Barry has to calculate very carefully; otherwise, the rest of the battle will be extremely unfavorable for him."
"Azumarill has already taken 'Spikes' damage twice and used Blizzard and Ice Beam, both of which are ineffective against Empoleon… So this battle will most likely become…"
Dawn's guess was correct.
Ignoring Azumarill completely, Empoleon began with a 'Swords Dance,' sharply increasing its Attack stat.
Meanwhile, Azumarill charged directly towards Empoleon.
The move it used was 'Brick Break.'
Given that Azumarill is renowned for its overwhelming physical strength, Empoleon would be at a massive disadvantage if it refused to use Swords Dance before clashing head-on.
Barry had already made up his mind.
He was going to be reckless until the very end and take things one step at a time!
'Brick Break' and Empoleon's 'steel wings' collided violently. Empoleon's strength was now evenly matched with Azumarill's after the boost from 'Swords Dance'.
Empoleon's 'Steel Wing' could potentially boost its Defence during clashes through sheer luck, but Barry had no intention of changing moves anymore.
He was going all in.
"If you've got the guts, Luther, then fight me to the very end."
"Interesting. If you want to brawl, then let's brawl."
The moment Luther spoke, Azumarill instantly knew what to do.
Although Empoleon's body was much larger, it still couldn't completely suppress Azumarill, even with its stamina and stat boosts.
Empoleon's Steel Wing almost slashed down onto Azumarill's head, but Azumarill used its longer tail to knock it aside.
You've got Steel Wing; I've got Iron Tail.
You like gambling on luck boosts? Then let's both take a risk and see who gets hurt more!"
"Use Metal Claw in alternation with Steel Wing. Use your size to wear down Azumarill's stamina... she's not your equal."
"Alternate Brick Break and Iron Tail. So what if it's bigger? Azumarill, you're still growing. If you win, I'll take you to a restaurant!"
The instant Luther mentioned 'still growing,' even the commentator was dumbfounded.
Does that really look like a Pokémon that's still growing?
'Your Azumarill is already a whole size category larger than average, and you're saying she's still growing? What are you planning to turn her into?'
A Dragonite-sized monster nicknamed "Big Fatty"?
At this point, there were no strategies or tactics left in the fight.
It was simply punch for punch.
And it was purely a contest of the Pokémon's willpower and raw strength.
Other than occasionally shouting out a move that relied on luck, there was almost nothing that Luther and Barry could do.
This was exactly the kind of situation described by the phrase:
Believe that your Pokémon can create miracles for you.
Azumarill's Iron Tail smashed viciously across Empoleon's face. However, by leaping up and exposing an opening, she was also struck by Empoleon's Steel Wing and sent flying.
Her round body bounced twice across the ground like a rubber ball. Then, Azumarill kicked off a rock with both feet and jumped straight back into close combat.
Even though Ice Beam was basically nothing more than a tickle against Empoleon, Luther still called it out.
After all, if both hands were busy using moves, the mouth shouldn't stay idle either.
Empoleon's Hydro Pump blasted Azumarill directly in the face. While her vision was blurred by the spray, Steel Wing hit Azumarill's stomach once again.
For the first time since the battle began, the two exhausted Pokémon finally separated, widening the distance between them.
They stared at each other, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Azumarill had fought magnificently.
If Luther switched her out now and sent Mismagius in, the battle could end at any moment.
However, Luther chose to recognize Azumarill's efforts.
This was her battle.
She deserved to finish it herself.
After assessing the remaining stamina of both Azumarill and Empoleon, Luther made the decision expected of a Pokémon Trainer.
"He's already out of stamina. Put everything into this attack... one strike to decide the winner. Use Brick Break."
Hearing the words 'decide the winner' made Barry grit his teeth.
"We'll use Metal Claw! Azumarill has even less stamina than you... Come on!"
Empoleon had already activated Torrent. When its stamina was low, the power of its Water-type moves increased dramatically.
Even though Hydro Pump's damage against Azumarill could practically be ignored, Empoleon still decided to combine both moves into a single assault.
Azumarill leaped high into the air.
Blue light gathered inside Empoleon's mouth as Hydro Pump charged up, while at the same time it spun its body and launched Metal Claw.
Brick Break and Metal Claw collided with a teeth-grinding screech.
At point-blank range, the charged Hydro Pump was aimed directly at Azumarill.
Luther's command would no longer reach her in time.
Acting purely on instinct, Azumarill slightly loosened the power behind Brick Break. Facing the descending Metal Claw, she neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, she turned around and used her back to take the hit.
Enduring the pain, she jumped upward. Just one second before Hydro Pump could fire…
Azumarill's Iron Tail slammed upward into Empoleon's jaw.
The Water-type energy gathered for Hydro Pump instantly collapsed. A violent explosion of mist erupted, instantly blasting both Empoleon and Azumarill apart.
Within the hazy water vapor, everyone temporarily lost sight of both Pokémon.
(End of Chapter)