Main venue, online.
Countless spectators of the Ever Grande Conference gazed at the battlefield, their expressions varied—excited, disappointed, expectant, curious, and so forth.
Everything was beyond words.
However, without exception, they were all extremely curious about whether Baimu, whom many regarded as having the strength to crush all opponents, truly had a Pokémon taken down by another contestant.
The smoke slowly dissipated.
On the messy grass, both Little Kangaskhan and Mega Kangaskhan stood not far from the fallen, prone Gengar, looking down at the latter.
Beep—
A familiar whistle sounded.
"Gengar has lost the ability to battle! Kangaskhan wins!" The referee's voice wasn't loud, but it was deafening to the audience.
Buzz!
The noise of the audience echoed through the skies, and the comments in the livestreaming room of the conference skyrocketed by an unimaginable number.
It truly fell!
The first Pokémon to lose its ability to battle in the second half actually belonged to Baimu!
The commentator was equally excited, "Taken down! Despite the unfavorable attributes, Mega Kangaskhan successfully collaborated with its child to defeat Gengar! Elma sounds the horn of counterattack!"
As he shouted this, the noise from the audience became even louder.
Xiaoguang looked around, confused, and asked, "Baimu clearly hasn't lost yet, why does it feel like everyone is…"
"Because he is too strong."
Xiaogang solemnly explained, "The previous performances were too good, the immense strength foundation led many to have unnecessary expectations of him, so it's unavoidable for this situation to occur now."
The usually composed former Hall Master was very reliable, and in one sentence, he revealed the strange reason for the current atmosphere.
Liuqia also said, "This is almost a situation that all strong trainers encounter; the undefeated legend of Galar is too terrifying, he elevates the world's perception of strength!"
Mann Chong remained silent, only gazing at the field below.
He subconsciously sensed there was an issue.
How could Baimu's Pokémon be defeated so easily?
But he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, so he focused to closely observe the Gengar that Baimu had withdrawn and the remaining Kangaskhan mother-child pair, attempting to uncover some clues.
Suddenly.
Mann Chong noticed Little Kangaskhan stumble as it moved and shouted urgently, "Everyone! Look at Little Kangaskhan!"
His call prompted Xiaogang and the others to look towards the field, accompanied by a crowd also gazing inside.
Those with poor eyesight were still puzzled, while those with good eyesight clearly noticed Little Kangaskhan appeared somewhat fatigued, walking unsteadily, with Mega Kangaskhan moving forward worriedly.
Eventually, when Aerial Rotom focused on Little Kangaskhan, zooming in on the corner of its mouth bubbling with violet foam and casting it onto the big screen, it immediately caused a widespread uproar among the audience.
It's poisoned!
How did it suddenly get poisoned? Was it Gengar's doing?
The commentator observed for a long time and successfully spotted remnants of violet liquid where Little Kangaskhan originally stood, amidst the clump of grass through Aerial Rotom.
He hurriedly shouted, "It's Severe Poison! Gengar used Severe Poison before collapsing!"
A Pokémon temporarily losing its ability to battle, even if it regained consciousness, couldn't covertly release a technique. Therefore, it must have been used secretly by Gengar during the earlier engagement.
Boom!
The audience erupted with jubilant cheers!
Clearly about to fall, yet capable of quietly counterattacking in an emergency, what astounding strength Gengar possesses!
In the field.
Elma was utterly shocked, he never imagined that Little Kangaskhan would be inexplicably poisoned by Gengar.
His plan was thereby thrown into chaos.
It's known that if Mega Kangaskhan were poisoned, there might still be a way to remain on the field. With Little Kangaskhan poisoned, except leaving the field and waiting for another opportunity, there's no alternative. Neither he nor Mega Kangaskhan wanted Little Kangaskhan to battle while bearing Severe Poison.
What is this?
The implication of 'None of my Pokémon fall so easily'?
He fell silent, gazing at Baimu in the distance who showed no expression, and simultaneously withdrew Mega Kangaskhan and Little Kangaskhan into their Pokeballs.
Opposite.
"Well done, Gengar."
Baimu rubbed the surface of the Pokeball, speaking softly.
Amidst the desperate situation of being breakthrough by the True Qi Bullet and surrounded from both sides, Gengar still managed to unleash Severe Poison, its perseverance is praiseworthy.
But if he hadn't seen wrong, the poison liquid was actually accumulating in Gengar's mouth when it lost the ability to battle.
Just due to falling face-down and opening its mouth wide at the time, it enabled the successful discharge of poison, which the nearby Little Kangaskhan stepped on and thus was poisoned.
Would risking it all with Shared Fate yield a better outcome?
Probably not.
Baimu had anticipated Elma would use Super Evolution before the match, and specifically reminded Gengar, if preparing to secretly use Shared Fate, it must ensure the final attack hits Mega Kangaskhan rather than Little Kangaskhan.
The two might be a unified entity in the game, but in reality, that's not quite the case.
Once Mega Kangaskhan falls, Little Kangaskhan will revert to its original form, equivalent to the lifting of Super Evolution; if Little Kangaskhan falls, Mega Kangaskhan is likely only unable to trigger the trait [Parent-child Love]—
He couldn't confirm, as the life forms of multiple Pokémon entities often cannot be judged by common logic.
Especially mega Kangaskhan, a Pokémon that shares various abilities through traits, changes ability tiers, and possibly certain states. What impact does Shared Fate on Little Kangaskhan have? Without experimentation, no one knows.
Gengar ultimately chose to gamble, not on Shared Fate, but on Severe Poison.
The effect was very significant.