The impact forced Krabby to retreat a step.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have suffered any serious damage.
It even had enough strength left to counterattack!
"Now's your chance! Krabby, use Vice Grip!"
Following Violet's command, Krabby thrust one of its large pincers forward!
Clack!
The pincer clamped tightly around Bulbasaur's neck!
Since Vice Grip was a Normal-type move, its damage wasn't reduced by Bulbasaur's Grass or Poison typing.
Combined with the earlier Defense reduction from Leer, it was certainly capable of dealing considerable damage!
"Bulba!"
Bulbasaur instinctively cried out in pain!
However, Itsuki obviously wasn't going to sit back and watch.
"Use Vine Whip!"
Two vines shot high into the air from the bulb on Bulbasaur's back!
Then, they came crashing down!
Every strike dealt tremendous damage to Krabby!
Smack! Smack!
Smack! Smack!
After enduring several consecutive blows, Krabby could no longer withstand the pain.
It had no choice but to release its grip and retreat from Bulbasaur!
With that, Bulbasaur finally regained its freedom!
And now...
The positions of attacker and defender had completely reversed!
"Well then, I guess it's our turn now!"
Itsuki narrowed his eyes slightly before issuing another command.
"Use Leech Seed!"
A tiny seed suddenly shot out from Bulbasaur's bulb!
Moving at incredible speed, it attached itself directly to Krabby's body!
Immediately afterward, the seed began growing rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, several long vines sprouted from it and wrapped tightly around Krabby!
This time, Krabby was the one unable to move!
Realizing that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, Violet attempted one final resistance.
"Krabby, hurry! Get back into the water!"
Without a doubt, retreating into the water was the best possible option.
Unfortunately...
'Only thinking about escaping now?'
'Too late!'
Itsuki chuckled softly before delivering his final command.
Two vines shot forward at incredible speed!
Before Krabby could make it back into the water, they struck its body with tremendous force!
Because Grass-type moves were super effective against Water-types, the attack dealt twice the normal damage!
And that wasn't all.
The Leech Seed attached to Krabby was also glowing faintly green, steadily draining away its remaining stamina!
This time, Krabby finally reached its limit.
Unable to endure any longer, it collapsed onto the floating platform!
Violet froze for a moment.
Then, she let out a helpless sigh.
"So I lost too..."
With those words, she took out her Poké Ball and recalled Krabby.
Itsuki had now won two battles in a row!
Only one opponent remained.
Sakura!
Seeing both of her younger sisters defeated, Sakura's expression grew serious.
She slowly stepped into the Trainer's command area and carefully examined Itsuki.
"You're really strong, and you're remarkably calm, too."
"I can tell that you must be an excellent Trainer."
"However, we're not going to admit defeat that easily!"
She raised her Poké Ball.
"Come on out, my Pokémon! Seel!"
The Poké Ball opened.
With a flash of light, a grayish-white, sea lion-like Pokémon appeared in the swimming pool!
Judging from its appearance, the Pokémon had a small protrusion on top of its head.
Two upward-curving fangs extended from either side of its mouth, and its tongue was sticking out.
Its tail was divided into two sections.
Overall, it didn't look particularly different from an ordinary sea lion from Itsuki's previous world.
Since he wasn't especially familiar with this Pokémon, Itsuki took out his Pokédex and scanned it.
The device quickly responded.
"Beep! Seel, the Sea Lion Pokémon. Water-type."
"Seel generally inhabit icy regions. They use the sharp protrusions on their heads to break through ice and swim through the sea."
"Their bodies are covered in extremely thick skin, allowing them to move freely even in temperatures as low as minus forty degrees Celsius!"
Unlike Goldeen and Krabby, this Seel possessed both excellent mobility and powerful close-range attacking abilities.
That made it an even more troublesome opponent!
"Come back, Bulbasaur."
Itsuki recalled Bulbasaur.
Then, he prepared to send out his final Pokémon.
At the same time, it was also his trump card!
"Ralts, I'm counting on you!"
Hearing its Trainer's instructions, Ralts let out a soft cry.
In the next instant, it used Teleport and appeared directly on one of the floating platforms!
Ralts stared at Seel.
Beneath its bangs, a faint light seemed to flicker in its eyes.
Meanwhile, the surface of its body had already begun undergoing a subtle change...
"That Pokémon is called Ralts?"
Looking at Ralts's adorable appearance, Sakura immediately took a liking to it.
She couldn't help examining it with curiosity.
"I noticed it earlier, too. It's really cute! Is it a Pokémon from another region?"
"That's right. Ralts isn't native to the Kanto region."
Itsuki nodded before kindly reminding her.
"But please be careful, Sakura-san. Ralts is a Psychic- and Fairy-type Pokémon, so it can be quite difficult to deal with."
"My, what a gentle and handsome young man."
Sakura smiled warmly.
"However, that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!"
"Seel, use Aqua Jet!"
Aqua Jet was a Water-type physical attack that surrounded the user's body with water before launching a high-speed charge toward the opponent.
It was a more powerful physical attack than Water Gun.
And the fact that Seel could use this move suggested that its level was indeed quite high!
However...
Landing an attack like that on Ralts wouldn't be so easy!
"Ralts, dodge it."
Itsuki spoke softly.
In the very next instant, Ralts vanished from its original position!
Then, it reappeared on another floating platform!
With Teleport, it had effortlessly avoided Seel's attack!
"Psychic-type Pokémon really are troublesome, aren't they?"
Sakura shook her head with a sigh.
However, she quickly smiled again.
"In that case, we'll just have to restrict its abilities first!"
"Seel, use Icy Wind!"
An intense blast of freezing wind erupted from Seel's mouth!
The icy gust swept across Ralts and a large portion of the surrounding battlefield!
Its power was astonishing!
The temperature across the battlefield instantly plunged below freezing!
Even the surface of the swimming pool began freezing over, forming a thick layer of ice!
Although Ralts used Teleport once again to escape the area-of-effect attack, the sudden change in its surroundings still had a considerable impact.
Because of the freezing environment, its speed had inevitably been greatly reduced!