Chapter 372: Weather Combo
While the newcomer commentator and most of the audience hadn't yet reacted, Sage Hwang had once again pointed out the core of Leo's strategy.
So, Sage Hwang's professional ability was still on point. If he could just make fewer predictions, he might have been a gold-medal commentator long ago.
It was just that at this moment, the live fans probably didn't want to hear his professional analysis.
Arthur using his mid-battle switch first put him in a very passive position.
Because his opponent had more Pokémon, and his roster was much deeper, if Arthur switched first, and the opponent switched in response, he would most likely be facing a type-disadvantage matchup.
And he had a combo-tactic like Baton Pass. If he had saved his switch, he could have very possibly created an offensive opportunity later on!
But now, he was forced to use this right for defense.
Old Flame's condition had to be preserved. He was his ace, after all.
That meant another Pokémon had to be sacrificed…
Helpless, he had no choice but to send out Mismagius.
Then, he immediately tried to force a retreat.
"Use Perish Song!"
The opposing Leo was also sharp. The moment he heard this command, he immediately took out his Poké Ball, without a moment's hesitation.
He didn't even waste his breath giving a command.
The Ghost-type move: Perish Song. Use a song to deliver a curse of doom!
The curse in the song will erupt after a certain period of time, directly bypassing defenses to critically injure the Pokémon that heard it!
In reality, there's no such thing as an absolute one-hit-kill move, but as long as the singer's strength is not lower than the listener's, once the curse in the song erupts, it's basically a guaranteed kill!
At the very least, it would be enough for the referee to raise his flag. If the power difference was greater, a one-hit KO was entirely possible!
Shuckle, with its lack of offensive ability, had no way to interrupt Mismagius's song. And its raw power wasn't strong enough to surpass Mismagius and tank the kill shot.
So Leo was also very sensible.
The moment he heard the command, he recalled it.
And in a counter-move, he threw out his true ace Pokémon—
The pseudo-legendary: Hydreigon!
A Dark/Dragon-type pseudo-legendary!
One of Leo's three captain-level Pokémon!
This was his true main. The Shuckle just now was just a counter-pick he had specifically prepared for certain enemies.
The moment Arthur's ace was switched out, Leo immediately brought out his own, and a Dark-type one at that, which countered Mismagius!
This person had taken his tactical style to the absolute extreme—he would not choose to engage in an ace-versus-ace duel with Arthur. Leo never pursued such an ethereal concept as "trust."
He would rather rely on precise tactics, use a counter-pick to shut down his opponent's ace, and then use his own ace to slaughter the opponent's remaining Pokémon!
Even against a newcomer like Arthur, he would not choose a head-on clash of aces.
This was his personal style.
This devotion to tactics was almost etched into his bones.
This was also why Arthur had been so reluctant to recall Old Flame earlier, always trying to break through the Shuckle, which was why he had been stalled for so long.
He didn't want to just follow Leo's tempo!
But unfortunately, in the end, he couldn't escape being dragged in.
Mismagius had clearly become the Pokémon to be sacrificed in this rhythm.
Even though she now had some offensive capabilities, trying to defeat a captain-level peak Dark-type pseudo-legendary with a type disadvantage was just too difficult…
There was no chance to finish singing Perish Song in front of a Hydreigon. Not to mention, with its strength, it might not even die after hearing the whole song!
In the end, Arthur ruthlessly chose a faster-acting curse.
"Mismagius, use Curse!"
An energy-forged steel nail appeared, embedding itself, section by section, into Mismagius's head.
When a Ghost-type Pokémon uses Curse, the effect is to first harm itself, then curse the enemy.
This curse is cast instantly through self-harm, without the long build-up of Perish Song.
The only problem was that, as the price for casting the curse, Mismagius was defeated by Hydreigon even faster…
In the end, this round was over much, much faster than the inconclusive battle between Old Flame and Shuckle.
Mismagius used every trick in her book but only managed to last for a little over five minutes.
In the end, the referee raised his flag. Hydreigon was victorious!
Leo had taken the lead, securing the opening victory.
In the second round, Leo sent out his Pokémon first. He very decisively sent out Kingdra.
Kingdra was not one of his three main aces, but it was the best support for his ace.
As mentioned before, a 6v6 match puts more emphasis on the synergy between the lineup.
And a very classic combo in Leo's lineup was to have Kingdra come out first and use Rain Dance, changing the field's weather to set up the conditions for his true ace, Noivern, to use Hurricane.
Leo's strongest Pokémon was not the pseudo-legendary Hydreigon, but his Noivern.
His Noivern was particularly skilled with the Flying-type ultimate move, Hurricane. This was the origin of his title, the "Ageless Wind King."
Under rainy weather, Hurricane, just like Thunder, gains a boost to its casting speed, becoming a near-instant, un-dodgeable move! Its power is terrifying!
So Leo's intention in sending out Kingdra was very clear—
If you don't send out your ace, I'll play with you a bit. If you do send out your ace, then my job is done once I set the weather. The rest is up to Noivern.
And even the commentators had now read Leo's mind.
"For this match, Captain Leo has sent out Kingdra. This is likely aimed at the fact that Contestant Arthur has, up to this point, never shown that he has the ability to fight for the weather! From last year until now, none of the Pokémon Arthur has shown have used weather-type moves. If he doesn't have a weather-setter, even if Arthur's Gengar or Mega Charizard deals with the Kingdra this round, he will have a very difficult time against a Noivern under rainy weather! The Ageless Wind King! His Noivern has left us with too many famous moments! If he can't be stopped, Arthur could even be swept by Hurricane later on!"
The fans' hearts were all in their throats now!
He had already lost one match, and his ace, Charizard, had been shut down by a Shuckle.
What could he do?
Just then, Arthur smiled faintly and presented his answer.
He sent out Little Eevee!
This choice stunned everyone.
Sage Hwang, in a rare moment of hesitation in his commentary, said:
"Is… is that an Eevee?! Is Arthur planning to give up this round?"
The fans were also stunned.
"Why an Eevee?"
"What can an Eevee do?"
"And where's his Leafeon? At the very least, he should have brought out the Leafeon from before, right?!"
Just as the stadium was abuzz with discussion, the referee announced the start of the second round!
And then, Arthur gave a command that made everyone's jaw drop.
"Evolve, then use Hail!"
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