Divine Plan? But I'm a Pokémon trainer.

Chapter 349 Link: You must stay on the field for a full 30 seconds

As soon as the Evil Phantom arrived on the field and set up "Grassland", it manipulated vines to retrieve the Fire Mask and Foundation Mask left behind by Arcanine. A three- or four-meter-tall, yellow-green monster-like Pokémon, radiating a scorching aura, landed on the battlefield.

Groudon, the creator of the earth.

Just as the rumors had been circulating, the Hoenn League had indeed acquired another ancient Pokémon on par with Kyogre.

The audience who had rushed over immediately erupted in gasps of surprise; they hadn't expected the match to be so explosive so soon after it had begun...

With Groudon's arrival, the autumn sunlight became extremely intense, and the fire-type energy in the field became significantly activated.

The intense heat distorted the air around it, and the rocks beneath its feet glowed red-hot as if they had been smelted in a furnace. Even the grass began to burn. You could guess just how high the temperature was around it without getting close.

This Pokémon, which looks exactly like a Fire-type Pokémon, is actually a Ground-type Pokémon according to the trainer's information. It will only become a Ground/Fire type after it undergoes Primal Reversion.

"Boni!"

Egui Peng is full of fighting spirit, and this time he finally has a chance to play!

"The opponent is very strong, let's go all out this time." The trainer in the back cheered for his Pokémon, "Let's try to severely damage it within 30 seconds."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyou instinctively felt that something was amiss.

Xiao You's tactics were excellent, almost perfect, but there was one thing he hadn't considered—

What should you do if Groudon can't beat the Pokémon that Link deliberately rotates out and leaves on the field?
The true strength of the Evil Phantom is far greater than what it appears to be.

Since the trainer had said so, the long-awaited formidable opponent, Ursaring, immediately launched a charge against Groudon.

The vines grew wildly across the grassy field as it moved, transforming into hundreds of sturdy and sharp spears that pierced towards the seemingly clumsy Groudon.

Startled by the incredible speed of the Earthshaker, Yu immediately shouted, "Groudan, 'Earthquake!'"

Groudon stomped the ground, and continuous shockwaves swept across the entire battlefield, turning into an inescapable and violent "earthquake" that even the stands could feel shaking.

But then, with a mighty leap, Egui Peng ascended into the air, stepping on vines that seemed to possess a mind of their own.

Ground-type moves are like this: no matter how powerful they are, it's difficult to reach opponents who can jump high into the air.

However, this was entirely within Xiao You's expectations: "Big Character Explosion!"

A flame, even larger than Groudon's size, shot towards its opponent in mid-air.

Before that, the vines offered themselves up, allowing Egui Peng to leap again and further close the distance between them.

What was going on with these vines sprouting from the grassy field? Xiao You suddenly felt troubled; they were like extra limbs controlled by the Evil Spirit.

Even after being hit by an earthquake, the deeply rooted vines were not greatly disturbed.

During this time, even Groudon began to sprout a large number of vines around it and launched attacks, but due to their low power, they did not cause much damage.

"Flamethrower!"

Faced with an exceptionally agile opponent, Groudon opted for a continuous barrage of fire this time.

Seeing this, Egui Peng took the initiative to extend a "vine whip" from his arm, skillfully using the vines that grew on the grassy field to spin and strike in the air. While advancing in a roundabout way, he activated the power of the Green Grass Mask to complete the crystallization.

In the blink of an eye, it had already nimbly arrived behind Groudon.

Xiaoyou seized the opportunity when her opponent closed in: "Fire Breath!"

But before Groudon could react, the Fiend behind the Azure Mask had already pulled out the Thorn Staff and smashed it down on its yellow-green opponent!
An unbelievable force slammed into Groudon's head, a blow that struck a vital spot and even made the massive monster stagger. Stunned by the impact to its head, it then remembered to unleash a "fire breath" around itself, engulfing everything in its path with the force of a volcanic eruption.

Unfortunately, the Egui Peng, having landed a successful blow, used the force to create distance and then extended its "vine whip" to pull itself away into the distance.

That said, the area within tens of meters of Groudon was still reduced to scorched earth and lava by the erupting volcano.

The grassy field is gone, making it difficult to launch high-speed sneak attacks like a "grass slide" as before.

Otherwise, Xiaoyou would really doubt how many more hits Groudon's Big Stick could take.

That attack just now clearly injured Groudon quite badly...

Therefore, he decisively changed his strategy and decided to use wide-range moves that his opponent could hardly resist to exert pressure.

"Groudon, Heat Wave!"

As Xiaoyou gained a deeper understanding of the Egui Pong, the choices she made gradually became more and more correct.

Upon receiving the warning, Groudon immediately unleashed a devastating whirlwind, turning all the vines that survived the "earthquake" and the "Grassy Terrain" to ashes.

But before being attacked, Evil Phantom exited its crystallized state, covered its face with its clothes, and put on the fire stove mask left behind by Arcanine.

The mask's transformation changed it from a pure Grass type to a Grass/Fire type, and then it crystallized again before charging towards Groudon, which was blasting "Heat Wave".

Transformed into its red form, Evil Pine clearly lost the weakness of Grass-type Pokémon, showing no fear of the heat of the scorching wind, the burning earth, and the lava, and charged forward with swift and fierce momentum.

Xiao You was clearly stunned for a moment upon seeing this.

He finally realized the secret of the cursed vessel.

Unlike Link's other Pokémon, its crystallization doesn't come from some item from its trainer, but rather from a mask it carries itself.

Previously, in its battle against Aysa, it transformed into Taijingshui by carrying a blue mask.

When it first appeared, it carried a green mask and could transform into a crystal grass during battle.

Now, it has donned the red mask carried by the Blazing Roaring Tiger and transformed into Taijing Fire.

Thinking about it carefully, the brown mask that Arcanine carries should be able to turn it into a crystal...

In other words, this is a spirit that can switch its own attributes and those of the crystallized form based on the mask!

The current Evil Spirit is fire-attribute, so the correct choice should be—

But before Yuu could figure out the correct response from Groudon, the latter had already been hit by a Gust of Venom.

This time, the "Thorn Stick" is burning with flames, and its power is even greater than the Grass-type version that was effective against Groudon.

Groudon, struck in a vital spot, was momentarily knocked unconscious. Even the already ravaged ground beneath him shattered and collapsed due to the force of the attack, trapping him within it.

This is Link's trap!
Xiaoyou was shocked to discover that Evil Phantom's strength was close to that of a legendary Pokémon, and that it was specifically designed to counter Groudon.

It wasn't that he seized the opportunity when Link couldn't rotate, but rather that the opponent used this as bait to trick him into sending out Groudon, which was severely countered by him!
Now, it's time for him to try and survive the next 30 seconds to get rotated out as soon as possible.

Or...

(End of this chapter)