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Both sides paused their attacks, cautiously observing each other while looking for an opening.
Lorelei clenched her fists tightly, sweat beading in her palms. She glanced up at the blazing sunlight overhead, frowning slightly as she racked her brain for a way to eliminate Sunny Day.
If she couldn't get rid of it, her Pokémon's Water-type advantage would be wasted.
"Hmph! Dewgong, Water Sport!"
"Awuu!"
Dewgong swung its tail, sending countless droplets splashing in all directions. The range was so wide that Arcanine didn't even bother dodging.
Since it didn't deal any damage, Arcanine let the spray soak its entire body. Its long fur clung tightly to its frame, making it appear significantly smaller.
"Arcanine, Heat Wave!"
"Awooo!"
At the command, the thoroughly soaked and clearly uncomfortable Arcanine let out a piercing howl. A wave of searing heat surged out from its body, instantly evaporating the moisture from its fur.
Then, it charged at Dewgong.
At this moment, even bystanders could clearly tell that this Heat Wave was significantly weaker than before. Even with Sunny Day in effect, it lacked the destructive force Arcanine had previously shown in battle.
The wave of heat dissipated halfway across the battlefield, fading into nothing from lack of power.
"Tch! Arcanine! There's no helping it—charge in! Agility followed by Tackle!"
With Fire-type attacks weakened, they had to switch strategies.
"Woof!"
Activating Agility, Arcanine's body blurred into a streak of red as it dashed straight for Dewgong.
"Dewgong! Aqua Tail!"
Seeing Arcanine rushing in, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Lorelei's mouth as she issued her next command.
"Deww..!"
Rapidly swirling water gathered around Dewgong's tail. It planted its flippers firmly on the ice, then swung its tail with force, releasing a long stream of water that crashed into the ground in front of it.
A blast of spray erupted, and the water surged toward Arcanine like a fast-moving current.
"Jump, Arcanine!"
"Woof!"
Arcanine's four legs pushed off with great force, launching its muscular body over the wave of water from Aqua Tail. It leapt into the air, soaring directly above Dewgong.
"Dewgong!"
Its attack missing, Dewgong quickly looked up—but the moment it did, the intense sunlight overhead stung its eyes. It reflexively shut them against the glare.
In that split second, Arcanine dove down from the sky, casting a large shadow as it descended. A faint white glow enveloped its body—Tackle connected with Dewgong's body.
With the sound of shattering ice, Dewgong let out a pained cry as it was hurled sideways, crashing into a block of ice and smashing it into chunks, before being buried in the rubble.
"Dewgong! Are you okay?! Use Aqua Ring, quickly!"
Lorelei turned toward Dewgong, who had emerged from the debris with one eye shut. She shouted urgently.
"Gong..!"
Dewgong groaned as it crawled out from the pile of ice. A shimmering ring of water formed around its body, gradually replenishing its energy.
"Arcanine! Don't let it recover! Get in there—Thunder Fang, now!"
"Grrrr..!"
Still dazed from the recoil of its earlier Tackle, Arcanine shook its large head to clear the dizziness. At Liam's command, it suddenly perked up, growled low, and charged at Dewgong, electricity crackling in its fangs.
"Dewgong! Aqua Tail again!"
"Dew!"
Dewgong growled, and water rapidly coiled around its tail again. This time, it didn't strike the ground—instead, it whipped its tail like a lashing whip, striking directly toward Arcanine.
"Extreme Speed to dodge! Then full-power Thunder Fang!"
"Woof!"
Faced with the same move again, Arcanine burst with red energy and flickered, vanishing from Dewgong and Lorelei's sight. Dewgong stared blankly at the empty space where its target had been, still processing what had just happened—when suddenly a red blur appeared at its side, slamming into it from underneath.
With a flick of its head, Arcanine launched Dewgong into the air. Its jaws then lit with electric sparks and sank into Dewgong's tail as it began to fall, unleashing a burst of electricity.
Dewgong writhed and screamed in pain, trying to break free from Arcanine's grip.
As a Water-type, Dewgong was especially vulnerable to Thunder Fang. After a few frantic struggles, it finally fell limp, collapsing weakly to the ground.
"Beep! Dewgong is unable to battle—Arcanine wins!"
Seeing Dewgong's eyes spinning and its body sprawled out, the referee rushed over and waved his flag at Arcanine.
"Grrr..."
Arcanine let go of Dewgong's tail and gave a low, apologetic growl toward its fallen opponent before leaping back to Liam's side.
"Return, Dewgong. You did great..."
Lorelei withdrew Dewgong with her PokeBall and murmured softly to it. Without waiting for the referee's prompt, she immediately threw out another PokeBall.
"Go! Cloyster!"
With a loud thud, a giant, purple, heavily-armored shell Pokémon slammed onto the ice, cracking it with its weight. Its back shell opened, revealing a spherical face with a sinister grin that let out a chilling laugh toward Liam and Arcanine.
"Another Water/Ice-type... Arcanine, come back and rest for now."
Lorelei had sent out another Water-type, and one whose Water attacks far surpassed Dewgong's. It wasn't wise to keep Arcanine in battle.
Liam returned Arcanine's PokeBall to his belt and tossed another one onto the field. A beam of light emerged, and the towering form of Nidoking appeared on the half-water battlefield.
"Nido!!"
Nidoking roared loudly the moment it appeared.
"Both Pokémon are ready—battle, continue!"
The referee saw that both trainers had completed their switches and returned to position, declaring the match resumed.
"Nidoking, stay sharp—Sunny Day!"
With Arcanine recalled, the scorching sunlight had started to fade. Seeing this, Liam quickly had Nidoking restore it.
"Nido!"
A red glow shot up into the sky again, and the dimming sunlight blazed back with renewed intensity.
"How unsportsmanlike! Cloyster, Spike Cannon!"
Seeing Liam reuse Sunny Day, Lorelei pouted and huffed in frustration. At her command, Cloyster let out a clicking cry as several sharp spikes on its body began to glow white. Then, like missiles, they shot toward Nidoking with long white trails behind them—so many that it felt like a barrage raining down from the sky.
"Nidoking! Flamethrower!"
"Nido!"
Though his typing was unusual, Nidoking had trained heavily in Fire-type attacks. His Flamethrower was far stronger than Arcanine's Heat Wave.
With a deep breath, he unleashed a scorching stream of fire that engulfed the incoming spike barrage. As the Spike Cannons exploded one by one in the flames, bursts of fire scattered in all directions, and both attacks canceled each other out in a series of fiery detonations.