"Sandile, continue the assault, use Fire Fang!"
Upon hearing this, Sandile's eyes began to glow crimson, barely able to contain its desire to attack.
"In that case, we'll use Ice Fang." The purple-gowned woman commanded once more.
Froslass waved its hand, and an icy tooth-shaped phantom immediately materialized before it, radiating bone-chilling cold.
Sandile opened its jaws wide, a spark flashed, instantly spreading throughout its entire mouth as it charged directly toward the incoming Ice Fang phantom.
Wrapped in Fire-type energy and powerful physical force, they collided with a thunderous impact.
Sandile was knocked back several steps. The level gap between them was still significant, and the opponent also had the Ice-type advantage.
Sieg immediately changed tactics, commanding: "Use Rock Slide!"
Rock-type moves were equally as effective against Froslass.
"Froslass, Double Team."
The purple-gowned woman showed no panic at Sieg's offensive, continuing to command with perfect composure.
Sieg's sharp eyes instantly scanned the several copies on the field. Logically, creating so many copies should have reduced their realism considerably.
But as Sieg observed the identical copies, he couldn't distinguish which one was the real body.
Because whether it was their movements or their expressions, they were all incredibly realistic.
"Its Double Team proficiency is this high?" A rare look of surprise appeared in Sieg's eyes.
Several Froslass simultaneously charged toward Sandile, milky-white energy appearing above their heads.
Headbutt.
Sieg naturally wasn't afraid of this kind of direct close-combat clash, this was precisely Sandile's forte.
"Sandile, Focus Energy then use Stomp!"
First completing a quick boost, Sandile then leaped up swiftly and fell toward the ground, stomping down hard.
The ground cracked slightly.
The area-of-effect attack immediately affected all the copies, naturally hitting the one real body among them.
"Perfect opportunity, use Fire Fang to follow up!"
Sandile quickly adjusted its body position. After all, reptilian movements were still quite clumsy.
Its short tail quickly whipped the ground, its two front claws rapidly crawling forward, flames instantly igniting in its mouth.
"Krokorok!"
Sandile's innate combative nature, combined with the battle awareness forged between life and death, instantly erupted.
A series of relentless attacks immediately forced Froslass into a continuous retreat, especially Dark-type moves like Bite, Assurance, and Swagger, skills that countered it were used in succession.
"Froslass, Protect, then use Confuse Ray."
The purple-gowned woman's eyebrows trembled slightly. She glanced at Sieg with some surprise, not expecting this young man's commanding ability to be so strong, a flash of amazement crossing her mind.
Froslass waved its skirt, instantly generating a green protective barrier that blocked Sandile's Rock Slide attack.
Simultaneously, its other hand waved the skirt again, and a small orb glowing with strange light instantly struck Sandile.
Sandile fell into a confused state.
This emotion-disrupting technique undoubtedly further stimulated Sandile's emotions. Its claws continuously scraped against the ground, making harsh "screech, screech" sounds.
At the same time, its pitch-black eyes radiated a crimson murderous intent.
"Froslass, Ice Beam."
Froslass was breathing somewhat heavily, instantly gathering a large amount of Ice-type in front of it.
Whether it was due to severe injuries earlier or lack of stamina, it took a full three seconds to fire the ice-blue beam.
Sandile was hit directly by this attack. In its confused state, it was completely unable to execute correct commands and could only helplessly take the beating.
Sieg frowned slightly and shouted: "Sandile, use Hidden Power!"
After Sandile had used the TM earlier, Sieg had tested what type its Hidden Power was, discovering it was the extremely rare Dragon-type.
"Froslass, use Ice Beam at maximum power!"
Purple energy waves clashed with the ice-blue beam.
Both were nearly at the end of their stamina. This final strike would directly decide the victor.
A small explosion erupted on the field, drawing the attention of many nearby customers who were eating, all focusing intently on the final outcome of this match.
The haze slowly dispersed, and the two Pokémon faced each other from a distance.
Sandile couldn't hold on, its four limbs suddenly collapsed to the ground, its eyes forming spirals as it fainted.
And Froslass? It also fell to the ground, but was still barely gasping for breath, as a red headband phantom slowly materialized behind it.
"Focus Band."
Sieg muttered unconsciously.
What should have been a draw was tipped in the purple-gowned woman's favor by a single held item, allowing her to barely win the match.
Sieg laughed ruefully, recalling Sandile into its Poké Ball and handing it to a nearby medical staff member.
"Excuse me, sir, please pay for your meal and this lady's meal, as well as the medical fees and field repair costs."
A staff member wearing an apron quickly jogged over with a cunning smile.
Sieg looked at the bill totaling a full 10,000 Pokédollars, his face instantly darkening, his mouth twitching slightly.
He knew that even the luxurious feast he'd ordered didn't exceed 1,000 Pokédollars, and the woman he'd battled had only ordered a bowl of mixed noodles.
The remaining 8,000-plus Pokédollars were entirely medical and field repair fees.
Sieg strongly suspected that this Food Court didn't really make money from selling food at all. The real profit came from these battles, earning extra income through what was essentially extortion.
Sieg paid expressionlessly, clearly in a foul mood.
Not only because he'd lost the battle by a narrow margin, but also because of this predatory business practice.
Returning to his table nearby, Sieg was surprised to discover that the blonde woman in the purple gown who had just battled him was actually seated at the adjacent table.
Moreover, she was rapidly demolishing the mixed noodles on her table, appearing to be sweating profusely from eating.
A stark contrast to her earlier image as a cool, classical beauty.
Sieg sat nearby quietly waiting for his meal. In less than a minute, a table full of luxurious dishes arrived.
Smoked sausages, mixed ramen, vegetable platter.
The woman next to him looked at this abundant food and couldn't help swallowing. Sieg smiled and said: "Please, help yourself. After all, you did just beat me."
Perhaps because of the earlier battle, the distance between them had closed somewhat. The woman didn't stand on ceremony.
"Actually, your commands and your battle sense are pretty good, you just lacked a good held item."
The purple-gowned woman offered some commentary on the earlier battle.
Sieg nodded in agreement.
But this wasn't really the main reason. More than anything, it was the level difference.
"In my view, only by using held items in coordinated combat can a Pokémon's maximum potential be unleashed!"
The purple-gowned woman brushed her shoulder-length golden hair, quite elegantly wiping her mouth with a napkin.
Sieg felt like this phrase was somehow familiar.
But before he could think about it further, the woman received a phone call and, without even finishing the food she'd been so delighted with moments ago, hurriedly left.
"Thank you, young man. Thanks for treating me to this meal. I'll remember you~" The woman left after this mysterious parting comment.
Sieg shook his head and could only helplessly finish the entire table of delicious food. After all, waste is shameful.