Erika vs. Anya

After Victreebel was frozen into an ice sculpture, Abomasnow approached it and smashed down with an Ice Punch. The sculpture shattered, and Victreebel fell out, completely unconscious.

"Victreebel is unable to battle! Abomasnow wins! Player Erika, please send out your second Pokémon."

Following the reminder from the Rotom Camera, Erika sent out her second Pokémon, Vileplume—undoubtedly an Eltie level Pokémon.

As soon as Vileplume appeared, it used Sunny Day to dispel the snowy weather on the field. This weather was far too detrimental for it as a Grass-type Pokémon.

While Vileplume's talent in controlling weather was not as strong as Abomasnow's, its sheer level was undeniable.

Seeing Vileplume dispel the snowfall, Abomasnow quickly opened its mouth and unleashed a Blizzard, aiming to freeze Vileplume into an ice sculpture like it had done to Victreebel.

But how could Vileplume be the same as Victreebel?

"Vileplume, Petal Dance!" Erika commanded. To counter a wide-range move like Blizzard, only Petal Dance could suffice.

At Erika's command, a whirlwind of petals surged forward to meet the oncoming Blizzard. The two moves collided, and unsurprisingly, Petal Dance overwhelmed Blizzard. Not only did it scatter the storm, but its residual force even struck Abomasnow.

Of course, the remaining power of Petal Dance was limited. As Abomasnow was resistant to Grass-type moves, it didn't suffer significant damage.

Petal Dance, like the Dragon-type move Outrage, has side effects. After being used, the Pokémon is forced to continue the move two to three times and ultimately falls into a confused state.

However, Erika had long since devised a way to mitigate this drawback.

Vileplume continued its relentless use of Petal Dance against Abomasnow. One after another, pink dragons formed of petals clawed ferociously toward Abomasnow. The sheer intensity of the attacks left Abomasnow momentarily unable to counter. If it weren't also a Grass-type Pokémon, it would have long met the same fate as its predecessor, Roserade.

After three successive Petal Dances, Vileplume finally succumbed to confusion.

But strangely enough, despite being confused, Vileplume didn't lash out aimlessly. Instead, it began to dance an odd, wobbly dance.

Before long, Anya realized something was wrong with her Abomasnow. It was now punching itself in the face with Ice Punch—over and over again—with remarkable force, as if it wasn't its own face.

What was going on? Anya was utterly bewildered.

Soon, someone in the audience figured it out: Vileplume was performing Teeter Dance.

As the spectators gradually caught on, they marveled in astonishment. A confused Vileplume dancing Teeter Dance? Was this a case of "If I have to suffer, I'll drag you down with me"?

Causing the opponent to become confused while itself being confused effectively prevents the opponent from taking advantage of the situation.

Using Teeter Dance while in a confused state sounds simple, but training for it is anything but easy.

The saying "three minutes on stage, ten years of practice offstage" applies here. To ensure that Vileplume's body could still remember how to use Teeter Dance even when its mind was muddled, Erika and Vileplume must have gone through countless practice sessions and endured significant hardships.

Endless confusion during training—just thinking about it shows how grueling it must have been.

Vileplume's confusion lasted for over a minute, and by the time it snapped out of it, Abomasnow was still punching itself. Its face was already swollen.

"Vileplume, Sludge Bomb!"

The opportunity was right in front of them. Erika and Vileplume weren't going to let it slip away.

Vileplume launched glob after glob of poisonous sludge, each one hitting Abomasnow with precision. Though Abomasnow didn't get poisoned, the Poison-type moves were super effective against it. After enduring several hits in a row, Abomasnow finally regained its senses, but in the very next second, its eyes rolled back, and it fainted on the spot.

Recalling her Abomasnow, Anya's expression was indescribable. Clearly, it was her opponent's Pokémon that had been confused first, yet it was her own Pokémon that ended up battered and unconscious.

This was so unfair!

Anya took a deep breath and sent out her final Pokémon. She understood that if she didn't give it her all now, her chances of becoming Champion would be gone.

Unsurprisingly, Anya's final Pokémon was none other than the mythical Pokémon Shaymin.

"Shaymin, Psychic!"

Her opponent's Vileplume was a Poison-type, making Psychic-type moves the perfect counter.

"Shay~min!"

Shaymin let out a cry as two purple beams of light shot out from its eyes.

"Vileplume, Sludge Bomb!"

Despite the mythical Pokémon's appearance, Erika remained calm. In fact, her gaze toward Shaymin was filled with curiosity and delight—it's so adorable! She couldn't help but think about how much she wanted to pet it.

As a Grass-type Trainer, who could resist the charm of an adorable Shaymin?

