As Seadra exerted its strength, the whirlpool churned more violently, gradually tearing apart the vines created by the Leech Seed until they became useless fragments.
However, Silas's intention had already been achieved.
While Seadra was busy using Whirlpool to counter Leech Seed, Servine had successfully used Growth, boosting both its Attack and Special Attack stats.
A Pokémon like Seadra wasn't particularly skilled with moves that raise or lower stats for either side.
So even though Silas's actions exposed that his Servine's Ability was Overgrow rather than the Hidden Ability Contrary, there wasn't much Wave (Seadra's Trainer) could do to take advantage of that fact.
The battlefield returned to its initial state—except now Servine had a buff advantage.
"Double Team!"
Once again, Silas took the initiative. He disliked being passive and following the opponent's rhythm—especially when the opposing Seadra's level was higher than Servine's.
Servine alternated between its Vine Whip and nimble footwork, producing eight Servine images in total, including the original.
After over three weeks of intensive practice and a shift in mindset, Servine had reached the best state it could possibly achieve before evolving.
Its number of Double Team clones was now stable at around seven or eight—near the upper limit for its species.
If it wanted to go higher, it would mean holding back its evolution, which would be counterproductive.
Wave narrowed his eyes.
"Water Gun!"
Seadra shot up from the depths of the pool, sweeping its aim from left to right, clearing out the Servine illusions one by one.
Its Water Gun was distinct from that of most Water-type Pokémon—thanks to its long, conical snout that acted almost like the barrel of a natural firearm.
This anatomical feature made its Water Gun shots more penetrating and faster than those of other Pokémon.
If ordinary Water Guns sounded like "bang—bang—", Seadra's fired at "biu-biu-biu" speed.
A series of bullet-like water streams shot toward Servine with remarkable precision and power.
"Vine Whip! Grab it!"
Silas gave the next command, unconcerned by the Water Gun.
Given the type advantage, even a charged Water Gun wouldn't deal much damage to Servine. Despite Seadra's higher level, Servine could easily withstand several hits—especially when fired in rapid succession.
Under the barrage, only four Servine remained.
They moved in perfect sync, their twin vines extending outward to lash toward the exposed Seadra.
The purpose of the Double Team wasn't to avoid damage—it was to lure Seadra out of the water.
In a battle where victory wasn't the primary goal, neither Servine nor Silas wanted to win merely through a referee's declaration of a forfeit.
Even if Seadra would've surfaced eventually to attack, drawing it out now gave Servine the initiative.
"Snap!"
As the vines shot forward, Seadra shattered two of the clones—but none were the real Servine.
Four sturdy vines bound Seadra's body, restricting its movement.
Though Seadra could sense that only two of them were tangible, it couldn't tell which ones through the layers of entanglement.
Its mouth was also blocked, forcing it to stop firing Water Gun.
"Splash!"
Wave issued what sounded like a strange command.
Splash—the move famously known as useless, typically used by Magikarp.
The Pokédex even describes it as "It just flops and splashes around. Nothing happens…"
But once again, as the saying goes: there are no useless moves, only trainers who use them poorly.
And Seadra was certainly no Magikarp.
As its upper body was trapped by the vines, Seadra's strong, coiled tail lashed the water beneath it with force.
In the next instant, Seadra's body launched into the air.
"Ta!"
Servine gasped. Its last Double Team clone vanished as the real body was yanked upward by the vines that connected it to Seadra.
Servine couldn't possibly match Seadra in strength—it wasn't that kind of Pokémon.
"Use its momentum—then Slam it down!"
Silas commanded sharply.
If you can't overpower it, use its power against it.
Hearing that, Servine immediately stopped resisting. Instead, it kicked off the air and rushed toward Seadra mid-flight with added momentum.
Seadra, having leapt from the water, now served as the pivot point. Servine used the tension of the vines as leverage, swinging in a 90-degree arc until it was directly above Seadra's head.
You can't fly, can you? Servine glanced down at Seadra, its eyes full of smug defiance.
The two flightless Pokémon crossed paths in midair—one above, one below—connected by the sturdy vine like an ancient flail, a weapon with two weights joined by a chain.
At first, it had been Seadra's power pulling Servine upward.
But once in the air, Seadra lost its propulsion—momentum shifted to Servine.
With a sharp swing, Servine flipped forward and downward.
"Ta~!"
Servine's face flushed as it exerted all its strength.
Seadra flailed helplessly midair, unable to muster the force to counter.
"Smack!"
The Vine Whip cracked with a sonic boom, slamming Seadra onto the ground in a burst of dust and debris.
It was almost… mathematically beautiful, Silas thought.
Both Pokémon's trajectories had formed perfect arcs, connected in smooth harmony—helped by the fact that their weight difference wasn't too great.
