Seeing that Crawdaunt had also lost the ability to battle, a trace of helplessness appeared on Wallace's face.
Crawdaunt was strong, and its exceptional talent had led to very few defeats since birth… but that also gave it an incredibly domineering personality.
Being forced to retreat into its Poké Ball after being suppressed by Zoroark was extremely humiliating for Crawdaunt.
So when it returned to the field and saw Tyranitar, it got so excited it became somewhat irrational.
But Tyranitar wasn't just a brute who relied on power. When faced with Crawdaunt's aggressive charge, it chose to evade first.
With a smooth sidestep, Tyranitar dodged Crawdaunt's "rage-filled full-force" blow.
Strike while the iron is hot, fail once and your momentum weakens, strike a third time and your energy is drained.
Crawdaunt's full-power attack left it completely exposed. Tyranitar exploited the opening, sent it flying, then followed up with the three-stage Rock tactic, draining a huge amount of Crawdaunt's stamina.
In the final head-on exchange, Tyranitar had seen that Crawdaunt was at its limit and didn't hesitate to strike, decisively defeating it.
Other than a slight tremble in both arms, Tyranitar hadn't lost much stamina and still maintained solid battle readiness.
A flash of red light…
Milotic returned to the field!
"Milo~Lo~"
After a soft, melodious hum, the audience stands erupted once again. Even though Sato still had three Pokémon left, almost no one was cheering for him.
Without question, 99% of the audience had now taken Wallace's side, all hoping that Milotic could make a miraculous comeback and defeat Sato!
Sato glanced at Tyranitar. Its towering figure, commanding presence, impenetrable armor, and that unique aura of a pseudo-legendary…
It didn't exactly look like someone to take lightly.
Then he looked at himself: handsome face, sharp and determined eyes, a fit and balanced physique whether clothed or shirtless, and younger than Wallace to boot.
…So why wasn't he more popular?
'Heh, this world really only cares about looks.'
Sato sneered, then shouted his command: "Tyranitar, Taunt!"
"Tyran!"
Straight-laced Tyranitar dutifully ignored Milotic's graceful expressions and, without hesitation, raised a middle claw while growling "Tyran, Tar~ Tyran~ "
Milotic's brow furrowed. Its two pink tendrils floated upward slightly, and its tail began to flick side to side in irritation.
--
"AHHHH~ Even an angry Milotic is so beautiful!"
A shrill voice suddenly rang out from the audience, followed by waves of agreement.
--
Sato pressed his lips together, unwilling to utter another word.
The Taunt was highly effective; at the very least, Milotic now had no interest in batting its lashes at this giant rock or calling it 'onii-san.'
"Milotic, Surf!"
Even though the Captivate failed, Wallace remained calm. Milotic was still incredibly powerful even without relying on attraction tactics.
"Tyranitar, Stone Edge."
A massive wave rose beneath Milotic's body, each surge taller than the last. In the blink of an eye, it had surpassed five meters, towering over Tyranitar.
Then it came crashing down with a deafening roar!
At the same time, massive stone pillars rose up from the ground and stood firm as they endured the crashing waves.
The water was blocked, split, blocked again, split again… by the time the first wave reached Tyranitar, it had been reduced to a gentle trickle that didn't even soak its ankles.
But Tyranitar hated water, even soaking its feet was unacceptable.
It lightly stomped the ground, and the surrounding terrain quickly rose, lifting Tyranitar's massive body completely off the ground.
Water flowed harmlessly down both sides of the rocky platform.
Completely ineffective!
However, Milotic took advantage of the elevation to get right in front of Tyranitar. Its fanned-out tail gathered a silver-white Steel-type glow and struck toward Tyranitar's head without hesitation.
"Brick Break."
"Tyran!"
Tyranitar had been waiting for this. Its fists once again gathered orange Fighting-type energy, and it punched directly at Milotic's tail!
Clang!
This half-step Elite Four Milotic was stronger than expected… it wasn't knocked back by Tyranitar's blow.
Still, Milotic subtly twisted its tail to redirect the force, dispersing the impact and avoiding a full power clash!
"Dragon Tail!"
Wallace's strategy was finally revealed. Against a straight-faced brute like Tyranitar who couldn't be affected by Cute Charm, it made more sense to save him for last. First, they'd knock out that pure-hearted rookie Zoroark; what a delightful plan.
But… Dragon Tail missed!
Tyranitar silently glided low along the ground, controlling the terrain beneath its feet. As Milotic seamlessly followed up with Dragon Tail, Tyranitar instinctively dodged instead of countering.
"Thunder Fang!"
Sato seized the moment and gave the command. Tyranitar wasted no time, its massive jaws opened wide and bit down hard on Milotic's smooth body.
"M-MILOOO~!"
A scream of such despair echoed through the arena that some spectators nearly sent their own Pokémon to gang up on Tyranitar for being so brutal.
Sato: Heh…
"Milotic, use Twister to escape!"
Wallace's command brought Milotic back to its senses. It instantly whipped its tail and launched a mini Twister at Tyranitar's neck.
Though small, the mini Twister had been tightly compressed; its cutting power was deadly.
Sensing danger, Tyranitar instinctively released its bite. The Twister grazed its chin as it howled past.
With its jaw loosened, Milotic twisted its body and swiftly escaped, retreating a good distance away while panting heavily with lingering fear.
The next moment, a gentle white light shimmered across Milotic's body, and within seconds, the visible wounds on its body began to vanish.
…Milotic's most troublesome move had now entered the fray.
Recover: restores up to half of the user's full health/stamina. When used twice in a row, it could bring Milotic back to full strength.
Sato frowned ever so slightly. Before the match, he had prepared several strategies to deal with Milotic's Recover, one of them being Tyranitar's Taunt.
But the effect of Taunt was too short-lived. If Milotic managed to find even the smallest opening, it would immediately use Recover, just like it did now.
Sato had also considered using Cacturne's Water Absorb to wear Milotic down in a war of attrition, absorbing as much as it healed.
Unfortunately, Cacturne had been too heavily targeted and was already out of the match. That strategy had died prematurely.
None of Sato's current Pokémon could learn Heal Block either.
And Zoroark… would definitely fall for Milotic's charm. If their eyes met, his mind would falter, and the Illusion tactics would collapse without a fight.
So now, Sato had only one real path: timing.
He had to strike during the battle, use Taunt at the perfect moment to interrupt Milotic's next Recover…
Then go all in and take it down in one push.
But that… was no easy task!
.
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150 PS - CH
PatЯeon/Romeloff