Hearing his command, Eevee immediately took several steps backward.
It moved toward the far end of the floating platform.
And because its weight was now concentrated on one side...
The opposite end of the platform suddenly tilted upward!
At that very moment, Goldeen came charging in!
THUD!
Its horn slammed directly into the raised platform!
Even worse...
Its sharp horn became embedded in the platform itself!
Goldeen's entire body was left dangling helplessly in midair!
"What?!"
Lily's expression changed dramatically.
Even Sakura and Violet widened their eyes in disbelief!
None of them had expected someone to use the floating platforms like that!
Itsuki smiled faintly.
'A fish out of water, huh?'
'No matter how fierce it might have been before, once it's stranded on land, it's practically helpless.'
Without water, and with its horn stuck in the platform...
'What can Goldeen possibly do now?'
"Eevee, finish it!"
Hearing Itsuki's command, Lily immediately panicked.
She hurriedly shouted toward her Pokémon.
"Goldeen, hurry! Get back into the water!"
Goldeen desperately twisted and struggled.
However, no matter how hard it tried, it simply couldn't pull its horn free!
"Damn it!"
Seeing Eevee gradually approaching, Lily shouted again.
"Goldeen, use Supersonic!"
A visible wave of sound erupted from Goldeen's mouth!
However, because Goldeen was facing away from Eevee, the attack was poorly directed.
Although the Supersonic did manage to hit Eevee and briefly confuse it, the effect didn't last long enough to change the situation.
Once Eevee regained its senses, Goldeen was still trapped in exactly the same position.
"It's over."
As though proving Itsuki's words correct, Eevee launched another Tackle!
BAM!
With one powerful collision, Goldeen finally lost its ability to battle!
"Fine, you win..."
Lily sighed helplessly.
She recalled Goldeen into its Poké Ball before quietly stepping aside.
As Lily withdrew, Violet took her place and walked into the Trainer's command area. Find the original chapter at g.com.
"Not bad. You've actually got some skills!"
She looked at Itsuki and took out her own Poké Ball.
"But the next Pokémon won't be so easy to deal with!"
"Come on out, Krabby!"
As her voice rang out, a crab-like Pokémon appeared in the water!
At first glance, the most eye-catching features were the two large pincers raised above its body!
However, upon closer inspection...
Its red-and-white body and vacant-looking eyes gave it a rather silly appearance.
It didn't exactly look like the smartest Pokémon around.
Since Itsuki was already extremely familiar with Krabby, information about it immediately flashed through his mind.
As the River Crab Pokémon, Krabby's large pincers were undoubtedly its most powerful weapons!
However, those pincers could occasionally fall off during attacks.
Fortunately, they would quickly grow back.
And whenever danger approached, Krabby could also release foam from its mouth to cover its body, making itself appear larger!
'So it's sacrificing mobility in exchange for stronger close-range combat abilities, huh...?'
After thinking for a moment, Itsuki called Eevee back.
"Eevee, come back. You've worked hard!"
Once Eevee returned to his side, Itsuki gently stroked its forehead as a sign of praise.
Then, he took out Bulbasaur's Poké Ball.
"All right, Bulbasaur. The next battle is up to you!"
He opened the Poké Ball.
With a flash of blue light, Bulbasaur appeared on one of the floating platforms!
"Bulba! Bulbasaur!"
The moment it appeared, Bulbasaur fixed its gaze on Krabby in the water.
Its fighting spirit was already burning brightly!
In terms of type matchups, Bulbasaur's Grass typing undoubtedly gave it an advantage against the Water-type Krabby.
However, there was still one major problem.
On a battlefield almost entirely covered in water, Bulbasaur's movement options were severely restricted.
And that meant...
Figuring out how to avoid falling into the water would be the key to victory!
However...
Itsuki raised his head and glanced toward the ceiling.
This battle wasn't entirely without its advantages.
Through the bright glass dome overhead, he could clearly see the sun shining gently in the sky.
'Looks like it's another beautiful, sunny day...'
"All right, let's get started!"
Seeing that both Pokémon were ready, Violet didn't even wait for Sakura to announce the beginning of the match.
She immediately shouted her command.
"Krabby, use Water Gun!"
A powerful stream of water erupted from Krabby's mouth, shooting straight toward Bulbasaur!
Hearing the command, Bulbasaur leaped sideways to avoid the incoming attack.
At the same time, two vines extended from the bulb on its back and lashed toward Krabby!
However, in the next instant, Krabby dove underwater.
The vines struck the surface, sending splashes of water flying everywhere!
Neither side had gained an advantage in their first exchange.
Regardless of whether the three sisters devoted most of their attention to aquatic ballet, their abilities as Pokémon Trainers clearly weren't something to underestimate!
However, seeing the battle reach a stalemate, Violet suddenly smiled.
"Well, with one Pokémon in the water and the other on land, it's going to be pretty difficult to settle things by attacking each other like this."
"Looks like we'll have to change our approach! Krabby, climb onto that floating platform!"
"Oh?"
Hearing her command, Itsuki raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
"You're giving up your home-field advantage to fight Bulbasaur face-to-face? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Violet raised her chin confidently.
"Don't worry! Unlike Lily's Goldeen, my Krabby is still plenty strong even on land!"
"Krabby, use Leer!"
Krabby rapidly moved its four legs through the water.
Before long, it climbed sideways onto the same floating platform as Bulbasaur.
Then, its normally vacant-looking eyes suddenly glowed red!
It fixed Bulbasaur with an intimidating stare!
'Trying to frighten Bulbasaur and lower its defenses, huh?'
Itsuki remained calm.
"Bulbasaur, don't let it bother you! Use Growth!"
A faint green glow suddenly enveloped Bulbasaur's body.
Growth was a move that increased the user's offensive power.
Furthermore, because the weather was sunny and sunlight was pouring through the glass dome, using Growth under these conditions would provide an even greater boost!
Seeing this opportunity, Violet's eyes lit up.
She hurriedly shouted, "Krabby, quickly! Use Water Gun!"
Bulbasaur didn't have enough time to dodge.
The stream of water struck it directly!
However, although Leer had lowered Bulbasaur's Defense, Water-type attacks were naturally less effective against Grass-types.
Therefore, even though Water Gun landed successfully, it didn't deal much damage.
"Bulbasaur, it's our turn to return the favor! Use Tackle!"
Violet understood that with Growth strengthening Bulbasaur, this attack would be extremely powerful.
She didn't dare take it lightly.
"Krabby, hurry! Use Harden!"
At her command, Krabby's body flashed with a metallic sheen just before Bulbasaur reached it.
Even from its appearance alone, it was obvious that Krabby's shell had become harder and smoother!
BANG!
Bulbasaur slammed directly into Krabby!