"Calm Mind."
Luther suddenly had an idea and quickly commanded Espurr to increase its Special Attack and Special Defense.
Hakuya's harmonica sounded, and Ursaring used 'Bulk Up'.
After the moves were executed, both Luther and Hakuya froze.
Luther had ordered Espurr to set up Reflect in advance, so Hakuya planned to boost Ursaring's strength and smash through Reflect's protection with brute force.
However, Luther suddenly felt uneasy because he remembered that Ursaring could learn Focus Blast. Earlier that morning, he had seen Focus Blast instantly destroy something.
In this round, neither side gained an advantage. Although Luther didn't attack to weaken Ursaring, he had at least prepared defenses in advance, and boosting Special Attack was valuable, too.
Meanwhile, Hakuya had already accepted that Ursaring might take damage. To him, the current situation was favorable.
"Psyshock."
With both defenses ready, Luther had no choice but to go on the offensive.
As Psyshock closed in on Ursaring, Hakuya gave his command.
Ursaring swung its claws, wreathed in a dark violet aura, and slashed forward. It tore Psyshock apart by sheer force and let out a thunderous roar at Espurr.
Not good!
Luther tried to grab Espurr's Poké Ball and recall it before the move took effect. However, in that split second of hesitation, Espurr was caught in the roar. It clutched its head in pain, cried out, and then turned into red light and returned to its Poké Ball.
According to the Battle Rules, any Pokémon forced back to its Poké Ball by Roar must be replaced by the next Pokémon in the lineup.
The next in line was Jumpluff.
Luther sent Jumpluff out onto the battlefield and asked, "Roar eats up a lot of stamina. Ursaring's one of your aces, right? Was it really worth it just to send Espurr back?"
Hakuya lowered his harmonica, sketched rapidly in his notebook, and held it up.
"No choice. I can't let you steal the rhythm."
So Luther's little scheme had been seen through. He had planned to use Espurr's agility to gradually steal opportunities to set up buffs against Ursaring, and then unleash all of those advantages at once.
If it had worked, he could have taken down at least one of Hakuya's Pokémon before the flow of the battle shifted.
"Who says Jumpluff can't steal the rhythm? Leech Seed!"
Jumpluff bounced lightly and scattered Leech Seeds toward Ursaring.
Having just unleashed the stamina-draining Roar, Ursaring tried to dodge, but it was still entangled by the seeds.
"Worry Seed!"
Just as Ursaring was about to lie down and rest following Hakuya's harmonica, a wave of irritation suddenly surged through it.
Now restless, Ursaring sat up again and glared furiously at Jumpluff drifting above.
"So he predicted it, huh." Junna in the spectator area sighed at the scene.
Worry Seed forces a Pokémon's Ability to become Insomnia, which prevents it from sleeping.
The Psyshock Ursaring had taken earlier hadn't done much damage. The real drain came from using Roar to disrupt the rhythm.
Since Hakuya didn't want to switch Pokémon and Ursaring had been seeded, Luther had guessed that a recovery tactic was likely and had set up his counter in advance.
Unlike the standard four-move limit, unlimited battles allow for frequent move exchanges, but at the same time, both trainers are careful with their move selection.
Luther and Hakuya both knew that the more moves a Pokémon uses, the greater the strain and stamina cost.
After disrupting Ursaring's rhythm twice, Luther was thinking of how to push his advantage with Jumpluff when Hakuya suddenly recalled Ursaring.
Noctowl took the field.
Luther frowned. The timing of Hakuya's switch was odd. He hadn't switched out Ursaring after burning stamina with Roar, yet now he was swapping?
Luther froze for a moment. When he looked up at Hakuya, he saw him smiling back.
He'd been outplayed!
Ursaring had gathered information on Espurr and forced it to reveal three moves: Psyshock, Reflect, and Calm Mind.
Meanwhile, Jumpluff was made to immediately use Leech Seed and Worry Seed as soon as it came out.
With just one Ursaring, Hakuya had managed to drain the stamina of two of Luther's Pokémon. Most importantly, Ursaring escaped unscathed.
"How many moves can your Pokémon use in a single battle before their stamina runs out? Can their bodies even coordinate all that energy properly?"
Hakuya shook his notebook in front of Luther, showing the words.
Noctowl, being a Flying-type Pokémon, naturally held the advantage against Jumpluff. However, Luther wasn't rattled by Hakuya's words and chose to fight head-on.
Grass-type moves barely harmed Noctowl, so of the moves Jumpluff knew, only Normal- and Flying-type moves seemed usable:
Stun Spore, Poison Powder, and Sleep Powder all had abysmal accuracy against an airborne target.
With so few reliable options, Luther decided to abandon type-matching considerations and use Bullet Seed instead.
In terms of mobility, Noctowl had the edge. To maximize error tolerance, Bullet Seed was the obvious choice.
Noctowl's Air Slash collided with Jumpluff's Bullet Seed. Unsurprisingly, Jumpluff's move was overpowered. Luther ordered Jumpluff to drop to the ground immediately after firing, giving up on contesting Noctowl in the air.
Noctowl swooped low across the battlefield. Before Jumpluff could react, Noctowl used Extrasensory to lift Jumpluff into the air and then hurl her toward the ground.
Thanks to her light body, Jumpluff avoided being damaged by the landing. She stabilized in midair and drifted away.
However, she was moving painfully slowly. Noctowl seized the chance again and, guided by Hakuya's harmonica, darted past Jumpluff and pecked her several times.
At Luther's command, Jumpluff scrambled to fend off the continuous aerial assaults, sometimes using Air Slash and other times unleashing a sudden Psychic or Extrasensory attack.
Luther tried to counterattack with Mega Drain, but he couldn't catch the agile Noctowl. Even worse, Noctowl exploited the casting lag and slashed Jumpluff with its steel-hard wings.
"What on earth is Luther doing? Why hasn't he switched out yet?" Junna complained as she watched Jumpluff struggle on the field.
Mai eyed Junna warily. "Whose side are you on, anyway? I'm not worried, so why are you more anxious than I am?"
"Hakuya attacks; Luther only defends. Even when he gets hit, he hardly counters. Just watching it is frustrating and infuriating!"
Junna's words echoed what the other trainers in the stands were thinking.
Hakuya's Noctowl was unbelievably fast. Often, they could only catch a fleeting shadow in the sky and were unable to follow its movements.
Given the speed and training of Hakuya's Noctowl, the obvious move would be to send out a comparable Pokémon to break through, right?
Even Hakuya didn't understand why Luther hadn't switched. The disadvantage was clear. From how Luther had demonstrated his ability to "steal rhythm" earlier, he didn't seem like a trainer who couldn't read the flow of battle.
Jumpluff now looked to be on the brink. Another Air Slash struck her, sending her crashing to the ground. She struggled to rise.
Hakuya hesitated with his harmonica at his lips. He noticed the Noctowl circling impatiently overhead as if urging him to give the command.
Hakuya nodded.
A melodious tune rang out.
Noctowl's body began to glow as it gathered a massive surge of energy.
Noctowl was using Sky Attack.
Jumpluff was still struggling to her feet when Noctowl finished charging. Trailing afterimages in the air, it prepared to slam straight into Jumpluff with a fearsome aura.
Luther's lips curved into a smile.
"I've been waiting for this. Finally, you've gone close-range again. Jumpluff's desperate act wasn't for nothing."
Jumpluff, don't blow the performance now.
(End of Chapter)
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