"Magmortar has lost the ability to battle, Zweilous wins!"
Two moves defeated Magmortar.
This guy was much more fragile than expected, rendering it unable to use more moves.
It's clear that Yasha has put effort into training this Pokémon, with both its reaction speed and attack power being exceptional.
Unfortunately, today's offensive by Zweilous was exceedingly fierce.
A Pokémon in high spirits can often perfectly unleash its usual, or even extraordinary power, so even having its Special Attack reduced by the Meteor Shower, Baimu wouldn't switch it out.
Moreover.
Like Zweilous, he sensed that a certain moment was coming.
In the distance.
While retracting Magmortar, Yasha smiled and said, "I underestimated you; no wonder Qianli values you so highly. It seems I need to get serious! Go, Mage!"
Showing great respect for Qianli, she threw a Pokeball forward.
Bam!
The white light fell to the ground, transforming into a magma slime with a snail shell made of gray sand and stone on its back, its large yellow eyes resembling two light bulbs—
Yasha's main Pokémon, Magcargo, was named Mage when it was still a Slugma to differentiate it from another Slugma, and evolved successfully upon meeting Ash Ketchum and his friends.
It was evident she meant business, as she claimed.
"Power of the Earth!"
Baimu immediately issued the command, not willing to waste the brief opportunity from the exchange.
"Hey woo!" "Hey woo!"
Feeling the powerful presence of Magcargo, Zweilous became alarmed, with its front claws pounding the ground, creating an irregular crack.
Rumble—
The ground shook violently, and the crack quickly spread in front of Magcargo.
"Shadow Clone!"
The exchange caused Yasha's command to be slightly slower, but Magcargo's reaction speed was excellent, acting almost simultaneously with the command as if it had anticipated the trainer's intention.
It charged forward towards the position where the Power of the Earth was spreading and, at the moment it burst open the ground, it flickered into countless afterimages.
Bang!
Baimu and Zweilous saw a blur before them as the smoke-filled field revealed dozens of identical Magcargos.
Only one of them, affected by the Power of the Earth, shattered into pieces and vanished.
He frowned slightly, "Evil Fluctuation!"
"Hey woo!" "Hey woo!"
Two dark rings released a violet beam from Zweilous's two heads, like energy rays capable of destroying everything, sweeping across everything in its path.
Boom boom boom!!
The many illusions of Magcargo shattered like smoke, and the thick dust resembled rolling clouds.
But when the ray contacted one of them, Yasha's shout suddenly reached over.
"Light Wall!"
A semi-transparent glass wall suddenly appeared in front of Magcargo, blocking most of the powerful Evil Fluctuation from reaching it, with a small portion landing on the magma-like body.
Bam!
The "magma" exploded, making Magcargo's body appear as if a part of it was missing, a look of pain flashing across its face, but the missing part was quickly replenished.
This type of Pokémon is like an elemental creature from a Western Fantasy work; only by attacking its core can it be eliminated.
"Long-range moves won't work..."
Baimu murmured softly, indeed the Gym Leader's main Pokémon had a trick up their sleeve; in the typical game logic where Magcargo, with its quadruple weakness to Ground-type moves, should have met its fate the moment Zweilous attacked.
Who would have thought that instead of knocking it out, it put their side in a rather awkward position.
Melee?
Based on the known intel, Yasha's Magcargo has the Flame Body trait, which means melee would likely burn Zweilous, or one could take a gamble that luck wouldn't be that bad.
He looked ahead at the slightly drooping-headed Zweilous, its four claws deeply embedded in the soil, faintly emitting two light breathing sounds, not hastily issuing another command.
The continuous all-out offensive was like an endless relay of 100-meter sprints without rest for the overly excited Zweilous.
Even in prime condition, it couldn't help but fall into a brief state of fatigue.
It was evident that Zweilous was now anxious, eager for a victory to stimulate its spirit and physical being.
But as the trainer, Baimu must remain calm, even with his fists clenched so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his palms, he did not force the former to attack again.
Opportunities often need to be proactively sought out, yet occasionally waiting does yield results.
Blind offense is not bravery but recklessness.
On the other side.
Yasha saw that Baimu's face showed no hint of anxiety and couldn't help but reveal a look of appreciation.
Retracting his punches is for better striking, the earlier victory hadn't led to arrogance, nor had the current predicament caused discouragement, this quality in a trainer was rare in her relatively brief career as a Gym Leader.
"Sandstorm!"
She was the first to issue a command.
Gaining a brief breather, Magcargo retracted into its shell and began spinning rapidly in place, sending countless visible sand grains swirling out like a storm!
Rumble—
The entire field gradually became covered by the swirling sandstorm.
In the sandstorm weather, Magcargo's Special Defense was enhanced, coupled with the Light Wall and Zweilous's reduced Special Attack, this convergence of factors was enough to seal the powerful Special Attack force it displayed.
So in this situation, will you switch? Or choose to display Zweilous's other abilities?