The moment Peter's words fell, the livestream exploded.
"Holy crap! So that's how it works! Once Gravity is active, Flying-types can't stay airborne and lose their immunity to Ground-type attacks!"
"The scariest part is that Skarmory gets hit super effectively by Ground moves now!"
"Here's a horror story for you... Under Gravity, Ground-type attacks can hit sixteen out of eighteen types! Five of those take super-effective damage! And the only two types that resist Ground—Bug and Grass—have tons of weaknesses themselves!"
"Say whatever you want, Professor Peter is still GOATed!"
"..."
On the battlefield, Kahili refused to give up.
"Skarmory, use Substitute, then Roar!"
"Ursaluna, Taunt!"
The commands were issued almost simultaneously.
After seeing Skarmory use four different status moves already, Peter didn't need to predict anything. A simple Taunt would completely shut it down.
Ursaluna curled a claw contemptuously, beckoning its opponent.
The moment the gesture was made, Skarmory's actions were forcibly interrupted.
"Use Earthquake!"
"Raaagh!"
Flames burned across Ursaluna's body as it roared and slammed its massive paw into the ground.
The earth shook violently.
Cracks raced across the battlefield toward Skarmory.
In the next instant, explosive Ground-type energy erupted skyward!
BOOOOOM—!!
Smoke engulfed the arena.
When the dust finally settled, Skarmory was already unconscious.
"Come back, Skarmory... You did well."
Kahili recalled it and immediately grabbed her final Poké Ball.
"Hawlucha, bring forth the winds of our counterattack!"
"Lucha!"
A colorful avian wrestler wearing its signature blue-green mask landed on the battlefield.
"Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokémon. A Fighting- and Flying-type Pokémon. It holds itself to extremely high standards and enjoys battling with flashy techniques and spectacular moves, Rotom!"
"Hawlucha, take the initiative! Use Feather Dance!"
"Ursaluna, Earthquake!"
The battlefield trembled once again.
Feathers swirled through the air.
Hawlucha endured the Earthquake head-on while a glow enveloped Ursaluna's body.
Its Attack sharply fell.
Feather Dance: Scatters countless feathers around the target, lowering its Attack by two stages.
"Good! Charge forward!" Kahili ordered.
Peter remained calm.
"Continue with Earthquake!"
Just as the shockwave was about to hit—
A flash appeared in Kahili's eyes.
"Use Detect!"
"Lucha!"
Hawlucha danced lightly across the battlefield.
Its feet landed perfectly atop the flying debris and shattered rocks.
Despite being trapped within Gravity's field, it somehow avoided every bit of damage from the Earthquake.
Then—
Whoosh!
One final step.
It appeared beside Ursaluna.
Kahili shouted:
"Drain Punch!!"
"Going into close combat against Ursaluna?"
A hint of confusion crossed Peter's face.
But his command came instantly.
"Facade!!"
"RAAAAGH!!!"
Ursaluna roared.
Bear paw and talons collided in midair.
THUD!
Feathers exploded everywhere.
Hawlucha was sent flying backward uncontrollably and crashed onto the ground.
Fortunately, Drain Punch restored a small amount of HP.
Barely enough to keep it conscious.
"Earthquake. Finish it."
"Now! Reversal!!!"
The instant Peter issued his order, a victorious smile appeared on Kahili's face.
"Hm?"
Peter froze slightly.
Hawlucha suddenly pulled out a Berry and swallowed it whole.
Its body blurred.
In the next moment, it stretched forward like a released spring and appeared directly in front of Ursaluna.
A claw wrapped in overwhelming Fighting-type energy lashed out.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
Caught completely off guard, Ursaluna was smashed into the ground.
Massive cracks spread beneath its body.
Even the Earthquake it had been preparing was interrupted.
Reversal:
A Fighting-type physical move whose power increases as the user's HP decreases, reaching a maximum base power of 200!
With double super-effective damage and same-type attack bonus, that strike was powerful enough to cripple Ursaluna.
Even with Ursaluna's monstrous HP stat of 130, its health was nearly depleted.
"That was... a Custap Berry?"
Peter raised an eyebrow.
"Bingo~ Surprised?" Kahili flashed a dazzling smile.
Custap Berry:
When consumed in a critical situation, the user gains priority and acts first, treating its next move as a priority attack.
Clearly, Kahili had planned this combo from the start.
Use Reversal at critical HP.
