"Sand..."
The sand kicked up by Tyranitar filled the battlefield. The sun-less Charizard let out a disgruntled roar. Under its trainer's command, its flaming wings flapped, and it unleashed the final Dynamax move of the battle—Max Airstream!
The target was Incineroar!
Boom!
A tornado of sand and wind furiously slammed into Incineroar. Although this Max Airstream had a 1.5x boost from its same-type attack bonus and a 1.3x boost from its Life Orb, its Special Attack had been lowered by two stages, and it wasn't a super-effective move. The damage was practically non-existent—about one-quarter of its health.
#&%&@#￥%@*
Incineroar, as if insulted by the Max Airstream, let out an incoherent roar at Tyranitar. It was just like a street thug who was beaten up and then left with a parting threat.
Parting Shot!
It lowers the target's Attack and Special Attack by one stage and then swaps out for another Pokémon on the team.
Bam!
The Pokémon that swapped in for Incineroar was Urshifu! The sandstorm was also a disadvantage for him, but now that both sides' Dynamax turns were over, he had the power to take over the entire match!
Swoosh—
Swoosh—
Both Charizard and Togekiss had returned to their normal sizes. The sandstorm began, and all three Pokémon—except for Tyranitar—lost a small amount of health.
Charizard's output could no longer be a threat. Tyranitar was completely outmatched by Urshifu. Even with Tyranitar's excellent defensive stats, it couldn't withstand Urshifu's continuous, flowing attacks. Rapid Strike Urshifu's Surging Strikes or Close Combat had the power to knock it out in one hit!
"It's over..."
Su Yuan finished the last bite of his wrap. Just by watching the streamer's play, he knew the game was won.
"Swoosh!"
Three Poké Balls simultaneously emitted a flash of light, recalling the three Pokémon into their balls—
And then...
Torkoal!
Venusaur!
Incineroar!
The sandstorm became the sun again! The sun's light grew even more intense!
The opponent had decisively recalled the two Pokémon on the field and switched in the Torkoal with its minuscule health, and their final Pokémon—Venusaur! This was another gamble. Tyranitar and Charizard were clearly no match for Urshifu, but he had a way to counter them.
Torkoal's health was on a thread, but its "Drought" ability could help another Pokémon on the team regain the initiative and first-mover advantage. If the opponent could take out Torkoal, that would be the best outcome. Because then he could justifiably switch Charizard back in. At that point, the two main attackers of his Sun team would be out! A comeback was not impossible!
As for Togekiss, with that kind of power? Can you one-shot my Venusaur with a Heat Wave? If you can, I'll surrender on the spot!
Unfortunately, I read your read. When the opponent saw Incineroar, their face must have been a sight to behold. Su Yuan thought to himself with a bit of mischief.
The reappearance of Incineroar was a masterful move. Your sun is my sun! The opponent wanted to use Venusaur's ability to regain the initiative in the sun, but unfortunately, Venusaur was completely outmatched by Incineroar!
"Surging Strikes!"
Urshifu, the only Pokémon on the field that could attack, unleashed its flowing assault on Torkoal. At times it was like a raging torrent, at others a gentle rain, continuous and relentless. Every move was aimed at the opponent's vitals!
It's super effective!
Critical hit!
Urshifu took out Torkoal without a hitch, and with that, the round was decided.
"..."
The opposing player sat in front of their screen, their expression constantly changing. Their Venusaur could probably survive a Heat Wave from Togekiss in the sun, but they also knew that their Venusaur would definitely not survive Incineroar's Flare Blitz, even without the sun! But he also couldn't switch to Tyranitar; once the weather changed to a sandstorm, Venusaur would have a hard time getting its turn.
Protect? Maybe Protect could stall for one turn. But the opponent had two other Pokémon they could switch to. No matter which Pokémon they replaced Urshifu with, once Venusaur's Protect wore off, all that was left was for it to collapse. Meanwhile, besides the unusable Tyranitar, there was nothing on his team that could effectively counter Incineroar.
Double Protect? That's not very realistic. He could have gambled on it if the opponent was Luyou, but sadly, he couldn't choose his opponent. Now he could only bet that the opponent's Urshifu's item was a choice item that locked its moves, so it couldn't use Protect.
He threw out his Poké Ball, and Charizard appeared on the field again. The script was playing out as he imagined, but there was one small twist.
Detect!
A move in the same category as Protect shattered his last sliver of hope. Venusaur's Grass-type attack was perfectly blocked by Urshifu, which had used Detect. Charizard's Air Slash hit Incineroar, doing a substantial amount of damage. The sun-boosted, Life Orb-enhanced Flying-type move dropped Incineroar's health into the red.
But there was no flinch!!!
It's over...
Incineroar's body was wrapped in flames. With an unyielding spirit and a look of determination, it used up all of its power to launch a Flare Blitz at Venusaur!
It's super effective!
Venusaur's health dropped directly from full to zero. At the same time, Incineroar also fainted from the recoil damage of Flare Blitz.
But it was this one final strike from Incineroar that secured the victory!
Tyranitar came back out, and the sun turned back into a sandstorm. The disadvantageous weather for Urshifu was gone. Even if it were the only Pokémon left on the field, it could still sweep!
Bo—
The Pokémon that swapped in for Incineroar was a cute and cuddly white Pokémon—Togekiss!
Urshifu used Close Combat to attack Tyranitar, while Togekiss chose the most annoying move, "Follow Me." After all this time, the streamer had finally settled down. This wasn't the most optimal play, but it was the one that guaranteed a win!
And then... a system message popped up.
One side has chosen to surrender.
With that, the match ended. It was an undeniably exciting match, even though it looked like a total one-sided beatdown.
the result until the very last moment, and that's the true beauty of a Pokémon battle.
Even though this match didn't go all the way to the end, Su Yuan believed that the opponent had given it their all. Surrendering sometimes doesn't mean incompetence. It means recognition—both an affirmation of the opponent's skill and an honest reflection on one's own shortcomings.
More than surrendering, Su Yuan disliked the worst kind of sportsmanship—unplugging your internet. Even though the victory would still be awarded to him, unplugging felt like a furious tantrum from someone who couldn't handle losing, rather than a dignified acknowledgment of their own weaknesses.