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Sandslash crossed its arms in front of itself, taking Riolu's Ice Punch head-on.
Bang—
Sandslash couldn't withstand the force and continuously retreated backward.
Two scratches of unequal length were also drawn across the ground.
Relying on Endure, Sandslash, who barely clung to consciousness, gritted its teeth and struggled to keep from falling.
"Superpower!"
"Quick Attack!"
Riolu retracted its arm and pivoted to kick.
Sandslash's swinging claws hadn't even landed on Riolu's body before Riolu kicked it away.
Sandslash, who had fallen to the ground, was motionless.
"Sandslash is unable to battle! Riolu wins!"
"Riolu has taken down two Pokémon! After Swords Dance, it's unstoppable. Can it achieve the feat of sweeping six Pokémon in the semifinals?!"
The commentator sounded quite excited.
It was rare to see a single Pokémon defeat an entire team in previous League tournaments.
Moreover, this was the semifinals!
Everyone who could stand on this stage had considerable strength, didn't they?
So this phenomenon rarely occurred.
Unfortunately, Steven's current level completely surpassed these competitors.
Before the tournament, Steven could already contend with Trainers like Wallace.
"Sandslash, you worked hard." Ami recalled Sandslash. After all, its main purpose was to clear the entry hazards.
Sandslash had done very well.
It was just that Steven had predicted the strategy of clearing entry hazards.
This gave Riolu the opportunity to set up and sweep.
"Go, Cloyster!"
Ami threw a Poké Ball into the sky. With a bang, white light shot out from the opened Poké Ball.
A Pokémon protected by a double shell appeared, with a dark, round body like a pearl inside.
"Clack!"
As soon as Cloyster appeared, a mischievous grin spread across its face.
The Water and Ice-type combination was weak against Fighting-type moves from Riolu.
"Force Palm!"
Riolu rushed forward, its paws glowing white.
"Shell Smash!"
Cloyster chuckled and closed its outer shell.
Bang!
The huge shell was sent flying by Riolu, spinning continuously in the air.
Until it fell back down.
But there was nothing inside the opened shell that fell!
"Icicle Spear!"
Riolu suddenly turned its head to look. Cloyster was now contained within a smaller shell.
Five Icicle Spears instantly shot out from the sharp horn on its head!
"Detect!"
Riolu was only slightly surprised for a moment before immediately preparing itself.
Its gaze swept across the five Icicle Spears, predicting all their flight paths!
It dodged them with agile movements.
After Shell Smash, Cloyster's offensive stats and Speed would greatly increase.
But correspondingly, its defensive stats would decrease!
"Quick Attack!"
"Withdraw!"
Riolu's figure shot forward, but Cloyster simply clamped its outer shell tight, blocking Riolu's flying kick.
The closed shell rolled on the ground, then suddenly opened.
The sharp horn on its head glowed an icy blue.
"Icicle Spear!"
With a few whooshing sounds, five Icicle Spears attacked Riolu again!
"Detect!"
But this time, the distance was too close. Riolu's Detect only managed to predict the first four Icicle Spears.
During the dodge, it was accidentally hit by the fifth Icicle Spear!
The icy blue conical ice shard pierced Riolu's body. Layer by layer, it began to shatter, turning into tiny ice particles that fell onto the field.
Riolu was knocked back several meters, kneeling on one knee and panting heavily.
Riolu had not yet evolved, and its small body was still somewhat fragile.
"Quick Attack from above!"
Riolu adjusted its breathing, got up, and shot forward again!
Afterimages even appeared behind its body!
"Withdraw!" Ami quickly shouted.
But this time, Riolu looked at Cloyster, who had withdrawn into its shell, first leaped into the air, and then kicked downward.
Bang!
Cloyster's shell wasn't sent flying, but instead left a shallow pit in the ground.
"Force Palm!"
Riolu suddenly slapped Cloyster's shell with its paw, and a shockwave of invisible force emanated!
It sent Cloyster flying several meters, smashing it into the ground.
The shell protecting Cloyster also opened.
Revealing the unconscious Cloyster inside.
"Cloyster is unable to battle! Riolu wins!"
At this moment, on the big screen, three of Ami's Poké Balls had dimmed.
Only three Pokémon remained that could be used.
"Cloyster, you did very well."
"Hoo…"
Ami took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily.
Riolu had already taken down three Pokémon, but the power it could exert with its small body was still limited.
If it had evolved into Lucario, sweeping six Pokémon would be no problem.
Perhaps this was why Riolu's strength improvement had slowed down.
After Piplup evolved into Empoleon, it might not have surpassed Riolu in strength.
But in a real fight, Riolu was no match for Empoleon.
Even if Empoleon wasn't in a boosted state.
Ami, on the other side, was quite strong.
Riolu's current condition was probably still more than half, and it could completely deal with the remaining three Pokémon.
But as the match lengthened, Riolu's stamina would drop significantly.
Stamina was something that quietly slipped away during intense exercise.
So after taking damage, the rate of stamina depletion would accelerate.
"Go! Hitmonlee!"
Ami sent out her fourth Pokémon.
Hitmonlee had spring-like legs and was a Fighting-type Pokémon that focused on leg attacks.
Its body was quite flexible and could perform many unusual movements.
"Hitmonlee, Low Kick!"
Hitmonlee's gaze sharpened, and it raised its leg to kick at Riolu's leg!
"Mimic!"
Mimic could copy an opponent's move, but if used first, it wouldn't copy anything.
Bang!
Hitmonlee straightened its spring-like legs, which could be considered a long-range close-quarters attack!
Riolu immediately raised its leg and kicked the incoming spring leg.
It stepped on the spring portion, breaking Hitmonlee's Low Kick midway!
"Drain Punch!"
Riolu immediately stepped on Hitmonlee's spring leg and leaped up, white light appearing on its fists.
"Sucker Punch!"
The spring leg, which had been under Riolu's foot, lost its obstruction due to Riolu's mid-air leap.
It quickly raised up, carrying a faint black aura, and kicked Riolu away first.
Riolu spun in the air, dissipating most of the force, and landed steadily on the ground.
Hitmonlee's varied leg techniques were somewhat tricky.
But it was clear that even after being stepped on by Riolu, that spring leg still showed some discomfort when retracted.
"Follow Up, Low Kick!"
Hitmonlee stretched its leg toward the sky, then swung it down fiercely toward Riolu's position!
"Detect!"
Riolu suddenly looked up. Watching the rapidly descending spring leg, Riolu quickly dodged to the side.
Bang!
"Hitmonlee!" Ami cried out in concern.
Hitmonlee's face showed pain.
The spring leg slammed into the ground, and the kicked-up gravel, dust, and air currents blew Riolu away.
Riolu was also blown a short distance before sitting down on the ground.
Steven frowned slightly. Riolu's stamina was depleting too quickly, causing its energy to rapidly decline as well.
It was like when it was Piplup—releasing two boosted Hydro Pumps was enough to make it faint.
Otherwise, Riolu should have been able to easily predict the trajectory of the Low Kick and perfectly avoid it.
"Riolu, do you want to rest?" Steven asked.
"Rio!"
Riolu stubbornly shook its head.
It propped itself up by its knees and stood up.
If it wasn't Riolu battling now, but Piplup who had evolved into Empoleon—
This situation certainly wouldn't have occurred.
So why did this situation occur?
Its body limited its rate of strength improvement.
This isn't my true strength…
I want to unleash all my power!
Riolu slowly closed its eyes.
Right at this moment.
The desire to evolve, at this moment,
Reached an unprecedented height!
How could I…
Be outdone!