Boom!

The sludge bomb and psychic beams collided, resulting in an explosion that scattered the toxic liquid all over the field.

Vileplume and Shaymin seemed evenly matched, and seeing this, Yuga became even more certain: this Shaymin, like his Kartana, was still very young.

If it were an adult Shaymin, it wouldn't just dominate an Elite level Vileplume—it could probably handle even a pseudo-legendary Pokémon at Champion level with just a breath.

"Vileplume, keep using Sludge Bomb."

Although she adored Shaymin, Erika had no intention of holding back in the match. Instead, her attacks became even more aggressive.

Vileplume launched one sludge bomb after another toward Shaymin. Shaymin dashed around the field, dodging while panting heavily. Its adorable demeanor made even the audience feel reluctant to watch.

But there was no helping it—this Shaymin simply wasn't a match for Vileplume.

Shaymin, in its Land Forme, had a gentle nature and wasn't adept at battling.

Watching her Shaymin scurry around in panic, Anya gritted her teeth and threw a flower toward it.

"Shaymin, catch it!"

Hearing her command, Shaymin leaped into the air and skillfully caught the flower in its mouth. Then, a miraculous transformation occurred—Shaymin's body began to glow with a brilliant white light.

When the glow subsided, Shaymin's original hedgehog-like appearance was gone. In its place was a small canine-like Pokémon hovering in midair. This Pokémon had red scarf-like fur around its neck, and a pair of white wings extended from the sides of its head. Though it was still Shaymin, it now looked even more adorable and brimming with energy.

In this new form, Shaymin's personality had clearly shifted. Its movements in the air were confident and bold, a stark contrast to its previous timid demeanor.

Shaymin had transformed from its Land Forme to its Sky Forme!

Witnessing this, Yuga immediately understood that the flower Anya had thrown to Shaymin was a Gracidea Flower. There were no league rules prohibiting the use of such items during matches.

This wasn't an evolution but rather a form change, so Shaymin's overall strength hadn't drastically increased. However, its stats had been redistributed—its attack and speed saw significant boosts, while its defenses were reduced. Additionally, it gained the Flying type and the ability to fly.

This change made Shaymin much better equipped to deal with Grass-type Pokémon.

"Shaymin, Air Slash!" Anya called out loudly.

"Shay~min!"

Shaymin let out a cry and prepared to attack.

Shaymin soared through the sky with high spirits, firing off two wind blades that struck Vileplume squarely.

Not only that, but Vileplume succumbed to Air Slash's secondary effect—flinching.

In its Sky Forme, Shaymin's ability changed from Natural Cure to Serene Grace, which doubles the probability of its moves' secondary effects occurring.

Additionally, Shaymin was holding a King's Rock, whose flinch probability was also influenced by the Serene Grace ability.

The combination of these factors made Shaymin's Air Slash have up to an 80% chance of causing its opponent to flinch. Vileplume's repeated flinching was hardly surprising.

Once Vileplume entered a flinching state, its body froze up completely. It wanted to move but couldn't, leaving it wide open for Shaymin's second Air Slash.

Unfortunately for Vileplume, it flinched again.

As a Grass-type Pokémon, Vileplume was naturally weak against the Flying-type Air Slash. After three or four consecutive hits, Vileplume finally collapsed. Erika could only watch helplessly, growing increasingly anxious but unable to do anything.

If Vileplume hadn't been a Pokémon at the Elite Four level, it might not have lasted through even three of those hits.

Watching Shaymin frolic confidently in the sky, Erika sighed and reluctantly recalled her Vileplume, then sent out her final Pokémon: Venusaur.

This Venusaur was the same one Erika had used in her battle against Yuga and was even stronger than Vileplume—a true Elite level Pokémon.

"Shaymin, Air Slash!"

Seeing Venusaur come out, Anya immediately attempted to use the same tactic. Shaymin eagerly fired off its wind blades, its desire to attack clearly sky-high.

But Venusaur, now on guard, wasn't about to fall into the same trap as Vileplume. Two vines extended from its back and began spinning furiously, deflecting the incoming wind blades with ease.

While Shaymin's Air Slash had a high chance of causing flinching, that only worked if it landed a hit—and Venusaur wasn't giving it the opportunity.

"Shaymin, Air Slash again!"

Anya kept giving Shaymin commands, and Shaymin continued its enthusiastic assaults on Venusaur. But no matter how many Air Slashes Shaymin unleashed, Venusaur's vines deftly blocked them all. Left, right, front, back—it defended in every direction, without a single gap.

The vines on Venusaur's back seemed endless; even if one was severed, another would immediately grow in its place.

