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"Is the turning point of the match finally here?"
Lucian looked full of anticipation.
Etorre had already lost his Jellicent, Kingdra, and Forretress, whereas Dakota had only lost Darkrai and Salamence.
'Trick Room' had expired. Ettore's second 'Space Hand' had to appear now. This Pokémon needed to stabilize the dimensional field and ensure a safe retreat; otherwise, Dakota could simply stall the battle until Trick Room wore off again.
After wiping the sand off his face, the referee loudly asked both trainers if they wanted to switch Battle Arenas.
The arena change wasn't mandatory because the standard field had merely been transformed into a mixture of Rock-type and mountainous terrain by Draco Meteor. Although the battlefield was covered in rubble and uneven everywhere, it was still usable.
Dakota was the first to say he didn't care. Etorre stared at him for a moment before nodding, indicating that they could continue.
They both seemed to think that this battered field favored them more.
Etorre's Chandelure and Dakota's Metagross entered the field simultaneously.
"If Etorre doesn't have another Space Hand, then I already know what changes he made to Conway's Trick Room lineup," Lucian said.
"Conway fought so miserably not only because his Pokémon weren't strong enough to force Dakota to give his all, but also because the Space Hand itself lacked offensive power. Etorre's two Space Hands, on the other hand, are both Pokémon with very respectable combat ability."
Dakota watched silently with an expressionless face as Chandelure set up Trick Room. At his command, Metagross flew nearby and smashed down a Rock Slide.
The effect was excellent. Chandelure shook violently from the attack, its flames flickering unsteadily.
Etorre ordered Chandelure to counterattack with Inferno.
Luther was extremely familiar with this move. It was one of the core attacks in Houndoom's three-hit combo package.
It was a move that consumed a lot of stamina and energy, and it wasn't particularly quick to perform either. However, it was extremely powerful and also carried a burn effect. It was a true finishing move.
'Ettore, what are you doing?!'
'This is your last Space Hand! Even if your Inferno severely injures Metagross, what will happen to your Chandelure afterwards?'
Luther was already getting anxious on Etorre's behalf.
Sure enough, Inferno's opening move was essentially screaming at Metagross:
"Come on! Hit me!'
Naturally, Dakota gladly took advantage of this. Metagross accelerated straight towards Chandelure.
"Keep your distance while using 'Rock Slide.' Leave immediately after attacking."
Rocks materialized above Chandelure's head and repeatedly smashed into it.
Chandelure eyes remained fixed on Metagross. Despite remaining fixed in place, its body gave off the illusion of teleportation with the help of Trick Room.
The instant Metagross turned to leave, it failed to notice that Chandelure had appeared directly behind it. Before Dakota could shout 'Protect', a terrifying wave of heat exploded across Metagross's body.
Despite the discomfort of being scorched by flames, Metagross activated Protect, blocking the follow-up damage from Chandelure.
Watching the slightly swaying Chandelure, Dakota assessed the condition of both Pokémon based on their performance. He couldn't help but click his tongue before making up his mind.
"Shadow Ball."
He could already tell that Chandelure was like a candle flickering in the wind; its stamina was completely exhausted. Although he had prepared a backup plan against Trick Room long ago, if there was a chance to finish things here and now, he absolutely wouldn't let it slip away.
"Metagross took an Inferno, but Chandelure can't fire off a second one. At most, it can only use weaker moves now. Those Fire-type moves won't defeat Metagross." Dakota was absolutely confident. "I've won this battle."
Metagross was ready. Although the burn had crippled its physical attack power, the strength of its Shadow Ball remained unaffected. A massive sphere of darkness had already formed in front of it.
"Flamethrower!"
Dakota smiled when he saw the stream of fire. As a Pokémon Trainer, he was certain that this Flamethrower would not defeat his Metagross.
If Etorre wanted to switch Pokémon, then so be it. Without its Space Hand, a Trick Room team was nothing more than meat on the chopping block.
The flames struck the connection point between Metagross's left arm and its body, failing to land directly on its main body.
Wait a second!
Dakota, Luther, and Lucian all stared at Metagross in shock.
Suddenly, the Shadow Ball exploding in front of Metagross detonated prematurely. As though it could no longer control the power it had gathered, Metagross shut its eyes tightly, took a step back, and revealed an expression of extreme pain.
Dakota's scalp went numb. Watching Metagross's massive body crash heavily to the ground, he actually lost the ability to think for a moment.
The audience had no idea what had just happened and looked at one another in confusion. Even the two commentators in the booth fell silent for a moment.
In the VIP seats, Diantha and Cynthia were dazed for a moment before finally realizing what Etorre had done.
Dakota and Luther realized it too. This was a technique that Etorre had used before.
Back at Kihara Restaurant, Luther had shared a battle style focused on controlling tempo.
Dakota explained the structure and setup of hyper-offensive team line-ups.
Meanwhile, Ash Ketchum introduced his seemingly unbelievable experience of turning unfavorable type matchups into advantages as well as using subtle reverse tactics and different moves to overcome desperate situations.
And what Etorre shared was how to seize the openings exposed when an opponent's Pokémon was using a move, or right after using one.
The advanced version of this technique involved learning how to interrupt the power a Pokémon gathered while executing a move.
Etorre had always said that his research in this area was only at a beginner level. In high-intensity battles, many attack angles simply didn't allow for such maneuvres.
Yet, at the most critical moment of this quarter-final battle, Chandelure struck the exact point where Metagross exposed the node through which it channelled its power. This not only interrupted Shadow Ball but also dispersed the strength throughout Metagross's entire body.
Up in the stands, Ash pumped his fists excitedly and told Dawn and Brock that he could use the technique too; he just wasn't very skilled at it yet.
Dawn and Brock praised him a few times, as though they were humouring a child, finally calming down the idiot who looked ready to jump into the arena and cheer on personally.
Etorre recalled Chandelure. Feeling deeply satisfied, he couldn't help but praise it repeatedly. Being able to land such precise hits so steadily despite severe injuries was incredible.
Meanwhile, Dakota stood silently, repeatedly clenching and relaxing his fists. His eyes remained shut, and nobody knew what he was thinking about.
"Thank you," he suddenly said to Etorre.
Ettore froze for a moment before replying, "Save the extra words for after the match. I'm waiting to advance to the semi-finals."
"That's probably impossible. I've already secured my place in the top four." Dakota threw out a Poké Ball. "Girafarig, use Trick Room."
Luther's body trembled.
Lucian had no idea why Luther was reacting so strongly.
"Isn't it just a Girafarig? What's there to be shocked about? You've even caught Darkrai before, why would this surprise you?
"If you like Girafarig, I've got one too. Mine's raised way better than his. If you want to see one, just come find me."
"I'm an expert at raising Girafarig. That one of Dakota's is obviously no good. It's far worse than his Darkrai."
"Here, Girafarig, say hello to Luther… licking his hand with your tongue doesn't count. Turn the head on your backside around too and greet him properly. Be polite…"
Luther couldn't hear a single word Lucian was saying. All of his attention was focused entirely on Dakota's Girafarig.
Other people didn't know, but Luther, Ash, and Etorre all understood exactly what Dakota's Girafarig represented.
(End of Chapter)