Chapter 145: Ralts's Hard-Fought Battle

"Actually, directly using boosting moves right in front of your opponent is not a practice worth encouraging. It's very easy to be caught off guard by the opponent and knocked out directly with a high-power move. However, this is the arena of the National College Entrance Examination selection tournament. Even in the final stages, it is almost impossible for anyone to have learned high-power moves."

"This Ye Yu is very smart. He calculated precisely on this point, firmly believing that his Mudkip could not possibly be knocked out in a single hit. It seems he truly bet right."

Looking at his phone screen, Fang Tianze sighed with slight emotion.

"Is there still any hope of winning?" Eevee asked curiously. She could also see that once Mudkip finished both Amnesia and Curse instantly, the situation had actually become extremely unfavorable.

"It's very difficult now. Ralts severely lacks effective offensive moves, and they probably haven't unlocked their moves yet. However, winning is not completely out of the question—it depends on whether he can think of a way, and whether his luck is good enough."

...

"Use Hypnosis!"

Tang Yi had not given up. Since direct damage could no longer pose a threat, he would use crowd control.

Ralts released hypnotic waves once again. Just as expected, Mudkip's short little legs were already slow to run, and because of the speed-lowering effect of Curse, dodging became even slower.

The accuracy of Hypnosis is not high, but against such a low-speed opponent, it was completely viable.

However, Mudkip probably knew she couldn't outrun it and simply chose not to dodge. Instead, she turned around and stood in place, crossing her arms to block in front of her.

A circle of white energy formed on the surface of her arms, resembling a shield.

Clang!

The light of Hypnosis was abruptly blocked right in front of the white shield.

This was Protect. By forming an invisible shield, it could block most moves for a short period.

"Use Disarming Voice!"

Tang Yi didn't have time to marvel at the opponent's rich repertoire of moves. Knowing that the biggest flaw of Protect was that it could not be used consecutively, he had to seize this gap and intensify the attack.

"Mudkip! It's our turn!"

Mudkip held the exact same thought. Her hands each gathered Rock-type energy, the power enhanced by Curse causing the muscles in her arms to bulge slightly. Two pieces of rock were hurled out with force once again, and Water Gun was sprayed mid-flight to further accelerate the rocks' speed.

"Quick, use Teleport to get away!"

Ralts's Disarming Voice had just begun before it had to be abandoned, and Teleport was used once again.

"It won't be that simple this time! Mudkip!" Ye Yu shouted.

Mudkip's combo of Rock Throw and Water Gun was unleashed continuously. The rocks were hurled toward a spot a few meters away that was still just empty air, almost at the exact instant Ralts teleported.

The fin on Mudkip's head was an extremely sensitive radar, allowing the little creature to capture the surrounding conditions from the flow of the air without relying on her eyes. Therefore, the slight air ripples after the teleport ended allowed her to predict the landing spot.

"Ralts!" Tang Yi only had time to let out a shout.

Swish!

Swish!

The very split second Ralts touched down, she used Teleport once again, dodging the rocks for a second time.

Tang Yi let out a slight breath. Fortunately, Ralts possessed the Telepathy ability; otherwise, it would have been very difficult to react just now. Ralts must have sensed it the split second before teleporting and managed to execute a second teleport in time.

Even Ye Yu couldn't help but marvel, half-mockingly and half-admiringly: "Your Ralts has some truly dashing dodging moves!"

"However, I want to see how long you can keep dodging! Mudkip, let's keep going!"

It was still the same routine of Water Gun paired with Rock Throw. Mudkip actually lacked moves with higher power as well, but a single trick mastered can carry you far. This routine was actually extremely effective in a tournament limited to the high schooler level. It was precisely by relying on this routine that Ye Yu had fought his way all the way to the round of thirty-two finals.

If not for Ralts's reaction speed, the match should have ended just now.

Because Protect could not be used again in the short term, and to prevent Ralts from using Hypnosis again, Mudkip launched her attack first this time, forcing Ralts to rely solely on Teleport to evade.

However, consecutive teleports place an immense psychological load and pressure. After this offensive and defensive state had persisted for three or four times, Ralts ultimately made a lapse in concentration and revealed a slight opening.

She was struck in the shoulder blade by a piece of rock, instantly leaving a gruesome patch of redness. Just from this single attack, Ralts felt intense pain simply trying to lift her arm.

"Quickly use Draining Kiss!"

Tang Yi hurriedly instructed.

He should be thankful that Rock Throw was merely a mediocre move in terms of power; even after being boosted, its power was still not enough to knock out Ralts in one hit.

Enduring the pain, Ralts made a gesture of blowing a gentle kiss.

Fairy energy transformed into the shape of lips, shooting directly forward.

Ye Yu hesitated for a single second before ordering Mudkip, who was preparing to use Protect, to stop immediately, taking the Draining Kiss head-on.

Although the mastery of this move was not yet very high, it still helped Ralts recover a portion of her stamina and significantly eased the pain of her wound.

Tang Yi glanced at Mudkip, who didn't seem to feel much, knowing that having already used Amnesia once, the damage from Draining Kiss was probably nothing more than a gentle tickle to her.

Ye Yu did not have Mudkip use Protect, intending to reserve it to counter Ralts's Hypnosis. He felt this was the only turning point to reverse the match; as long as that was guarded against, there would be no major issues.

"Hypnosis!"

Tang Yi finally seized a gap in Mudkip's attack and had Ralts use it once more, this time combining it with Teleport.

Yet, as expected, Mudkip, whose concentration was at its peak, captured Ralts's position the moment she teleported and once again blocked the hypnotic waves with her invisible shield.

During the vacuum period when the Protect move was temporarily unusable, Mudkip rapidly stepped up her attacks, giving Ralts no chance to use Hypnosis consecutively.

As the offensive intensified, Ralts gradually became unable to dodge all the falling rocks completely, and every few rounds, she would inevitably be hit by a fragment.

Although Ralts continuously seized odd moments to use Draining Kiss to aid in recovery, the restored stamina was not substantial, only barely dragging out the time.

At this rate, a comeback was practically impossible.

Tang Yi was well aware of this, and Ye Yu knew it just as well.

However, Ye Yu was beginning to grow impatient far more than Tang Yi. He seemed to have grown weary of this cat-and-mouse game; the match had been dragged out for far too long.

With moves being released continuously, Mudkip's consumption was actually quite heavy as well. After all, both sides were only at the high school student level, and their stamina and energy reserves were very limited.

"Use Curse!"

Taking advantage of the moment when Ralts once again used Teleport to escape, Ye Yu finally changed his tactics. Instead of pursuing blindly, he had Mudkip begin boosting herself further.