The entire arena immediately fell into deathly silence.
No one had expected the battle to end like this.
Just when everyone believed Daisuke was finally about to recover a point, Denjiro unexpectedly secured another victory.
That final Hyper Beam had caught everyone completely by surprise.
In a single instant, it had decided the battle and reversed the entire situation.
The spectators remained silent for several moments.
Then the arena erupted with thunderous cheers and applause.
Damn!
What a rush!
This match was incredible!
The situation kept reversing again and again.
Every spectator had been kept on edge.
Until the final moment, no one had known who the victor would be.
They could only say that attending today's match had been completely worthwhile.
On the battlefield, Daisuke's expression was extremely grim.
His face had become almost completely dark.
He had calculated nearly every detail of the previous exchange.
Victory had already been within reach.
Who could have imagined that a single Hyper Beam would completely overturn everything at the final moment?
Daisuke felt deeply frustrated.
Could everything he had done have been part of his opponent's plan?
If that were truly the case, the opponent standing before him would be terrifying beyond belief.
The mere thought made cold sweat break out across Daisuke's body.
He raised his head and stared fixedly at Denjiro.
However, after noticing the stunned and astonished expression on Denjiro's face, Daisuke finally understood.
Apparently, Denjiro had not planned everything in advance either.
That final Hyper Beam had merely been Milotic's instinctive reaction when pushed to its limit.
Realizing this, Daisuke released a breath of relief.
That was manageable.
He still had a chance.
Had everything truly been designed by Denjiro, Daisuke would have been completely outplayed from beginning to end.
A tactical difference of that magnitude could not be overcome.
There would have been no point in continuing the battle.
Now, however, it appeared that Denjiro's abilities were roughly equal to his own.
That gave Daisuke the confidence to continue.
However, confidence alone did not guarantee victory.
Whether he could actually win remained uncertain.
Even if he did not wish to admit it, the scales of the match had already tilted toward Denjiro.
Rain continued falling from the sky.
Daisuke silently recalled Gardevoir.
He then sent out his next Pokémon.
"Go! Golduck!"
Among the three Pokémon he had left, Golduck was the best choice for the wet and muddy battlefield.
"In that case, I'm counting on you! Roserade!"
Denjiro also sent out a new Pokémon.
He had keenly noticed that Milotic appeared to have suffered some damage from the extreme cold.
By recalling it and allowing it to rest, Milotic's powerful recuperative ability might enable it to recover from the condition on its own.
"The first move is mine! Golduck, use Psychic!"
Golduck's eyes began to glow.
In the next instant, Roserade felt an intense sensation of discomfort.
Golduck attempted to lift Roserade directly into the air with its psychic power.
However, Roserade remained completely motionless.
Daisuke immediately realized that it had already used Ingrain!
Hah!
Denjiro had prepared thoroughly against Psychic-type attacks.
Daisuke immediately changed his approach.
Instead of lifting Roserade, Golduck began pressing it forcefully against the ground.
Roserade endured the crushing pressure.
It then created a large number of Magical Leaves in front of its body and launched them toward Golduck.
Golduck diverted part of its psychic power to alter the leaves' trajectories.
However, its keen intuition and perception suddenly alerted it to several Magical Leaves approaching from behind.
Golduck easily leaped into the air and calmly avoided them.
"Heh! That technique you learned from your Bellossom really doesn't work against Golduck."
"In that case, use Energy Ball!"
Denjiro chuckled, appearing remarkably relaxed.
Roserade raised both arms and began firing Energy Balls in rapid succession.
Daisuke clearly understood the situation.
Because Roserade had used Ingrain, it possessed a continuous source of stamina.
It could remain stationary and function like an enormous artillery battery.
However, was Denjiro not underestimating him slightly too much?
"Psybeam!"
The jewel on Golduck's forehead began to glow.
It fired an intense purple beam.
However, Roserade had already anticipated the attack.
It immediately launched an Energy Ball toward the purple beam.
The Energy Ball collided with Psybeam and exploded.
"Even Psybeam isn't fast enough?"
Daisuke murmured.
He immediately realized that Denjiro's Roserade would be extremely troublesome to defeat.
"Use Flash!"
The jewel on Golduck's forehead suddenly released a burst of dazzling light.
Daisuke raised one hand above his eyes and narrowed them against the glare.
His main objective was to see how Roserade would respond.
With the battlefield covered in rainwater, Daisuke had many different tactics available.
When Roserade failed to react, Daisuke could no longer remain patient.
He immediately began attacking.
"Go! Ice Beam!"
Golduck slid forward through the muddy water beneath its feet.
In a single burst of speed, it closed the distance between itself and Roserade.
Daisuke had chosen not to use a Fighting-type move.
Aside from Fighting-type attacks being relatively ineffective against Roserade, Roserade also possessed the Poison Point Ability.
Engaging it in close combat carried a significant risk of Golduck becoming poisoned.
At such close range, however, even the fastest opponent would struggle to avoid Ice Beam.
Denjiro had naturally understood Daisuke's intentions from the beginning.
"They've taken the bait! Go, Roserade!"
Denjiro chuckled.
His gaze suddenly became sharp.
Numerous vines erupted from the ground in an instant.
They were not limited to the area directly surrounding Roserade.
Vines appeared throughout the entire section of the battlefield and rapidly grew to an astonishing height.
Golduck prepared to leap away.
However, a vine suddenly wrapped around its foot.
Fortunately, even under these circumstances, Golduck still managed to unleash Ice Beam.
Its target was not Roserade.
It aimed directly at the battlefield beneath them.
The entire ground immediately froze solid.
Roserade's feet, the roots it had planted underground, and all the water covering the battlefield were frozen at once.
Frost then began rapidly spreading up Roserade's body.
Judging from the situation, both Trainers had successfully anticipated and countered the other's strategy.
(End of Chapter)
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