Consume a Custap Berry.
Strike before Ursaluna could move.
And eliminate Peter's strongest offensive threat in one blow.
Once Ursaluna fell, Pidgeot and Blissey wouldn't pose nearly as much offensive pressure.
"Too bad..." Kahili sighed.
"Your Ursaluna's Defense is actually pretty impressive."
She wasn't entirely satisfied.
After all, the combo hadn't finished Ursaluna outright.
But that hardly mattered.
Because the next second—
FWOOSH!
Flames suddenly flared around Ursaluna's body.
The giant bear let out a pained cry before collapsing heavily onto the ground.
Already critically injured, it finally succumbed to the burn damage from its Flame Orb.
Peter: ...(°ー°〃)
The livestream instantly exploded.
"I'm dying of laughter! Ursaluna got burned to death by its own Flame Orb!"
"HOLY CRAP! Professor Peter crashed and burned! That's our golf goddess in the short skirt!"
"PFFFFT HAHAHAHA!! Professor Peter, king of throwing!"
"Custap Berry... This just proves how important held items can be in battle!"
"..."
The chat was filled with joy.
For many viewers, seeing Peter suffer a setback was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Even so, the rest of the battle never truly escaped his control.
He sent Blissey back onto the field.
Gravity was reestablished.
Blissey effortlessly tanked Hawlucha's Reversal.
Then, using Copycat, it returned the attack and eliminated the exhausted Hawlucha.
At this point, Kahili had only one Pokémon remaining.
A fully healthy Toucannon.
And what followed gave Kahili a firsthand lesson in exactly why Blissey was known as...
The Pink Demon.
The moment Toucannon switched in, Stealth Rock smashed into it and nearly flipped it upside down.
Then an Electric Ball came flying through the air.
The hit left Toucannon paralyzed.
Under Gravity's amplified effects, its movement speed instantly dropped to a crawl.
From there...
The suffering began.
Serene Grace Rock Slide was every bit as terrifying as its reputation suggested.
Combined with the constant paralysis procs, Toucannon barely got to play the game.
The entire battle, it managed to use only a single Aerial Ace.
And against Blissey's enormous HP pool?
It might as well have been a scratch.
In the end, Toucannon collapsed to the ground covered in bumps and bruises, hatred and frustration filling its eyes.
The livestream audience immediately began reciting scripture.
"DAMN IT! I honestly can't think of a way Professor Peter's Blissey loses!"
"Daily quote of the day: How can there possibly be a Pokémon as adorable as Blissey?!"
"..."
Ding! Victory achieved against a higher-level opponent!
Reward: +3 Attack Talent and +3 HP Talent.
Ursaluna, Blissey, and Pidgeot may continue allocating Talent Points.
Peter nodded slightly and opened the system panel.
Ursaluna
Attack +20 → 200
Total Talent: 610
Blissey
Defense +10, Special Defense +10 → 150
Total Talent: 580
Pidgeot
Special Attack +20 → 140
Total Talent: 540
————
Kahili recalled Toucannon and walked forward.
Her face was full of helplessness.
"I really thought I finally had a chance to beat you this time..."
Peter laughed.
"Maybe you'll manage it in our next battle."
Then he pointed toward the blue Z-Ring on her wrist.
"Besides, you didn't use your Z-Move, did you?"
"Oh, this?"
Kahili shook her head.
"I still haven't fully mastered it yet~"
Then she asked,
"By the way, are you heading back to Sinnoh next?"
"Yeah. In a few days."
Peter pulled Whitney closer beside him.
"Though first... I might need to take Babe home to meet the family~"
"Is that so..."
Kahili smiled softly.
"That's wonderful."
As she looked at Whitney, undisguised envy flickered in her eyes.
After pushing away the chaotic emotions in her heart, she continued:
"There's still nearly half a year before the League begins. I'm planning to spend that time improving myself and completing the Island Challenge."
Her eyes burned with determination.
"When we meet again... it'll be time for my revenge."
"Haha. I'm already looking forward to it."
"Well then... until next time~"
Kahili waved at the pair.
Then she jumped onto Toucannon's back and soared into the sky.
Peter and Whitney watched her disappearing silhouette grow smaller and smaller against the horizon.
Neither of them noticed the faint trace of loneliness hidden behind that bright farewell smile.
The next time they met...
Kahili would undoubtedly be much stronger than she was today.