A green barrier of light enveloped
Abomasnow's massive white body.
For a defensive move like Protect, these Pokémon belonging to experienced Trainers had indeed mastered it to a very high degree.
Silas tilted his head slightly.
That move wasn't hard to break—he and his Blaziken had practiced countering it countless times.
Just as Blaziken, cloaked in flames from Flare Blitz , was about to collide with the green barrier of Protect, the light suddenly vanished.
Abomasnow took the full force of the Fire-type move head-on.
Both Abomasnow and Nina were clearly unprepared for what had just happened.
Full of confidence, Nina had been about to give her next command, only to freeze as Abomasnow collapsed, unable to battle.
"Oh, how unfortunate! It looks like Nina's Abomasnow failed to execute Protect properly before Blaziken's attack landed! Without successfully using Protect, Abomasnow couldn't defend itself and is now unable to battle!"
The commentator's rapid-fire narration was so confusing that many spectators were left scratching their heads.
After thinking it through, they came to a simple conclusion — Abomasnow must have been too weak.
Nina, of course, scoffed at that reasoning.
Although Protect isn't guaranteed to succeed every time it's used (unlike in the games where the first use always works), for Pokémon of Advance or Quasi-Elite-caliber strength, the first attempt's success rate is above 99%.
Anything weaker usually can't even learn Protect in the first place.
Besides, what had just happened looked exactly like a successful activation.
Nina couldn't understand it.
"Just a simple Ember, to disrupt your energy control," Silas said casually.
He was clearly getting impatient; his opponent had been thinking for too long.
It made sense, though Protect only blocks one direct attack. Continuous energy attacks or moves with multiple hits can still break through. Otherwise, Protect would be too overpowered.
By releasing Ember just before Blaziken's Flare Blitz struck, Silas had disrupted Protect's timing perfectly.
Nina froze for a moment.
Easier said than done. The difficulty of executing two moves simultaneously or with a near-perfect delay between them—is worlds apart.
If she remembered correctly, Blaziken had still been in the middle of charging Flare Blitz at that time.
She had to admit, that explanation made sense. Pulling off a combo like that showed Blaziken's incredible control—its power was easily at the Elite level.
Even her own Pokémon, trained for years, couldn't consistently perform that kind of precision. So she hadn't even considered it possible.
"If it hasn't trained long, then its potential must be extraordinary…" Nina thought to herself, quietly recalling Abomasnow.
Her planned strategy had failed, and she'd lost a powerful team member.
That made things quite difficult for her now.
"All right then—your turn, Ludicolo!"
Without hesitation, Nina sent out her next Pokémon.
Of course, this was exactly what Silas had expected.
Among her remaining Quasi-Elite-level Pokémon—Ludicolo, Shiftry, and Roserade only Ludicolo, with its Water/Grass typing, posed any meaningful threat to Blaziken.
He had actually expected Ludicolo to appear earlier, as her third Pokémon.
He didn't understand why she'd sent out Abomasnow instead.
Then again, calling it a "misplay" wasn't fair—he was just that strong.
When Silas went quiet for a moment, Natsuko seized the chance and shouted,
"Ludicolo, use Bubble Beam!"
The cheerful Ludicolo, looking like a mix between a pineapple and a duck (or maybe a platypus), laughed happily and fired a barrage of bubbles from its mouth.
Before long, the battlefield was filled with glittering spheres of water.
"She's using Bubble Beam like a terrain control move…" Silas noted in mild admiration. "Impressive."
He couldn't even remember how many times he'd said that in the last two months.
"Blaziken, Thunder Punch!" Silas commanded with excitement.
"Let's finish this—then it's on to the next round!"
"Blaziken!!"
Receiving Silas's surge of fighting spirit, Blaziken gave a fierce cry.
Golden sparks crackled across its fists.
"Let's go!"
Blaziken clenched both fists, lunged forward, and unleashed a punch wreathed in thunderous energy.
This was a move it had already mastered long ago.
Using the water from Bubble Beam, the electricity could be conducted to Ludicolo, dealing damage.
Although the damage would be greatly reduced due to the distance, this Water/Grass-type Ludicolo was not like a regular Grass-type Pokémon. Electric attacks could still affect it to a certain extent.
Since Ludicolo wasn't likely to actively enter the "bubble field," this was a good choice for Blaziken. If it had used a Fire-type move from a distance instead, the bubbles would have weakened it, and the final damage might have been less than the thrown Thunder Punch.
Lightning crackled wildly across the battlefield.
However, it was clear that the path of the attack deviated slightly from what Silas had envisioned.
Under the widespread Bubble Beam, even though Blaziken tried its best to direct the electricity, most of the Electric-type energy was inevitably dispersed in all directions through the bubbles.
Only a very small portion actually hit Ludicolo.
Judging by the relaxed and carefree expression on its face, it was obvious that it had taken almost no damage.
"Now it's our turn to counterattack. Ludicolo, use Rain Dance!"
With a type-advantaged Pokémon on the field, Nina gained confidence, and the tone of her command changed noticeably.
Blue orbs of light formed in Ludicolo's green, glove-like hands.
With a flick of its hands, the orbs exploded into the sky, quickly gathering a large cluster of dark clouds above the battlefield.
A gentle rain began to fall.
"This is troublesome," Silas muttered more than once, determined to spend time practicing weather-based moves after this tournament.
He grumbled internally. These Trainers didn't use weather moves against anyone else, but against him, they always did. Was it because he was inexperienced and young, and his Pokémon's move pool wasn't broad enough?
Unfortunately, weather moves could only be mastered over time.
Silas was frustrated. "Being young, so what? Did I eat your rice or something?"
Still, fortunately, rainy weather didn't consume much of Blaziken's stamina. Only the power of Fire-type moves was significantly reduced.
If it had been Sandstorm or Hail, he would have had to end the battle quickly.
At the same time, as the rain fell and the battlefield changed, Silas quickly found a counterattack opportunity.
"Blaziken, use Aerial Ace!"
...
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