Meanwhile...
The football had not gone out of bounds, but instead rolled towards the edge of the penalty area.
The four chosen ones on the opposing side, along with their beast companions, charged forward. But at that moment...
"Hook Snake!" Jin Sha shouted, "Giantize!"
The Hook Snake, originally only two to three meters long and about as thick as two fists put together, began to inflate wildly like a balloon following Jin Sha's command. Its body became as thick as a water bucket, then reached a length of over ten meters.
In the next instant, the Hook Snake coiled its body, directly shielding the ball within it.
The four chosen ones on the opposite side were stunned. How were they supposed to get the ball now?
They couldn't just punch it away, as that would be a foul and result in a card!
Fortunately, one of the four understood the rules quite well and immediately shouted, "Don't use close-range attacks, ranged attacks won't be considered fouls!"
Close-range attacks were a definite foul, but with ranged attacks, it was impossible to determine if the target was the ball or the Hook Snake, thus not a foul.
"Sawalang, Earthquake!"
"Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
The four immediately commanded their beast companions to attack the Hook Snake.
In the next moment, Sawalang leaped high and stomped its foot on the ground. A roar followed as the ground cracked open, and large chunks of rock surged upwards, hurtling towards the Hook Snake.
Meanwhile, Arcanine began to run at high speed, its mane fluttering in the air. It then opened its mouth wide towards the Hook Snake.
Flames were spewed from Arcanine's mouth, forming a pillar of fire that shot towards the Hook Snake.
Rumble, rumble!
As the attacks hit the Hook Snake, its massive body trembled. However, it did not fall but held its ground.
Compared to its offensive capabilities, the Hook Snake's defense was more prominent. Its heavy shell allowed it to withstand most attacks.
Meanwhile...
Bai Ye finally freed himself from the pain of heading the ball clear and shouted, "Long kick, directly towards their penalty area."
Jin Sha nodded and relayed the order to the Hook Snake. Immediately, the Hook Snake released its coiled body, swept its tail, and kicked the football into the air.
"Teleport!"
Bai Ye instantly teleported, crossing the entire football field and arriving inside the opponent's penalty area.
The four chosen ones on the opposing side instantly felt that something was very wrong.
This ability was too unfair. Teleporting directly from their own penalty area to the opponent's penalty area – how could they defend against that?
On the other side, Bai Ye watched the football descend from the air. Lucario, responsible for guarding the goal, leaped high, attempting to snatch the ball before Bai Ye. But...
"Ghost Form!"
Bai Ye leaped into the air and entered Ghost Form, floating suspended in the air.
Lucario was filled with question marks. How could it fly?
Even cheating couldn't go this far!
In the next instant, Bai Ye exited Ghost Form in mid-air. After all, while Ghost Form allowed flight, it couldn't touch the football.
The moment he exited Ghost Form, Bai Ye activated his Phoenix ability again and kicked the football.
Bang!
Flames erupted, and the football, now ablaze, shot downwards.
Seeing the trajectory of the ball, Bai Ye was instantly overjoyed.
Aiming for the corner flag was indeed the right move. This time, the ball was heading towards the goal.
Just as it was about to enter the goal...
"Lucario!" one of the chosen ones shouted, "Psychic!"
Lucario focused on the ball, its eyes glowing red. Immediately, an invisible force appeared.
With a bang!
The flames wrapped around the football suddenly dissipated, and the ball then hovered in the air, about half a meter from the goal line.
"Psychic abilities?" Bai Ye grumbled, "Are they cheating? How can I score like this?"
The four chosen ones on the opposite side looked contemptuous. You could teleport and fly, clearly a cheater, and you dare to accuse others of cheating?
On the other side, Lucario’s face displayed a smug smile as it walked towards the ball, intending to embrace it.
But just then...
Suddenly, in front of the football, the air rippled, and a blurry figure unexpectedly appeared.
Then...
Lucario was shocked!
Bai Ye was overjoyed!
It was Gengar!
Gengar used its invisibility to suddenly appear in front of the goal. Before Lucario could pounce, Gengar twisted its body and nudged the ball into the goal with its rear.
"Goal..."
On the big screen, the word "goal" immediately appeared. The score on the big screen became 1-0!
Bai Ye immediately rushed over to embrace Gengar, then lifted Gengar high above his head and began to sprint towards his own half.
Jin Sha smiled and raised her right hand, high-fiving Bai Ye. Then, Bai Ye was tackled by Goodra and landed on the ground.
The four chosen ones on the opposing side had grim expressions as they placed the ball at the center circle.
One of them impatiently shouted at Bai Ye, "Is this over yet? You only scored one goal, hurry up!"
Bai Ye got up from the ground, too lazy to pay attention to the other. This was the powerless rage after conceding a goal. He was magnanimous and wouldn't engage in a war of words.
As he resumed his position and waited for the kickoff, Bai Ye resolutely covered his lower body.
These scoundrels were playing dirty, aiming for places they shouldn't be kicking.
However, after the restart, the opponents did not continue with a quick attack, kicking the ball forward directly. Instead, they started passing the ball back and forth.
Jin Sha walked to Bai Ye's side and said, "They're probably waiting for the second half."
Bai Ye glanced at the screen. There were 47 seconds left in the first half, plus at most a minute and a half of injury time. The opponents likely weren't planning to attack anymore but were instead re-strategizing for the second half.
But just then...
"Sawalang, Megaton Kick!"
One of the chosen ones suddenly shouted. Following that, Sawalang, who had received the ball, kicked it with great force towards the sky.
Bai Ye and Jin Sha couldn't help but look up...
What was going on?
The kick was very far, heading directly towards the goal.
However, at such a distance, even with beast skill buffs, it was almost impossible to score. Firstly, accuracy was difficult to control, and secondly, Metagross, who was in front of the goal, wasn't just for show. He would definitely be able to intercept the ball from this distance.
But, at this moment...
Another chosen one shouted, "Arcanine, Dust Devil!"
Instantly, Arcanine near the center circle began to run. As Arcanine ran, large amounts of sand and dust were kicked up all around, creating a gray haze that obscured a large area.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Bai Ye and Jin Sha coughed incessantly.
"Intercept from the air!" Jin Sha decisively ordered, "Aerodactyl, Scyther, bring the ball down!"
Not only could Bai Ye fly, but Jin Sha also had two beast companions capable of flight. The plan of a high-altitude sneak attack was not going to work.
But...