The rain summoned by Rain Dance was falling heavily.
But for this very reason, the piles of Bubble Beam gradually dispersed under the onslaught of the raindrops.
At this moment, Ludicolo was completely exposed in Blaziken's line of sight.
Blaziken instinctively tilted its head like Silas had trained it to, without making any exaggerated movements, and vanished from its spot in an instant.
If it weren't for the white trail left by Aerial Ace, most people in the stadium would not have been able to track its movement.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The sound of powerful legs striking the water surrounded Ludicolo.
Ludicolo instinctively twisted its body and swayed.
"Ludicolo," Nina quickly reminded her Pokémon not to get distracted.
There was nothing she could do. Pokémon like Ludicolo were like this—it danced constantly, indifferent to the world. If Ludicolo heard loud, cheerful music, it would immediately move over and dance along.
Blaziken's rhythmical running clearly caused Ludicolo to get lost in its own joy.
Fortunately, Ludicolo's strength and self-control were sufficient. At the call of its trainer, it barely restrained its natural instincts.
"Bang!"
The next second, Ludicolo flew backward and slammed hard into the ground.
Blaziken, now visible, shook its damp feathers in annoyance and lifted a leg.
The weather was already making it uncomfortable. And at this moment, the opponent dared to slack off—Blaziken felt disrespected.
Blaziken was very angry.
Ludicolo pushed itself up with its strong arms, and the panting in its mouth was slightly noticeable.
Even though Aerial Ace, a Flying-type move, dealt considerable damage to the Water/Grass-type Ludicolo, it was recovering.
Gradually, its breathing rhythm normalized.
Its ability, Rain Dish, allowed it to regain health in rainy weather—Silas had confirmed this from the info earlier.
Whether this ability was good or bad didn't matter much. For Ludicolo, either standard abilities or Rain Dish were both excellent choices.
As long as it didn't have a hidden ability, it was manageable; otherwise, training it would be extremely difficult.
Silas assumed Ludicolo didn't have a hidden ability—otherwise, it wouldn't have stopped dancing so easily just now.
"Ludicolo, use Water Gun!" Nina launched another aggressive attack. With type advantage, weather advantage, and recovery advantage, it would be foolish not to act.
The main reason was that she desperately needed a decisive victory to restore her morale and momentum; otherwise, getting a "sweep" from a single Pokémon in the second half would be humiliating.
"Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!"
Streams of water shot from Ludicolo's mouth, cutting sharply through the air—showing the strength of Water Gun.
As a staple Water-type move, Water Gun had considerable strategic importance.
Its release and attack speed were very fast. Although weaker than Water-type signature moves, it was still effective.
Right now, Ludicolo's Water Gun had both type and weather advantages. All factors were aligned.
Even if each shot was less than half the power of a standard Hydro Pump, its rapid-fire pattern—like a machine gun—delivered at least three, four, five, or six shots.
If all landed on the opponent, it was more effective than waiting to charge a Hydro Pump.
Moreover, Hydro Pump's power was about area impact, while Water Gun's strength lay in penetration. Pokémon with weak defenses could easily be battered by Water Gun. The name of the move was not arbitrary.
"Go!"
Blaziken faced the rapidly approaching Water Gun without fear, taking a stance in place.
Silas shrugged. He had just wanted to tell it to dodge, but if Blaziken wanted to act this way, he would let it be.
Sensing Silas's gesture, Blaziken knew its trainer agreed with its decision. Flames blazed brighter on its arms, and the falling rain couldn't slow it down.
White light appeared on its fists.
"Ssshh—"
The scraping sound was unpleasant, and the excited atmosphere of the stadium didn't prevent it from spreading.
Everyone instinctively frowned. Time in the main arena seemed to freeze for a moment, falling silent.
"Ssshh—Ssshh—"
It wasn't over.
As Blaziken tore through each Water Gun, the sound grew louder.
Ludicolo couldn't help but sway again, dancing to the "music" of its own Water Gun streams.
Its musical aesthetic was uniquely peculiar.
The audience breathed a sigh of relief. If Ludicolo hadn't been dancing and instead continuously fired Water Gun, who knew how long the torment would have lasted.
Nina reluctantly called Ludicolo to stop.
She looked at Silas with a serious expression. Indeed, he was recognized by the entire league as a genius.
Even previous opponents, if they had tried to exploit Ludicolo's traits, had never done so as skillfully as Silas' Blaziken.
First controlling the foot rhythm, then turning defense into offense—Nina suddenly realized that her lopsided loss made sense.
As for Silas, his only thought was: "Catching blades barehanded? My Blaziken can catch bullets barehanded—who says Water Gun isn't a gun?"
He didn't slow down his commands:
"Blaziken, Revenge!"
Ludicolo stopping its Water Gun streams was minor. The bigger issue was that Blaziken not only destroyed all the Water Gun attacks in that time but also drastically closed the distance.
Silas had been worried that even with Blaziken's speed, Ludicolo would have reaction time—distance still existed.
But now, with barely ten steps between them, Silas thought even Arceus couldn't help.
Blaziken took a stride, and in an instant, it was right in front of Ludicolo.
The nearly 2.3-meter-tall Blaziken looked down mercilessly at the 1.56-meter-tall Ludicolo and raised its leg for a powerful strike.
"Bang!"
Ludicolo flew backward again through the air.
"Oh~ this rhythm isn't bad either?"
That was the only thought in its mind now; it had even forgotten to scream in pain.
"Ludicolo!" Nina's voice rang out, filled with tension. Could it be… that the battle was over so quickly?
She thought carefully for a moment—no, that shouldn't be possible. Although Revenge doubled in power after Blaziken had been hit by Water Gun, and Blaziken also had type advantage boosting its Fighting moves, Ludicolo's resistance to Fighting-type attacks was normal. Recovering almost to full HP in the rain shouldn't make it lose battle capability from just one hit.
Nina was startled by how fast her thoughts were racing.
It wasn't about how troublesome or difficult it was—it was that, under normal circumstances, her reactions wouldn't be this fast. At least a few seconds would normally pass.
Facing a strong opponent required such rapid thinking. Hearing Ludicolo's weak cries, Nina relaxed slightly and thought to herself.
"Low Kick."
But her moment of relief was short-lived. Silas's next attack command came immediately.
After sending Ludicolo flying with one kick, Blaziken, trailing closely behind its opponent, raised its powerful leg again.
"Bang."
Another loud impact rang out.
Ludicolo closed its eyes, feeling a strange sense of "happiness."
Its trainer, however, was stunned.
"Ludicolo is unable to battle! Blaziken wins!!"
...
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu