(The stats of the Pokemon used in this battle are in the author notes below.)
"Both sides ready? Let the match…begin!"
With the Rotom Referee's signal, Mualani and Dante threw a Pokeball.
"Polly, you're up!"
"I choose you, Ursaring!"
As their first Pokemon appeared, the crowd of students broke out in cheers. The names they chanted were divided pretty evenly. Most older students cheered for Mualani, while the 1st-years and students from other courses cheered Dante on.
On the arena, rain clouds gathered overhead as Politoed's Drizzle Ability was activated.
"Ursaring? You also plan to defeat me with 1 against 3? Hehe, then what about this. Polly, Perish Song!"
Mualani didn't seem to feel any pressure from this battle that could result in her being replaced as the number 1. Instead, she looked at the ferocious bear Pokemon and its Trainer with an excited smile.
"I would if you became careless. Ursaring, use Taunt!"
Ursaring roared, his arms stretched forward as he gave his opponent a provocative look.
Taunt is a dark-type status move that prevents the target Pokemon from using any status moves for a definite time.
Politoed had been in the middle of singing when he caught a glimpse of Ursaring's provocation. His face turned red. However, he forcibly turned his head away and completed the Perish Song.
"Hehe, it's not the first time someone tried to interrupt Polly with that trick!"
Mualani proudly hummed while placing both hands on her hips. Politoed's role in her team is mostly to set the weather and act as a debuffer. Therefore, she especially made sure Politoed developed resistance to Taunt- a move that only allows a Pokemon to use damaging moves.
Opposite her, Dante frowned while staring at Politoed. He thought Ursaring's special attack was enough for the move to take effect, but it seems he was mistaken.
And since she started off with Perish Song, then…
"Polly, go!"
Mualani pointed at Ursaring like a ship captain telling their crew which way to go. Politoed also wasted no time executing her vague command. A large amount of water gathered in her mouth which formed into a massive whirlpool.
"Come back, Ursaring. Azumarill, take the field."
Just as the whirlpool was about to reach Ursaring, he turned into a red light and returned to his Pokeball. At almost the same moment, Dante threw a Pokeball upwards, beyond the Whirlpool's range, and released Azumarill.
"OHHH!"
The audience cheered after seeing Dante's operation. Switching Pokemon mid-battle is an essential part of being a good Trainer. After all, Trainers can only switch Pokemon in tournaments a limited number of times.
In this ranking battle, both Mualani and Dante have three chances to switch mid-battle. Therefore, every switch must count. In addition, the replacement Pokemon must also be released within 3 seconds of the previous one's return or it would count not as a switch but a forfeit.
Dante using one of his chances to prevent Ursaring from being trapped by the whirlpool, and releasing the replacement outside the range of the previous attack is a textbook example of a good use of the switch-in.
Azumarill hung in the air for a couple of seconds, swiping the Pokeball back in Dante's direction, and proceeded to use Aqua Jet to charge towards Politoed.
However, when he was only a meter away from her, Politoed returned to her Pokeball. And Ludicolo was released at a further and safer location from his opponent.
"What's wrong? Don't you plan to use Perish Song and Whirlpool again?"
Dante looked at Mualani with an amused expression.
Perish Song and Whirlpool is a classic but deadly move combination.
A Pokemon under the Perish Song condition constantly accumulates a kind of negative energy in their body. If not removed in time, it causes all the energy in their body to rush out, similar to the defense mechanism when hit by a fatal move.
Meanwhile, Whirlpool can restrict a Pokemon's movement by trapping them in a water vortex. After these two moves are combined, the Pokemon under Perish Song won't be able to remove the negative energy in the body. Their only hope would be to take down the opponent before the energy backlash hits.
"Nah, Colly can take care of this. Colly, use Scald!"
Mualani grinned. She knew just how powerful Azumarill's physical attack was. With Polly's low speed, it's not certain whether she could even release a move before being knocked down by Azumarill.
Her Colly, on the other hand…
"Ludicolo!"
Ludicolo danced around the battlefield, nimbly moving outside the range of Azumarill's attacks.
Under the rain, his speed doubled and reached 120. Compared with Azumarill's speed of only 93, the difference between the two was obvious.
While moving to a safer distance, Ludicolo spewed out boiling hot water. The raindrops that came in contact with it evaporated, only serving to enlarge the range of the attack as it headed toward Azumarill.
"Azumarill, Ice Punch."
As the scalding water reached Azumarill, an icy fist stopped its momentum. With a splash, Ludicolo's attack was scattered, causing an explosion of mist in front of the golden, egg-like bunny Pokemon.
"Colly, continue using Scald!"
"Ludicolo!"
Ludicolo dashed through the rain, circling Azumarill and periodically spewing boiling hot water. Azumarill easily countered his attacks, punching and dispersing them.
