Chapter 8: The Final Battle with Daisy

However… Ethan looked up at the ceiling. This battle wasn't without its advantageous side. Through the bright glass dome, he could clearly see the sun, emitting soft daylight. Today was still a clear day…

"Let's begin!" Seeing both Pokémon ready, Lily didn't wait for Daisy to speak and loudly commanded, "Krabby, use Water Gun!" A thick stream of water shot from Krabby's mouth, straight at Bulbasaur!

"Bulbasaur, dodge, use Vine Whip!"

Hearing the command, Bulbasaur leaped sideways to avoid the attack. At the same time, two Vine Whips extended from the bulb on its back, striking at Krabby. However, the next second, Krabby dove underwater, and the Vine Whips hitting the surface only splashed water!

In their first exchange, neither side gained any advantage. Regardless of whether the three sisters were solely dedicated to water ballet, their strength wasn't something to be easily underestimated!

But seeing the stalemate, Lily suddenly chuckled. "Well, one in the water and one on land, it's hard to decide a winner with attacks like this. It seems we need to change tactics. Krabby, get on that floating platform!"

"Oh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by her command. "Giving up home field advantage and battling Bulbasaur face-to-face? Is that really a good idea?"

Lily raised her head, clearly full of confidence. "Don't worry, unlike Lily's Goldeen, my Krabby is still very strong even on land! Krabby, use Leer!"

Krabby's four crab legs moved quickly, and it soon scuttled sideways onto the same floating platform as Bulbasaur. Then, its dull eyes suddenly glowed red, fixating on Bulbasaur.

Is she trying to make Bulbasaur more vulnerable through fear? Ethan calmly stated, "Bulbasaur, don't let it affect you. Use Growth!"

Bulbasaur's body suddenly emitted a faint green glow. Growth, as a move, allowed the user to increase its Attack stat. And because it was a clear day with ample sunlight, using Growth now would additionally increase the move's power!

Seeing this opportunity, Lily's eyes lit up, and she quickly ordered, "Krabby, quickly use Water Gun!"

With no time to dodge, the Water Gun directly hit Bulbasaur. Although Bulbasaur's defense was weakened due to Leer, Water-type moves inherently deal half damage to Grass-types. So, even though it hit Bulbasaur, it didn't cause much extra damage.

"Bulbasaur, it's our turn to retaliate. Use Tackle!"

Understanding that this attack would be extremely powerful under Growth's boost, Lily dared not be careless.

"Krabby, quickly use Harden!"

As she spoke, before Bulbasaur approached, Krabby's body shimmered. From its appearance alone, it was clear it had become more solid and smooth. With a thud, it took a direct Tackle, and Krabby couldn't help but retreat a step. Fortunately, it seemed largely unharmed, even having enough energy left to counterattack!

"Now! Krabby, use Vise Grip!"

At Lily's command, Krabby extended its large claw and tightly clamped onto Bulbasaur's neck. Since Vise Grip is a Normal-type move, it wouldn't be weakened by Grass or Poison types. Combined with Leer, it could indeed inflict considerable damage on Bulbasaur, causing Bulbasaur to instinctively cry out in pain.

However, Ethan clearly wouldn't just sit idly by.

"Use Vine Whip!"

The Vine Whips rose high from the bulb, then fell heavily. Each strike inflicted massive damage on Krabby.

Whap, whap… whap, whap…

After taking several hits, Krabby could no longer stand the pain. Reluctantly, it retreated, moving away from Bulbasaur. This allowed Bulbasaur to regain its freedom!

And, the offense and defense shifted!

"So, now it's our turn!"

Narrowing his eyes, Ethan commanded, "Use Leech Seed!"

A small seed instantly flew out of the bulb at extreme speed, adhering to Krabby's body. The Leech Seed then began to grow rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it had already sprouted several long vines and tightly wrapped around Krabby!

This time, it was Krabby that couldn't move! Seeing the unfavorable situation, Lily still tried one last desperate countermeasure: "Krabby, quickly get back into the water!"

This was undoubtedly the best solution.

However… now she wanted to escape?

Too late!

Ethan chuckled, then gave his final command.

"Bulbasaur, finish it. Use Vine Whip!"

Two Vine Whips rapidly approached. Before Krabby could enter the water, they struck its body hard. Besides the double damage caused by the type advantage, the Leech Seed also glowed with a faint green light, draining Krabby's remaining stamina.

This time, Krabby finally couldn't hold on and collapsed onto the floating platform.

For a moment, Lily paused, then sighed.

"I lost too…" Saying this, she took out a Poké Ball and returned Krabby to it.

Ethan had won two consecutive battles. Now, only Daisy remained. Seeing her two younger sisters defeated, Daisy's expression grew serious. She slowly walked to the Trainer's command area, carefully observing Ethan.

"You are very strong and calm. It's clear you're an excellent Trainer, but we won't give up so easily! Come on out, my Pokémon, Dewgong!"

As she opened her Poké Ball, a grayish-white, sea lion-like Pokémon appeared in the pool. Physically, this Pokémon had a prominent bump on its head, upward-curving teeth on both sides of its mouth, and a flicking tongue. Its tail split into two, not much different from an ordinary sea lion in his past life.

Not knowing much about it, Ethan took out his Pokédex and scanned Dewgong. The Pokédex quickly provided feedback.

"Beep. Dewgong, the Sea Lion Pokémon. Water-type. They generally live among icebergs and use the sharp protuberance on their heads to break through ice and swim in the sea. Their entire skin is very thick, allowing them to move freely even at -40 degrees Celsius."

Unlike Goldeen and Krabby, this Dewgong possessed both agility and close-range attacking capabilities, making it much harder to deal with.

"Come back, Bulbasaur."

Ethan recalled Bulbasaur and sent out his last Pokémon, also his ace—Ralts.

"Ralts, it's all up to you!"

Hearing its Trainer's instruction, Ralts let out a soft cry. With a Teleport, it appeared on a floating platform. It looked at Dewgong, and under its bangs, a light seemed to flicker in its eyes. Its skin had also subtly changed.

"Is that a Ralts?" Looking at Ralts's cute appearance, Daisy immediately took a liking to it, continuously observing it. "I saw it earlier. It's so adorable! Is it a Pokémon from another region?"

"That's right, Ralts isn't a Pokémon native to the Kanto region," Ethan nodded, then kindly warned, "Please be careful, Ms. Daisy. It's a Psychic/Fairy type, quite difficult to deal with."

"What a kind and handsome man," Daisy smiled sweetly, but then added, "But I won't go easy because of that! Dewgong, use Aqua Jet!"

Aqua Jet, a Water-type physical attack move where the user envelops itself in water and charges at the opponent, is more powerful than Water Gun. The fact that this Dewgong could use this move indicated its level was indeed not low. However, landing such an attack on Ralts would still be challenging!

"Ralts, dodge it!"

Ethan spoke softly, and the next second, Ralts's body instantly vanished from its spot, appearing on another floating platform. This easily dodged the attack!

"Psychic-type Pokémon are truly troublesome," Daisy shook her head, lamenting. But soon, she chuckled, "In that case, let's limit its abilities first! Dewgong, use Icy Wind!"

A fierce cold wind erupted from Dewgong's mouth, encompassing Ralts and a large nearby area. Its power was so strong that it instantly dropped the battle arena's temperature below freezing, even causing a thick layer of ice to form on the water's surface! Although Ralts used Teleport to dodge this area-of-effect attack again, its speed was inevitably greatly affected by the surrounding environment.

It seems Ethan has a tough challenge ahead with Dewgong and its ice attacks. The battle environment has now become much more challenging for Ralts.