"Dance!"
Facing the sky, Ludicolo used Rain Dance. In an instant, rain clouds gathered above the venue, and a light drizzle began to fall.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Gary ordered.
"Toge!"
Togetic's whole body began to emit a dazzling glow. The light gathered together, forming a beam that shot out and struck indiscriminately.
Ludicolo, soaked in the rain, moved freely as its Swift Swim Ability activated. It tried to dodge quickly, but its speed still wasn't fast enough. A beam of light grazed it, sending it flying.
"Ludi!"
Ludicolo wasn't defeated by the attack, but its eyes grew serious. That beam of light just now had dealt noticeable damage to Ludicolo—not heavy, but not light either.
It seemed Togetic was quite high-leveled.
Dahlia's expression tightened, and she ordered, "Ludicolo, use Hydro Pump!"
Whoosh!
Ludicolo launched a Hydro Pump into the air.
"Psychic," Gary ordered.
Although Togetic was paralyzed, that didn't stop it from using certain special attacks. As long as a move didn't involve significant body movement, paralysis wouldn't have much effect on it.
"Toge."
Togetic's eyes glowed blue, and a powerful telekinetic force spread outward, sending the Hydro Pump Ludicolo had launched straight back.
Bang!!
The Hydro Pump rebounded and successfully struck Ludicolo.
Dahlia was shocked.
Using Psychic to bounce back a move required a tremendous amount of mental focus. A non-Psychic-type Pokémon would consume even more energy attempting something like this.
Togetic hadn't even reached its final evolution, yet it managed to pull it off. Dahlia was genuinely impressed.
"Ludicolo, use Teeter Dance."
Seeing that Togetic was high-leveled, Dahlia quickly switched tactics, aiming to inflict another status condition on Togetic.
You think I'll let you inflict a status condition?
"Togetic, use Attract!" Gary ordered.
"Toge!"
Togetic blew a kiss toward Ludicolo. Ludicolo, mid-dance, was instantly struck by it. It stopped dancing almost immediately, gazing at Togetic with a lovestruck expression.
"Toge."
Togetic looked smug.
My charm isn't something you can outmatch.
"Ah~!"
Dahlia was stunned. Her Ludicolo was usually the one charming female Pokémon—she'd never expected it to be charmed by Togetic today.
Not to mention... why did Togetic know Attract?
What was going on? Was Gary's Togetic a Breeder-raised Pokémon? Normally, Trainers didn't bother teaching Pokémon Attract.
"End it with Dazzling Gleam," Gary ordered.
In a round-based match, Pokémon couldn't be substituted. Ludicolo was now nothing more than a stationary target—the kind that wouldn't even move.
"Toge."
Togetic's whole body shone brightly. Fairy-type light gathered together and shot out as a concentrated beam.
Boom!!
Ludicolo was blasted away and couldn't get back up.
"Ludicolo is unable to battle! Togetic wins!"
Gary had easily won the first round. If he won the second round as well, the match would be over.
Since it was a round-based format—best two out of three—winning two rounds first was enough to claim victory.
Both Gary and Dahlia recalled their Pokémon.
Seeing both sides recall their Pokémon, the referee announced, "The second round will now begin. Please send out your Pokémon at the same time."
Gary and Dahlia threw their Poké Balls simultaneously.
"Dance, Togekiss!"
"Prepare for battle, Electivire!"
[Lv. 62 Togekiss / Elite]
[Lv. 63 Electivire / Champion]
"It's a lock! It's a lock!"
"Oh my god, the match is going to end in two rounds. I'm rich."
"Damn, I should've bet on this."
"What's the rush? This is a Roulette battle. Type advantage doesn't mean much—it all depends on luck."
Seeing the Pokémon sent out by both sides, the gamblers in the audience grew excited. If the match was decided in two rounds and the challenger won, the payout would be 20 to 1.
Twenty times the payout—how could these gamblers not be thrilled?
"Now, begin the Roulette spin," the referee announced.
The roulettes on both sides began to spin.
The red roulette's pointer landed on the azure section—a section marked with blue, white, red, and brown all together, representing Weather.
The blue roulette's pointer stopped on the purple section, representing Trick Room Field.
Gary felt that this Roulette result was leaning heavily in his favor.
Although the weather would be random, none of them were particularly bad for Togekiss, while rain would be beneficial to Electric-type Pokémon.
As for Trick Room, although Electivire was faster than Togekiss, the difference wasn't very large. The two were fairly close in speed.
Gary regretted not sending out Rhyperior—if he had, he could have made even better use of the Trick Room field.
"Random weather will now be applied."
As soon as the referee finished speaking, the ground on the right side of the field opened up, and a lift rose. Two Pokémon appeared on the platform: a Hippopotas and a Porygon-Z.
Hippopotas used Sandstorm.
Porygon-Z used Trick Room.
The venue was immediately shrouded in a Sandstorm and cloaked in the Trick Room effect.
After the field was set, the referee announced, "The battle begins!"
"Togekiss, use Aura Sphere!" Dahlia ordered.
An Aura Sphere condensed in front of Togekiss's mouth and was launched outward. There was no need to worry about direction—Aura Sphere tracked its target automatically.
"Discharge, defensive style!" Gary ordered.
"Vire!"
Sparks burst from Electivire's body, and thick currents of electricity, each as wide as a finger, streamed out from its frame like a gushing fountain. The Aura Sphere was struck by the current and deflected, exploding harmlessly to the side.
Several streams of the current also shot toward Togekiss, but Togekiss rose higher into the air to avoid the electric attack.
"Use Rain Dance." Gary ordered.
"Vire."
Electivire used Rain Dance, replacing the Sandstorm weather.
"What?!"
Dahlia was shocked as well. She hadn't expected Gary to be so well-prepared that Electivire could even use Rain Dance.
"Togekiss, use Dazzling Gleam!"
Dahlia's Togekiss didn't know any weather moves, and she could see what Gary was planning, so she had no choice but to attack head-on.
"Toge!"
Fairy light shone brightly, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward Electivire.
Boom!!
Electivire had just finished using Rain Dance and hadn't had time to react, so it took Dazzling Gleam head-on. Since both Pokémon were of similar levels, taking a hit like that wasn't a problem for Electivire.
"Release your electricity—maximum-power Discharge!" Gary ordered.
"Vire!"
Electivire wildly released the electricity within its body. Golden lightning arced across the entire field, illuminating the whole arena.