When Marie saw that the final opponent was another Drednaw, she let out a subtle sigh of relief. It wasn't that this Drednaw looked easy to deal with—it was battle-hardened and clearly experienced—but it was far less mentally taxing than having to face a Vikavolt.

This meant that even though Nessa had claimed she wouldn't go easy on her, she hadn't gone so far as to bring out a hard counter just to overwhelm her.

What ability did this Drednaw have? Strong Jaw or Shell Armor? Marie would need to probe it bit by bit to figure it out.

It was a shame Ethan couldn't learn a move like Magical Leaf. If she had some Grass-type attacks in her arsenal, this fight would have been a lot easier.

"Razor Shell!"

"Sand Attack."

As always, they opened with their familiar pattern. Marie only needed to say one word, and Ethan understood instantly. Disrupt, then follow up with a sudden strike—this had practically become instinct between them.

Both trainers gave their orders nearly simultaneously, and both Pokémon reacted with lightning speed.

"Raaawr!"

"Yaa!"

Ethan bent low and kicked up a cloud of sand like a miniature sandstorm, instantly enveloping Drednaw in the swirling dust.

But Drednaw didn't back down. As the sand descended, it launched its thick head forward, raising a glowing water blade high as it lunged toward the spot where Ethan had just been standing.

Marie didn't issue any extra commands. The more she spoke, the more she'd be giving away. With other Pokémon, she had to give instructions due to a lack of full synchronicity, but with Ethan, she had complete trust.

Ethan had already been charging Quick Attack while kicking up the sand. As the field was engulfed in dust, her body flared with light and vanished in a streak like a white ribbon.

The afterimage hadn't even faded from Marie's eyes when Drednaw's Razor Shell burst through the haze and struck the ground where Ethan had just stood.

Boom!

The impact was even louder than Little Chirp's earlier crash. The ground cracked outward from the point of impact, and the crater left behind was significantly deeper than the one Little Chirp had made.

Ethan had shifted course mid-Quick Attack. As Drednaw's blow missed, she landed lightly and twisted her body. Her tail gleamed with a silver light as Iron Tail formed, and with a swift rotation, she slashed at Drednaw's exposed neck.

Boom!

A glowing barrier flared up and shattered as Ethan's attack landed. At some point, Drednaw had used Protect, perfectly timed to block the blow.

But Drednaw didn't waste the opportunity. The moment the barrier went up, it had already started to pull its head back in. Blue energy gathered once more at the horn on its head. As its neck recoiled into a striking position, it suddenly lashed out, slicing horizontally at the still-airborne Ethan.

It was sharp, fluid, and deadly, like a mountain goat's perfectly timed strike.

But it was useless against Ethan. After more than half a month of sparring with Farfetch'd—who could practically be called a sword master—she had become intimately familiar with these kinds of attacks.

Though she had also developed the strange habit of using Iron Tail to parry like a sword...

In midair, Ethan twisted her body once more. Her tail, still glowing from before, flicked upward with practiced ease and deflected Drednaw's Razor Shell. The attack missed its mark again.

The force of the clash sent her flying backward, creating distance between the two once more.

That exchange of high-speed attacks had been entirely between the Pokémon. Neither trainer had tried to interrupt or override their partners' judgments.

As their exchange paused, the dust kicked up by Ethan's earlier Sand Attack also began to settle. It wasn't a true Sandstorm, after all, so it couldn't last long.

When Nessa's silhouette reappeared through the fading sand, Marie clicked her tongue. She hadn't seen clearly through the dust, but the sound alone was enough to tell her that Ethan's flurry of attacks hadn't landed.

It was frustrating, but Marie didn't feel like lecturing Ethan about her growing preference for using Iron Tail in battle. Her other moves were still being trained, so if that was her style, so be it.

Still, this Drednaw was a tricky one. Unlike the previous one, it had somehow managed to protect its vulnerable neck so quickly. Marie couldn't even begin to imagine how you'd train a Pokémon to do that.

Its head movements were also far more agile. The fact that it had forced Ethan out of Quick Attack and into close combat said everything.

At least the Sand Attack had helped reduce its accuracy. That was a good start. After all, Ethan wasn't the kind of Pokémon built for brute force frontal assaults.

"Yaa!"

Ethan gave a soft cry as she glanced back at Marie before turning her eyes forward again.

The meaning in her voice was clear, and Marie understood it instantly.

Normally, Ethan didn't make statements like that. If it were any other Pokémon, Marie might think they were just excited from the battle, but coming from Ethan, it probably meant she had a new idea she wanted to try.

"Quick Attack! Move!"

"Yaa!"

"Stone Edge!"

"Raaawr!"

Both trainers issued their commands once more. There was no sand to obscure the field this time, but even so, Ethan's form still flickered past like a blur. If not for the Rotom-controlled cameras, her movement would have been almost impossible to follow.

Drednaw, still stoic, let out a roar as it raised its heavy front legs and slammed them down.

Boom!

A deafening crash shook the stadium. Jagged stone spikes erupted from the ground in a wide circle around Drednaw, tearing through the field and leaving only a ten-meter radius of untouched space where it stood.

Ethan, racing at full speed, was just about to slam into one of the towering spikes when she leapt, her foot touching the side of the rock as she bounded off it and weaved through the spires with practiced agility.

As she neared the outer edge of the Stone Edge zone, just about to close the distance, Marie suddenly called out.

"Sand Attack!"

Fwoosh!

Ethan's thinking matched Marie's exactly. Drednaw had deliberately created that ten-meter-wide open zone around itself, and once Ethan crossed out of the rock forest, she would inevitably be airborne with no foothold.

That moment of suspension was exactly when the opponent would strike.

It was a perfectly telegraphed trap. The towering stone spikes blocked long-range attacks unless she gained altitude, and Ethan, without any flying ability, would become a sitting duck if she did.

To avoid that, she had no choice but to breach the Stone Edge zone and launch a close-range attack. It meant that no matter what, Ethan would have to risk being hit.

Given the circumstances, there was only one real option: close the distance and use a move strong enough to deal meaningful damage.

Feint Attack.

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