Chapter 367: Tactical Dividends
The clash between the two Pokémon was so swift and fierce that the commentators' words could barely keep up with the pace of the battle on the field.
"Weavile just used a multitude of Double Team clones for interference, and now it's seized the opportunity to land a Triple Axel! Krookodile countered with a claw! Its Close Combat state is about to end! Both Pokémon's conditions are rapidly declining! Krookodile is retreating! It's retreating!! Is Lucas's Krookodile the first to break?!"
Just a few dozen seconds into the match, both Pokémon had already inflicted a massive amount of damage on each other!
The reason this brutal brawl could last so long was primarily because Close Combat, similar to Outrage, is a semi-state-changing move that can be sustained for a period of time, rather than a one-and-done burst.
At the cost of its own defenses, this move grants a huge boost to physical strength, and for a time, every melee attack is imbued with Fighting-type energy!
That's why Krookodile could fight for so long!
Unfortunately, no matter how powerful an attack is, it has to hit to be effective.
The gap in their combat skills meant that more than half of Krookodile's attacks during this period had been dodged by Weavile.
In the midst of this, the interference from Double Team had caused Krookodile to waste a lot of its damage on the clones.
In the end, the Krookodile, with its doubly super-effective ultimate move, was the first to be on the verge of collapsing.
The side effect of Close Combat had lowered its defenses, which meant that Weavile's claw strikes and Triple Axel had also dealt a ton of damage!
You have to remember, as a humanoid Pokémon, Weavile had been training daily with Greninja and Inteleon under Arthur's guidance. In recent times, of all of Leo's Pokémon, its progress had been the most significant!
Compared to the pressure Arthur gave in their daily training, Weavile found the Krookodile in front of it to be a bit lacking.
In between its counterattacks, it was even tempted to tell Krookodile: If you fought like this on our team, you'd get beaten up five times a day!
This violent exchange of blows quickly brought both Pokémon to a critical state!
Krookodile's defense was lowered due to the side effect of its ultimate, and Weavile itself was naturally frail. Both Pokémon were glass cannons, so the battle was naturally decided quickly.
This was why they both tended to rely on first-impression kills!
But after the dust settled, Lucas found that the outcome was not quite what he had imagined.
He had the type advantage, but it seemed his Krookodile was even more injured.
A few seconds later, the energy aura on Krookodile dissipated, signaling the end of its Close Combat state. The situation was becoming more and more dire!
"Weavile, use Low Kick to hold the opponent!"
At this point, Lucas could no longer hold on. He was the first to use his mid-battle switch.
Being hit in the leg by Low Kick would inflict a physical speed reduction—a lame leg naturally can't run fast.
At that point, the Krookodile, now in its cooldown period, would be even less of a match for Weavile!
But the moment he used his switch, Lucas became even more anxious.
What Pokémon should he send out?
His ace, Dragonite? Wouldn't that be just asking to be targeted?
Another Pokémon?
But at this point, what Pokémon could even help him?
He was suddenly at a loss.
After much deliberation, he finally sent out a Fire-type Magmortar.
Magmortar knows some Fighting-type moves, like Brick Break and Mach Punch. Although his Magmortar hadn't learned a Fighting-type ultimate, its Fire typing at least gave it a natural resistance to Ice attacks.
Among the moves Weavile had shown so far, its main offensive tool was the Ice-type Triple Axel.
However, no matter how well-laid his plans were, they were useless if Leo didn't play along.
In a counter-move, Leo also used his mid-battle switch, recalling Weavile and sending out his number two main, Azumarill.
Now, the matchup had suddenly become Water versus Fire.
A classic type counter!
Lucas was numb again.
After a struggle of nearly five minutes, his Magmortar finally fell to Azumarill's Aqua Tail!
Then, the second round began—
Leo directly led with his strongest Pokémon, Cloyster!
This made Lucas's entire expression contort in pain.
Send out his ace? A Dragonite of the same level is like a little brother in front of a Cloyster. But if he doesn't, what other Pokémon does he have that can crack a tough nut like a captain-level Cloyster, with its sturdy defense and its self-healing Aqua Ring?
A Pokémon with insufficient offensive power would probably not even be able to break its shell.
In the end, he could only try to stall, sending out his already-damaged Krookodile to wear it down a bit.
But the result was futile.
Cloyster, with its Aqua Ring constantly healing it, finished off the Krookodile without even getting a single long crack on its shell…
For the final match, Lucas, in utter desperation, still chose to send out his ace Pokémon, Dragonite.
But even in this desperate situation, he saw no hope of a miraculous power-up.
Because his relationship with his Dragonite was, in fact, very cold.
Back when Arthur had first joined the Sea Carp team and was watching that year's Champions Cup with Luna and Bella, he had seen Lucas's Dragonite. That was the first time Arthur had truly witnessed the deep-seated malady of the Kubfu professional circuit in a match.
And the person who had laid bare the circuit's problems for him was Lucas himself.
In that highly anticipated Champions Cup match, Lucas couldn't even command his own Dragonite to pluck its own reverse scale.
Now, more than a year later, the situation had improved, but the bond between him and his Dragonite was still limited.
At the end of the day, this was the bitter fruit of a trainer who delegated their Pokémon's training for too long and failed to form a close bond with them!
Only when they truly need to beg their Pokémon to create a miracle for them do they discover that their own voice is so pale and powerless.
Just like now, with Lucas's futile, hopeless commands.
The third round ended even faster than the second!
In less than three minutes, the referee had raised his flag—
"Dragonite is unable to battle!"
And with that, Sage Hwang's "dragon riding your face" prediction was happily put in quotation marks, filling the post-match live stream chat in waves.
A 3-0 in the first match!
Starlight and Frost had taken a clean and decisive opening victory, even earning an extra point for the shutout. The current overall score was 3-0!
Returning to the lounge, Leo accepted his teammates' congratulations with a wide smile.
"Beautifully played!"
"A stylish win, Captain!"
"Solid!!"
As everyone's spirits were beginning to soar, the headmistress-like head coach promptly clapped her hands, bringing everyone's focus back.
"Settle down. This is only the first match! We've already cashed in on the dividends of our tactical execution. Ladies and gentlemen, our real tough battles are only just beginning!"
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