The opening move was Gastrodon's Muddy Water.
A torrent of murky brown sludge surged from beneath it, quickly forming into waves that rolled toward the snowy pit.
Incineroar had nowhere to run.
But just as the muddy tide was about to strike, its towering form twisted and transformed into Gardevoir!
Ally Switch.
This irritating move had been a constant presence throughout the match. Gardevoir had already floated high into the air before Gastrodon even attacked, but Incineroar's overwhelming presence and its intimidating throat-slitting gesture had kept the opponents distracted.
After the switch, Gardevoir was struck by Muddy Water, but Incineroar successfully escaped the attack.
Now in the safety of the sky, it spread its arms wide, forming a 大 shape as it rapidly descended.
The Muddy Water had missed!
For a moment, the male trainer was so furious he felt lightheaded, but he held it together. He knew Incineroar couldn't fly. In the air, it was nothing more than a sitting duck!
"Focus fire! Hydro Pump!"
"Clear Smog!"
Gastrodon's soft head tilted upward, firing a thick jet of water at the falling Incineroar. Beside it, Amoonguss puffed out its cheeks and spat a pale purple cloud of smoke.
Clear Smog could reset an opponent's stat changes.
The female trainer reasoned that Incineroar's insane damage output must have come from that initial Bulk Up. If they could reset its stats, they might still have a chance—however slim.
But without Taunt, Incineroar was free to use status moves—including Protect.
A green shield materialized.
Thud! Thud!
Two dull impacts, with ripples spreading across the shield.
"The shield didn't break!?"
The male trainer's voice shot up an octave, like a chicken with its neck squeezed. He hadn't expected Incineroar's shield to be so tough—Hydro Pump and Clear Smog couldn't even crack it!
Thud!
Snow flew up—Incineroar had landed!
The distance between them was less than ten meters.
Danger!
An alarm blared in both their minds, but what made it worse was that Gardevoir, having flown out of the snow pit, cast Safeguard on itself and Incineroar.
Now, neither Yawn nor Spore posed any threat to Incineroar!
Once again, they were cornered.
The two trainers looked at Incineroar, which seemed to be taking its time, almost toying with them, waiting for them to attack first. Despair welled up inside them.
Neither of them had expected it to come to this.
There was a way to win—but Gastrodon and Amoonguss didn't have many turns left to act.
And in this situation—
"Rage Powder!"
The female trainer shouted first, shoving her male teammate hard.
Amoonguss's stamina was already low. It could use Synthesis to recover, but what about its teammate? If it healed now, its ally would have to fight two-on-one. Could Gastrodon withstand the combined assault of Gardevoir and Incineroar?
Obviously not.
So all they could do was gamble.
Gamble that their luck would be good enough to turn the entire match around.
Red powder scattered over Amoonguss. The male trainer, seeing it become a decoy, gritted his teeth and shouted with all his frustration.
"Fissure!"
"Moooo—!"
Gastrodon let out a deep bovine bellow. A yellowish glow flashed beneath it, cracking through the snow like lightning, rapidly spreading toward Incineroar.
One-hit knockout move!
If it landed, Incineroar would go down for sure.
Of course, that was only if it landed.
"These two never learn. They've lost their heads—they think they can outspeed Ally Switch."
Li Xiang sighed. There was a time when he too had despised Ally Switch with every fiber of his being. But now, he and Su Qian had mastered the move to perfection—and used it without shame.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Such a simple truth.
On the field, Incineroar's form twisted, becoming Gardevoir floating in midair, nullifying Fissure.
Meanwhile, Incineroar, now airborne again, erupted in a burst of cherry-blossom-like flames.
Lash Out!
Like a celestial fire lotus blooming, the nearly blue-white flames momentarily outshone the sun, engulfing Amoonguss and Gastrodon in a tidal wave of fire!
The heat warped the air, turning into a column of steam that shot skyward.
Even Gardevoir wasn't spared—it was grazed by the blast.
Fortunately, it had retreated quickly enough, catching only a lick of the residual fire.
The searing pain made it recall that day—the despair of standing face-to-face with a demon wreathed in flames.
"Gardevoir..."
A surge of indignation filled Gardevoir's heart. It shot Incineroar a displeased glance. Then, as the flames began to die down, it launched a green energy sphere at Gastrodon inside.
The finishing blow!
Down below, after the steam from evaporated snow had cleared, the Celestial Team pair saw Gardevoir hurling the energy ball at Gastrodon.
"Recover!"
The male trainer shouted—but Gastrodon, twisted and burned by the flames, couldn't sync with him in time to pull off the move he wanted.
The energy sphere hit.
Thud!
Grass-type energy ate into Gastrodon's body, consuming its last shred of stamina. Beside it, Amoonguss lay blackened and charred, looking thoroughly cooked. It had fainted even earlier.
Thump.
Gastrodon's head drooped.
The low whistle followed.
"BEEEP—"
It was over.
The match that had been torture for the Celestial Team duo had finally ended. Both collapsed to the ground, kneeling in silence.
