"Cherrim, Sunny Day."
Natsuhiko said softly.
"Ying Treasure—"
Cherrim nodded, having already used this method to deal with the Hippopotas earlier, and was now quite familiar with using it against the other side again.
As a gentle warm sun burst out from Cherrim, the raging sandstorm around them began to calm down.
"Gigalith!!" The Gigalith stomped heavily on the ground, unleashing the technique "Sandstorm," kicking up the nearly disappearing storm once more.
"Ying Treasure!!" Cherrim puffed up its cheeks, maintaining a standoff with Gigalith.
The weather kept switching back and forth between Sunny Day and Sandstorm.
On the other side, after Cherrim had restrained Gigalith, it turned into a battle of four Pokémon against four Pokémon.
Beedrill and Doublade launched their attacks first, Holy Sword targeting the Heliolisk. Fighting-type techniques have an attribute advantage against the Electric and General-type Heliolisk, and the Steel-type Doublade doesn't have to worry about the sandstorm's effects.
Currently, as the only Special Attack Pokémon in Hoshino Ryosaki's team, Heliolisk posed the greatest threat to Doublade, while the remaining ones were all Physical Attack-type Pokémon, the ones Doublade feared the least.
But Heliolisk wasn't to be outdone, as surging electric currents were emitted from its small body, meeting Doublade's Holy Sword head-on.
Beedrill intercepted the Flygon that attempted to come to the rescue. As the trump cards of both teams, they had locked eyes earlier, and during a few simple probing collisions, Beedrill consciously controlled the battlefield positioning.
Gliscor also tried to join the battle but was intercepted by a Water Fluctuation thrown at it, as the little eyes of the Togetic, hands on hips, had locked onto it.
Quagsire, being closest to Heliolisk, immediately provided support, spurting a mouthful of murky water aimed directly at Doublade.
As long as Doublade dared to attack Heliolisk without defense, even if it hit Doublade, it would face Quagsire's Turbulent Flow and Heliolisk's 100,000 Volts.
Such an exchange would not be a loss for Hoshino Ryosaki's side.
However, all of their four Pokémon were on the field, while Natsuhiko's core, Yujira, hadn't yet shown its effect!
The core doesn't entirely represent output.
In this sudden moment.
Beedrill, in a battle against Flygon, stirred up an air current with its wings and spun its body at high speed, using the "Shield of Retribution" not used in a long time.
Within less than a second, an invisible superpower enveloped both Beedrill and Doublade, instantly swapping the positions of the two Pokémon.
Exchange Arena!
As a result of the swap, the fully formed Shield of Retribution of Beedrill successfully intercepted Quagsire's Turbulent Flow and Heliolisk's 100,000 Volts, because with Beedrill's deliberate repositioning earlier, the location Doublade appeared after the exchange was just right behind Heliolisk.
Continuous Slash plus Holy Sword!
Bam!!
The enormous blue phantom of a sword, carrying the power brought by the combination of Continuous Slash and Holy Sword techniques, crashed onto Heliolisk's back, slamming it directly into the ground just after it released 100,000 Volts, unable to react.
The second sword followed closely.
Boom!!!
Then came the third sword!
By this time, Flygon, realizing its opponent had been swapped, saw its companion Heliolisk being attacked, became furious, and the purple flames in its tightly clenched jaw were ready to explode.
The third sword didn't strike down, but it was enough.
Yujira's eyes flashed again, continuing to use the Exchange Arena, but this time the targets were Togetic and Doublade.
"Roar!!!"
Dark purple Dragon's Fluctuation spewed from Flygon's mouth. Although not its forte, its Special Attack wasn't weak, and the Special Attack-based Dragon's Fluctuation would deal significant damage to the Special Defense-deficient Doublade.
However, the one to receive its Dragon's Fluctuation baptism was Togetic.
Under Dracoflame's impact, Togetic remained unfazed.
If it were a Physical Attack-based Dragon-type technique, Togetic might try to dodge, but a Special Attack-based Dragon-type technique....
