Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

Even while asleep, Milotic's fast attack speed remains a prominent feature.

Before the second earthquake could strike, Milos had already launched its water jets.

Under the rain, the already devastating floodwaters became even more ferocious, and amidst the surging waves, the Swamp Monster neither dodged nor avoided, continuing to pound the ground with its arms, unleashing earthquakes.

…………

"Water Spray against Earthquake! Neither of them intends to dodge this high-powered move. Milotic, in its sleeping state, can't dodge it, while Swampert simply doesn't want to. This is understandable; after taking an Earthquake, the damage from Water Spray is already significantly reduced. Even though rain provides a considerable boost, the difference in strength is still there. Milotic is at a disadvantage in this clash!"

"The earthquake hit again without a doubt. No matter how high Milotic's durability is, it can't withstand such an attack. With Swampert's power, at most two more earthquakes will render Milotic unable to battle. Wait, Milotic has finally woken up! But in this situation, what means does it have to deal with a Swampert that is in good condition and powerful?"

"Time is running out for Xia Chen and Milotic."

The appearance of this classic sentence structure is enough to illustrate the narrator's concern for Xia Chen's current situation.

Indeed, Milotic had a Butterfly Dance buff, but Butterfly Dance doesn't provide physical defense, not to mention the two Earthquakes. Milotic was definitely not in good physical condition at the moment.

Faced with Swampert's overwhelming and fierce attacks, what countermeasures could he possibly have since he doesn't know any Grass-type moves?

Even if Swampert charges head-on through your water cannon, Milotic will inevitably fall first.

That was exactly what Lu Weiyu was thinking. She smiled faintly and commanded, "Swamp Monster, again, Earthquake!"

She had fought in this kind of situation countless times, and all her opponents had succumbed to her powerful Swamp Fist.

So what if your Milotic can do butterfly dance and spray water?

This time, the outcome will be no exception!

The site, scarred by two earthquakes, is riddled with cracks, thumb-width fissures in the ground, and scattered rubble that testify to the swamp monster's brutality.

Swampert, however, showed no remorse, and its arms, bulging with explosive muscles, bulged once more.

Immediately afterwards, the light representing the energy of the ground system shone brightly, and it looked like the third earthquake of the game was about to occur.

Just then, a beam of icy blue light suddenly shone from Milotic's mouth.

Lu Weiyu frowned slightly. What time is it? Why are they still using the freezing beam?

Although Ground-type moves are weak to Ice, Swampert is not afraid of Ice-type moves because it is also resistant to Water-type moves.

The rainy weather hasn't ended yet, so why doesn't Milotic use Hydro Pump, which has a higher power level and benefits from the STAB (Same Type) power boost?

Not only Lu Weiyu, but basically all viewers who know a little about Pokémon battles are confused about Milotic's move selection.

But what happened next on the battlefield gave them a chilling answer.

…………

From Milotic's wide-open mouth, a brilliant icy blue light shone.

However, what was hidden beneath this light was not the frozen beam of light that everyone had imagined, but a ball of energy condensed with a special, extremely cold aura.

What kind of move is this?

He looked puzzled as he watched the ball of icy energy hurtling toward the Swampert.

Born into a family specializing in water-type moves, she knew Milotic quite well, knowing that he could only learn a few offensive ice-type moves.

Freezing Beam, Blizzard, Freezing Wind, Avalanche

Are there any more?

No, who said it's necessarily a move Milotic can learn?

Lu Weiyu suddenly remembered Xia Chen's unique Pokémon: Butterfly Dance, Water Spray—which of these moves could Milotic learn on its own?

Based on Xia Chen's unusual behavior before, Lu Weiyu finally understood what this ice-type move was.

Freeze-drying!

"Swamp Monster, get out of the way!"

She reacted swiftly and issued the order, but it was too late.

The moment the icy energy ball was launched, Swampert's arms slammed heavily into the ground.

Swampert, engrossed in unleashing an earthquake, has no way to dodge this attack.

In Lu Weiyu's solemn gaze, freeze-drying had hit the mark.

A chilling aura leaked from the bursting energy sphere, immediately corroding and spreading across Swampert's body. The chilling aura, containing special energy, rapidly froze the water-based energy within Swampert's body.

Soon, unhealthy, icy blue streaks appeared on the Swampert's azure body.

At this moment, the Swamp Prodigy, who was completely unprepared, belatedly realized the abnormality in his body, and the central nervous system responsible for pain made him uncontrollably cry out in pain.

"Swamp——"

Weekend, a short day out

Chapter 229 Slaying the Dragon, Advancing to the Top Four!

"Oh my god! Milotic's Ice-type move wasn't Ice Beam, but Freeze-Dry?!"

The Swampert's cries of pain brought the commentator to his senses, and at that moment, Xia Chen's previous unusual behavior was finally explained.

From the initial use of Gardevoir to Milotic being hypnotized and not being able to recall it.

Everything, everything, is for this moment of freeze-drying!

Karune's brow, which had been furrowed all day, finally relaxed. She smiled and said, "As expected, Xia Chen's real killer move was hidden here. Gardevoir was sent out to deplete Poliwag's stamina and condition. Then Milotic was brought in to use Quiver Dance. In addition to deliberately creating an opening for Poliwag to use Hypnosis, it was also to force the opponent's core Swampert to come out."

The commentator continued, "That's right, all trainers know that Swampert's only weakness to Grass-type is four times, so Lu Weiyu had no awareness of the danger. In her opinion, Milotic's most damaging move was just Hydro Pump. This freeze-drying was really unexpected."

