Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

"Burning Centipede, hot water!"

"Sticky Dragon, Water Cannon!"

Two commands were shouted in unison, and the battlefield immediately became filled with steam.

Taking advantage of the moment when Venusaur retreated, the gym leader and his wife seized the opportunity to focus their fire on Volcarona, which was fighting alone for those brief two seconds.

Although the Bug type is weak, when combined with the Fire type, it surprisingly only has three weaknesses. Apart from Rock-type moves which are four times super effective, the most obvious weakness is undoubtedly Water-type moves.

Goodra, a pseudo-legendary Dragon-type Pokémon, is proficient in various "Nature" moves. Not only does it use Hydro Pump with ease, but it also countered Centiskine, a Fire-type Pokémon, by using Scald.

The steaming water vapor, after being heated, condensed into a jet of scalding water in the flame emitter of the Flame Centipede, which shot upwards towards the fire moths flying in the air.

On the other side, Noodle Dragon's water cannon had not yet been used.

It's not that its attack speed is slower than the Flame Centipede's, but rather that it's waiting for the Flame Centipede's hot water attack to send out information—

Which direction will Volcarona dodge in, or will it use Protect directly?

She observed coldly, gathering energy in her mouth, patiently waiting for her opportunity.

For Volcarona, using Protect to delay the Dragonite and wait for it to enter the fray is naturally the safest option.

However, with zero risk, the returns are also almost zero.

If it were Diancie present, she might have done the same, but since it was Volcano, Xia Chen decided to play more aggressively.

"Dodge downwards, then approach the Flame Centipede!"

Although Volcano lacked practical combat experience, it trusted Xia Chen's command completely and carried out the order without hesitation, almost without thinking.

With the help of the tailwind, the Volcano Moth slightly swerved downwards, barely dodging the hot water shooting upwards at an angle, and then quickly approached the Flame Centipede.

The Flame Centipede did not give up. The hot water continued to press down, forcing the Volcano Moth to descend further into its flight space. Visibly, the space left for it to dodge was becoming less and less.

…………

"Strange, why did Xia Chen make the Volcano Moth dodge downwards? Doesn't that reduce its own room to maneuver?"

In the stands, some spectators raised questions about Xia Chen's conducting.

Since ancient times, great minds have often emerged from the audience, and those who know their stuff immediately found the reason.

"Because the steam from hot water rises, and the temperature of the steam is higher than that of boiling water, that's probably the reasoning behind it?"

"That doesn't make sense. Volcarona is a fire-type Pokémon, so it shouldn't be too afraid of high temperatures."

"So water vapor can obstruct vision?"

"I don't know, but I feel that Niu Meilong won't miss this opportunity."

At that very moment, having seized the opportunity, Nume-ryu finally unleashed the energy that had been accumulating in her mouth for so long.

Chi-

The water, formed by the convergence of energy, surged violently, like a cannonball fired into the blind spot of the Vulcan moth!

The Flame Centipede's hot water is coming from diagonally above, while the Water Cannon is coming from the side at an angle, leaving the Volcano with almost no way to dodge!

At the critical moment, Xia Chen suddenly shouted, "Now! Protect! Crimson!"

The Vulcan moth, which was sprinting at high speed, suddenly stopped and charged up to defend the barrier.

The water cannon, having been aimed too far ahead, veered off course and failed to hit the Volcano Moth immediately.

Despite being attacked by half of the hot water, the Volcano still managed to create a semi-transparent barrier.

At the same time, Crimson, as if by telepathy, commanded, "Dragonite, Rock Slide!"

Rock-type energy condensed, and more than a dozen giant rocks, each nearly two meters in diameter, appeared above the three Pokémon, pressing down on them like dark clouds.

The gym owners were startled, realizing that they had been so focused on the Volcarona that they had momentarily overlooked the Dragonite that had already entered the arena.

Looking up at the massive rock that seemed about to fall from the sky, they knew that it was too late to have the Flame Centipede and the Sticky Dragon, who were still attacking, use their defensive abilities.

Theoretically, there is another way to prevent this rockfall: using these two water cannons and hot water to block it.

However, the rockfall was occurring from top to bottom, and at that moment, both water-based attacks were also diagonally downwards...

This means that to do this, you would need to tilt your head back significantly. Is that even possible?

Even if you can't do it, you should still try!

With this mindset, Sticky Dragon and Flame Centipede decisively adjusted their angles, controlling the two streams of water upwards.

However, the turn was still too sharp, and before the hot water and water cannons could be adjusted to more than halfway, several huge rocks had already fallen.

Amidst the deafening roar that shook the battlefield, the rockfall struck!

At this moment, the spectators finally understood the reason why the Volcano moth darted downwards—

It wasn't to avoid the upward water vapor, but rather to deliberately draw the two Pokémon's moves downwards, making them unable to resist their partner Dragonite's Rock Slide!

