Plucking Feathers

Unbeknownst to Yuga, the conversations among the referees in the first-floor hall continued. At this moment, on the 21st floor, Yuga and his Bellossom were locked in a fierce battle.

Upon reaching the 21st floor, the strength of the Pokémon once again experienced a significant surge. Even though Bellossom had enhanced itself to its peak condition, it was still struggling against the opponent's Pokémon.

During the competition, a Trainer couldn't afford any failures. Even a single defeat meant they would be halted on the floor where they failed.

Currently, Bellossom was facing a proud Male Unfezant from the Unova region. Its magnificent crown feathers gave it an imposing appearance.

Bellossom had already activated Sunny Day, boosting its speed to the maximum. While this allowed it to avoid immediate danger from the Male Unfezant, it was still unable to deal with the opponent effectively.

Male Unfezant, with its flying advantage, agilely dodged Bellossom's attacks and resisted the Grass-type moves that Bellossom excelled in.

The strength of this Male Unfezant was not significantly lower than Bellossom's, or else Yuga wouldn't have sent Bellossom out despite knowing it would be at a disadvantage due to type matchups.

The problem lay in the Male Unfezant's extensive battle experience. It even knew how to treat Bellossom as a "kite," using its extraordinary agility to make Bellossom helpless.

In this situation, Yuga suddenly had an idea. Since Male Unfezant relied on its agility, why not make it lose this advantage?

His mind raced, and Yuga's inspiration struck.

Yuga: "Bellossom, keep using Sweet Scent."

Male Unfezant relied on its agility, and Yuga's plan was to deprive it of this agility.

Following Yuga's command, Bellossom began to dance gracefully. Subsequently, a series of pink smoke emanated from the two red flowers on its head.

As Bellossom's dance grew faster, the pink smoke in the battle room became denser. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance, making even Yuga feel a bit dizzy, struggling to concentrate.

Male Unfezant faced the same situation. As it inhaled the sweet and thick aroma, its body began to slow down.

It shook its head while flying and then attempted to use Gust to blow away the pink smoke, hoping to regain its mobility.

In an open environment or outdoors, Male Unfezant's approach would have been effective. Flying-type Pokémon could easily disperse these kinds of mist or powder-based attacks just by flapping their wings.

However, they were in a battle room, a confined space. No matter how hard Male Unfezant tried to use Gust, the pink mist wouldn't dissipate. Instead, it dispersed evenly throughout the air due to the rapid airflow.

With every breath, Male Unfezant inhaled more of the sweet fragrance, causing its mind to grow hazier, and its movements became increasingly sluggish.

"Bellossom, now's the time! Use Petal Blizzard!" Yuga exclaimed.

In response to Yuga's command, Bellossom gathered numerous tiny leaves around its body, then manipulated them like a colossal dragon, rolling towards Male Unfezant.

Within this green tornado, flecks of brown powder were mixed in, enveloping the unsteady Male Unfezant, rolling it into the vortex of leaf blades and powder.

At this moment, the Male Unfezant seemed as if it had been tossed into a high-speed spinning washing machine. It was getting dizzy and disoriented. When it inhaled the brown powder mixed in with the green leaves, its body jolted as if it had been electrocuted, partially clearing its foggy mind.

When the Petal Blizzard finally ceased, the Male Unfezant "thudded" to the ground. Yellow electric sparks continued to flicker across its body. Its wings and legs were twitching uncontrollably.

As it turned out, Bellossom's Petal Blizzard had contained a considerable amount of Stun Spore. While being tossed around in the storm, Male Unfezant inhaled an excessive amount of Stun Spore, causing it to fall into a paralyzed state.

Due to the overdose of Stun Spore, Male Unfezant was now completely immobile, only glaring angrily at Yuga and Bellossom.

Observing the pitiful state of the Male Unfezant, Yuga couldn't help but smirk.

"Alright, Bellossom, give it a few more Magical Leaves right on its face," Yuga grinned maliciously. "Let's see if it dares to glare at me."

The motionless Male Unfezant, unable to react, appeared on the verge of fainting from sheer frustration. It seemed to be thinking, "Who are these people? Is he a devil?"

Even Bellossom seemed resigned as it glanced at its Trainer and proceeded to generate a multicolored glow around its two hands. Then, it playfully swiped at the Male Unfezant's face with the glowing hands, inundating its head with a dazzling radiance.

One minute later, the signal for clearing the level resounded.

"Congratulations on clearing the level. Please proceed to the next floor immediately."

Yuga, along with Bellossom, ascended the stairs to the next level. Meanwhile, the Male Unfezant left in the battle room had completely passed out. Its once splendid plumage was now in disarray, with scattered feathers strewn across the floor. Especially its elegant crown feathers had disappeared without a trace.

The pitiable appearance of the Male Unfezant looked as if it had been... well, seen and heard, it left one heartbroken.

Walking up the stairs to the next level, Yuga looked at his slightly panting Bellossom and said, "You've fought so many battles already. Let's give other teammates a chance on the next floor."

Bellossom nodded in agreement without trying to be overly assertive. The previous battle against the Male Unfezant had been quite challenging, and without Yuga's clever strategy, it would have surely lost.

Seeing Bellossom's consent, Yuga retrieved it into its Poké Ball.

After recalling Bellossom, Yuga looked at the two long, red feathers in his hand and thought, "Why did I even pluck these?"

With that in mind, Yuga casually tossed the two red feathers aside.

If the Male Unfezant were here, it would have definitely cried itself into oblivion. Those were its most prized crown feathers, crucial for securing a mate. And yet, they were plucked and thrown away so carelessly. Life was indeed tough.

Leaving behind the defeated Male Unfezant, Yuga ascended to the next floor. To his surprise, he encountered a Water-type final evolution Pokémon from the Hoenn region, Swampert.

It just goes to show that this officially organized major competition, hosted by the League, did indeed bring out the starter Pokémon. However, they appeared as tools.

Staring at the Swampert before him, Yuga quietly released Roserade.

This Swampert's strength was significantly higher than the Male Unfezant on the previous floor. Even with a fourfold type advantage, Yuga doubted that Bellossom could defeat this Swampert.