"Energy Ball!"
Though momentarily impressed, Silas wasted no time continuing his assault—perfect timing to punish the grounded "dragon."
Despite its name, Seadra was still a Water-type, and on land, its movement was extremely limited.
Even with its strong tail, it could only bounce awkwardly—barely better than a Magikarp or Goldeen.
Compared to the agile Servine, it was like a turtle versus Sonic the Hedgehog.
As for locating it amid the dust?
Easy—the vines were still connected.
Wave's face darkened. Grass-type Energy Ball was devastatingly effective against Seadra.
Though that Vine Whip slam looked dramatic, the actual damage wasn't too high—Seadra was mostly just disoriented.
He calculated quickly. Seadra should've recovered by now.
"Use Hydro Pump!"
Servine immediately withdrew its vines—it had no intention of being pulled again.
Opening its mouth, green light particles gathered rapidly around it, coalescing into a glowing orb.
With a burst, the orb shot forward into the swirling dust.
The Energy Ball spun at high speed, dispersing the haze in its path.
Wave stared intently at the smoke.
On land, Seadra needed a moment to charge Hydro Pump—he wasn't sure it could fire before the Energy Ball hit.
But it was the only move with enough power to counter it.
Energy Ball's base power was 90, and Seadra's strongest available move, Hydro Pump, surpassed it slightly.
Moves like Surf or Muddy Water had the same base power but were area attacks—not ideal for pinpoint counterfire.
Wave sighed inwardly.
If only my Seadra's dragon genes were a bit stronger… it could've learned Dragon Pulse by now.
Unfortunately, his Seadra's draconic genetic expression was average—it only knew Twister and Dragon Breath.
Wave's eyes hardened with determination. I must obtain a Dragon Scale someday.
A Water/Dragon-type Kingdra would not only have wider offensive coverage but also much better resistances—being weak only to Dragon-type moves (Fairy hadn't yet been discovered).
Its resistances to common elements like Fire and Water were outstanding.
A roar split the air
"Shhhh!"
A powerful, pressurized water stream burst from the smoke, colliding head-on with the Energy Ball.
The impact point crackled with friction.
The shockwave blew away the remaining dust, revealing Seadra—its body trembling under the recoil of Hydro Pump, forced back several steps.
On land, the lack of water made Hydro Pump awkward to execute; underwater, Seadra would've looked far more graceful.
"Retreat! Leech Seed!"
While Wave focused on the collision point, Silas gave his next order.
Servine dashed behind a large boulder, flicking its tail—several green seeds flew through the air.
At the same time, the Hydro Pump began to overpower the Energy Ball, its green light dimming fast.
Wave froze.
The opponent's timing was perfectly predicted.
Unlike Energy Ball, Hydro Pump was a continuous move—it required sustained output. That was why Wave had been keeping his eyes locked on the collision point: he needed to decide when to issue the next command. He couldn't just tell Seadra to stop midstream.
Even if the Energy Ball's energy was already being consumed, the remaining blast could still inflict considerable damage on Seadra.
At that thought, Wave tried to order Seadra to stop using Hydro Pump—but it was already too late.
Under Servine's precise control, the green seeds landed directly onto Seadra's body not far away.
They sprouted, wrapped, and glowed green—all within the blink of an eye.
"Beechuu~!"
Seadra cried out in pain.
Leech Seed didn't deal heavy direct damage, but the feeling of one's life force being steadily drained away was deeply unpleasant.
Meanwhile, a faint green light pulsed across Servine's body—its energy and vitality visibly restored.
Leech Seed saps the opponent's HP each turn while restoring the user's stamina.
"Twister!"
Seeing the situation turning bad, Wave tried to use the move to disrupt Servine and, with the centrifugal force, shake off the seeds wrapped around Seadra.
That's the tragedy of Pokémon without hands—they can't just pull such things off physically.
"SolarBeam."
A confident smile spread across Silas's face. Excellent—just as he'd expected. Not the most optimal choice from his opponent, but good enough for him.
Wave's expression darkened. Seadra had already begun to spin rapidly, a gray twister taking form across the battlefield. Within the swirling winds, faint glimmers of green could still be seen.
It seemed Wave's goal had been partially achieved—at least the Leech Seed vines were flung off successfully.
Servine stood calmly, absorbing sunlight.
Normally, there wouldn't be such a perfect opportunity to charge SolarBeam to completion, but this time was different.
By creating a Twister to obscure itself, Seadra had also created a vulnerability—it was trapped at the center, unable to move freely or dodge.
The Twister provided great protection against most ranged moves—even Hydro Pump couldn't easily pierce it—but SolarBeam was not one of those.
BOOM!
