Mamoswine's [Blizzard Vortex] was a combination of multiple Ice-type moves. It was tremendously powerful and had played an extremely important role in previous battles. This time, Poison Gas had been incorporated into it, turning it into a solid black vortex.
Driven forward by Golurk's terrific force, the entire [Blizzard Vortex] collided head-on with the Psywave generated by Yamamoto's Pokémon!
The battle reached a temporary stalemate.
Tetsuya knew very well that the combined power of Yamamoto's three Pokémon was still superior to his own. After all, Weezing had not yet reached the same level as Mamoswine and Golurk.
Therefore, he had to use his next move immediately…
"Weeziiing! Flamethrower!"
The moment Tetsuya gave the command, Yamamoto realized something was terribly wrong, but it was already impossible to withdraw their attack.
Weezing's Flamethrower tore through the darkness and surged into the [Blizzard Vortex]. The dense Poison Gas inside ignited the instant it encountered the flames.
...Booooom!!!
The ground-shaking explosion echoed through the sky for a long time.
The instant the explosion occurred, Psywave completely collapsed. All three Psychic-type Pokémon suffered both the backlash of their psychic power and the damage from the explosion.
Mamoswine and Weezing immediately blew away the smoke from the explosion. Yamamoto's three Pokémon were all lying on the ground, incapacitated.
'Yamamoto… I defeated him. Five years ago, he was an existence I thought I wouldn't be able to surpass for perhaps another decade. Now I've defeated him with my own strength…'
Tetsuya could not help feeling excited.
"…" Yamamoto stared at his three fallen Pokémon, unable to calm himself for a long time. He had actually lost… to a mere kid…
The five Shadows also wore expressions of complete disbelief. In their eyes, Yamamoto had always been a legendary figure. Not only Tetsuya, but even "Elite Fours" and "Champions" would supposedly be crushed beneath his feet…
Yet today he had actually lost. "Yamamoto-sama's" image in their hearts instantly fell from its pedestal.
Forcing himself to remain composed, Yamamoto recalled his three Pokémon from the ground. "Hmph, this round goes to you… B-But even League tournaments are decided by six Pokémon. Let's continue!"
Yamamoto had to restore his authority in front of these Shadow Team members. After speaking, he threw out three more Poké Balls: Espeon, Slowking, and Gardevoir. The strategy remained the same, combining all of their energy through their linked psychic power.
'League tournaments? Really…?' However, Tetsuya had already begun to hesitate.
Mamoswine and Golurk had already been battling for a long time. If the fight continued, they would certainly gain no advantage. Yamamoto's Pokémon were all remarkably balanced in strength, each at roughly the same level as Mamoswine and Golurk, whereas Tetsuya only had two Pokémon of that caliber.
If Mamoswine and Golurk exhausted themselves and collapsed, his remaining Pokémon would find it difficult to support a battle of this level.
'No… I can only rely on Houndoom's advantage of being immune to Psychic-type moves to create a breakthrough.'
Gardevoir's Double Team created more than a dozen duplicates.
These Double Team clones were not merely ordinary illusions, but manifestations of the combined psychic power of the three Psychic-type Pokémon. Every single one had offensive power!
"Houndoom, Dark Pulse. Golurk and Weezing, cover Mamoswine while it uses Curse."
Houndoom dashed forward, letting out repeated howls as waves of Dark Pulse spread with them.
In the end, Houndoom's level was still somewhat inferior…
"Gardevoir, Moonblast!"
Yamamoto paid no attention at all to Houndoom's attack. Gardevoir's steps became even more graceful as the dark clouds parted, allowing the bright moonlight to shine upon it.
Tetsuya: '…This isn't a Pokémon Contest!'
"Slow…"
Slowking waved its hand, and all three Pokémon exerted their power simultaneously. Driven by their psychic power, the Moonblast shot toward Houndoom!
"Double Team, dodge it!"
This Fairy-type move, Moonblast, had been imbued with so much energy that Houndoom would never be able to withstand a direct hit. The only option was to evade it with everything it had.
Houndoom used Double Team, creating ten clones that scattered in every direction, weaving left and right to avoid Moonblast.
Before long, all nine clones were destroyed by Moonblast, leaving Houndoom with nowhere to hide. Guided by psychic power, Moonblast seemed almost magically enchanted as it relentlessly pursued Houndoom.
Houndoom was in an extremely miserable state. If Tetsuya had not ordered it to evade, it would have insisted on fighting those three Pokémon to the death.
Yamamoto also noticed that Mamoswine was using Curse and naturally did not dare take it lightly. Unfortunately, he had only brought six Pokémon with him this time. With Mamoswine protected by Golurk and the four-headed Weezing, there was simply no way for him to stop it himself.
After all, how could he have known that a young Trainer, one he could have easily trampled in the past, would grow so much in just a couple of years? To think that, at the start of the day, he had believed Alakazam alone would be enough to subdue him…
"Shadows, move! Interrupt that Mamoswine's Curse first!"
Yamamoto gave the order. Even without seeing the completed Curse, he could imagine how terrifying Mamoswine would become afterward. Rather than letting Tetsuya's scheme succeed, it was better to act first. As for battle rules… they simply did not exist in Yamamoto's dictionary.
The moment Tetsuya ordered Mamoswine to use Curse, he had already anticipated this very situation.
"Wait!" Tetsuya shouted.
The five Shadows, who had just been about to act, hesitated for an instant after Tetsuya's sudden shout, less because of the order than because they hadn't expected it. However, Yamamoto's order was not something that would stop because of a single yell.
But that brief hesitation was exactly what Tetsuya needed!
He had already secretly ordered Gengar to act. At the very instant the five Shadows reached for their Poké Balls, they suddenly found themselves frozen. Their faces began twitching uncontrollably.
"What are you standing around for! Mooove…-!?" Yamamoto roared. Then, seeing the expressions on their faces, he immediately realized something was wrong. Keeping a straight face, he said, "How underhanded… You're not suited to being one of the righteous…"
Tetsuya's own expression had also become rigid. Gengar had spread its shadow apart and was absorbing the vitality of the five Shadow Team members, leaving Tetsuya completely unable to spare his attention to answer Yamamoto.
Yamamoto also launched a frenzied counterattack. His three Pokémon unleashed their full power. Only a small portion of their energy was used to deal with the already cornered Houndoom, while the majority of their energy shifted toward Mamoswine.
Without needing any command from Tetsuya, Golurk charged first, using High Horsepower combined with Shadow Punch, while Weezing hurled a Gyro Ball-Sludge Bomb.
Ditto transformed into Golurk and used High Horsepower to support Houndoom.
Beedrill instantly split into more than twenty clones.
The buzzing of wings filled the air!
More than twenty Beedrill swarmed forward simultaneously. All of them used [Twin Fury] to attack Gardevoir's dozen or so Double Team clones simultaneously.