Houndoom let out a roar, thus demonstrating its might.
At this moment, the Shadow Team member could be said to be making a final desperate struggle, and he also knew that victory would be extremely difficult.
Right now, Sunny Day weather was active. How to fight against a Houndoom whose two Attacks stats had both been enhanced was the problem he needed to face.
"Kuso… Weavile!"
This Shadow Team member's final ace was a Weavile. As an Ice-type Pokémon, Weavile was completely restrained by Houndoom in terms of type advantage, and now it also had to face a Houndoom in such excellent condition. How was it supposed to fight?
"Hail!"
"Flamethrower."
Weavile wanted to change this blazing sunny weather, while Houndoom naturally wanted to maintain Sunny Day.
Houndoom's Flamethrower roared toward Weavile, but this Weavile's was extremely agile. While using Hail, it could still flip backward and avoid the attack range of Flamethrower.
The sky gradually became darker while the temperature also dropped lower and lower. The power of Houndoom's Flamethrower clearly weakened as well.
Hail gradually began falling from the sky. Weavile's emotions became exceptionally excited as it continuously waved its claws.
Even so, Houndoom's boosted stats were still present, and its power could not be underestimated.
"Fire Blast."
Tetsuya launched another attack. No matter how powerful Weavile was, it was still an Ice-type Pokémon. Fearing fire was inevitable.
Fire Blast possessed tremendous power as it fiercely pushed outward, directly forcing toward Weavile.
"Attack."
The Shadow Team member gave a simple oneword command, enough to show his trust in this Weavile.
Weavile swung both claws, and Fire Blast was actually sliced into four or five pieces before dispersing within the Hail.
If Houndoom had not frequently sparred with Piloswine before and long since become accustomed to this kind of weather, it would already have been unable to endure it.
After successfully splitting apart Fire Blast, Weavile rapidly approached Houndoom.
Weavile truly excelled at close combat, but that did not mean Houndoom feared it.
"Houndoom, Fire Fang."
As long as Houndoom bit it, it would definitely let Weavile experience the biting power Houndoom had trained for such a long time.
"Feint Attack."
The Shadow issued the command, having already made preparations in his heart.
Weavile thrust one claw forward, directly targeting Houndoom's neck, while Houndoom also opened its massive jaws, flames swirling inside.
Weavile's agility surpassed Houndoom's. At the instant it approached Houndoom, it leaped upward, intending to sneak attack Houndoom's back. Houndoom did not pause at all and continued charging forward. Its abundant battle experience allowed Houndoom to very easily avoid Weavile's attack.
After landing, Weavile also did not pause in the slightest. It followed up with Quick Attack, not giving Houndoom any chance to catch its breath!
Weavile adjusted its posture and attacked once again.
Continuing this stalemate was not a solution. Even if both sides ended up heavily injured, he still would not lose out.
"Use Fire Fang and block it."
A violent collision erupted as Houndoom's Fire Fang bit into Weavile's arm. The scorching heat instantly invaded Weavile's entire body.
Immediately afterward came Weavile's scream!
"Nooow, Punishment!" The Shadow roared.
Tetsuya sensed that things were going badly. The move Punishment became more powerful the higher the opponent's boosted stat stages were. Right now, both of Houndoom's Attacks had received huge boosts, so Punishment's power would definitely be brought to its utmost limit.
"Use all your power! Fire Fang!"
Tetsuya clearly knew the power of Punishment, but he could not let Houndoom escape, because in this state it simply could not get away. Under such biting force, even if Houndoom lost its combat ability, Weavile would not be much better off.
Enduring the intense pain, Weavile gathered powerful resentment into its other claw and smashed it toward Houndoom. Under the pain, Houndoom bit down even harder. Tetsuya had already seen purple poison dripping down.
Under the tremendous power of Punishment, Houndoom lost its combat ability.
However, one of Weavile's arms hung limply and could not even be raised. It panted heavily in large gulps before suddenly dropping to one knee.
"Weavile…? W-What's wrong with you!?"
The Shadow Team member became somewhat stunned by Weavile's condition.
It was poisoned!
Tetsuya slightly smiled as he recalled Houndoom. Houndoom had completed its mission. The current Weavile was already finished.
'How did it get poisoned…?' The Shadow had already begun sweating coldly. According to his understanding of Pokémon, Fire Fang could not possibly poison a Pokémon.
Although he could not understand the reason behind Weavile's poisoning, he also would not raise any objections. Pokémon knowledge was vast and profound, not something any single person could completely study and understand. Saying more would only make himself appear ignorant.
"Piloswine."
Tetsuya sent out his final Pokémon, though it was really only going through the motions.
Under Hail weather, Piloswine shook its body as the hail became even more intense!
Then its figure blurred as its Snow Cloak Ability activated.
Weavile looked left and right at the faintly visible Piloswine, but there was nothing it could do. Right now, even standing required tremendous effort.
Piloswine had not even displayed its true power yet. A few Icicle Spear attacks were enough to make the poisoned Weavile lose its combat ability.
The Shadow Team member shamefully walked over to stand beside Raven…
Raven waved his hand, signaling for him to leave and heal his Pokémon, before afterward walking in front of Tetsuya.
"…You have passed. You may choose not to participate in my unified training, but one year later, you will face the challenges of the other nine kids. If you lose, together with your offense against me this time, it will all be settled at once. Within the Shadow Team, those who dare offend their superiors only have a dead end awaiting them."
Raven said coldly.
'We'll see.'
"Mm. Thank you for the reminder."
After speaking, Tetsuya turned and left, leaving behind only eighteen people to compete for the remaining nine slots.
Sure enough, during the first round of advancement matches, not a single one of the eighteen people managed to defeat a Shadow. At best, they only managed to defeat three Pokémon.
Therefore, all of them had no choice but to participate in the points matches. The elimination round continued for an entire week. During this period, Kurusaki Sō had also already arrived, and the remaining nine advancement slots were decided.
Sō could also be considered to have perfectly completed his mission. No one else would be leaving this island anymore.
Out of the original one hundred people who had landed on the island, only these final ten remained. The nine people besides Tetsuya all stood upright before Raven, preparing to accept harsh training.