Showndown

In the moment when Espeon were knocked away by Umbreon, the psychic pressures on Lilligant and Tsareena were immediately lifted, and both of them instantly felt relieved.

However, before Lilligant could land from the air, Espeon and Umbreon, who had already readjusted themselves, simultaneously used Shadow Ball to focus their fire on Lilligant, who couldn't move freely.

Two massive black energy balls merged in mid-air and headed straight for Lilligant.

At the critical moment, Tsareena first used a High Jump Kick move to leap into the air and then executed her signature move, Trop Kick, kicking one of the Shadow Balls back.

Bang!!!

Lilligant and Tsareena safely landed, while the Shadow Ball hit Espeon squarely. Espeon was blasted away and struggled for a while before managing to stand back up.

Espeon had much lower defense than Umbreon, and if it was hit by the double-powered Shadow Ball, it will forced it out of the battlefield.

Unable to protect Espeon, Umbreon cast an apologetic look at it. Espeon just shook its head gently, indicating that it didn't mind.

Injured Espeon came to stand behind Umbreon, emitting a gentle white light from its body and using a healing move called Morning Sun.

Most recovery moves required some time to take effect, such as Morning Sun, Roost, and others.

If there were no teammates to protect or other precautionary measures, using these moves in battle would often fail due to the opponent's attacks. That's why Espeon sought shelter behind Umbreon.

Lilligant and Tsareena couldn't just stand by and watch Espeon recover, so they immediately moved to stop it.

Lilligant whipped out a large swath of Magical Leaf, with sharp green leaves gleaming, and directly targeted Espeon, which was behind Umbreon.

Magical Leaf had tracking properties, so even if Espeon hid behind Umbreon, Lilligant could still aim accurately.

Tsareena, on the other hand, swiftly charged towards Umbreon on the opposite side to prevent it from interfering with Lilligant's attack.

However, before Tsareena could get close to Umbreon, Umbreon, following Akihito's command, used a move called Roar, causing the Magical Leaf from Lilligant to be shaken down to the ground by a rapid sonic wave. Then they disappeared.

At the same time, Tsareena was hit by the shockwave of Roar while dashing forward. She had to stop her steps, and then she was struck by Umbreon's following Confuse Ray.

Umbreon, under Akihito's command, excelled not only in defense but also in control moves. Tsareena fell into a state of confusion.

Under the influence of confusion, Tsareena started to feel dizzy, lost the ability to distinguish friend from foe, and then used Leaf Storm to attack indiscriminately.

Tsareena wasn't proficient in special attack moves, but Leaf Storm was a powerful move, and its momentum was exceptionally grand.

At this moment, Espeon had finally completed its Morning Sun, recovering most of its stamina. Its body no longer showed any signs of injury.

After the Leaf Storm dissipated, Tsareena remained confused. Then she started to self-inflict harm, using Double Slap to repeatedly slap herself on the face.

Espeon and Umbreon couldn't miss this opportUnova. They both used Shadow Ball simultaneously, hitting Tsareena directly, and then Tsareena regained consciousness for a moment before losing consciousness again.

"Well done, you two cooperate quite well. It seems you didn't slack off during your training," Yuga praised Arata Sena and Akihito. He then withdrew the fainted Tsareena and released his next Pokémon.

Although Lilligant and Tsareena had decent synergy, they couldn't match Pokémon specially trained by dedicated trainers.

Even though they initially had the upper hand, it was inevitable that they would run out of steam and be defeated. Yuga expected this outcome.

After receiving Yuga's praise, Arata Sena and Akihito were motivated. However, their surprise turned into astonishment when they saw Yuga's third Pokémon, a Cradily of the Rock-Grass dual type.

As an ancient Pokémon, Yuga was using this strange Pokémon in a Gym battle for the first time. Neither Akihito nor Arata Sena knew that Yuga had this Pokémon.

Yuga didn't know if fossil revival technology had been developed yet, but at least there hadn't been any news about it in the outside world, so the appearance of an ancient Pokémon was already quite rare.

However, rare as it was, the appearance of ancient Pokémon wasn't entirely unheard of in recent years. Some secluded places still harbored a small number of ancient Pokémon, and cases of their discovery had been reported in the news.

