"Electivire, use Thunder Punch!"
Paul took the initiative to attack first, Electivire's fists enveloped in golden thunder light, stomping heavily towards Dusknoir.
The ground trembled slightly under Electivire's feet, and the sturdy body exploded with a speed disproportionate to its size, approaching Dusknoir in the blink of an eye.
"Dusknoir, dodge and then use Shadow Punch."
Brandon's voice was as calm as ever, as if he did not take Electivire's attack seriously.
Dusknoir's body became illusory the moment Electivire's fist landed, the Thunder Punch penetrated the shadow and hit the air.
In the next second, Dusknoir's large fist gathered dark energy and crashed solidly into Electivire's abdomen!
But Electivire, relying on its excellent reaction and speed, countered immediately with a second Thunder Punch!
"Boom!"
Electivire was pushed back several steps by the punch but did not suffer too much damage.
Dusknoir was also hit by Thunder Punch. In terms of ATK, Electivire was slightly stronger, but in terms of defensive power, Dusknoir far exceeded Electivire, thus Electivire suffered more damage overall.
"Electivire, Thunderbolt!"
Paul frowned slightly, realizing that Close Combat wouldn't bring any advantage, he immediately changed tactics.
Golden currents burst madly from Electivire's body, transforming into snake-like lightning rushing towards Dusknoir.
The entire battlefield was illuminated by the thunder light, and the air was filled with a scorching aura.
"Dusknoir, Protect."
A pale green barrier condensed in front of Dusknoir, and the electric currents of Thunderbolt struck against it, creating ripples but never breaking through that defense.
Once the thunder light faded, Dusknoir was unharmed.
Brandon nodded slightly, forming a preliminary judgment on Paul's commanding abilities—decisive in attack, quick to adapt, certainly a talented Trainer.
Unfortunately, merely these are far from sufficient.
"Dusknoir, use Trick Room."
Brandon finally began to reveal his fangs.
A dark light flashed in Dusknoir's single eye, and a strange energy spread from its body.
Paul's expression sank, and he immediately ordered, "Stop him, use Thunder!"
Electivire clenched its fists tightly and hammered them into the ground, its two iron-hard tails inserted into the ground, wild lightning surged out from its body!
Under the solidified thunder, the entire field began to crumble, besides the energy of Thunder, the shattered fragments of the ground also swept towards Dusknoir.
Dusknoir did not evade, forcibly withstood the move, the terrifying thunder flickered on its body, and the stones pounded on it, causing considerable damage, but the energy released from its body had begun to spread across the field.
At this moment, space seemed to twist, ripples visible to the naked eye appeared in the air, making the originally open field feel inexplicably discordant.
"Oh no..." Ash's face changed slightly in the audience.
He had witnessed the power of Trick Room before, creating a special field where, during its duration, slower Pokemon would act before faster ones.
Even he had suffered quite a bit because of it, and if it hadn't been for Gardevoir's unique abilities dismantling the Trick Room directly, that match would have been difficult to win.
Now, Trick Room was practically a disaster for Electivire, a Pokemon that relied on Speed!
"Electivire, finish it quickly, use Wild Charge!"
Paul clearly realized the danger, immediately ordering a powerful assault.
Electivire's entire body erupted in raging currents, transforming into a golden lightning bolt charging at Dusknoir. If this hit connected, even with Dusknoir's defensive power, it might not withstand it.
"Dusknoir, Shadow Punch." Brandon calmly commanded.
Under the effect of Trick Room, although Dusknoir wasn't fast, it could still strike first.
Its large fist once again coated with dark energy, as Electivire charged forward, it precisely landed a punch on Electivire, its silhouette disappeared again mysteriously, and the next second appeared behind Electivire, its fist shrouded in black light hitting Electivire fiercely!
"Boom!!"
The power of darkness exploded, and Electivire was sent flying by the punch, rolling on the ground several times before barely stopping.
This scene made Paul's expression quite unpleasant.
Under normal circumstances, even if the initial Wild Charge had been dodged, Electivire could have relied on its exceptional Speed and reaction to counter Dusknoir. But now, under Trick Room's influence, Electivire's speed became a burden.
Two consecutive attacks had already caused substantial damage to Electivire, and coupled with Trick Room's impact... this way of fighting did not bode well.
"Electivire, return." Paul quickly took out a Pokeball, recalling Electivire and taking out another Pokeball from his waist.
He wasn't a Trainer who would stubbornly persist under unfavorable conditions.
With Trick Room active, keeping Electivire on the field made it a sitting target; instead of wasting his ace, he preferred to recall it to preserve strength.
The reason for the swift recall was fear of the opponent using Mean Look, which would have rendered Electivire continuously vulnerable.