Does this mean we've reached this point when the opponent deploys water cannons and hot water?

This terrifying reaction and near-prophetic calculation ability...

As expected of you, Xia Chen!

The audience members on the sidelines all expressed similar sentiments.

Anyone else would question whether he had "started" such a command.

But if it's Xia Chen, it doesn't seem so hard to accept.

…………

The terrifying rockfall struck all three Pokémon, with only Volcarona, which had used Protect, escaping unscathed.

In fact, by simply holding the line, one could block three attacks from both the opponent and teammates, making it exceptionally cost-effective.

Both the Goommura and the Flame Centipede, which were hit by the rockfall, suffered varying degrees of damage.

Although Nian Meilong is tough and resilient, she's not really that good at physical defense.

And Centisk is even more so. Although it inherited half of Shuckle's defensive capabilities, it is a Rock-type move that is four times super effective against it.

Several huge rocks pressed down on it, making its already elongated body appear even flatter.

"Lightning speed!"

Without giving the two elves a chance to catch their breath, another attack came.

The one capable of mastering incredible speed is naturally Dragonite.

This promax version of Quick Attack propelled the chubby Dragonite forward swiftly, crashing towards Goodra like an orange meteor.

Dragonite wants to break through Goodra's defenses and speedrun to win this match?

The spectators on the sidelines gasped in surprise.

Judging from the incredibly fast target of this attack, it seems that this is indeed the case, and he also has his reasons for doing so.

If Goodra loses its ability to battle, it means that both of the Gym Leader's Pokémon have fallen, and the match will end.

"Vulcan moth, insect chirp!"

The Volcano, having broken its Guard state, also launched an attack.

The previous charge brought it close enough to its opponent's two Pokémon that Goodra and Centiskorps were both within range of the bug chirp.

Of course, this also includes Dragonite.

The insect chirping attack, like an earthquake, is an indiscriminate strike that shows no mercy to anyone.

However, Dragonite has multiple scales protecting it, so being hit by a bug chirp is no big deal.

Upon hearing this insect chirp, the owners became even more convinced that Xia Chen and Chi Hong's strategy had succeeded in defeating the Sticky Dragon.

After all, this Bug-type move can only deal half the damage to Centiskorps, which has twice the resistance to Bug-type moves.

"Nianmeilong, hold on!"

Without hesitation, the owner's wife gave the order.

Even a tough dragon like Goodra couldn't withstand the combined effects of Extreme Speed ​​and Bug Buzz, so it decided to hold on.

The Tiannan Pavilion Master then commanded, "Burning Flame Centipede, Hot Wind!"

With another Pokémon available to replace it, and currently in relatively good condition, Centipede isn't being overly cautious.

Its abdominal heating organs throbbed again, pumping intense heat into the wind, ready to unleash its power.

However, the preemptive fire moth was one step ahead, and its strange and unusual chirping sound spread in all directions from its fluttering wings, quickly reaching the entire venue.

Even those in the audience felt slightly dizzy from the insect chirping, let alone the sticky dragon and the flame centipede so close at hand.

While the sticky dragon managed to escape safely by using its protective barrier, the flame centipede was not so lucky.

However, with its extremely high Special Defense and double resistance to Bug-type moves, it didn't suffer much damage. After shaking its head slightly to recover, Centiskorptus directly started blowing hot air.

At this moment, the orange meteor finally rushed in from the other half of the field, nimbly bypassing the Gooey Dragon and heading straight for the Flame Centipede.

Crimson employs its old tricks again, launching a feint attack from the east while striking from the west!

The "Divine Speed" move differs from the "Sacrifice Charge" move; it requires selecting a target before unleashing maximum speed.

So from the very beginning, Dragonite's target was not Goodra, but Centiskine!

In this case, Nian Meilong's defense seems somewhat wasteful and unnecessary.

While it did block the insect chirping, the latter was merely an add-on to the original plan of blocking the speed and insect chirping.

[The Sighing Wall of the Special Forces] has never been afraid of the chirping of insects.

The strategy failed again, but fortunately the Flame Centipede's hot air attack was somewhat successful.

A scorching hurricane carrying intense heat swept through, causing considerable damage to both Volcarona and Dragonite.

The Flame Centipede's attack power is still quite strong.

Being constantly suppressed wasn't going to work, so the owners exchanged a glance and decided to take the initiative.

Meanwhile, Xia Chen and Chi Hong's Dragonite, despite being affected by the Bug Buzz effect from the Multiscale effect and the Heat Wind damage with double resistance, remained in good condition.

The Volcano was hit first by hot water, which it had previously been able to control, and then by a direct blast of hot air, making its injuries appear more severe.

More importantly, Volcarona's Protect ability has already been used, while the Dragonite that just entered the game hasn't. Considering all these factors...