For example, in the Unova Region, there was an underground world where Landorus and Virizion lived. However, due to the presence of Legendary Pokémon, this case had to be kept secret.

Of course, every discovered ancient Pokémon was protected with utmost care, and using one as Yuga did was extremely unusual.

Perhaps only when fossil revival technology began to be widely applied would ancient Pokémon become more common among trainers.

Seeing Yuga release Cradily, both Akihito and Arata Sena widened their eyes in surprise, as did Astrid and Megumi who were watching from the sidelines.

However, Yuga wasn't worried about exposing Cradily. With his current strength and status, he had no reason to believe that he couldn't protect even one Pokémon.

Seeing Akihito and Arata Sena lose focus because of Cradily's appearance, Yuga reminded them, "If you don't concentrate, you'll be lose!"

Although Cradily had started its retirement life in the Ecopark and its level hadn't increased much compared to other hardworking trained Pokémon, it had the advantage of longevity and unique experience that other Pokémon didn't possess.

Hearing Yuga's reminder, Akihito and Arata Sena quickly regained their focus.

However, although they recognized Cradily, they had never seen a live one before, so they didn't fully understand this Pokémon. They were still a bit anxious.

Even though both of them had varying expressions, Yuga couldn't help but shake his head in resignation. He began to command Cradily and Lilligant to counterattack.

"Lilligant, Sunny Day! Cradily, Amnesia!"

Lilligant's ability was Chlorophyll, which greatly increased her speed under strong direct sunlight. She agilely evaded the Shadow Balls from Espeon and Umbreon.

Cradily, due to its physical condition, firmly rooted itself to the ground and couldn't move around easily.

However, after using Amnesia, its special defense greatly increased.

The moves used by the opposing two Pokémon were all special attacks, making it difficult for them to deal significant damage to Cradily.

Lilligant used her agility and long-range attack capabilities to continuously attack Espeon and Umbreon from behind Cradily.

Meanwhile, Cradily focused on defense, using Amnesia and Synthesis at the same time.

Cradily was a unique Pokémon, despite being Rock-Grass type. It was adapted to living underwater and often used Synthesis to extract energy, even through seawater. While the effectiveness of Synthesis underwater was lower than on land, Cradily had mastered this move to the point where it was just as effective as on land.

Ultimately, Cradily was just lazy and didn't want to come ashore, which was why it became so proficient in this move. But that couldn't be helped; after all, it was quite old.

Having honed their moves in the water, Cradily's unique techniques became even more effective on land without the cover of seawater.

Cradily's Synthesis, whether in terms of recovery or speed, outperformed most other Grass-type Pokémon.

The limit for using Amnesia was three times. After these three times, Cradily's special defense became incredibly strong. Coupled with the Sunny Day, Espeon and Umbreon couldn't break through its defense, and they had to endure Lilligant's harassment.

Lilligant stayed behind Cradily, attacking Espeon and Umbreon from there, then swiftly returning to safety behind Cradily, making it impossible for Espeon and Umbreon to deal with her.

Espeon did try to enhance its attacks with Focus Energy to break through Cradily's defense, but Lilligant's interference made it impossible for Espeon to concentrate.

Umbreon used Toxic to try to wear down Cradily's defenses, but unfortunately, Lilligant knew Heal Bell, so any poison inflicted on Cradily was quickly cured.

Even Umbreon's Confuse Ray didn't affect Cradily because Lilligant used Safeguard to protect it. The previous time when Tsareena got hit was just a result of Umbreon catching her off guard. Now, with Lilligant guarding against it, Umbreon had a hard time succeeding.

Recovery and status control were strong suits of Grass-type Pokémon.

Despite having high defense stats, both Espeon and Umbreon were worn down in this battle.

As a Grass-type Trainer, wearing down opponents through attrition was one of Yuga's strengths.

Cradily's combination of Amnesia and Synthesis wasn't insurmountable, and Akihito and Arata Sena quickly devised a plan.

Cradily's Amnesia boosted its special defense, so they both sent out physical attackers – Flygon and Gliscor.

Flygon and Gliscor were both flying Pokémon, so Lilligant's ranged attacks were less effective against them as they could quickly close the gap and evade her attacks.