"but."

The female commentator suddenly changed the subject, "Freeze-drying did not interrupt Swampert's Earthquake release. Milotic, which has been hit by three Earthquakes in a row, is in worse condition than Swampert. Player Lu Weiyu now has two options: one is to switch out Swampert to preserve the strength of her ace Pokémon, and the other is to use Dig to try to defeat Milotic first."

The commentator's analysis is not without merit. It is clear that freeze-drying is Xia Chen's trump card for dealing with Swampert. Now that the trump card has been revealed, Lu Weiyu has no need to confront Milotic head-on.

First, use Poliwag or Ludicolo (which hasn't appeared yet) to take down Milotic when it's severely weakened. After that, Swampert, having lost its natural enemy, will be unrestrained.

But from another perspective, Xia Chen is certainly not stupid. If you replace Swampert, I can just get Milotic with the [swamp-resistant Noble Phantasm], right?

So, whether to fight to the death in this head-on confrontation or to temporarily de-escalate the situation is a viable option; it all depends on the choices made by both trainers.

…………

During the commentary and analysis, Lu Weiyu had already made her choice.

She raised the Poké Ball in her hand and recalled the icy blue Swampert, whose entire body had been frozen and dried.

"Thank you for your hard work, Swampert."

After gently comforting her ace spirit, a barely perceptible resolute glint flashed in Lu Weiyu's eyes.

Then, she took out the fourth Poké Ball from her belt. It wasn't Poliwag's Poké Ball, nor was it Ludicolo's.

But

"Goodra! Faced with this predicament, Lu Weiyu has revealed her trump card: a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Goodra! We all know that Goodra is one of the representative Pokémon that achieves great things late in life. Its final evolution form is at least an elite-level one-star Pokémon!"

When the commentator saw that Lu Weiyu's last Pokémon was a Goodra, which she had never known before the competition, she couldn't help but shout out her excitement and surprise.

"Lu Weiyu's choice to send it out at the crucial moment instead of Ludicolo shows that Goodra is definitely stronger than Ludicolo! But Xia Chen's two Pokémon in the back row are both Fairy-type. Can this choice really help her turn the tide of the game?"

Lu Weiyu knew that Gardevoir and Sylveon were both Fairy-type Pokémon, but at the moment, Ludicolo's abilities were clearly insufficient to handle the current situation.

Although Goodra's type is weak against it, its terrifying defensive capabilities and superior strength make it a good choice to deal with the opponent's three Special Attack Pokémon.

Furthermore, Goodra also possesses some knowledge of methods for dealing with Fairy-type Pokémon.

He originally intended to reveal the secret of the sticky dragon in the next round of the battle against Bai Mu, or even in the finals, but Milas's freeze-drying technique gave her such a big "surprise" that if she didn't show her full strength now, she might not have another chance.

…………

At the same time that Lu Weiyu recalled Swampert, Xia Chen also recalled Milotic, and he chose to replace it with Sylveon, which he had prepared in advance.

Then he discovered that his opponent's last Pokémon was not Ludicolo, but Goodra.

With a raised eyebrow, Xia Chen quickly considered this unexpected situation.

It's not surprising that the opponent also had a trump card, but what is surprising is that this trump card was a pseudo-legendary Goodra.

Although this Pokémon has always been jokingly called a disgrace to pseudo-legendary Pokémon by players, that is only in comparison to Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Dragonite.

Moreover, Goodra only suffers from its base type disadvantage; adding a Water or Steel type would immediately turn it around.

For example, the sticky baby that's still in its egg.

In short, the fact that Lu Weiyu switched to this instead of Lucky Kappa shows that this Goody Dragon's strength should not be underestimated.

"Sticky Dragon, charge forward and use the acid bomb!"

Just as he regained his composure, his opponent issued the first command to Nyanmei Dragon.

Xia Chen frowned slightly and replied, "Xianbu, High Speed ​​Star, prepare to take cover!"

As expected, the opponent had a way to deal with Senbu.

Acid bomb, a relatively uncommon move in combat, but its effect is exceptionally powerful.

In addition to being able to unleash special attacks with the poison attribute, it can also significantly weaken the opponent's special defense.

Sylveon's strength lies in its high durability in Special Defense, making it vulnerable to acid bombs.

With ribbons fluttering, Fairy Cloth skillfully unleashed a string of pinkish-purple star-shaped energy blasts before searching for suitable hiding spots nearby.

The flat, rocky ground itself offered little place to hide, but after three ravages of the Swamp Monster's earthquakes, the ground was already shattered, with chunks of soil and rock rising up everywhere.

Such a venue is actually a good thing for Sylveon, a small and agile Pokémon.

Nianmeilong approached Xianbu with firm steps, not fast, but unusually steady.

The undulating ground beneath its feet felt as smooth as flat ground.

Lowering its two antennae to deflect the high-speed stars swarming towards its face, the sticky dragon suddenly unleashed a highly corrosive, deep purple liquid bomb.

…………

"The rocks that rose from the ground saved Sylveon. You can see that the rocks have shrunk considerably due to the corrosion from the acid bomb. It's hard to imagine what would have happened if they had hit Sylveon."

"Moon Power! Sylveon, behind the rock, seized the opportunity to launch a strong counterattack! But the distance was too close, and Goodra couldn't dodge. It could only lower its tentacles again to protect its most important head. The energy ball exploded on its body. How much damage did it do?"

The female commentator stared wide-eyed at the sticky dragon on the screen.