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

Xia Chen, on the other hand, chose to change into a Gardevoir in a flowing white dress, exuding an ethereal beauty.

"Should we choose Gardevoir, with its exceptional [teleportation] control, to take over the match? This choice is very much in line with Xia Chen's..."

Alder stared intently at the screen, speaking rapidly: "We see that Lucario, who had the initiative, didn't use its preferred close-combat tactics against Gardevoir, but instead chose Aura Sphere. Firstly, it's uncertain whether this is a Gardevoir created by Zoroark, and secondly, it wants to force out Gardevoir's Teleport, if it is."

"Gardedo's lock-on ability made it impossible for her to dodge, so she didn't dodge at all and chose to respond with... [Shadow Ball]! Is it really Zoroark?"

Ghosts are immune to melee attacks, but melee attacks are not immune to ghosts.

Whether Zoroark's Gardevoir is immune to Aura Spheres or not, Lucario cannot ignore the Shadow Ball that could very well be its death.

With a light touch of the ground, Lucario leaped into the air and dodged the dark purple energy ball flying towards him.

Instead of retreating, it advanced, suddenly thrusting towards Gardevoir, its fists glowing with intense and surging golden-orange light.

Nowhere to be found!

She's gambling!

Ignore both wave missiles and shadow balls.

Cynthia is betting that all these tricks are just a smokescreen by Xia Chen, and that this is actually Gardevoir!

She was actually quite confident.

If it were the real Zoroark, he wouldn't be so clumsy with casting Shadow Balls, and he would most likely have unleashed a continuous barrage of Shadow Balls, like dark clouds covering the sun, to end the game.

What's the deal with a Shadow Orb that's neither here nor there?

That's so unlike Xia Chen.

The unexpected attack caught Xia Chen off guard, causing a flash of surprise and panic in his eyes. Meanwhile, Cynthia, who was observing from afar, couldn't help but let a sly, playful smile appear on her lips.

Hmph, do you think you can fool me?

However, what she didn't notice was that hidden in Xia Chen's eyes was a fleeting, brief smile amidst his panic.

call--

A sound that Cynthia hadn't expected suddenly rang out. It wasn't the dull thud of a punch landing, but rather the sound of wind whistling through the air.

A desperate attempt to escape, but it failed!

The camera pans to the scene of the two Pokémon meeting, and in slow motion, it is clear that Lucario's powerful fist passes straight through Gardevoir's body and strikes the air behind it!

"It's not Gardevoir, it's Zoroark!"

Awa, who reacted immediately, shouted passionately, "Cynthia has finally made a mistake!"

“No, it can’t be considered a mistake. She just made a judgment she believed in in a millisecond, while Xia Chen was thinking about the problem from a higher level.”

The seasoned and experienced Adek commented: "There may be winners and losers in this game, but there is no right or wrong. Never deny your own judgment, as this will only cause you to miss opportunities in future battles."

The veteran was still giving earnest advice from the guests, while the battle on the battlefield had already ended in the blink of an eye.

Lucario's attack failed, and he then deliberately moved close to Zoroark. The consequences of that move are self-evident.

With just a single Shadow Claw, Lucario was brought to a complete end to his already near-collapse state during his battle with Milotic.

On the big screen, Cynthia, with a slightly helpless expression, retrieved Lucario's fallen body, and one of the dots representing the six Pokémon's states next to her portrait dimmed and went out.

After giving Xia Chen a cryptic and dangerous smile, Cynthia quickly adjusted her mindset, pondered for a moment, and then swiftly threw out her second Poké Ball of the match.

A flash of white light appeared, and a massive, deep blue dragon-shaped spirit appeared on the battlefield.

It was none other than Cynthia's signature Pokémon—

Garchomp!

…………

"Wow, Cynthia actually sent out her ace Pokémon!"

Adek exclaimed in a slightly comical and exaggerated manner, "It seems she's determined to win this upcoming battle!"

Adu nodded in agreement, “This is a good choice. Xia Chen, who just switched Pokémon, won’t be able to switch out Zoroark within three minutes. This means that Garchomp won’t encounter any troublesome opponents during this time, such as Sylveon or Gardevoir. And three minutes is enough time for Garchomp to do a lot of things.”

"That's right, perhaps that's why Cynthia chose to bring Garchomp into the game so quickly."

While the group was chatting, Cynthia and Garchomp had already undergone Mega Evolution shortly after entering the field.

The several sharp spikes running across its chest and arms add to the already ferocious appearance of the Mega Garchomp.

Just this aura alone would make ordinary elves tremble in fear before this behemoth.

Zoroark was not included, of course. Having regained its true appearance, it launched the first attack, beginning with a fierce shadow sneak attack.

With the boost of the preemptive move's high-speed energy, Zoroark, whose speed was already exaggerated, appeared behind him in the blink of an eye, as fast as if he had used Instant Transmission.

As for the Super Garchomp... let's not even mention its notoriously slow speed.

However, speed is not related to reaction. Garchomp, whose rear was blocked, was not flustered at all and slapped backward with a Dragon Claw.

A rich, dark green dragon-type energy flowed through its scythe-like arms. From the outside, it didn't even look as terrifying as the giant dragon claws released by a Champion-level Pokémon, but in reality, the energy condensed within was far beyond what those flashy moves could possibly achieve.

hiss--

A slightly harsh sound rang out as Zoroark's shadow attack struck Garchomp's tough, rough skin first, leaving a slightly rough, dark mark.