Soon, the whole arena was filled with dense, white fog. Except for the pitter-patter of the rain, and the occasional hissing sound of water evaporating, the audience couldn't see anything anymore.
"What's going on? What does Mualani want so much fog for?"
In the seats close to the railing, Furina asked while squinting her eyes to try and observe the situation in the arena.
She and Dawn had joined the group after learning that Mualani and Dante's match was finally about to start.
"…I'm not sure, either."
Focalors answered her sister, her brows furrowed as she tried to understand what Mualani was trying to do.
Even though Azumarill and Ludicolo were currently in a stalemate, if this situation continued, it would only be Ludicolo who wouldn't be able to withstand it first.
After all, the only reason he could hold his own against Azumarill was because of his increased speed. When the rain disappears, his advantage would be gone and that is when Azumarill could easily take him down.
As time passed, the rain above the arena began to slowly weaken. On the field, however, the fog had become so thick even Azumarill and Ludicolo had a hard time seeing a few feet past their own body, not to mention seeing each other.
Mualani had a satisfied smile when she saw this. Then, under the astonished eyes of the audience, she took Ludicolo back into his Pokeball and released her ace Pokemon.
"Let's shred, Sharky!"
"Sharpedo!!"
Within the fog, a sharp and loud cry echoed throughout the whole stadium. With a glint in its blood-red eyes, Sharpedo swam through the smoke-filled arena, his speed slowly increasing with each passing moment.
"I see. So this is your plan all along. To create a suitable environment for Sharpedo to stack his speed."
Dante mused as he marveled at the thick fog in front of him. Sharpedo is a hyper-offensive Pokemon with high attack and speed. And as common with these types of Pokemon, they have mid, often even low defenses.
If Mualani released Sharpedo without any preparation, even against Ursaring, his bear Pokemon could take advantage of when his speed hasn't been boosted yet to force a melee. After activating his Quick Feet Ability, Ursaring speed would have even surpassed Sharpedo's in his unboosted form and most likely defeat him in one blow.
But with the thick fog? Sharpedo can take his sweet time to ramp up his speed. Using his Copycat vision, Dante could even see the shark Pokemon using Focus Energy as he swam inside the fog.
"Hehe, how is it? Are you feeling the pressure now?"
Mualani grinned, her eyes seeming to pass through the thick fog and meet Dante's.
Admittedly, at first, she had only wanted to gamble on the chance that Azumarill would be burned by her Colly's Scald. But when she saw the smoke from their first collision, this plan began to form in her head. When she released Sharky from his Pokeball, she also used their secret code to command him to use Focus Energy.
Right now, as long as Sharky can gain enough time, Mualani could foresee a chance of their victory.
A/N: This is the stats of Dante and Mualani's current Pokemon. I'll update their stat pages later.
Pikachu
Type: Electric
Abilities:
Static (Can paralyze attackers that made physical contact)
Lightning Rod (Draws Electric-type attacks and boosts Special Attack)
Level: 48
HP: 111/111
Attack: 155 (+5) Defense: 94 (+18)
Sp. Atk: 156 Sp. Def.: 92 (+15) Speed: 100
Item: Light Ball (Doubles Attack and Special Attack)
Azumarill (Shiny)
Type: Water/Fairy
Abilities:
Huge Power (Doubles the power of Physical Attacks)
Sap Sipper (Absorbs Grass-type moves and boost the Pokemon's Attack stat)
Level: 44
HP: 123/123
Attack: 107 Defense: 90 (+6)
Sp. Atk: 110 (+10) Sp. Def.: 89 (+9) Speed: 93
Item: Power Band (Attack +12)
Ursaring (Male)
Type: Normal
Abilities:
Guts (Attack increases by 50% when inflicted by a major status ailment)
Quick Feet (Speed increases by 50% when inflicted by a major status ailment)
Level: 43
HP: 113/113
Attack: 92 (+10) Defense: 81
Sp. Atk: 77 Sp. Def.: 78 Speed: 75
Item: Power Band (Attack +12)
Politoed (Female) (Polly)
Type: Water
Ability:
Drizzle (Can create a rain shower with ease)
HP: 90
Attack: 75 Defense: 75
Sp. Atk: 90 Sp. Def.: 100 Speed: 70
Ludicolo (Male) (Colly)
Type: Water/Grass
Ability:
Swift Swim (Doubles the user's speed under the rain)
HP: 80
Attack: 70 Defense: 70
Sp. Atk: 90 Sp. Def.: 100 Speed: 70
Sharpedo (Male) (Sharky)
Type: Water/Dark
Ability:
Speed Boost (Speed gradually increases until it doubles)
HP: 70
Attack: 110 Defense: 40
Sp. Atk: 95 Sp. Def.: 40 Speed: 95