On the field, only Incineroar remained, raising its arm with a triumphant roar!
"ROOOAR—!"
The crowd caught its fire, rising to their feet and shouting in unison!
"Incineroar! Incineroar!"
"Incineroar!"
The wave of synchronized chants only made Incineroar more pumped. Flames erupted from its belt.
Behind it, Li Xiang and Su Qian exchanged a light fist bump, then waved to the crowd, acknowledging their cheers and applause.
"Let's congratulate Li Xiang and Su Qian on securing their spot in the Autumn Tournament doubles! And thank them for bringing us such an incredible match!"
The commentator's voice boomed through the arena speakers.
In the competitor tunnel, the two walked side by side.
"Ugh..."
Su Qian suddenly turned and hugged Li Xiang.
Li Xiang blinked. "Sen—"
"Legs... legs gave out. Hold me up." Her voice came through brokenly.
Legs gave out? He looked down and noticed her clothes were drenched from the chest down, as if she had just crawled out of water. Her long, straight legs were trembling uncontrollably.
He wasn't in much better shape himself.
Man, this waterproof material is terrible. Couldn't they put a little more effort into it? With all that money, you'd think they'd spend some on decent uniforms!
Li Xiang was a bit exasperated, figuring it was caused by the blast exchange. With that kind of power, there was no way to avoid it completely.
Still, given Su Qian's physique, she shouldn't be trembling this much from a little water, right?
"Okay."
He didn't pry, just nodded and helped her up. When he got a better look at her face, he noticed it was unusually pale.
Wait—
"Senior, is it... that time of the month?"
Li Xiang's eyes widened slightly as he helped her walk further in, keeping his voice low.
Su Qian rolled her eyes, clearly not wanting to discuss it. "Just hurry up and get us back so I can change."
"Oh."
Periods—truly the bane of female trainers. That inconvenient biological reality was one reason more girls chose to become breeders rather than trainers.
Fortunately, this world's medical developments were odd. Some hard-to-treat diseases remained incurable, but they had a specialty: menstrual pain relief. At least that was a blessing for women.
They reached the end of the tunnel. The rest of the team was waiting in their usual spot and immediately rushed over.
"Captain! Are you okay? Go get changed!"
"Qian!"
The girls seemed to already know it was Su Qian's time of the month. They didn't even ask what happened—they just swarmed in and whisked her away.
That left four guys and a middle-aged coach standing there, staring at each other.
Just as a soaking-wet Li Xiang was about to say something, Chao spoke first.
"Good thing you two showed up."
His eyes were full of relief. Without Li Xiang and Su Qian, he and the coach would probably have been the only ones left.
"Uh..."
Li Xiang wasn't sure what to say.
"Hii!" ×2
The Gold and Silver twins suddenly flanked him, and before he could react, they hoisted him up like a wild boar and carried him off.
"Hey, hey! My phone! My phone!"
Li Xiang's startled cries echoed far down the corridor.
.....
In another tunnel.
Unlike the lively Mist City contingent, only one person stood waiting for the Celestial Team duo at the end.
"You worked hard."
Jing Feng, chin tucked into his collar, watched the returning pair calmly.
The moment they saw him, the two students—who had been walking like zombies—broke down. They rushed forward tearfully and clung to him.
"Ace—"
"Senior—"
They sobbed uncontrollably, speaking in two different languages.
Jing Feng's expression remained unchanged. He patted their backs, offering comfort. "It's okay. There's still... the losers' bracket."
Other passersby in the tunnel curiously glanced their way.
"Yeah! There's still the losers' bracket!"
The male trainer straightened up, sniffling. His tear-streaked eyes were bloodshot.
"Next time—we won't lose again!"
The female trainer said firmly, though she still clung to Jing Feng's neck, unwilling to let go.
She didn't get to hold on for long. A pale, jade-like hand pried her away.
"Sniveling like that—how embarrassing!"
The newcomer was a girl with a high ponytail and sharp, piercing eyes. Anyone who met her gaze instinctively looked away.
She scolded, "You lose one match and act like this? People will think the Celestial Team can't take a loss!"
"Ah... Qi, you're here too."
The female trainer from Group Two fidgeted with her wet clothes, realizing only now how soaked she was.
The male trainer was in the same state. They both looked at Jing Feng and saw the large wet patches on his chest and abdomen—clearly from them rubbing off on him.
They scrambled to apologize, but before they could speak, Vice-Captain Gao Qi shoved them along.
"Go change!"
The two hurried off toward the locker room.
Once they were gone, Gao Qi let out a relieved sigh. "What a handful..."
She was practically the team's caretaker.
"Crying—it's good."
Jing Feng still spoke in fragments. He watched the two retreating figures, his gaze distant.
"We lost fair and square. That Incineroar... was strong."
He said slowly, then turned to Gao Qi. "Be careful."
"...Yeah."
Gao Qi, recalling that terrifying Incineroar, nodded.
She and another student made up the Celestial Team's ace doubles pair.