On the big screen.
The circles beside Elma's avatar, belonging to Heliolisk and Komala, had completely dimmed.
Looking down, the circles with Smeargle and Ditto's avatars were still bright, while below them were two circles yet to show any Pokémon.
On the other side.
Beside Baimu's avatar, only two circles were lit, leaving four in unknown blank spaces.
The stark contrast between the two made the online audience watching the livestream astonished, frantically sending comments to interact with other netizens.
'Elma did her best, but Baimu's Pokémon are too terrifying.'
'Why can't my Smeargle learn so many techniques!'
'Milotic is so beautiful~ I want to see it battle again~'
'Is Baimu's Gengar a different color than usual?'
'Wuu wuu wuu... Elma-kun, wuu wuu wuu...'
'Milotic is the best in the world! Please, Baimu! Send out the young lady quickly!'
'Up there! I'm also a huge fan of Miss Mawile~!'
'Huge fan +1'
The comments section was starting to get spammed without substance.
Liuqia's gaze finally moved away from the phone screen, looking at the huge battle arena, she softly said, "The perfectly imitated Ditto... Gengar, you have to do your best!"
She really liked this chubby and mischievous guy, but based on what she had seen, she speculated that in terms of battle strength, the altered-color Gengar might rank towards the bottom of Baimu's entire team.
It's very likely only a bit stronger than the Dreepys, not even as good as the Galarian Corsola.
This has nothing to do with potential.
It's simply because Baimu hadn't been training it for long.
And Elma, unlike previous contestants, had all sorts of ingenious strategies emerging one after another; it was hard to say if Gengar could stand till the end if it faced "itself".
In the field.
Elma's gaze quickly scanned the Illustrated Guide to confirm through her Ditto the techniques Gengar possessed.
"As expected of Baimu's Pokémon, having learned a wide array of techniques, my chances are much better."
He nodded inwardly, then looked seriously at the opposite altered-color Gengar, decisively ordering, "Black Gaze!"
Originally, he didn't want to send out Ditto so quickly, but having already lost two Pokémon in succession, if he didn't regain momentum and rhythm quickly, it would be hard to turn the tables, even by revealing hidden cards.
Targeting to take down Gengar and boost morale!
"Gah!"
Ditto let out a sharp screech, its eyes glowing with a strange black light, shooting a dark beam like a searchlight.
But the opposing Gengar wasn't just zoning out; it had already swooped forward to attack under Baimu's instruction.
"Mysterious Light!"
A chaotic storm of colors shot out from Gengar's blood-red eyes, crashing into the incoming dark beam first!
Buzz!
In the midst of an eerie drone, the two forces collided forcefully!
As transformation techniques, they generated a violent confrontation; the two identical Gengars were locked in a stalemate in mid-air!
However, this wasn't a genuine energy clash; energy transmission has its limits.
With a loud boom, a billowing cloud of choking white smoke exploded at the energy clash, revealing the two Gengar facing each other, presenting a strangely balanced scene.
"Both moves are null against the other! Ditto's transformation is absolutely perfect! What will be the outcome of this battle?"
The commentator was excited.
He loved unpredictable battles like this, where two Pokémon struggle fiercely, often leading to truly spectacular combat!
"Curse!"
"Use Curse!"
The two Gengar simultaneously acted again, their blood-red eyes flashing, and their shadows suddenly swelled into giant, sinister ghost figures, each rushing at the other!
In an instant.
The two ghost figures collided and bizarrely began to wrestle, eventually neither gaining an advantage, dissipating back into smoky ash, returning into both Gengar.
The commentator remarked, "This is Ditto's greatest trait, using your own strength against you, how many Pokémon can easily defeat themselves?"
"Great! Keep up this rhythm!"
Elma wore a renewed smile, loudly encouraging Ditto, met with its enthusiastic response.
"..."
Baimu furrowed his brows slightly, Gengar's gaze turned fierce.
Ditto already being an extremely rare Pokémon, one capable of perfectly utilizing transformation was particularly uncommon; Elma hadn't used it in her previous Gym challenges, making it Baimu's first prolonged encounter with Ditto.
Unexpectedly daunting!
But soon his brows slowly unfurled.
"Don't panic, do you remember what I told you before? When facing such opponents, go straight for offense! Use your full strength!"
He shouted loudly, "Evil Fluctuation!"
Upon Elma seeing his command, although she didn't hear which technique, she understood that Baimu must have chosen offense over transformation techniques.
If probing with transformation techniques doesn't work, finish it off with attack techniques; after battling this long, isn't it clear enough?
"Mud Bomb!"
"Gah!"
Ditto responded, creating globs of marsh-like energy in its hands, with violet electricity crackling through them, soon launching a barrage of sludge missiles onward!
Once again clashing with the opposite Gengar who spewed beams composed of countless black rings!
Bang!
The third technique showdown!
The commentator no longer emphasized it specifically, knowing this deadlock wouldn't last much longer; even if Elma hoped both sides would continue trading moves, Baimu would certainly not allow it.
No doubt.
This was the right call.