Scyther was stalling for time; the effects of Outrage would soon wear off.
Just a moment ago, the red-eyed Mega Garchomp had been displaying immense power, but once Outrage ended, it fell directly into a state of Confusion.
In its confused state, Mega Garchomp stumbled around like it was drunk, its head spinning. Even though Scyther stood perfectly still, the opponent's attacks went wide. It even began attacking itself that was the nature of Confusion.
This was why Outrage wasn't a move to be used lightly. While active, the user lost all reason and often made poor judgments; once it ended, they were left in a state of Confusion. It was a double-edged sword, capable of harming the opponent but just as likely to harm the user.
"I'm making my move now. Don't say I'm taking advantage of you," Jiang Chen told Li Xuan.
Li Xuan was beyond words. The battle wasn't over yet, but the outcome was obvious. His Mega Garchomp was on the verge of fainting. As long as Jiang Chen wasn't a fool, he wouldn't give Mega Garchomp any chance to recover.
Indeed, Scyther followed Jiang Chen's command and finished the fight with a lethal X-Scissor, successfully defeating Mega Garchomp.
Once defeated, the Pokémon reverted from its Mega Evolution. Li Xuan's expression was grim. To secure his first victory, he had led with his ace, yet even his trump card had failed to win. It was incredibly embarrassing.
"Please switch your Pokémon," the referee reminded Li Xuan. He didn't want the trainer wasting any more time.
Li Xuan recalled Garchomp and sent out his second Pokémon: Scizor, the evolved form of Scyther. Though it was an evolution, their Base Stats were actually the same. If Scyther was an assassin, then Scizor was a warrior.
This Scizor wasn't weak either, sitting at the third stage of the Elite Four level. There had been no record of this Scizor in the data Ning Ya had gathered; this guy had hidden it well.
"Scyther, use Fury Cutter."
"Scizor, use Bullet Punch."
Both Pokémon attacked simultaneously. Scyther dodged the Bullet Punch with ghost-like speed, its scythe slashing across Scizor's body. After a single Fury Cutter, Scizor immediately lost its ability to battle.
"What?"
Li Xuan began to question his life. He hadn't expected the fight to end so quickly. His Scizor had high defense, so why couldn't it even withstand a few hits from Scyther? Scizor was capable of Mega Evolution, but Li Xuan didn't possess its Mega Stone. Without the power boost from Mega Evolution, the gap between this Scizor and Jiang Chen's Scyther was simply too vast.
Thus, it was only natural for it to be finished in an instant. It would have been stranger if it had managed to hold on.
"The gap between your Scizor and my Scyther is quite large," Jiang Chen said bluntly.
Li Xuan opened his mouth but found no words. Harsh as Jiang Chen's words were, they were the truth. The difference between their Pokémon was indeed significant. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been taken out in a single move.
"Please send out your next Pokémon," the referee said, looking at Li Xuan.
Reluctantly, Li Xuan recalled his Scizor. Even if he wasn't satisfied, a loss was a loss. He also realized that his journey in the tournament likely ended here. He had hidden his strength, but in the end, he hadn't managed to trick anyone; instead, he was being sent packing by a rookie trainer like Jiang Chen.
"Come back, Scyther."
Jiang Chen recalled Scyther; after all, switching Pokémon was permitted in the match. Seeing Jiang Chen recall Scyther, Li Xuan's expression froze. Perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.
Of course, this wasn't hope for defeating Jiang Chen. From the moment Mega Garchomp went down, Li Xuan knew he couldn't win. This was the hope of knocking out at least one of Jiang Chen's Pokémon. If he could defeat just one, he wouldn't be a complete laughingstock when he left the stage.
Otherwise, the story of how he intentionally hid his strength only to be swept without taking down a single opponent would surely become a topic of ridicule for others. No one wanted to be the butt of a joke.
"Go, Slaking!"
After Scyther returned, Jiang Chen sent Slaking onto the field.
"It's Slaking."
Li Xuan frowned deeply. He didn't know if he could beat this Slaking. He had researched Jiang Chen's background and knew this Slaking was very different from the norm. While other Slaking had the Truant ability, this one did not. Some suspected it possessed the Huge Power ability because its attack power was terrifying.
"Go, Typhlosion!"
With Garchomp and Scizor out, Typhlosion was his strongest remaining Pokémon.
"Go, Typhlosion! You have to beat this Slaking!"
Li Xuan asked for nothing else; he just wanted to take down one of Jiang Chen's Pokémon.
"Slaking, you're on your own. Do as you like."
Jiang Chen didn't bother giving specific orders. From the moment he saw the strength of the opposing Typhlosion, he knew the match was decided. Upon hearing Jiang Chen's command, Slaking closed the distance instantly and slammed its fist into Typhlosion.
Typhlosion had just opened its mouth to release a Flamethrower, but the punch hit it so hard its jaw was nearly knocked out of alignment. Typhlosion collapsed miserably, and immediately, Slaking mounted the opponent and began raining down blow after blow.
Even Jiang Chen hadn't expected Slaking's fighting style to be so wild. Typhlosion looked pathetic, being pinned and pummeled like that.
"Your Slaking is going too far," Li Xuan said, his face pale.
"My Slaking isn't breaking any rules."
Jiang Chen shrugged. Even if Slaking wasn't showing any respect, no one said it couldn't fight this way. As long as it won, it was fine. Sitting atop Typhlosion, Slaking delivered a one-sided beating that made the fire-type question its very existence.
Slaking wasn't even using specific moves; it was just using its raw fists. Yet, each punch was no weaker than another Pokémon's full-power Mega Punch. Li Xuan wasn't the only one suffering;
Typhlosion was being battered into a state of utter humiliation. It tried to break free from Slaking's weight, but it lacked the strength to flip the massive ape. It wanted to use Flamethrower, but its mouth was held shut by brute force.
"Just end it already."
Li Xuan knew staying in the fight would only be more embarrassing, so he pleaded with Jiang Chen to give him a quick end instead of continuing the torment.
"Alright, it is getting a bit excessive," Jiang Chen agreed, nodding.
Slaking used to be very efficient in its battles. He had no idea who it had learned this behavior from.
"Slaking, finish this quickly."
As soon as Jiang Chen spoke, Slaking stood up. Before the liberated Typhlosion could even feel a moment of relief, Slaking hoisted it into the air and threw it skyward. Slaking leaped after it and brought a Hammer Arm crashing down.
"BOOM!!!"
The battlefield shook. Typhlosion's body was driven deep into the ground. It was safe to say the arena would need extensive repairs. In truth, the fight between Scyther and the Mega Garchomp had already left the field in tatters.
Crashing into the earth, Typhlosion lost its ability to battle.
"Whew, it's finally over."
Li Xuan let out a long breath. Continuing a fight when you knew you couldn't win was pure torture. Thankfully, it was finished.
"Li Xuan has been eliminated! Jiang Chen advances to the Top 32!" the referee announced loudly.
"Congratulations. I hope you win the championship," Li Xuan said, offering his blessing to Jiang Chen.
Although he felt some resentment at having just lost, he genuinely wanted Jiang Chen to keep winning. Losing to the champion sounded much better than losing to some random Top 16 or Top 8 finisher. Li Xuan truly hoped Jiang Chen would go all the way.
It had to be said that Li Xuan's mindset was remarkably similar to Gao Yang's. Gao Yang had thought the same thing losing to the champion carried a certain amount of glory. After all, it was perfectly normal to be unable to beat the champion.
Li Xuan recalled his Pokémon and made a graceful exit.
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