Lucian shouldn't be without a strategy; Cynthia's Spiritomb is practically one of her signature Pokémon, and with Girafarig, a Normal and Psychic Ability type Pokémon, coming out unable to even use its own type's Move, what was Lucian's purpose in leading with Girafarig?
Girafarig's Luck was pretty good, though; despite hurting itself in confusion on the Rock Type venue, Spiritomb's Dark Pulse couldn't effectively predict Girafarig's erratic, chaotic movements and kept missing.
Luther felt that if he were Lucian, he'd immediately switch out now, relieving Girafarig's confusion and stabilizing his Battle Rhythm on the field.
In fact, that's exactly what Lucian did; the Poké Ball retrieving Girafarig hit its mark with precision, and Spiritomb's bombardment of Girafarig ceased as well.
Lucian's second Pokémon was the same one that Espeon Luther had seen before.
"Espeon, the Sun Pokémon; originally it had no Ability, but it's said to have awakened its foresight Ability to protect itself; it can use its fine, short body hair to sense air currents, predicting its opponent's actions and Weather."
Mai held her Pokédex, looking at Espeon's description, then glanced at her own Eevee.
"What do you think about evolving into Espeon? It's pretty cute, huh?" Mai said with a smile, placing the Pokédex in front of Eevee.
Mai's words resonated with Luther, but Eevee's Evolution was a tough choice; strictly speaking, every form was pretty great. He wondered if this world had something like the infinite-use Evolution Stone Ash found in the special episodes.
Luther decided to tell Mai after the match that the Kalos Region had a Fairy Eevee Evolution form, so she didn't need to decide so soon.
Espeon's appearance still left Luther puzzled; was Lucian dead-set on saving Bronzong for last?
Bronzong's Move coverage was broad— Ground, Rock Type, Steel Type— though it didn't counter Spiritomb, it at least had Moves it could use.
Espeon was different; it was a pure Psychic Ability type.
Its move pool was limited to Psychic Ability-type and Normal Type Moves; though Luther had heard that in this world, some powerful Trainers could teach their Pokémon Moves they couldn't normally learn, what Move could give Lucian such confidence?
"Psychic!"
Lucian's command stunned Luther— not just Luther, but Mai beside him was equally baffled.
The commentator shouted in confusion, "Lucian gave Espeon the Psychic Move command, but this is an ineffective Move against the Ghost Type and Dark Type Spiritomb; what's the deeper meaning behind this instruction?"
Luther noticed that whether it was Lucian or Cynthia, once they called out a Move, their Pokémon would instinctively start seeking an optimal attack position on the field, unlike his own Pokémon, which would just stand there dumbly waiting for specific instructions after he shouted a Move.
This kind of unspoken connection with a Pokémon Trainer, understanding their Battle habits and Experience, was something he still needed to build.
Espeon dashed across the Rock Type venue, littered with gravel from Girafarig and Spiritomb's Battle, nimbly dodging Spiritomb's Dark Pulse; with a sudden stop, it slid a short distance on the ground before steadying itself.
"Target, the gravel on the ground," Lucian said, pointing at the Rock-Type venue.
Luther instantly understood the purpose of Psychic; he berated himself, having watched the anime, how could he forget one of Ash's signature tricks: terrain attacks?
It had been a while since he'd crossed into this world; how could he forget that the environment was always a critical part of Battle?
The scattered gravel across the field floated into the air under Espeon's control, and in an instant, a torrential rain of stones poured down around Spiritomb.
Espeon's distance was perfect; at this range, Spiritomb had almost no way to dodge, especially since it was still affected by Paralysis. The sky was full of stone rain, which enveloped Spiritomb, forcing it to endure the damage in agony.
Though Spiritomb had no type weaknesses and excellent dual resistances, its fatal flaw was that it was a painfully slow Pokémon.
This was perfectly reflected in its form; just like in his first battle against Professor Rowan, where Forretress, despite having no hands, was bullied by Aggron, Spiritomb's movement relied mostly on spinning and its own Moves—it was practically a perfect target.
A good move doesn't fear being used twice; Lucian's Psychic command sent Espeon searching for an attack position again, moving with Agility across the venue.
Cynthia issued a Dark Pulse command, trying to interrupt Espeon's actions, but Espeon's nimble form weaved between stones that served as cover; after the Dark Pulse, it only added more ammunition for Espeon to launch.
"Why? Why doesn't Cynthia use Will-O-Wisp or Confuse Ray to try putting Espeon in a negative status? Wouldn't that make Dark Pulse easier to land?" Mai asked, holding Eevee, her tone puzzled.
"It's probably an Ability issue…" Luther glanced at Cynthia's slight smirk in the close-up and explained to Mai, "Normally, Espeon's Ability is Synchronize; when it's hit with Poison, Paralysis, or a burn, the opponent's Pokémon gets the same Status Condition; as for why not use Confuse Ray, it's likely because if Confuse Ray hits, Espeon would just be switched out, making it ineffective."
It seemed Cynthia's fourth move slot was one that could trigger Synchronize Ability; right now, Cynthia's Spiritomb kept using only Dark Pulse, occasionally misfiring due to the Paralysis effect.
