In the competitors' lounge, the six Trainers scheduled to battle later that morning watched the screen. Ash and Gary were among them.
Watching a potential opponent fight was an important part of planning a strategy. A Trainer who never used their head would stay a fool forever.
"Here it comes. Dragonair's Extreme Speed!"
Gary held his breath, his expression serious.
So far, Caster's opening strategy had been fairly simple. He used a priority move to seize the initiative, then built on that advantage until the battle was his.
It was basic, but it worked. If you couldn't stop that opening attack, you couldn't stop Caster.
"Scree!"
A sharp glint flashed in Spearow's eyes. It seemed to read Dragonair's every move. Just before the streak of light struck, Spearow beat its wings and slipped a body length to the side. Dragonair missed cleanly.
Spearow didn't pause. It flapped toward the open sky, darting left and right as light gathered around it. Its speed visibly increased. It flew so fast that the air it stirred kept the rain off its body.
"Dra?"
Dragonair stopped short, clearly surprised that the little bird had dodged it.
"Detect to avoid my opening attack, then Agility to boost its speed?" Caster narrowed his eyes.
Across the field, Ritchie quietly let out a breath when he saw Spearow succeed. He'd come up with this strategy after watching the recording of Caster's battle with Mack.
Ritchie knew his team's greatest weakness. Many of his Pokemon had yet to reach their final evolutions, so they had no advantage in size or strength.
Boosting their abilities was his only option. But first, they had to survive Caster's opening attack.
Spearow had done it.
Its wings were short, and it wasn't built for long-distance flight, but it could fly fast over short distances. With Agility, it was now quicker than almost any Pokemon on the field. In a real battle, speed meant control.
"Dra!"
Annoyed by the bird circling overhead, Dragonair fired a Water Gun at it. The move was at the Mastered level, nearly as powerful as Hydro Pump and fast enough to trouble most opponents. Spearow, though, reacted quickly enough to dodge it.
"Thunder!" Caster called.
Dragonair summoned a bolt from the clouds, but Spearow blocked it with Protect.
"Spearow, Tailwind!"
Ritchie used the pause between attacks to strengthen his position. Strictly speaking, Tailwind wasn't a stat boost. It created a favorable wind that helped his Pokemon move faster.
Whoosh!
The wind swept across the field. It did nothing for Dragonair, but it made flying easier for Spearow and gave it even more speed.
Now it was harder still for Dragonair to land an attack. If Dragonair tried to close in, it couldn't even catch Spearow. The bird would leave it trailing behind.
The stadium was open to the sky, with plenty of room to fly. Even Dragonair's Supersonic would lose its effect before reaching a Spearow that kept its distance. For the moment, Dragonair could only watch it circle.
And Spearow showed no sign of attacking.
"What an incredible Spearow!" the announcer cried. "It's small, but look how it's controlling this battle!"
"Wait. What's it doing now?"
"It's using Focus Energy!"
The Normal-type move called for a deep breath and intense concentration, making the user's attacks more likely to strike a critical spot.
"Agility, then Tailwind, and now Focus Energy? You're getting way too greedy!"
Caster felt his temples throb. He gritted his teeth. "Dragonair, Haze!"
Haze was an unusual move that returned every Pokemon's stat changes to normal.
"Dra!"
Dragonair nodded. Its orbs glowed again, and dense black mist spread outward until it covered the entire battlefield.
"What will you do now, Ritchie?" Caster folded his arms and watched from across the field.
"Scree!"
Spearow had flown high enough to stay clear of the mist. But it couldn't attack Dragonair without coming closer. A single touch of Haze would wipe out the work it had put into Agility and Focus Energy.
If Spearow kept its distance instead, those boosts would become a burden. Maintaining them used up stamina and energy. Given enough time, Dragonair would win without landing another hit.
"So Dragonair does know Haze," Ritchie said with a small smile. He had clearly planned for this.
"Spearow, Baton Pass!"
"Baton Pass?"
Caster finally sensed the danger. Baton Pass let a Pokemon hand its boosted state to the next member of its team.
Once Spearow passed on Agility and Focus Energy, the next Pokemon would enter the field with both boosts. Tailwind would make it faster still. Even a weak Caterpie would be dangerous like that.
High above the field, Spearow became a beam of white light and returned to Ritchie's Poke Ball. Ritchie immediately threw another.
"Your turn, Happy! Use Defog!"
A butterfly with enormous wings and red compound eyes appeared beyond the edge of the mist. It was a Butterfree.
Ritchie liked giving his Pokemon nicknames. His Pikachu was Sparky, his Charmander was Zippo, and this Butterfree was Happy.
"Free!"
As soon as Happy appeared, light flashed across its body several times. Its presence grew stronger in an instant.
Though it was an ordinary Butterfree, it now had the imposing air of some ancient king of insects.
Happy beat its wings, blowing the thick Haze off the battlefield and revealing Dragonair beneath it.
"Dra..."
Dragonair drew back its neck, looking embarrassed. The battle seemed to be getting out of hand.
"Come back, Dragonair."
Caster closed his eyes and sighed as he recalled it. The situation was bad, but he could still turn it around. He had to stop Ritchie before he could build up any more momentum.
Caster opened his eyes and looked across the field. "That was a good strategy, Ritchie. But I'm not losing to you. I can't."
He grinned and took out another Poke Ball. "Time to meet my ace. Gyarados, let's battle!"