Because Ninetales' condition was declining, Leaf Storm and Blizzard collided and continuously canceled each other out, quickly stirring up a shocking tempest.
At the same time, Exeggutor hurled bombs and used Wood Hammer wildly. Countless bombs exploded against the defensive system formed by Aurora Veil and the ice wall.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Within a single second, the Snowy Weather defense system was blasted full of holes, but with Ninetales' continuous recovery, Exeggutor still failed to break through.
"Trying to wear down Ninetales' stamina?!"
Seeing Exeggutor's fierce offensive, Terrance quickly calculated the situation. Exeggutor had far more stamina remaining than Ninetales. Seeing no hope of victory, the opponent had resolved to at least defeat Ninetales.
"We can't fight a battle of attrition!"
Noticing that Exeggutor could still use a weak Synthesis while flinging bombs, Terrance's heart sank. Unwilling to let the opponent succeed, he immediately issued a counterattack command.
Very quickly, the ice wall condensed into an ice spear, piercing toward the incoming bombs!
Boom!!
The ice spear easily pierced through the bombs aligned on the same plane and shot toward Exeggutor to impale it. However, the remaining bombs rapidly smashed down near Ninetales.
"Nine~tales!"
Maintaining Aurora Veil for defense, Ninetales chose to endure the exploding bombs, becoming engulfed in the aftermath. At the same time, the ice spear successfully struck Exeggutor.
Bang!!
Exeggutor's eyes turned ferocious as it slammed its Wood Hammer against the ice spear, mitigating some of the force. Yet the ice power still invaded its body wildly, making Exeggutor extremely uncomfortable.
Boom!!
The instant Exeggutor swatted away the ice spear, it exploded into ice and snow, and countless clouds of snow mist engulfed Exeggutor as the ice energy continued to erode its stamina.
"Giga Drain!!"
"Frozen Aqua Tail!"
Within the snow mist, two energy vines shot toward Ninetales shrouded in smoke. Severely injured by the bomb attacks, Ninetales immediately whipped its nine tails as aqua light emerged. Then, under the power of Snowy Weather, Aqua Tail froze with a solid layer of frost, entangling with the two energy vines.
Under the erosion of ice power, Giga Drain simply couldn't break through the ice to absorb stamina. However, Grayson had a deeper plan. With a faint smile, a wave of psychic power spread out. Through the energy vines, it established a link between Ninetales and Exeggutor. In that instant, Ninetales briefly lost control of Snowy Weather, and the power of Snow Warning was directly stripped away!
It was Skill Swap!
"What a pity! Skill Swap tactic is useless against Ninetales." Terrance smiled in return. The opponent had outsmarted himself. In the next moment, Ninetales let out a long cry as a snowstorm gathered once more at its tails. In an instant, the ice power erupted again, freezing Exeggutor!!
The move Role Play activated! Using psychic power to copy the opponent, it changed its Ability to match theirs. Since Snow Warning was originally Ninetales' own Ability, the imitation succeeded almost instantly.
The snowstorm swept in. Though Exeggutor was greatly alarmed and struggled fiercely, it was ultimately powerless to resist and became a gleaming ice sculpture.
"Exeggutor is unable to battle. As Contestant Grayson has lost all six Pokémon, the winner is Contestant Terrance."
The moment the referee finished speaking, the audience erupted. A single Ninetales had defeated four of the opponent's Pokémon. Facing a master of the Grass Star Style, Ninetales had used its strength to show Grass-type experts its invincible side.
"Congratulations." Grayson glanced at the silent fellow disciples of the Grass Star Style in the audience, smiled, shook his head, and stepped forward to shake Terrance's hand.
"Thank you."
As Terrance and Grayson shook hands, the other Champion League contestants remained silent, nothing but silence.
Each of them had their own measure in mind.
Terrance's Pokémon lineup wasn't hard to investigate. According to records, Beautifly, Altaria, Mismagius, Arcanine, Castform, and Gallade were the six Pokémon who had followed him the earliest. It was also these Pokémon that had shone brilliantly at the Super Festival jointly organized by the Pokémon League and Contest Committee. Yet now, only Beautifly had appeared, and it had already displayed impressive strength. So what about the others?
Wouldn't that mean…
"Pokémon like Ninetales are all newly trained main Pokemon. So far, he's only revealed the tip of the iceberg."
After finally releasing the railing they had been gripping for so long, the Champion League contestants turned and left. Such strength had sparked their curiosity. Between Terrance and Norman, known as the Elite Four Barrier, who was stronger?
"Terrance won."
At the same time, the Team Rocket trio let out a long breath. The battle had been so intense that they had even forgotten to sell their merchandise…
"Forget selling. Let's hurry and find Terrance, or he'll leave again, meow!" Meowth directly tossed the basket of snacks into a corner.
"Let's go!!" James and Jessie nodded quickly and threw theirs aside as well.
The trio had completely forgotten how hard they had worked to get this job and enter the venue in the first place…
…
"Mr. Terrance, this way please."
After the match ended, the assistant Sharan came to escort Terrance as usual.
Sharan's face was filled with delight. Grayson, the inheritor of the Grass Star Style, was clearly different from previous opponents, yet Terrance had still defeated him with ease. This greatly increased the chances of Terrance becoming one of the Elite Four.
"I'm a bit tired. Let's depart tomorrow instead." Terrance let out a long breath. Not only was he exhausted from commanding, but Pupitar, Ninetales, Gardevoir, and the others also needed a good rest.
Although Poké Balls could slowly restore stamina, Pupitar and Gardevoir in particular had suffered considerable injuries. It would be best to send them to the Pokémon Center for a thorough examination.
"Understood. I'll make arrangements immediately." Sharan nodded quickly.
After leaving the stadium, Terrance handed the Poké Balls to Nurse Joy. Though the injuries were serious, fortunately they weren't life-threatening. In other words, while the Champion League contestants goes all out for victory, they still show some restraint.
In the Champion League and Elite Four matches, there were indeed Trainers who would stop at nothing to win, some even fought with the intent to kill their opponent's Pokémon. But even if such Trainers won, they would never gain the audience's support. After all, in most people's hearts, Pokémon are partners, friends, family, and comrades, not tools.
"Mr. Terrance, someone is looking for you. Since they don't seem to be media, so…"
"They said you'll understand once you check your phone."
At the hotel, just as Terrance was about to take a shower, he suddenly paused. Picking up the phone he had tossed aside, he indeed found an unread message.
"James?"
"How did they end up in Hoenn? Could it be that their Magtonium research succeeded? No… the chance of failure is probably higher." Terrance scratched his hair, pondered for a moment, and said, "Please prepare another room. Thank you."
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