Chapter 376: An Open-Hand Game
The moment he heard Arthur command the use of Misty Terrain, Leo immediately knew something was wrong!
It was clear that his opponent was no longer just focused on the current round.
Arthur's move was paving the way for the matches to come!
Just like weather, a terrain skill can also continue to affect the next round.
Misty Terrain doesn't boost damage, and it offers no direct benefit to the Fairy type. In the current round, Sylveon using this move wouldn't actually help it much.
But its subsequent impact was huge!
The Misty Terrain is constantly filled with a pink, Fairy-type energy, which indiscriminately weakens the power of all Dragon-type moves used within it. At the same time, this fairy energy also has a certain healing effect, indiscriminately curing all Pokémon on the field of status conditions, including burns, paralysis, and so on.
The first effect targets Leo's two aces: Hydreigon and Noivern!
The second effect protects Arthur's Pokémon like Greninja, Little Lapras, and Doublade.
Using Rest in a singles match is very risky because there are no teammates to provide cover. Falling asleep in front of an opponent can easily lead to disaster.
But Greninja had no other way to cure status conditions.
This is where Misty Terrain becomes crucial!
As mentioned before, a 6v6 match is all about lineup synergy. Leo wanted to use his Kingdra to set up Rain Dance for his Noivern. So, naturally, Arthur could have Little Eevee use Misty Terrain to cover Greninja's weakness.
Synergy. There's no reason only you can use it and I can't.
Realizing this, Leo was truly getting anxious.
But since Arthur had shown his hand, he was clearly planning to end this round!
"Use Quick Attack to get in close, then use Hyper Voice!"
Sylveon, with its frail body, resolutely launched a Quick Attack, clashing with Kingdra's Sharpen-boosted Iron Head. At the absolute limit, it managed to hold on without fainting!
Sylveon's body is much more fragile than Glaceon's. Against the same super-effective Iron Head, Sylveon took the hit much harder.
But at this moment, Arthur chose to believe in Little Eevee!
Because this was the biggest difference between him and Leo!
If Leo were in command of Little Eevee, he would likely have forced it to keep changing forms, regardless of the strain, until its body completely gave out. But Arthur wouldn't!
But at the same time, at the final moment, Arthur would be willing to gamble, to trust that the incredibly fragile Sylveon could withstand Kingdra's final blow and carry out his finishing command. But Leo wouldn't.
This was a kind of trust that Leo couldn't give.
He had always trusted his own command and his tactics more.
So he had never seen his Pokémon respond to his heart.
But Arthur could!
At this moment, he saw Little Eevee's determination and willpower!
It held on!
Then, with the advantage of Quick Attack's short cooldown, Sylveon let out another Hyper Voice within two seconds!
"AWOOO!!"
Combined with the continuous damage from Leech Seed and the low temperature of the snow, this one shout was the finisher!
The last Pokémon standing on the field was Sylveon!
The referee raised his flag—
"Kingdra is unable to battle!!"
In that instant, the home fans of Starlight and Frost stood up in droves, cheering!
They won!
They'd brought it back!
Both the score and the momentum had been brought back!
The score was now tied at 1-1. At the same time, Leo's plan to set up a rainy environment for his Noivern had failed. Instead, he would now have to face a Misty Terrain that was extremely disadvantageous to his two aces.
After this round, the situation had suddenly become unpredictable again.
"Arthur's performance is just incredible! This Eevee is truly hard to understand!! Let's congratulate Arthur on tying the score in this round!!"
Sage Hwang cheered, his arms raised in excitement.
Beside him, the newcomer commentator just looked at him silently.
He really wanted to remind the Sage that, before this round had started, he had actually been optimistic about Leo.
"If he can't be stopped, Arthur could even be swept by Hurricane later on!" Those were your exact words.
But after thinking about it, the newcomer decided not to say anything.
Firstly, to save some face for the veteran of the commentary world.
Secondly, on second thought, he realized he didn't have to be the one to do it.
Every professional league match has a replay. In due time, the enthusiastic netizens would surely find this clip and add it to Sage Hwang's Jinx Supercut.
Another famous moment +1.
He wondered if Sage Hwang would be able to handle it after the match.
Sigh, such a great senior. Why did he have to have a mouth?
The awkward banter between the commentators soon ended.
This time, Sage Hwang had learned his lesson.
He really didn't dare to make any more predictions…
Facing a player like Arthur, he felt that even a professional commentator could be a little more cautious.
That Eevee of Arthur's just now… he had been commentating for decades and had never seen anything like it!
What scene haven't I seen? (Crossed out!)
I've really never seen this scene! (For real!)
In the third round, as the winner of the previous round, Arthur sent out his Pokémon first.
He very decisively chose to send out Greninja.
Leo's three captain-level Pokémon were: his strongest, the "Hurricane" Noivern; the pseudo-legendary Hydreigon, which had already defeated Mismagius; and the Arcanine that was also named after the wind.
The Misty Terrain indiscriminately weakens the power of Dragon-type moves, which indirectly limited the effectiveness of the first two. And against the last one, Arcanine, Greninja had a type advantage!
Arcanine is a Fire type, which is weak to Water.
Greninja had more than a fighting chance!
As for any other counter-picks the opponent might send out, with no need to worry about status conditions, and with Greninja having steadily reached the main singles level after a long period of training this season, Arthur wasn't afraid at all!
Greninja dared to fight a captain-level Arcanine. What other Pokémon was there to fear?
In the end, after some thought, Leo still chose not to send out his Arcanine.
Not engaging in a direct ace-versus-ace duel unless absolutely necessary had always been Leo's personal style, and it was also a reflection of the Demon King Team's philosophy.
Trusting tactics over trusting Pokémon.
For this round, Leo sent out his final counter-pick: Chesnaught.
With this, unless there was a major surprise, Leo's six-Pokémon lineup had been set.
His three aces: Noivern, Hydreigon, and Arcanine.
The Shuckle that had already been on the field and was currently shutting down Old Flame.
The Kingdra that had just been defeated.
And the Chesnaught that was about to take the stage.
At this point, both sides were gradually entering an open-hand game
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