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The Grass Knot would catch Palpitoad off guard, wrapping its self around its foot and causing it to trip, and hard. The very Super Effective attack hurt, a lot, the only saving grace was it wasn't a very heavy Pokemon and thank Arceus Starmie wasn't a Grass type its self. That said both it and Clay knew it wasn't going to take another hit like that, no way. Both of them eying the pile of rubble would appear to get the exact same idea.

"Palpitoad, don't let it go to waste! Use Power Whip and club that starfish!" Clay commanded.

With a vibrating croak the Palpitoad, still laying on the ground, would lash its long toad tongue out at the pile of dirt and rock, said tongue giving off a green glow as it wrapped around the collected mass of rubble. Once the tongue was completely wrapped around it and formed a ball with the debris at its center the Palpitoad would jump up to its feet, snatch its tongue and debris ball up into the air, and finally let gravity bring it down upon Starmie with Power Whip.

Clay nodded approvingly as Starmie used Recover, he had to respect a good move when he saw it. "Excellent work son, a right proper opportunity to heal your Pokemon while mine is winded. However I reckon you gave me an opening as well. Palpitoad, use Rain Dance." The gym leader ordered.

With a croak that gradually grew into a full body vibrating echo as it shook its 'warts' a storm cloud would form above the field, rain quickly falling from it, the toad letting out a content sigh as the rain touched its body. The ground around them was quickly becoming soaked and muddy, the Palpitoad being right at home here. It was an odd choice he made, not just because he's a Ground type user facing a Water type Pokemon but Palpitoad was on its last legs and it didn't have any moves to heal its self with. Whatever he was planning it would be wise to proceed with caution.

"Slip, jump, and Flail!" Clay declared right after Terashi gave his own command.

Just as Terashi figured the Palpitoad's Swift Swim activated under the rain, the toad moving with sudden and impressive speed, throwing its body across the now muddy ground and gliding right across it as if it was swimming. Once the Palpitoad was well out of the range of the Psychic and moving too quick for Starmie to even readjust its 'targeting' in time the Pokemon would spring into the air using its powerful legs and quickly come down upon the Starmie with its squirming body with Flail, the attack empowered considerably thanks to the minuscule amount of HP it had left.

Clay would nod approvingly as Terashi and his Starmie robbed him and his Palpitoad of their advantage. He might be a gym leader and his job may be to defend his gym against all challengers but he had to recognize ingenuity when he saw it.

"Mighty fine, son. Let's see if the newfound speed can let you dodge this. Sludge Wave into the mud, Palpitoad!" He ordered.

With a croak the toad's cheeks would swell up as it kept its mouth closed and poisonous goop built up inside. The Pokemon would then lean down and unleash the violent torrent of sludge into the muddy ground and the two materials would mix together, the momentum of the Sludge Wave flowing through the entire battlefield of mud to create one massive tidal wave of mud and sludge.

The Hydro Pump sliced through with ease, slamming into the unsuspecting Palpitoad on the other side and knocking it clean off its feet, the toad falling back first onto the muddy ground, knocked out cold. Clay was quick to recall the Pokemon, glad that the battle is finally seeing some progress again, and now he had just the idea to keep it moving.

"Hit it with a Shadow Punch." He simply ordered as he tossed a Heavy Ball onto the field, the device popping open to release a towering Goliath of a Pokemon, the ghostly Automaton Pokemon, Golurk. Wasn't it missing a hand though?

Before they question could be answered Starmie would get sucker punched from behind by a fist flying straight at it like a literal rocket, said fist seeming to appear from nowhere, or rather it moved too quick to know where it came from. After the Iron Fist slammed into the starfish it would return to Golurk who currently had its nub of an arm extended waiting for it to come back, the fist slamming into the nub and reconnecting its self, the Golurk not so much as flinching, having remained stoic and quiet from the time it was released.

"I reckon that's right smart, boy." Clay commended Terashi as he looked around and watched the once muddy field dry up, he had to admit he preferred it this way. "Though your plans are as obvious as fool's gold to this old miner, and I can't let my gym be defeated that easily. Golurk, Telekinesis."

Extending an open hand out at Venusaur a pink glow would emit from the appendage, the same glow appearing around the Grass type. Golurk would then clinch its hand and make a fist, rising it up into the air and as the fist went up so did Venusaur, effortless and with ease. The heavy ground dweller would now find its self helplessly floating several feet in the air, at the mercy of the Automaton Pokemon.

"That was the obvious." Clay informed Terashi as Sauron began to rapidly charge up energy. "Heat Crash, head straight into it." The gym leader ordered.

His plan was now clear, perhaps too late. Golurk didn't stand much of a chance out tanking Venusaur, especially in bright sun. So while Terashi got the first part right, in that they crippled its newfound speed under Sunny Day, he may not have note another factor in that Venusaur was an easy target among one other thing; its weight and bulk weren't factor when it was floating weightlessly.

As Venusaur fired off the Solar Beam the Golurk would launch its self off like an actual rocket, legs receding into its body and flames exploding out from its bottom end, sending it flying right at the Solar Beam, the same fire quickly consuming its self completely until it was a fiery missile. Golurk would ram straight into the Solar Beam and while Terashi couldn't certainly feel, thanks to his own abilities, that it took considerable damage from the Super Effective move it was not going to stop.

Empowered by the very same Sunny Day Sauron just benefited from the Golurk would slam into the floating Pokemon with a devastating fiery impact, empowered by the sun and delivering the most damage it possibly could with such a move thanks to the Venusaur's floating position. In this moment both Pokemon took terrible damage and it looked like this battle was going to end very quickly soon one way or the other.