"Krookodile, Earthquake!"
"Gigalith! Block it!"
Two Pokémon jumped from their Poké Balls. Krookodile also used Earthquake to cancel out Haxorus's Earthquake.
At the same time, it stood in front of the cardinal, blocking the terrifying Psychic attacks.
Gigalith also appeared in the trajectory of Salamence's Flamethrower, completely enveloped by the flames.
"Lapras, Ice Beam—freeze him!"
Seeing Julio Quintana's movements, Su Qianyan smiled slightly and directly commanded Lapras to capture him alive.
"Flamethrower!"
Just as Ice Beam was about to hit, a fire pillar flew from the distance and struck Lapras's Ice Beam directly. Ice and fire collided, instantly evaporating large amounts of water vapor that shrouded Cardinal Quintana's surroundings.
"How embarrassing~"
An effeminate voice came from the white mist. Soon, the mist dispersed and four red figures appeared before everyone.
"Four cardinals? Well, do we have a chance?" Su Qianyan's expression turned cold as he asked Ashen.
Ashen smiled bitterly and shook his head. "No good. I only brought Salamence. She also only brought these three Pokémon. At most we two can handle one."
Su Qianyan's eyes grew serious. "I can fight two of them. With three, I can barely hold on."
"What's there to fear? I can handle one and a half. These kinds of trash?" Dax's arrogant voice cursed without reservation.
Hearing this, all four cardinals' expressions turned ugly.
Indeed, by their standards, cardinals were equivalent to Elite Four, but truly comparing—within Dragon Nation, they were just weaklings who'd barely entered Elite Four level.
When Dax said he could handle one and a half of them, they really couldn't refute it.
"Can you still fight?"
One cardinal quietly asked Julio Quintana.
Julio Quintana gave an awkward smile and held up one finger. "I can barely count as half."
The other three cardinals were instantly speechless and turned to look at him.
"Forget it, ignore him. Let's see how it goes. Don't think they can really handle two of us each."
Seeing the situation turning bad, the lead cardinal quickly stepped forward to stabilize morale.
"Dragon Nation's Elite Four—this isn't your country either. How about we don't interfere with each other?"
The lead cardinal stepped forward and shouted loudly at Ashen and the others.
Dax sneered. "Don't interfere? Hand over the person first!"
The lead cardinal froze, then turned to look at Ashen and Su Qianyan. Finding them both cold-faced, his heart filled with rage. He turned to look at Julio Quintana.
"What person did you capture? Release them quickly!"
Julio Quintana looked aggrieved. "What person did I capture? I've been blasting the mountain the whole time! Look at this place—where would any person come from?!"
Seeing Julio Quintana's expression, the lead cardinal—looking at his appearance—seemed like he truly hadn't captured anyone.
"Dragon Nation people, we didn't capture anyone. Are you mistaken?"
"Mistaken?" Su Qianyan pointed at the energy barrier on the side. "What did you come here for? You're after Hoopa, right?"
"That's right!"
Before the lead cardinal could speak, Julio Quintana behind him nodded seriously.
The other cardinals: ???
Seeing everyone's expressions, Julio Quintana froze. "Uh, aren't we here for Hoopa?"
The lead cardinal looked at Quintana expressionlessly, constantly giving himself mental suggestions: "One of ours, one of ours. High-end combat power, high-end combat power. Not easy to produce one, not easy. Brain not working well is fine, it's fine. Believe in yourself..."
After calming himself, the lead cardinal finally patted Quintana's shoulder. "Without my permission, don't speak anymore."
Quintana froze, very much wanting to ask why.
But seeing his boss's dangerous look, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Seeing this idiot finally shut up, the lead cardinal nodded with satisfaction.
"We don't have time to watch your monkey show. Either call the person out, or we'll beat you to death and find them ourselves."
Hearing this, blood vessels bulged on the lead cardinal's forehead. "I said our people didn't capture anyone!"
"I see you're itching for a fight!" Dax immediately threw out three Poké Balls.
Metagross, Aegislash, and Magnezone—three Pokémon appeared in the air, coldly watching the opposition.
"A fight it is then!"
The lead cardinal wasn't one to swallow his pride either. He also threw out three Poké Balls.
"Go, Breloom, Medicham, Machamp!"
Seeing the boss release his Pokémon, the remaining two cardinals also threw out their Poké Balls.
"Go, Ludicolo, Pinsir, Dustox!"
"Go, Porygon2, Ursaring, Houndoom!"
At this moment, everyone's Pokémon were all on the field.
"Haxorus, Earthquake! Lapras, Ice Beam! Xatu, provide cover!"
Su Qianyan didn't believe in waiting for the opponent to prepare before attacking. He always believed in striking first.
"Metagross, Shadow Ball! Aegislash, Shadow Ball! Magnezone, Flash Cannon—target Porygon2!"
Dax's choice was also simple—reduce their numbers first.
"Psychic! Sweep across!"
"Salamence, Hyper Voice!"
Ashen and Liu Xiangjun both issued commands. Instantly, the Pokémon engaged in chaotic battle.
Though the scene was somewhat chaotic, everyone had their own targets.
Because Dax was targeting it, Porygon2 was the first to lose its ability to battle.
At the same time, the opponent's Medicham, Breloom, and Machamp rushed toward Haxorus, trying to eliminate it first.
But Liu Xiangjun was guarding against this. A direct Psychic sweep made the three opposing Pokémon suffer terribly.
Then Salamence's Hyper Voice and Haxorus's Earthquake directly took down Medicham, Breloom, and Machamp.
The opposition instantly lost four Pokémon. But they weren't idle either—Dustox successfully put Lapras to sleep. Houndoom, Pinsir, and Ursaring took down Xatu. Slowbro also took a hit—if not for Metagross's Ally Switch, Slowbro probably wouldn't have survived.
Seeing Slowbro nearly taken out, Liu Xiangjun was immediately displeased. "Use full power—swift victory!"
"Right!"
Su Qianyan and Dax responded simultaneously, then pressed their index and middle fingers of their right hands together at their left wrists.