Facing Mega Charizard's Air Slash, Greninja wanted to dodge. His feet lifted slightly, but he didn't jump to the side as he'd intended.
Greninja had completely run out of stamina now. His entire body was held up solely by the determination not to disappoint his trainer.
This meant that while Greninja's mind reacted, his body couldn't move.
In the end, Greninja could only endure—under Wang Siyuan's anxious gaze—this Air Slash that Charizard had held back on.
"Greninja!"
"Greninja has lost the ability to battle! Trainer, please send out your next Pokémon. Failure to do so within the time limit results in a forfeit!"
Wang Siyuan's shout didn't catch the referee's attention. They'd seen this kind of thing plenty of times.
Looking at Greninja with swirly eyes, Wang Siyuan had no choice but to recall him into his Poké Ball.
Up in the VIP box, Dax grinned smugly at the old chancellor. "Hehe, really sorry about that."
The old chancellor's expression darkened. He let out a cold snort but couldn't say anything.
He'd been hoping Greninja would transform after defeating Charizard and steal the spotlight.
Instead, you could say Greninja had been on the defensive the entire time, getting pounded into the ground by Charizard.
"You did well, Greninja."
After recalling the Poké Ball, Wang Siyuan spoke to Greninja.
In previous matches, he'd had smooth sailing—he hadn't faced anyone too strong.
Just relying on Snorlax alone, he'd already secured his spot in the main tournament.
He knew his commanding level wasn't great, but thanks to his two Pokémon, even though his commands were lacking, he'd still made it to the finals.
What he hadn't expected was that—just in the first match of the finals—his poor commanding would directly lead to Greninja's defeat. He genuinely hadn't anticipated that.
But fortune and misfortune are intertwined. This time, he'd finally recognized his true commanding level.
"Go, Snorlax—free play!"
Though Wang Siyuan's commanding wasn't good, he still had guts. What he couldn't do, he'd let Snorlax handle.
The Snorlax who'd been switched in brightened at these words, then furrowed his brow and glared fiercely—or as fiercely as possible—at Auron's Charizard.
Pokémon: Snorlax
Gender: Female
Type: Normal
Ability: Gluttony (Berries that would normally be eaten at low HP are now consumed when HP drops to half.)
Aptitude: Red
Basic Moves: Lick, Tackle, Defense Curl, Recycle, Covet, Stockpile, Swallow, Screech, Fling, Metronome, Thrash, Amnesia, Block, Yawn, Bite, Rest, Snore, Sleep Talk, Crunch, Body Slam, Heavy Slam, Amnesia
Inherited Moves: Double-Edge, Fissure, Curse, Gastro Acid, Belch
Just as Auron was examining Snorlax's information and wondering why—aside from moves she could naturally learn—she hadn't learned any other moves, Snorlax suddenly moved.
Snorlax opened her wide mouth and let out a Yawn, even patting her mouth with one paw.
"Tsk, this Snorlax? Return, Charizard."
Auron froze. This Snorlax has some tricks—forcing a switch right off the bat.
What surprised Auron even more came next. Not only did Snorlax force the switch, but even more cleverly, she predicted Auron's immediate switch and used Stockpile right there to boost her defenses.
"Oh geez! Go, Clawitzer—Water Jet!"
Now Auron was genuinely laughing in frustration. He never thought he'd be predicted by a Pokémon someday.
"BOOM!"
Water Jet slammed Clawitzer straight into Snorlax's embrace. Then Clawitzer immediately followed up with a Brick Break to Snorlax's body.
Snorlax showed no hesitation either—she spread her arms wide and took the full combo.
Then she immediately lay down on the ground and closed her eyes.
"Holy crap, impressive."
Only now did Auron drop his earlier casual attitude and seriously look at Snorlax.
That whole sequence—first forcing a switch, then predicting and boosting stats.
Then during Clawitzer's charge, relying on the defense boost she'd just gained, she actually took Clawitzer's claws.
After that, she used Block to trap Clawitzer in a state where he couldn't flee (couldn't switch out).
Then she immediately lay down, using Rest to recover the HP that Clawitzer had just knocked down.
"Clawitzer, Swords Dance!"
Since you're lying down, I won't hold back—if not now, when else do I stack buffs?
"What the—?!"
What happened on the field left Auron completely dumbfounded.
The sleeping Snorlax used Sleep Talk, randomly getting Heavy Slam, and rolled right over to interrupt Clawitzer's Swords Dance.
"Dammit! Clawitzer, Swords Dance!"
Auron refused to believe it. There's no way you can randomly get Heavy Slam from Sleep Talk again to interrupt my Swords Dance!
"BOOM."
This time Snorlax didn't randomly pull out Heavy Slam. Instead, she lightly stomped the ground, and a huge fissure immediately appeared.
"That works?!"
Auron's face twitched. He really hadn't expected Snorlax to randomly get Fissure—and because Clawitzer was using Swords Dance, he couldn't dodge and fell straight in.
"Clawitzer has lost the ability to battle! Contestant, please send out your next Pokémon. Failure to do so within the time limit results in a forfeit!"
The audience erupted in uproar. Only Wang Siyuan was grinning so wide his mouth nearly split open.
Who could have predicted that?!
Up in the VIP box, the old chancellor laughed heartily, patted the still-shocked Dax on the shoulder and said: "Looks like luck is on my side. Really sorry about that."
Dax snapped back to reality and curled his lip. "Tch, both sides are just 1-1 now. It's just good luck, that's all."
No matter how frustrated Auron was, he had to accept this result. What can anyone do about that? This coincidence was way too coincidental.
With no other choice, after recalling Clawitzer, Auron gently patted his own face in consolation.
"It's fine, it's fine. I've got Serena on my side—luck is with me, with me."
After some self-hypnosis, Auron finally threw out his Poké Ball again.
"Go, Mega Charizard X!"
Just as Mega Charizard X landed, Snorlax also woke from sleep.
The two Pokémon locked eyes, gazes filled with fighting spirit!
"Charizard! Air Slash!"
Auron commanded Charizard to attack first. Can't let Snorlax use Yawn to restrict Charizard again.
With no Pokémon to switch to, if he fell asleep, it was game over.
Snorlax remained unmoved, using Stockpile to take Charizard's Air Slash head-on.
Seeing Snorlax's action, the corner of Auron's mouth curved upward.
"Charizard, Belly Drum—Brick Break!"