Clearly, the Shadow Sneak Attack did almost no real damage to Garchomp.

Immediately following, the overwhelming pressure from Garchomp's powerful aura pressed down on them as if it were a tangible force.

boom--

A heavy, muffled sound, completely different from before, exploded like a muffled thunderclap. The audience only saw a blur before their eyes, and then saw Zoroark's thin, gray figure sweep across the air.

With just one dragon claw strike, Zoroark was sent flying upside down with almost no chance to fight back!

"call--"

A deafening roar erupted from the stands, a cacophony of cheers from countless Cynthia supporters.

This is exactly what we want to see!

The rising and falling roars seemed to further fuel Garchomp's fighting spirit. With a heavy stomp of its powerful legs, a pair of fins sliced ​​through the air in front of it, and then its entire body rose into the air like a jet plane.

Dragon's Dive!

There are no tricks, only power.

The "simple and unadorned" move rolled up layers of compressed energy, tightly wrapping around Garchomp's body, and then heavily pressed down on Zoroark's flying body.

Although the sudden increase in weight after Mega Evolution limited its speed, the formidable strength displayed by Mega Garchomp added a lot of intimidation to it.

But since Zoroark is able to stand on this stage, its strength is definitely not what it is now—it was only after defeating a severely weakened Lucario that it was brutally defeated by Garchomp.

hiss--

A tearing sound mixed with the whistling wind suddenly rang out, and dark Ghost-type energy surged. A crack suddenly appeared behind Zoroark's upside-down flying body, engulfing it in an extremely difficult posture, narrowly avoiding Garchomp's Dragon Dive.

…………

"A brilliant sneak attack! Perfectly evaded Mega Garchomp's deadly Dragon Dive!"

Adecker passionately explained, "I'm not exaggerating at all. It's no exaggeration to say that Cynthia's Mega Garchomp's attack power is comparable to that of a legendary Pokémon. The combination of Dragon Claw and Dragon Dive is too much for an assassin-type Pokémon like Zoroark to withstand. Every second from now on will be like walking on thin ice for it!"

Du nodded in agreement: "Sneak Strike, Protect. After these two life-saving moves are used up, how to survive the next three minutes when we can't switch Pokémon is the most pressing issue that Zoroark and Xia Chen need to think about and solve right now."

Meanwhile, on the battlefield.

Garchomp remained unfazed by the missed Dragon's Dive. It hovered calmly in place, the spindle-shaped object above its head trembling slightly, emitting invisible ripples in all directions like radar.

This is the Garchomp family's proudest ability besides its powerful physique; this part of its body can easily and accurately locate the enemy's trail.

Garchomp's eyes can only cover a 240° area in front of it, but this one can cover 360° without any blind spots.

Whether it's Zoroark's signature surprise attack from behind, or the more likely scenario of it appearing at a distance to buy time, it will have nowhere to hide!

The somber atmosphere on the battlefield even affected the audience, who unconsciously lowered their voices, afraid of influencing Garchomp's judgment.

However, the next moment...

hiss--

The sound of space cracking came again, but the crack was not behind Garchomp or far away, as most people guessed, but right in front of it!

Directly in front of you, less than a fist's distance away!

The dark Ghost-type energy that had been fully condensed poured out from Zoroark's Ghostly hand. Although Garchomp sensed its appearance immediately, it was too close to dodge.

hiss--

The demonic claw tore through, and the immense energy accumulated by the countless vengeful spirits directly impacted Garchomp's most vulnerable head, causing it to go numb.

"A brilliant counterattack! When most people, including Cynthia herself, thought Zoroark would use a Phantom Strikes to dodge and buy time, who would have thought it would advance instead of retreating, catching Garchomp completely off guard!"

"You can see that Cynthia also has a very surprised expression on her face. Zoroark's choice is indeed unexpected, but it will most likely choose a more conservative approach in the future... What!"

The sudden turn of events on the field caused Adek's voice to rise several octaves.

"Zoroark is still going to attack? Could it be...?"

"Xia Chen's strategy from the very beginning never involved a defensive, turtling approach?!"

At this moment, watching the unwavering gazes simultaneously reflected in Xia Chen's and Zoroark's eyes on the split screen, Adek finally understood Xia Chen's tactics—

Attack! Attack!

Epilogue (Part 2)

The eerie flames ignited, and the Mega Garchomp, which was almost seamlessly close to Zoroark, naturally couldn't dodge them.

But after a brief moment of surprise, it quickly adjusted its mindset, opened its mouth wide, and took a [crushing] bite.

Compared to Dragon Claw or other moves, [Crush] has a faster power output and is more suitable for the close-quarters combat between the two Pokémon.

With its sharp, white teeth wreathed in malevolent energy, it immediately and mercilessly gnawed at Zoroark's slender body.

The double damage reduction was immediately apparent; if it weren't for the Will-O-Wisp's effect reducing physical attack damage, Zoroark would most likely not have been able to withstand it.

The advantage of using the "Will-o'-the-Wisp" move over passive defensive moves is evident here.

This will not only allow Xia Chen to regain control of the battle, but also ensure that even if Zoroark is ultimately defeated by Garchomp, the subsequent Pokémon will not be so passive.

Step by step, step by step.