He knows Pokémon better than me.

Soon, the battle began, with each side sending out their first Pokémon.

Iris threw out a Poké Ball, while Ash looked to his side.

"Bari!"

The Mr. Mime understood, took off its clothes, and even neatly folded them and placed them aside before calmly making its appearance.

A Pokémon with the Dragon type? That's ridiculous!
But upon seeing his opponent, Mr. Mime's expression changed.
Wait a minute, this doesn't seem to be quite different from the script.

"Dragon Horror!!!"

The other party let out a high-pitched roar, the sound of which had a metallic reverberation. Indeed, the word "dragon" was in its name, but it was placed at the very beginning.

The dragon-headed groundhog touched its steel-bladed arm, its fighting spirit high.

"Was Alice prepared all along?"

At the edge of the field, Du Ruo showed a surprised expression.

For trainers specializing in Dragon-type Pokémon, the most dreaded encounters are Ice-type and Fairy-type Pokémon.

Excadrill's Steel type is very effective against both of these types of opponents, making it a counter-type in the team.

Of course, his trump card is also the Pokémon that counters his type: Aluminum Bridge Dragon, which perfectly makes up for this problem.

"Is it an Ice-type Mr. Mime? Or is this the first time I've seen one? Never mind, I'll use Stealth Rock!!"

Alice's voice was impassioned as she launched the first attack.

The chill emanating from the Mr. Mime is so intense that even a first-time viewer can immediately identify its nature.

The dragon-headed groundhog understood, and with a flick of its arms, it scattered sharp rock traps all around the arena.

Even with its disadvantageous attributes, Mr. Mime wasn't in a hurry to replace it. It was a rare opportunity to play, so it decided to give it its all first!

"Use ice chips!"

The Mr. Mime clasped its hands together and pushed forward, instantly sending out countless fragments of rock that deflected and shattered all the invisible rock blade traps around it.

"Hmm? You saw through me?"

"That's right, my Mr. Mime's special ability is obstacle removal!"

Seeing Alice's puzzled expression, Ash explained frankly and loudly.

Obstacle removal, a unique ability of Galar's Mr. Mime, allows it to instantly break through opponents' light walls, reflective walls, and even aurora curtain effects.

Its Mr. Mime is adorned with Galar Articuno feathers. Although its eyes cannot shoot lasers directly, the enhanced vision elevates its obstacle removal ability to a whole new level.

It can counter moves like Stealth Rock and Spikes.

"In that case, use the metal claws!"

So this time, Alice chose to attack head-on. The dragon-headed groundhog's arms gleamed with a metallic sheen as it charged forward.

Xiao Zhi also quickly gave instructions, his expression serious:

"Grasp it with your mental focus!"

If the attributes are unfavorable, then so be it. It's a good opportunity to try out his reverse attribute strategy!
Mr. Mime pointed his finger forward, and a vast and powerful psychic force spread out, its intensity much stronger than when he was in Battleground Town.

The dragon-headed groundhog's charging motion froze on the spot, its body surface being frantically squeezed by psychic energy, making a buzzing sound.

Alice, however, was very confident and waved her thumb:
"It's no use, use a straight-pole drill!!"

This wasn't her "first cannon fodder"; she had already been fighting alongside Excadrill for a long time before receiving her starter Pokémon, Axew.

The dragon-headed ground squirrel had sharp eyes. It forcefully broke free from the psychic restraints and clasped its arms together.

Whoosh!
The next moment, his whole body spun at high speed, transforming into a steel drill that charged straight at Mr. Mime. The fierce attack was something that psychic power could not restrain.

"Reflection Barrier!" The Mr. Mime had no choice but to forcefully erect a barrier in front of it, then charged straight through the Reflection Barrier and slammed into the Mr. Mime's chest.

The latter staggered backward, regained his footing, clutched his chest, and let out a muffled groan:
"Bari!"

Ouch!
Even with the damage reduction from Reflect, the damage is still considerable; Excadrill's physical attack is at a pseudo-legendary level.

"Then came the rockfall!!"

Iris pressed her advantage, and if it were Ash in his fully evolved form, she estimated she would have a hard time defeating him.

But since she's only using newly caught Pokémon, don't blame her for easily racking up points today!

With a flick of its steel-bladed arm, the dragon-headed ground squirrel sent several massive rocks hurtling toward the target from all directions.

"Use wide-area combat power!"

However, the power of Mr. Mime is by no means weak, and with the addition of Galar Articuno feathers, its psychic power is equally formidable.

The Mr. Mime stomped its foot on the ground, and a pinkish-purple energy field suddenly surged around it, shaking and spreading outwards, forcefully dispersing the surrounding rocks.

Meanwhile, the dragon-headed ground squirrel has already burrowed underground, using its digging ability to get closer.

then
Suddenly bursting from the ground, the steel-bladed arm, like a sharp spearhead, struck straight at the Mr. Mime's jaw!

If a single, highly effective strike lands, it's enough to decide the outcome of the battle!
However, the Dig move's sneak attack was completely useless against Ash. Mr. Mime had already sensed the attack from below and suddenly tilted his head back, barely dodging the steel blade.

Blackish-purple fireballs erupted from their fingertips, shooting out almost at point-blank range.

Ghost fire!

The dragon-headed groundhog had no chance to dodge and was struck head-on in the chest by the will-o'-the-wisp. It staggered backward, its body engulfed in mysterious flames.

The next second, the fierce attack suddenly dropped, and the attacker was burned, reducing its attack power.

"Tsk, did you prepare the will-o'-the-wisp technique all along?"

Alice frowned, but it wasn't a big problem. Even though Excadrill's offensiveness was reduced, Mr. Mime's moves, whether Ice or Psychic, only dealt half the damage to Excadrill, so it couldn't deal any effective damage at all.

"is it?"

Ash grinned and suddenly commanded:
"Block their path!"

The Mr. Mime understood and spread its psychic power onto Excadrill, preventing the latter from leaving the field and being replaced.

Alice frowned, but she hadn't planned to change anyone anyway. She wanted to see what special moves this Mr. Mime could pull off.

"Use the metal claws!!"

The dragon-headed ground squirrel's steel-bladed arms were covered in a cold light as it charged out again, but this time its attack was much weaker.

Then, the Mr. Mime slowly raised his hand, and flames suddenly ignited at his fingertips.

Ash even shouted out an unexpected move:

"Now! Unleash the Great Flame Burst!!"

The next second, the flames ignited at the fingertips of the Mr. Mime roared and surged out, forming a huge flaming "大" character in the middle of the road, with a tremendous momentum!
A blast of scorching hot air blew in, and the dragon-headed ground squirrel's eyes widened instantly.

An Ice-type Pokémon unleashed Flamethrower!
It instinctively raised its metal claws to forcefully defend itself.

Boom!
The large, fiery explosion struck its target, creating a violent fireball in the center of the arena!

The sudden turn of events left the three Dragon-type trainers stunned.

Ash and Mr. Mime simultaneously touched their noses and curled their lips into a smile, their expressions and actions perfectly synchronized.

Alice's starting lineup is Dragon Head Gopher.
This was not unexpected for them at all; in fact, they had been prepared for it for a long time! (End of Chapter)