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Dakota and Etorre had already taken their positions on the Battle Arena at some point.
Their usual relaxed expressions had completely disappeared. Luther had never seen such a solemn look on Dakota's face before.
From the stands, Mao watched Etorre, looking visibly uneasy.
After hesitating repeatedly, Etorre changed three of the Pokémon in his lineup: Ferrothorn, Nidoking, and Heracross.
These three Pokémon had originally been intended to surround and eliminate Darkrai. However, after watching Barry's and Luther's battles, Etorre realized something.
"Both competitors are ready!"
Contestant Dakota is considered the strongest contender for the championship in this Lily of the Valley Conference! His Darkrai has swept through opponents effortlessly, only suffering its first loss in the previous round. Yet the strength of the Pokémon he revealed afterward remains terrifying!"
"Contestant Etorre, on the other hand, has the strongest team in this tournament. So far, he has used twenty-two Pokémon. Will he reveal more Pokémon in this match to counter Dakota?"
Even Luther and Lucian were excited by the commentator's words. There was no denying it, this match was incredibly captivating.
"Contestant Etorre has the first move. Release your Pokémon!" The referee signaled with his flag.
As expected, Dakota sent out Darkrai first once again.
Meanwhile, Etorre's opening Pokémon was the Jellicent that had played happily with Milcery at Kihara Restaurant.
The moment the blue, marshmallow-like Pokémon appeared, Milcery, currently being looked after by Mai, excitedly waved its tiny hands.
"A Water/Ghost-type Jellicent. Its typing is still at a disadvantage. Even if Trick Room goes up, how much fighting power will it have left afterwards?" Lucian remarked.
Just as Luther and Lucian had predicted, Etorre immediately called out the move:
"Trick Room!"
In the audience, Conway pushed up his glasses and let out a creepy chuckle. Seeing later contestants adopt his strategy gave him immense satisfaction.
"Dark Pulse."
Since Etorre had chosen to set up Trick Room, he naturally had to endure the punishment during the setup window.
The Dark Pulse exploded directly in front of Jellicent, sending it staggering backward in pain. Despite its durability, the attack left it dizzy and shaken.
"Will-O-Wisp," Etorre commanded.
Both Luther and Lucian froze for a moment.
No switch?
Most conventional Trick Room teams carried at least two Trick Room setters to maintain field control. Judging by Jellicent's reaction to the Dark Pulse, Luther and Lucian thought it could withstand one more hit at most. Under normal circumstances, Etorre should have kept his Trick Room setter.
Could it be that Etorre had three Trick Room setters?
"No need to hesitate. End this quickly... Dark Pulse!"
Despite being tormented by the burn from Will-O-Wisp, Darkrai launched another Dark Pulse straight into Jellicent's soft body at Dakota's command. Luther could even see the seawater inside Jellicent violently sloshing around.
"It's time. Pain Split!"
Luther was stunned. Forcing a stamina split with Darkrai was one thing, but Pain Split had a notoriously long activation time. Wouldn't Jellicent just become an easy target?
Then, in the next moment, Luther understood how Etorre planned to do it.
Jellicent suddenly rammed into Darkrai, wrapping its tentacles tightly around it and sticking itself to its opponent.
"In your dreams!"
Dakota instantly realized what Etorre was trying to do and hurriedly ordered Darkrai to attack the Jellicent clinging to it. As long as Jellicent was defeated before Pain Split fully activated, the move would fail.
This seemingly overpowering move had one fatal flaw: its lengthy casting time.
Darkrai raised its hand and unleashed a Dark Pulse at the Jellicent behind it at point-blank range.
At the same time, however, an overwhelming sensation of discomfort spread throughout its entire body.
The agony of severe injuries and the exhaustion of depleted stamina overwhelmed it.
Pain Split was completed just before Darkrai's Dark Pulse connected. Jellicent was blasted away by the attack, and Darkrai was caught in the resulting explosion too.
"Jellicent is unable to battle. Darkrai wins."
After a moment of silence, Lucian began applauding.
"To pull off something like that, you need a perfect understanding of your Pokémon's condition and an extremely accurate estimate of your opponent's capabilities."
"If Jellicent hadn't had enough stamina to endure the attack, that would have just been sacrificing a Trick Room setter for nothing. And if Etorre hadn't been able to accurately gauge Darkrai's strength, he wouldn't have been able to drain its stamina to the maximum extent possible."
"The biggest flaw of Pain Split is that its activation time is far too slow for modern, fast-paced battles. Ettore must have specifically trained for this kind of execution a long time ago."
Dakota looked up at Etorre, who wore an unmistakable smile on his face.
Ettore's second Pokémon was Forretress. As a Bug/Steel type, it only had one weakness: Fire. Every other type of attack was frustratingly ineffective against it.
However, Luther remembered that Darkrai didn't seem to possess any offensive Fire-type moves.
"At this point, he should switch to Salamence. One Fire Blast or Flamethrower would probably take out Forretress immediately,' Lucian commented.
After hearing that, Luther chuckled softly.
"If he switches, he won't be Dakota anymore. When have you ever seen him voluntarily switch out as long as Darkrai hasn't lost?"
"Dark Void."
Just as Luther had predicted, Dakota was under no circumstances going to switch. Darkrai's Dark Void grazed Forretress's spinning body and flew off into the distance.
Empowered by the Trick Room's speed reversal, Forretress unleashed four volleys of Pin Missile at Darkrai. The scattered missiles spread through the air like a giant net closing in.
At full strength, Darkrai could have danced effortlessly through an attack like this, weaving through the barrage without sustaining a single scratch.
However, after Pain Split, its stamina had dropped drastically and it moved more slowly. As it darted through the Pin Missiles, Darkrai was repeatedly struck.
After finally forcing its way through the barrage, Darkrai hurled another Dark Void at Forretress. Yet Forretress relied once again on its Trick Room–enhanced speed advantage to rush directly into Darkrai's face. Enduring the Dark Void head-on, it unleashed another volley of Pin Missiles at point-blank range.
Darkrai stared at the dense cluster of flashing lights before it.
There was nowhere to dodge.
In the next instant, it was completely swallowed by the barrage.
Under the effects of Dark Void, Forretress had already collapsed onto the ground. A few seconds later, Darkrai also fell onto the battlefield beside it.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Darkrai struggled to rise again. Its psychic power was gathering; if it could just hold on a little longer, it would be able to launch Dream Eater.
But under everyone's watchful eyes, the tenacious Darkrai suddenly slackened and collapsed completely.
"Darkrai is unable to battle. Forretress wins."
Ever since the preliminary rounds began, Darkrai had swept through everything in its path as a Legendary Pokémon. Everyone feared Darkrai. By the time the Ranking Tournament started, every competitor had begun studying ways to counter it.
During the Main Tournament, Conway became the first trainer to defeat Darkrai, revealing strategies aimed at countering Dakota's overall team lineup.
And now, in today's battle, Etorre had defeated Darkrai once again.
That overwhelmingly oppressive Darkrai was no longer an invincible existence in the hearts of the contestants.
(End of Chapter)