Chapter 255: Eating Their Words
In practice, a Trick Room team's advantages are prominent, but so are its drawbacks.
They are highly effective against agile, high-speed lineups, like Arthur's Greninja or Elijah's Gallade.
But at the same time, they are also very limited.
When both sides are forced into a stationary turret battle, the Trick Room team itself loses much of its tactical flexibility.
The Wildgrass Team had assumed they could counter Arthur, since having a small pool of Pokémon is a common weakness for rookies.
The two Pokémon Arthur had revealed so far—Greninja, a classic high-speed melee fighter, and Mismagius, who leaned more towards support and debuffs—both seemed ill-suited to breaking their Trick Room strategy.
They never expected Arthur to pull out a Lapras at the last minute.
And what they really never expected was that this Lapras was actually quite strong!
Just as the commentator was saying—
"Just when we all thought that Sea Carp's Arthur was making a rash decision by fielding a brand-new Pokémon, he gives us another surprise!
This Lapras is not losing any ground in this long-range exchange!
Its move range also seems to have been specially trained. Right now, Arthur's Lapras is patrolling the very edge of the field, seemingly forced into a corner, yet its beams can still cross the entire arena to accurately strike Hatterene!
The Wildgrass Team's Trick Room strategy doesn't seem to be working as they intended!"
When the battle first started, everyone had been holding their breath.
Even though they knew Greninja would have a tough time against this specific combo, seeing Arthur rashly bring out a completely new Pokémon still made their hearts skip a beat.
He's a rookie!
Does this kid even remember that he's a rookie?!
Bringing out three main Pokémon in his very first year as a pro… did this kid start training Pokémon in the womb?
But wasn't he the "Child of Suicune," raised on Mt. Silver?
At this moment, even many of Arthur's long-time fans were confused.
Idol, you're playing a risky game this time. We can't even find an angle to defend you... what do we do?
Only the coaching staff and analyst team within the club knew some of the inside story, but right now, they were all feeling a bit down and didn't want to speak.
It wasn't just because Arthur had switched his Pokémon without notifying them; it was also because they remembered that they had, on more than one occasion, advised Arthur to give up on this Lapras.
Their reasons were always the same: Lapras's Water typing was redundant with Greninja's; its tactical value was low; or, as a long-lived Pokémon with no evolutionary line, its growth was too slow.
At the time, they all felt their reasoning was sound, every word spoken from the heart!
Yet Arthur never listened to them, insisting on continuing to train his Lapras.
And now, today, in Little Lapras's debut, she was performing surprisingly well!
Her fundamentals were solid; her gliding movements were smooth, and she remained calm under pressure.
Her move execution speed, accuracy, and range were all above standard, a clear sign of dedicated practice.
Even her raw stats, including move power and energy reserves, were firmly at the professional benchmark, despite not being fully grown. She was living up to the level of the tournament she was in!
Compared to the club's constant half-baked ideas about acquiring and force-maturing new Pokémon for Arthur, his own methodical, step-by-step training of Little Lapras now seemed so incredibly wise.
This was a major slap in the face.
It made the coaching staff and analyst team feel like a bunch of "geniuses" in the most sarcastic sense…
Thus, the better Lapras performed on the field, the uglier their expressions became. They all sat there with grim faces, silent.
This scene brought a smile to Luna's face as she watched from the players' bench.
Ever since Arthur, with the help of her Beedrill, had shown her the power that lay in the bond and belief between a trainer and their Pokémon, she had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the coaching team that had pressured her to frantically catch more Pokémon.
Seeing the entire club's backroom staff staring at the broadcast screen in stunned silence, Luna felt an unexpected surge of satisfaction.
See? Eventually, someone will stand up and prove to you all that your theories were never the absolute truth!
Today, Arthur was playing that role.
From the very beginning, this young man seemed to have thrown all the typical rookie cautiousness and timidity into the trash!
Sometimes, Luna found it incredible just thinking about it.
He was just a rookie who had entered the professional scene a few months ago, but she had never seen Arthur back down—not when defying the club, and not when stubbornly placing his trust in a new Pokémon that had never seen battle.
He always seemed to have such unwavering confidence in his Pokémon.
And time and time again, the facts proved—
He was right!
His decision to use Lapras in this match was, as it turned out, not rash or reckless at all.
"Oh, my heavens! Lapras's Ice Beam has landed another hit, and Hatterene is starting to look worse for wear! Who could have predicted this outcome at the start of the match!
The duration of Trick Room should be ending soon. What will the Wildgrass Team do next?"
The commentator was now completely hyped.
He never thought that a match he expected to be so mundane would have so many exciting moments.
This rookie, Arthur, always seemed to cook up something wild for the commentators to talk about.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Asher quickly finished their hushed strategy session.
"Get ready to charge!"
Using a move like Trick Room again while it's still active has no effect; it can't refresh the duration. To extend it, they had to wait for the current field to disappear before casting a new one.
This meant there would inevitably be a brief window of opportunity.
This was their chance!
After all, Hatterene had healing moves; they couldn't just keep up a stationary firefight forever.
Simply surviving the first Trick Room without letting the opponent gain a significant advantage was already a tactical victory in itself!
Then, the instant before the Trick Room shattered, they both gave the command.
"Nidoking, get on Lapras's back!"
"Little Lapras, use Surf!"
Nidoking leaped onto Lapras's back. Immediately, Little Lapras threw her head back with a cry, instantly summoning a massive wave!
As the saying goes, a sea Pokémon needs no oar; they live by the waves!
Creating a wave on land, the torrent lifted Little Lapras, carrying her forward on its crest. In an instant, she crossed more than half the field!
Only then, a beat too late, did the opponent's commands come through.
"Hatterene, Trick Room!"
"Torkoal, Fire Blast!"
Torkoal decisively unleashed its ultimate move at this moment, trying to provide cover for its teammate to re-establish the field.
However, Arthur's side was just as decisive.
"Don't be afraid, push through!"
"Nidoking, leap down and use Poison Jab!"
Little Lapras continued to ride the wave, charging straight into the ultimate move!
Nidoking was even braver; the bonus special defense from Amnesia hadn't worn off yet.
Ignoring the massive, fiery character of "大" bearing down on him, he leaped from Little Lapras's back like a moth to a flame, determined to find himself in the inferno!
The next moment, the field was re-established!
The gel-like sense of sluggishness once again enveloped all the Pokémon on the field.
But it was one step too late.
Nidoking's leap was already in motion.
Guided by the laws of gravity, even with the obstruction of the Trick Room, Nidoking continued its unyielding descent, falling steadily towards Hatterene!
A savage grin spread across its face.
The horn on its head was already glowing with a deep purple, poisonous energy!
There's no escaping this hit!
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