More than ten minutes passed like this, and Shaymin's initial energy and excitement began to wane. It panted heavily in midair, visibly exhausted.

In the end, it all came down to Shaymin's lack of strength. If Shaymin had been on par with Venusaur—or even Vileplume—its type advantage and Flying abilities would have easily overwhelmed them. But in this state, Shaymin was clearly outmatched.

Seeing Shaymin's momentum falter, Erika smiled slightly and said to Venusaur, "Venusaur, it's our turn to counterattack now."

"Venusaur~!"

Venusaur nodded in agreement.

"Venusaur, Worry Seed!"

At Erika's command, Venusaur opened its mouth and spat out a small green seed, shooting it toward Shaymin like a bullet. Shaymin dodged the first seed, but then came a second, a third, a fourth…

When one of the seeds hit Shaymin, it disappeared into Shaymin's body. Shaymin's ability changed from Serene Grace to Insomnia.

Without the boost from Serene Grace, the probability of Air Slash causing flinching returned to normal. Even if Venusaur was unlucky enough to get hit by Air Slash, the chances of it flinching became much smaller.

Witnessing this, Anya's face turned grim. Shaymin was already at a disadvantage against Venusaur, and now it had lost its greatest weapon—the high flinch rate. Things had gone from bad to worse.

"Venusaur, Toxic!"

Erika's offensive didn't let up. Venusaur's flower released a massive spray of toxic sludge, splashing toward Shaymin. Though Shaymin tried to flee, the sludge still managed to douse its delicate body.

The special trait of the Toxic move is that, when used by a Poison-type Pokémon, it never misses. Shaymin's efforts to evade were futile.

As the toxic sludge coated Shaymin's tender skin, it let out a pained cry, succumbing to the effects of severe poisoning. The corrosive poison brought excruciating pain, and its once-bright white face turned an alarming shade of greenish-purple.

This sight tugged at the hearts of everyone watching—whether they were in the stands or acting as referees. Many couldn't help but feel distressed, their emotions stirred by Shaymin's suffering.

Erika, however, remained unmoved. No matter how much she liked Shaymin, she wouldn't hesitate during a battle.

"Shaymin, focus! Use Tailwind!" Anya called out loudly, trying to rally her Pokémon.

Shaymin cast a sharp glare at Venusaur and Erika, gritting its teeth before unleashing Tailwind. Deep down, it was already plotting its counterattack.

In its Sky Forme, Shaymin's bold personality meant it wouldn't take such treatment lying down.

With Tailwind boosting its speed significantly, Shaymin managed to evade the Sludge Wave Venusaur launched on Erika's orders. Had it been hit, the doubled power of the move—due to the poisoning—would have dealt devastating damage.

Despite its agility, Shaymin was still suffering from the poisoning. Over time, however, its greenish-purple complexion began to fade. Those unfamiliar with Shaymin might have been puzzled, but Anya knew exactly what was happening.

One of Shaymin's innate abilities allowed it to break down toxins absorbed into its body, converting them into light and water. It could then expel these by using its signature move, Seed Flare.

"Shaymin, use Seed Flare!" Anya commanded as Shaymin's color returned to normal.

By this point, all the toxins in Shaymin's body had been neutralized, though the health it lost from the poisoning couldn't be regained.

"Shaymin~!"

Shaymin's body began to glow as it charged toward Venusaur with Seed Flare. The more toxins Shaymin had broken down, the stronger the resulting explosion would be.

Erika's expression changed drastically. "Venusaur, Frenzy Plant!"

"Venusaur~!"

Venusaur roared in agreement. It stomped its foot hard on the ground, causing countless brown roots to emerge. However, Venusaur wasn't using Frenzy Plant for offense—it was deploying it defensively.

The dense network of roots quickly layered over one another, forming a protective cocoon around Venusaur.

Boom!

Shaymin collided head-on with the root cocoon, triggering a massive explosion that sent dust and debris flying everywhere, completely obscuring everyone's vision.

The next moment, Shaymin emerged from the smoke, hovering a short distance away and anxiously watching the scene below.

As the smoke gradually cleared, everyone was eager to see how Venusaur had fared.

Suddenly, a vine lashed out from the remaining smoke, catching Shaymin off guard and ensnaring it tightly.

When the dust finally settled, it revealed Venusaur's cocoon of roots. Some had been blown apart by the explosion, but many remained intact, continuing to shield Venusaur.

Inside, Venusaur looked battered but had not lost its ability to fight.

"Sha~ymin~"

Shaymin whimpered in pain as it struggled against the vine's grip.

"Venusaur, Sludge Bomb!" Erika's voice rang out, signaling the inevitable conclusion of the battle.