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The referee was the first to react. His years of experience officiating matches allowed him to instantly realize that the move that had just struck Dakota's Darkrai was definitely not Shadow Claw.
At the last moment before the move landed, the traces of the Ghost-type move had vanished completely, replaced by Brick Break, a move that had already appeared earlier in the battle.
This match was being conducted under standard rules, not unlimited rules, so how should this move be counted?
The referee immediately got a headache. Officiating Luther's matches was truly exhausting.
The other referees in the referee section did not argue for long. Some veteran referees had previously witnessed this tactic at Cynthia's invitation, and she had cheerfully asked them to decide how to count the move slots.
After a lengthy internal discussion, they reached a conclusion:
It counted as two separate moves.
Luther had also learned of this ruling from Cynthia, so he was prepared well in advance.
Dakota's Darkrai was slightly stronger than Luther's own Darkrai. In a direct clash, Luther would be at a disadvantage.
However, Luther simply compensated for this with his Pokémon Trainer abilities.
The bewildered commentator received an accurate explanation from the nearby referees. It was Brick Break, not Shadow Claw, that ultimately took effect.
The audience stared at each other in confusion, waiting for the commentators to explain what had happened. The commentators themselves were still trying to understand what the referees meant by "Darkrai switched moves at the final moment".
Dakota's Darkrai trembled as it stood back up.
Luther's Darkrai had risked serious injury, or even being knocked out instantly, to land two Brick Breaks directly on its shoulders. Now, even raising its arms caused an intense, burning numbness that was difficult to endure.
Dakota's hand trembled slightly.
He had never witnessed an operation like this before.
Switching a move that was almost complete into an entirely different one...
Was that actually possible?
Etorre, Ash, Barry, and Misaki, who was leaning against the railing near the battlefield while watching with the Elite Four, were equally shocked.
Throughout all the previous matches, no matter what kind of situation Luther faced, he had never once used this technique. Had he really kept it hidden all this time just to deliver a surprise in a battle like this?
In other words...
Had he never been fighting at full strength?
A sudden sense of frustration welled up inside Misaki. Their battle had been unimaginably intense, yet Luther clearly still had trump cards he had never used.
"Was I simply not worthy of it?" Misaki suddenly felt deeply dejected.
Luther had hidden his abilities far too well. Could he have even more tactics that had never been revealed?
Seeing the state of the opposing Darkrai, Luther clenched his fist in excitement.
This was the first time he had ever used this technique in an official match. Although Darkrai had performed extremely well and rarely failed during training, training was still only training.
This was its first real battle application, against Dakota's Darkrai, no less, and it had been executed perfectly. It gave Luther tremendous confidence.
Moreover, he had already explained this strategy to Darkrai before the match. During the battle, events unfolded almost exactly as he had predicted, which made Darkrai even more excited. To it, this was the very definition of winning through careful planning.
Seeing Dakota staring at him with a complicated expression, Luther laughed awkwardly.
"That was my ultimate trump card. I really don't have anything else left."
"You think I'd believe that?" Dakota waved his hand sharply. "Ice Beam!"
So now nobody believes the truth, even when he tells it?
"Dodge it and keep closing in. Your last attack has already heavily injured the opponent; drag him into a close-combat rhythm!"
Luther's Darkrai twisted to the side to evade the Ice Beam, then followed its trajectory, appearing in front of Dakota's Darkrai in the blink of an eye.
"No way!"
Looking at the raised hand blade, Dakota panicked.
Darkrai's arms were sluggish from the previous heavy-impact attack, so Dakota could only order it to counter with Thunderbolt.
At such close range, Thunderbolt didn't even need to be aimed. While Luther's Darkrai was hit by the electric current, it pressed its body tightly against Dakota's Darkrai.
The self-inflicted Thunderbolt damage, combined with the downward-chopping Brick Break, caused Dakota's Darkrai to be smashed into the ground once again.
"Competitor Dakota's Darkrai has lost the ability to battle!"
Dakota closed his eyes. Only after a long moment did he open them again and retrieve the unconscious Darkrai.
In terms of raw strength, his Darkrai had not lost. It was all down to that bizarre move-switching technique.
When Luther claimed he had no other trump cards left, Dakota did not believe him at all.
There was no way he would fall for the same trick twice.
For Luther's Darkrai, this battle proved that its choice had been the right one.
It had chosen to stay by Luther's side precisely for this feeling.
When facing Cynthia's Garchomp before, Luther had defeated it in the same way.
Darkrai had argued with Garchomp countless times over whether becoming stronger by following a human was truly faster and more practical than tempering oneself in the wild. Whenever their arguments became heated, Garchomp would raise her claws as if preparing to fight.
But she always restrained herself in the end and disdainfully told Darkrai:
"I'm not going to get angry at a wild idiot with kindergarten-level intelligence. Get lost and stop blocking my nap."
Darkrai had thought Garchomp was joking.
Later, when they actually fought seriously, they realized Garchomp had already been extremely polite.
Dakota's Darkrai truly was slightly stronger than it, yet it had still defeated the opponent using Luther's methods…
It was excited. Extremely excited.
Excited enough that it almost wanted to demolish the battlefield just for celebration.
Dakota's second Pokémon entered the field.
It was neither Metagross nor Salamence, but a Scizor that had never appeared before.
This choice of send-out order allowed Luther to understand many things immediately.
Because of Salamence's condition, Dakota had altered his planned lineup. Choosing the Bug/Steel-type Scizor was most likely intended to counter Darkrai if it appeared later in the match, while also baiting out Luther's Houndoom.
Just like Dakota's Eelektross, although Luther's Houndoom did not possess overwhelming offensive power, every time it entered battle, it fought with a relentless, never-retreating momentum.
And many Pokémon in Dakota's lineup were weak to Fire-type attacks, so this Scizor was acting as bait. It was intended to pressure Darkrai, while also being one of the slower Pokémon in Dakota's team, allowing it to resist Trick Room strategies.
It was practically triple insurance.
And finally, it was also a show of respect toward Houndoom's specialty—
A suicidal one-for-one exchange.
No matter how powerful the opponent was, Houndoom would always rely on its last remaining stamina to drag the enemy down with it. Any trainer who underestimated that aging Houndoom had paid a terrible price.
Luther recalled Darkrai.
This kind of stubbornly forcing unfavorable type matchups was not his style. In his opinion, only a master of the reverse type like Ash could truly handle that sort of battle.
However...
Luther hadn't even brought Houndoom this time.
The moment Azumarill entered the field, Dakota realized something else as well.
Luther was clearly planning to launch an all-out offensive from start to finish.
Sending out his ace Pokémon directly like this was exactly Dakota's style.
"Bullet Punch!"
The punching speed was terrifying. If Luther had hesitated for even a moment, there would have been no time to react.
"Counter with Iron Tail!"
Bullet Punch struck Azumarill's chubby body, and Scizor used the momentum to propel itself backwards.
Meanwhile, Azumarill quickly regained its posture after taking the hit. Its spring-like tail instantly hardened into a Steel-type metal rod and swung against Scizor's back as it turned away.
Scizor landed with a pained expression and glared furiously at Azumarill.
Azumarill, meanwhile, hurriedly rubbed its stomach, which had just been hit by Bullet Punch.
After that exchange, neither side had gained much of an advantage.
It was essentially an even trade.
(End of Chapter)