Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

Most viewers had assumed that Luo Yuan's victories were due solely to his Pokémon's strength, as if anyone could win with such power so long as they didn't give blatantly bad commands.

But now, in a closely matched battle, Luo Yuan's tactical prowess was beginning to shine.

The crowd, some of whom thought they had stumbled upon one of Luo Yuan's "hidden secrets," began to ponder in silence.

On the field, Makoto snapped out of his initial shock after seeing Slowbro evade Earthquake. He quickly turned to the recently risen Nidoking.

"Nidoking, use Rock Slide!"

Chunks of rock materialized, hurled toward Slowbro with great force.

Seeing Nidoking still capable of launching attacks, Luo Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"You can still get up? Pretty durable, I'll give you that..."

As the boulders arced toward Slowbro, Luo Yuan remained calm. With a sweep of Psychic energy, he analyzed the trajectory of each rock.

Simultaneously, he transmitted the information to Slowbro and snapped his fingers.

"Slowbro, dodge!"

The moment the command was issued, the Shellder on Slowbro's tail detached, and Slowbro began to revert to its pre-evolution form, Slowpoke.

Yet, despite losing its balance aid, Slowpoke did not collapse. Instead, it remained upright, grasping Shellder in one hand.

"Agility."

"Shell Blade."

Slowpoke's eyes flashed sharply as it dashed forward, brandishing Shellder like a weapon.

Swish!

A cold gleam sliced through the air.

One of the boulders was split cleanly in half, the cut so smooth it gleamed like a mirror.

"W-what...?"

"Slowbro—no, Slowpoke just used Shell Blade to cut through the falling rocks!"

The commentator nearly bit his tongue in astonishment.

What kind of godlike Slowpoke was this?

Wasn't Slowpoke supposed to be a lazy, dopey Pokémon that preferred lying down to standing?

Had this one undergone a genetic mutation?

The audience, equally stunned, stared slack-jawed at the scene before them.

This was the first time they'd seen a Slowpoke or Slowbro used like this.

But above all, they were floored by Slowpoke's sheer strength—being able to wield a Shellder that weighed dozens of pounds to slice through massive rocks!

While the spectators marveled, one person remained unfazed—Gary.

Having previously been crushed by Luo Yuan's split tactic during training, Gary simply smirked at the reactions around him.

On the field, Slowpoke moved through the falling rocks effortlessly.

With a swift motion, it reattached Shellder to its tail, regaining its evolved form as Slowbro.

The re-evolved Slowbro landed firmly on the ground. Not wasting a moment, it dashed toward the stunned Nidoking with renewed speed.

Its eyes glowed blue as it concentrated all its Psychic energy into its head.

Zoom!

BANG!

The Zen Headbutt struck Nidoking square in the abdomen.

The attack, enhanced by Luo Yuan's Psychic affinity, sent Nidoking flying backward, its face twisted in pain.

The damage, combined with the earlier Psychic attack, left Nidoking in a precarious state.

Yet, despite its injuries, Nidoking managed to muster a counterattack.

It retaliated with Counter, doubling the damage it had taken and aiming to return it to Slowbro.

If the move landed, it could potentially buy Makoto's Nidoking a precious moment to recover.

But battles don't operate on "what ifs."

Luo Yuan, anticipating Nidoking's desperate retaliation, had already prepared for this moment.

With Psychic synchronization guiding its movements, Slowbro sidestepped Nidoking's swipe with ease, evading the counterattack entirely.

Seeing Nidoking left wide open, Luo Yuan smirked.

"Finish it. Use Psychic one last time!"

Hum!

Slowbro's eyes flashed once more, and the immense psychic energy it summoned resonated through the air.

The invisible force enveloped Nidoking, lifting its massive body into the air.

As the energy pulsed, Nidoking's body trembled violently before its eyes dimmed, signaling that it had lost the will to fight.

Thud.

Nidoking collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The sharp glint in Slowbro's eyes faded, and it reverted to its usual dopey demeanor.

However, neither Makoto, the commentators, nor the audience would ever look at Slowpoke or Slowbro the same way again.

"Slowbro ends the battle with a decisive Psychic! Despite not using Gyarados or Dragonite, Luo Yuan still secures another overwhelming victory in this match!"

Makoto glanced at his defeated Nidoking before turning to the referee.

He wanted to question whether Slowpoke reverting to its pre-evolution mid-battle violated any rules.

The referee, meeting Makoto's gaze, seemed to read his mind.

"The battle began with Slowbro, and it ended with Slowbro. No foul play occurred. The match result is valid—Slowbro is the winner!"

Makoto opened his mouth, as if to argue.

But given the referee's discretion in such ambiguous cases, challenging the ruling would be futile.

Shaking off his frustration, Makoto prepared for his next move.

"My second Pokémon is this!"

In a flash of white light, a green figure appeared on the field.

"Scccyyy!"

A Scyther stood ready, its scythe-like arms gleaming as it glared at Slowbro.

With its Bug and Flying typing, Scyther had a clear advantage over Slowbro's Water and Psychic combination.

But Makoto had overlooked one key factor...

"Return, Slowbro," Luo Yuan called out.

To Makoto's surprise, Luo Yuan didn't hesitate to withdraw Slowbro.

Instead, he sent out a new Pokémon.

"Gible!"

The small, unbalanced form of Gible appeared on the battlefield, its oversized head accounting for most of its body.

Neither Makoto nor the audience recognized the uncommon Pokémon.

This was when the commentator stepped in.

"It's Gible! Luo Yuan has sent out Gible!"

"Gible is the base form of Garchomp, a pseudo-legendary from the Sinnoh region. Extremely rare! However, choosing a Dragon and Ground-type against a Bug and Flying-type like Scyther seems like an odd decision. Could Luo Yuan be underestimating his opponent?"

The commentator's analysis echoed the thoughts of many in the crowd.

They had expected Luo Yuan to choose a Pokémon that either countered or at least wasn't weak to Scyther.

Instead, he had sent out a Pokémon with a glaring disadvantage.

But Luo Yuan wasn't concerned.

With Dragonite in his lineup, victory in this match was all but guaranteed.

In the meantime, he wanted to use this opportunity to train Gible.