From this, at least part of Lucian's strategy was starting to surface.
Girafarig was sent out to affect Spiritomb and the Battle venue; besides Thunder, Girafarig's Moves likely included Thunder Wave to ensure Spiritomb fell into a negative status.
Not recalling it after Confuse Ray hit was also to shape the Battle venue into the state he wanted, making it more suitable for his speed-superior Espeon to take the field.
Cynthia's Spiritomb was now in a tough spot; the atmosphere in the venue reached an unprecedented high, with cheers even drowning out the commentator's voice at one point.
Spiritomb's speed disadvantage was seized and exploited by Espeon; Dark Pulse could barely land a hit on Espeon, with the closest shot only grazing Espeon's leg, not significantly affecting its speed.
In contrast, the flying gravel dealt substantial damage to Spiritomb; after a few exchanges, Spiritomb was surrounded by stones, and Luther figured a few more attacks from Lucian would bury Spiritomb alive.
Luther found Cynthia's reaction odd; Spiritomb's weakness was being relentlessly exploited by Lucian, yet Cynthia, the Champion, showed no sign of adjusting.
Her commands were issued lazily; after one wave of Dark Pulse, she'd just order Spiritomb to fire another; if this Battle had the game's Move usage limits, Spiritomb would've run dry by now.
What was Cynthia waiting for?
Luther couldn't believe for a second that Cynthia was just giving up on Spiritomb; she could easily recall Spiritomb and send out her second Pokémon to counter Espeon's assault, but she hadn't, and it almost seemed… deliberate— like she was intentionally letting Spiritomb take a beating.
But what advantage could Spiritomb gain by staying on the field and getting pummeled?
Ability? Spiritomb's Ability was Pressure; in the games, it reduced the opponent's Pokémon Move usage, but in this world, Luther had learned that Pressure, in reality, made the opponent's Pokémon more fatigued than usual after using Moves.
Was wearing Espeon down necessary for Cynthia's later Battle? Was that really the reason?
Espeon showed no signs of fatigue right now, excitedly controlling another wave of airborne gravel to smash into Spiritomb; Spiritomb's condition was already dire, and Lucian was starting to wrap up this Skirmish with Spiritomb.
This time, the amount of gravel controlled was massive; half the Battle venue's airspace was filled with floating debris. As Espeon directed Psychic to hurl the stones at Spiritomb, something unexpected happened.
"Use Dark Pulse on the ground."
Here it was! Cynthia, who'd been largely unresponsive, gave Spiritomb a different command.
Spiritomb's Dark Pulse struck the ground beneath it, and the surrounding gravel exploded outward from the blast; Espeon, being close to Spiritomb, naturally took damage from the flying debris.
Cynthia's play was similar to Lucian's; since you like controlling the venue's gravel, I'll use it too.
The explosion's smokescreen enveloped Spiritomb and Espeon, leaving both Cynthia and Lucian unable to see inside the venue.
At this moment, all decisions were left to the Pokémon's Battle instincts; within the smokescreen, the roar of clashing Moves echoed again.
Espeon was the first to come flying out of the smokescreen, finally hit by Dark Pulse.
Spiritomb's teetering form drew the Referee's close attention.
"Parting Shot."
Lucian froze; Luther froze; Mai froze too.
That was the immediate reaction of almost everyone who understood the situation.
The faltering Spiritomb unleashed its final Move; a cloud of dark energy enveloped Espeon, causing Espeon to cough uncomfortably several times, and at that moment, Spiritomb collapsed on the Rock Type venue.
"Spiritomb has lost its battle Ability; Espeon wins!"
The instant the Referee's booming voice rang out, everyone in the training venue began to Encore this thrilling showdown.
"Was it Deliberate?" Mai said softly, looking at the fallen Spiritomb.
Luther nodded. "Spiritomb's mission was complete; after being hit with Paralysis, it couldn't effectively deal with the agile Girafarig and Espeon; its role was to drain Espeon's Stamina and cause fatigue."
"Will-O-Wisp and Confuse Ray reduced Girafarig's fighting strength; with Espeon's Synchronize, Cynthia's continuous use of Dark Pulse seemed like she had no way to break through, but it was actually to trick Lucian into thinking her fourth Move for Spiritomb would be affected by Synchronize."
"With Parting Shot's effect, Espeon's fighting strength is probably…" Mai trailed off.
Luther and Mai looked at Cynthia with a hint of awe; midway through, they'd thought the battle had slipped from Cynthia's control and turned against her, but in reality, Cynthia had planned the subsequent Battle Rhythm as soon as Spiritomb was paralyzed.
Lucian recalled Espeon; he knew he hadn't gained an advantage— rather, though he'd beaten Spiritomb, he'd successfully put himself at a disadvantage.
Spiritomb was just Cynthia's vanguard to disrupt the Battle Rhythm; Cynthia's strongest Garchomp was still waiting, and anyone underestimating Cynthia's Garchomp wouldn't feel too great about it.
(End of Chapter)
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