"This…"
Sheila was also stunned for a moment. Houndoom's flames contained toxins. Once poisoned, every movement became agonizingly painful. Dewgong was now clearly poisoned, and even the slightest movement caused unbearable pain.
"What an incredible Houndoom. It's been many years since a Fire-type Pokémon has put me at such a disadvantage!" Sheila praised sincerely.
"[Blightfire Assault]."
The timing was perfect. Dewgong's movements were now hindered by Houndoom's toxins. Even using Aqua Tail would overtax its body. Without Aqua Tail, Houndoom could attack without restraint.
Everything was in place. Flames blazed all over Houndoom's body as it split into seven or eight clones and charged toward Dewgong. In Dewgong's current condition, it was nothing more than Houndoom's target. [Blightfire Assault] would inevitably leave it unable to battle.
Sheila also knew Dewgong's current condition very well. However, whenever a crisis arose, it was often accompanied by a new opportunity.
Watching Houndoom draw closer and closer, Sheila's expression became serious.
Tetsuya carefully observed her expression. Something about Sheila's attitude felt off… it seemed as though she had been waiting for just such an opportunity.
"This is bad… Houndoom, retreat!"
Tetsuya realized the danger. It was his own oversight. He had forgotten that Dewgong still had "that" move.
Sheila was going all out now. If this move failed, the poisoned Dewgong would have little chance of defeating Houndoom.
"Sheer Cold!"
At that moment, Sheila was more nervous than ever. It had been a long time since she had felt her blood boil like this.
Sheer Cold was a move that froze its opponent with extreme cold, invading their body and capable of delivering a one-hit knockout. However, the move was extremely difficult to use and required tremendous Ice-type energy.
As long as a certain distance was maintained, Sheer Cold would never hit its target unless the user had enough Ice-type energy to freeze an even wider area. Even Tetsuya's own Mamoswine had yet to learn such a move.
Of course, in theory, Mamoswine could not even learn Sheer Cold. But hadn't Pryce's Delibird learned Sheer Cold all the same? As long as one's strength was sufficient, nothing was truly impossible.
Dewgong summoned every ounce of its energy as freezing air spread outward. Houndoom's charge had built up too much momentum. Even if it wanted to change direction instantly, its body could not react in time. Combined with its inertia, it skidded to a stop just a short distance in front of Dewgong, right as Sheer Cold spread toward it.
Houndoom was caught squarely in the attack!
In an instant, it was completely frozen, its flames extinguished, and Houndoom became an ice sculpture.
"I lost this round."
Tetsuya recalled Houndoom. He could only accept the outcome helplessly. At the very least, his strength was now almost on par with Sheila's.
There had been two turning points in the battle. The first was Houndoom's unique toxins, which left Dewgong wracked with pain. The second was Dewgong's Sheer Cold, which had completely turned the tables at the last moment.
In the end, Houndoom's overall level was still slightly inferior to Dewgong's. Tetsuya was well aware of that.
"Cloyster, come on out." Sheila sent out her strongest Pokémon, Cloyster. "Would you like to test its power~?"
Tetsuya found himself in a difficult position. Aside from Mamoswine, Golurk, and Gengar, Houndoom was the strongest Pokémon he had…
However, it had already been agreed that Mamoswine would not participate. Golurk was still unable to move because of the Bright Powder, and Gengar could not appear in public because of the [Shadow Contract] it had established with Tetsuya. That left only Beedrill and Koffing as available combat power.
Although Beedrill possessed tremendous Speed and offensive power, it had no way of dealing with a Pokémon like Cloyster that could simply hide inside its shell.
As for Koffing, Tetsuya had wanted it to learn Fire-type moves, but because of its unique circumstances, it simply could not learn them.
Breaking through Cloyster's defenses was therefore impossible. Looking at it that way, he really did not have a Pokémon capable of fighting Cloyster.
Just as Tetsuya was hesitating…
Ditto jumped out and volunteered!
He had actually forgotten about Ditto. With Ditto's current strengths, combined with Tetsuya's psychic enhancement, quick reactions, and precise command, it could certainly perform even better than Houndoom.
However, if it simply transformed into Cloyster, it would only become another Pokémon unable to move about freely. There was no point in such a battle, especially since they were not fighting in water.
"If I use Ditto… may it transform into a different Pokémon?" Tetsuya asked tentatively.
"…While battling Cloyster, your Ditto can still transform into another Pokémon!!?" Sheila asked in surprise.
Very few people used Ditto, and it was rarely seen in League stadium battles. Although Ditto's Transform Ability was remarkable, its memory was poor. Average Ditto would quickly forget Pokémon it had transformed into before, so it could normally transform only into whatever was directly in front of it.
Even when copying moves, it had to wait until the opponent used them before imitating them. That was Ditto's greatest weakness.
However, Tetsuya's Ditto had undergone special training. The Pokémon it could freely transform into were Rapidash, Lapras, and Gengar. He had forced Ditto to practice transforming into Rapidash and Lapras mainly for transportation purposes, but Ditto had never Mimicked either of their moves. Therefore, even if it transformed into Rapidash or Lapras, it could not display their true power.
As for transforming into Gengar, that was mainly because it had spent the longest time with it.
Every day, Ditto rested on Tetsuya's wrist while Gengar remained within his shadow. The two had always maintained a constant connection. As a result, Gengar was the Pokémon Ditto understood best.
After transforming into Gengar, it could also make full use of Gengar's strengths. Aside from being unable to disappear into another dimension like a true Ghost-type Pokémon, its other capabilities were in no way inferior to Gengar's.
"My Ditto can also transform into Gengar," Tetsuya said.
"Ho~hooh… then I really must see this for myself," Sheila said, her curiosity about such a battle thoroughly piqued.
At Tetsuya's command, Ditto transformed into Gengar. Even without a "template" before it, it transformed into a Gengar that looked completely identical, leaving everyone present unable to hide their admiration.
Ditto floated in midair, its eyes fixed intently on Cloyster, which had withdrawn into its shell. Although Cloyster remained inside its shell, Ditto could still sense just how powerful it was. Silently, Ditto encouraged itself.
It had not battled in a very long time. Through this battle, it had to make Tetsuya reassess its value!
After all, it had been with Tetsuya longer than any of his other Pokémon and could be said to understand him better than any of them. In Tetsuya's eyes, only a Pokémon with value was worthy of his attention.
Ditto's worth extended far beyond merely being a utility Pokémon!