Flygon and Gliscor relentlessly used Stone Edge on Cradily from the air, causing it to collapse.

Cradily's protection didn't work, and Lilligant, being a Grass-type with low defenses, fell to Gliscor's powerful Guillotine when caught off guard.

However, Cradily didn't go down without a fight. It sprayed a stream of Gastro Acid on Flygon before falling, causing Flygon to transform into a dried-up fish, even though it had wings.

Despite its has wings, Flygon can fly it's not because their wings but because its ability, Levitate, provided its flight capabilities. Its wings mainly contributed to its agility and control.

Of course, Gliscor didn't get any favors either. The moment Lilligant was hit by the Guillotine, it slapped Gliscor face with a Petal Dance.

Seeing Flygon and Gliscor struggling on the ground, Yuga couldn't help but laugh, and Arata Senamei, who owned Gliscor, felt incredibly embarrassed.

Yuga's fourth and fifth Pokémon were Serperior and Gallade.

While the Verdanturf Gym was a Grass-type Gym, it didn't always use Grass-type Pokémon to challenge Trainers. Sometimes, other types were used to test a Trainer's adaptability.

As the challenge progressed into the latter half, Yuga's choice of Pokémon continued to increase in strength.

This Serperior and the Sceptile he used against Astrid were from the same period, both with blue potential, and their strengths were comparable.

As for Gallade, it evolved from the Kirlia the offspring of Gardevoir and Gallade that he brought back from Motohara. Its strength was also formidable.

When Yuga's two Pokémon entered the battle, the grounded Flygon, unable to fly, spat a Flamethrower at Serperior, but Serperior agilely evaded it and closed in on Flygon.

Serperior's Iron Tail struck Flygon's face repeatedly, and Flygon fell without achieving anything.

Yuga's main Serperior was trained more towards special attacks due to its Contrary ability. However, Serperior itself doesn't have a particular preference for either special or physical attacks, so the training direction depended on the individual Pokémon's talents.

This Serperior had the Overgrow ability, and combined with its agility, it was more skilled in physical attacks than special attack ones.

Its tail was incredibly flexible, and it excelled at using moves like Iron Tail, Dragon Tail, and Aqua Tail.

After Flygon was defeated, Arata Sena immediately released his last Pokémon, Camerupt.

This was his initial Pokémon, and also his strongest. When he joined the YoYo Day Care, Yuga gave him this Pokémon as a gift.

If you compared his Flygon's potential to Serperior's, there was a significant difference. However, Camerupt, despite its green potential, was meticulously trained by Arata Sena. When the two Pokémon faced off, Camerupt's presence didn't fall short.

Impressive! Impressive!

Seeing the formidable Camerupt, Yuga nodded in satisfaction. Arata Sena had made great progress, despite starting a bit later. Especially after their journey, both he and Akihito had made significant strides in their abilities.

However, with their current strength, it was practically impossible for them to win the Hoenn League Conference, especially with someone like Astrid as their major obstacle.

Astrid's Absol, after Mega Evolution, was at the level of a pseudo-Elite Pokémon. In contrast, Camerupt still had a bit of a gap to reach that level, and there was little chance of a breakthrough in the short term.

While Serperior and Camerupt faced off against each other, the battle between Gallade and Gliscor entered a heated phase.

Gliscor had a slight disadvantage compared to Gallade, but Gallade's agility was far superior. In this close-quarters combat between two Pokémon skilled in physical attacks, every move by Gallade was deadly. Its sharp leaves struck Gliscor relentlessly, causing it to continuously retreat with wounds all over its body.

Gallade capitalized on its agility, attacking while evading, and Gliscor had no way to deal with it.

Gallade had been trained under the guidance of Nana and Shasha, almost like their apprentice. Shasha was exceptionally skilled in Teleport move, which Gallade had mastered as well.

While Camerupt noticed Gliscor's predicament, it was restrained by Serperior and couldn't support Gliscor.

Camerupt was a Fire-type Pokémon, which should have the advantage against Serperior, but every time it used a Fire-type move on Serperior, Serperior's tail, wrapped in water, easily extinguished the flames.

It was tough being a Fire-type Pokémon these days, especially when facing Grass-types! Camerupt couldn't help but feel bitter about it!