After about five full seconds of charging, a blinding beam of light erupted from Servine's position, lancing straight into the center of the Twister—where Seadra's outline could faintly be seen.
In Wave's anxious gaze, the beam pierced through the vortex, shattering it apart, and a blue figure was sent flying backward through the air.
"Beechuu~!"
Only now did Seadra's pained cry echo amidst the roar of the explosion.
However, Wave actually sighed in relief. The fact that it could still cry out meant it wasn't knocked out—it still had fighting capability. It hadn't been one-shotted.
Silas raised an eyebrow.
Even with Growth's stat boost, plus the prior damage from Vine Whip, Leech Seed, and the Energy Ball clash, Seadra had still withstood a direct SolarBeam.
That spoke volumes—it had clearly been trained extremely well.
"Get up, Seadra!" Wave shouted to his Pokémon. Seeing it stagger to its fins, battered but standing, he turned to Silas.
"You're a rookie Trainer?"
It was the first time he'd spoken to his opponent since the battle began.
Wave admitted inwardly—he had underestimated Silas at first.
After all, such a young competitor entering the League with a starter Pokémon that hadn't even reached its final evolution usually meant inexperience.
But this Servine's power far exceeded his expectations.
Battling an opponent ten levels higher—that was not something an ordinary rookie's partner could pull off.
It felt more like the kind of Pokémon that belonged to a seasoned Trainer.
Yet Silas didn't look like one of those. Wave was conflicted.
"Yeah, this is my first year," Silas replied openly. He didn't bother hiding it. What's wrong with being a prodigy?
"Magical Leaf!"
Then, seizing the few moments both Pokémon were using to recover, Silas gave his next order.
He thought to himself, You started chatting mid-battle—that's on you.
Servine, long familiar with its Trainer's style, responded immediately.
It whipped up dozens of leaves shining with blue and purple light, each spinning rapidly before shooting forward.
The Magical Leaf attack—impossible to evade—struck Seadra squarely as it gasped for breath.
This time, Seadra made no sound.
It collapsed onto the ground, eyes replaced by swirls, completely fainted.
Only then did Wave fully snap back from Silas's earlier answer. Seeing his fallen Seadra, he gave a wry smile and shook his head helplessly.
What a rookie… with perfect timing.
"The challenger wins and becomes the reigning Leader!"
The referee wasted no time in declaring the result.
"Come on, let's go get our Pokémon healed. You just need to be back within ten minutes; otherwise, the ring will reset to open challenge status," Wave said warmly, recalling Seadra into its Poké Ball and gesturing to Silas.
"Sure thing." Silas smiled, recalling Servine as well.
Although Servine had only expended stamina from repeated move use, it was best to be fully prepared for the upcoming continuous battles.
The two Trainers walked together toward Nurse Joy, chatting amicably.
A single battle's result didn't define much.
A Trainer's friendship often begins through a match—there can't be winners without losers, after all.
Lose this time, win the next; that's the spirit of the League.
"Ah, you challenged Wave? Seems like you've got some skill! But keep training hard," Nurse Joy said cheerfully as the two approached.
She'd already imagined a "reasonable" story in her head.
"He needs to work harder? I was the one who got crushed!" Wave complained, exasperated. He, of course, didn't know about the conversation Silas and Nurse Joy had earlier.
Nurse Joy blinked, then replied awkwardly, "Well, Trainers must never stop improving. There's always room to grow!"
Silas chuckled quietly beside them, choosing not to expose her little cover-up.
"Anyway, I'll leave my Seadra in your care," Wave said, scratching his head as he handed over Seadra's Poké Ball.
Silas followed suit, handing over Servine's Luxury Ball.
"Understood. Please wait a moment," Nurse Joy said firmly, though her ears were slightly red.
Chansey giggled as they hurried into the recovery room.
"You think it would've been better to use Waterfall instead? I realized that too late," Wave said, shaking his head. "Too many moves—hard to recall the best one in the heat of battle."
Silas nodded in agreement. He'd wondered the same thing himself about Seadra's use of Splash earlier.
Humans have reaction limits—in that instant, even making any call is impressive, let alone the perfect one.
Both Trainers quickly got caught up in analyzing their match, discussing every move in excitement.
"Young Trainers are so full of energy. Wonderful," came a kind, familiar voice beside them.
"Chairman Charles Goodshow!"
The two looked up to see a well-known face and instinctively stood to greet him respectfully.
They weren't shocked, though—Chairman Goodshow was famous for wandering the Indigo Plateau during the Pokémon League to interact with Trainers.
At this point, it was practically tradition, and his reputation among Trainers was stellar.
"Mhm, relax,"Goodshow said with a smile. "But this time, I actually came to talk to you."
His gaze turned toward the puzzled Silas.