Psychic was a move that had undergone several iterations in Julian Reed's development cycle. In the original turn-based code, it was a high-damage special attack with a chance to lower special defense. But in the Real Version, Julian had integrated the properties of Confusion into it. It wasn't just a wave of force; it was a tactile, mental grip that could be used to manipulate an opponent's physical body.
Under Fu Xuan's millisecond-perfect control, Gengar found itself held in an invisible vice. Its Shadow Ball didn't just miss; it was redirected by Hypno's telekinetic field.
"Toss it up!" Fu Xuan commanded.
Hypno's eyes glowed with an intense indigo light. The disoriented Gengar was hurled into the air like a ragdoll.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
Rays of brilliant pink light lanced through the air. Gengar, forced to find its footing in the sky, managed to stabilize and fire a Shadow Ball to intercept some of the beams, but the sheer volume of the Fairy-type energy was too much. Several rays struck home, slamming the ghost back into the turf.
BOOM!
The stadium floor shook as a massive cluster of energy materialized—the Future Sight impact was arriving.
"Gengar, Protect!" Silver Wolf shouted, her eyes fixed on the timer.
But as the golden sphere of Protect enveloped Gengar, Silver Wolf's gaze drifted to the other side of the field. Fu Xuan's hand was resting on her Poké Ball. She looked ready to recall Hypno at a moment's notice.
Silver Wolf hesitated. Is she going to switch? If she pulls Hypno back, the Perish Song counter resets for her, but I'll be stuck in the animation.
Then she realized: she was being baited. In the Real Version, a swap takes roughly a minute to execute safely under combat conditions. Perish Song was on a much faster clock. If Fu Xuan tried to recall Hypno now, the song would claim it before the Poké Ball's beam could finish the retrieval.
"The Diviner is acting even outside the commands," Silver Wolf realized, a chill running down her spine. "She's trying to distract me with a fake switch!"
"Hypno, Shadow Ball!" Fu Xuan's voice broke her focus.
The mental orb of Future Sight slammed into Gengar's Protect shield, creating a blinding explosion of golden dust. But hidden directly behind that light was a barrage of Shadow Balls.
Silver Wolf's heart sank. She had been so worried about the "Future" that she had ignored the "Present."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sequence of explosions was so rapid they sounded like a single, rolling peal of thunder. When the smoke cleared, Gengar lay unconscious.
"Gengar is incapacitated!" Owlbert declared.
Almost simultaneously, a surge of dark, cursed energy from the Perish Song flared around Hypno. The Psychic-type collapsed, its eyes turning into digital swirls.
"An unexpected double-down! Hypno is also incapacitated!"
The crowd was in an uproar, but as the replay began to roll on the massive screens, the truth became clear. Owlbert narrated the frame-by-frame:
"Look at the 45-degree angle perspective. The moment the Future Sight orb blocked Silver Wolf's vision, Fu Xuan subtly ordered two Shadow Balls in such a short interval they were almost simultaneous. From Silver Wolf's perspective, she only saw the second one. Gengar held the line against the Future Sight, but it couldn't withstand the follow-up 'double-tap' from the shadows."
Owlbert touched his beak. "Technically, the Perish Song only finished Hypno off because Fu Xuan had to wait for the smoke to clear for the official referee call. In a real-world scenario without tournament rules, she could have recalled Hypno safely. This wasn't a trade; it was a tactical masterclass."
Silver Wolf remained silent as she recalled her Gengar. She knew the truth. This wasn't a mutual destruction. It was a crushing defeat. She had lost her trump card, and Fu Xuan still had her ace in the hole: Alakazam.
"Go, Snorlax!" Silver Wolf sent out her tank once more.
"Come out, Mr. Mime!" Fu Xuan countered.
Silver Wolf immediately began her attrition strategy. "Rock Tomb!"
Jagged stone pillars erupted, attempting to pin the colorful Psychic-type. Mr. Mime used Confusion to levitate, but Snorlax began hurling the rocks like projectiles.
"Psychic!" "Don't back down! Take Down!"
Snorlax ignored the mental feedback, charging through the shimmering waves of force. It slammed into Mr. Mime, but the Psychic-type used its invisible barriers to deflect the brunt of the impact, suffering only a glancing blow to the arm.
"Ice Punch!" both trainers commanded at once.
The frozen fists collided. Silver Wolf was thinking frantically. How do I break this? How did Guinaifen do it? She realized she had to shorten the "thinking time." She had to turn this into a gutter fight where Fu Xuan's massive brain would be an anchor, not an engine. But as she watched Fu Xuan's bored, nonchalant expression, Silver Wolf knew that even in a brawl, the Grand Diviner was still three moves ahead.
"The Ice shatters," Fu Xuan whispered, "and the future remains unchanged."
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