Sorry, try hitting harder.
"Oh?"
'Didn't eat your meal?'
Togetic initiated a manmade "Taunt" once again.
"How could this be?!"
The most surprised by this scene was undoubtedly Hoshino Ryosaki, who couldn't believe that Flygon's Dragon's Fluctuation failed to inflict any damage on Togetic.
Cheating?
However, the battle continued.
Doublade, having swapped positions with Togetic, now faced Drapion.
After ending the Shield of Retribution, Beedrill successfully blocked the attacks from Turbulent Flow and 100,000 Volts.
Quagsire's slow speed and its role as a pure defensive player and tank posed no threat to the speed-focused Beedrill, while the Heliolisk that had released 100,000 Volts still lay pinned down by Doublade's dual sword strike, unable to recover.
Buzz—
Beedrill's wings vibrated as it charged toward Heliolisk.
Thunk-thunk-thunk—
Quagsire's advancing steps were intercepted by Yujira's Spirit Blade.
Natsuhiko glanced at Hoshino Ryosaki, who was still immersed in shock over Flygon's Dragon's Fluctuation being nullified by Togetic's "body," and decided to give him an extra dose of excitement.
Suddenly, a brilliant multicolored aura burst forth from the clenched hand, doing the same with Beedrill in flight.
"Mega Evolution!"
Mega Evolution shouldn't be exposed to others.
Unless it's to a dead person.
By using this technique, Natsuhiko expressed his determination.
Today, he was bound to bury him!
Otherwise, his future days would not be prosperous.
"What is this?! Beedrill can evolve again?!"
Hoshino Ryosaki's worldview was once again shattered.
Today, not only did he witness a Togetic immune to Flygon's Dragon's Fluctuation, but also Beedrill evolving for the third time.
During its flight, the Super Beedrill completed its evolution in an instant. Having undergone Mega Evolution several times, Beedrill was very familiar with its current state, its mechanized electric dual wings vibrating sharply as its speed surged, aiming an immediate Deadly Needle Stab at Heliolisk just as it struggled to stand up.
Triggering the Adaptability trait of the Deadly Needle Stab, it successfully finished off Heliolisk.
Hence, Hoshino Ryosaki's second Pokémon was defeated.
This is the core manifestation of the control effect.
What? Yujira didn't have much effect?
That's short-sighted.
Its Exchange Arena connected the entire field.
Victories followed one after another.
Togetic, unfazed by the Dragon's Fluctuation from Flygon, simply ignored it and used a Magic Leaf against Quagsire on the ground.
Quagsire, being a Water and Ground-type Pokémon, indeed has its qualities, but its sole weakness is a fourfold vulnerability to Grass.
After Togetic boosted itself with a trick, the Magic Leaf inflicted enormous damage on Quagsire and fortunately triggered the Additional Effect of the Sharp Fang, leaving it in a Wither state.
Already confronting Quagsire and also overseeing the entire field, Yujira wouldn't let this opportunity slip.
Although Yujira is the core of control, it also doubled as a Special Attack output.
After all, in the boost of a Psychic Arena, Curved Spoon, Life Treasure Pearl, and meditation, dealing with Quagsire, not known for a remarkable Special Defense and without the Sandstorm Weather's Special Defense boost that Rock-type Pokémon enjoy, was effortless.
With a series of Spirit Blades, the finisher was executed.
The battlefield was ever-changing, and in just a few breaths, Hoshino Ryosaki's prized Sandstorm Team had been thoroughly dismantled by Natsuhiko's few Pokémon combined efforts in an instant.
Yujira's Psychic Arena and Exchange Arena controlled the scene, Togetic's control and immunity to Dragon-type techniques, Doublade's excellent Physical Defense and increasingly adept use of the Continuous Slash and Holy Sword combination technique, and finally, the Mega-evolved Beedrill.
Overwhelming!
It truly was overwhelming, like an unstoppable force; before Hoshino Ryosaki could even react, the battle was nearly over.