Chapter 377: Dirty Tricks
Chesnaught, a Grass/Fighting type, evolves from Chespin. In a parallel world's games, this is the Grass-type starter of the sixth-generation Kalos region, a contemporary of Greninja and Delphox.
Unfortunately, it could almost compete with the second-generation starters for the title of "most forgettable."
Chesnaught's appearance is somewhat like a burly man carrying a pot lid on his back, which has also earned it the nickname "Pot-Lid Hero." From its appearance, it's not hard to see that this is a Pokémon that excels at defense, especially physical defense.
At the same time, its pot lid… ahem, its back shell, also has four large spikes and many small barbs, as if it's cloaked in thorns, a built-in counter-armor.
This was precisely the main reason why Leo had chosen it to counter Arthur's Greninja in this round.
Even in a main-singles-level confrontation, Greninja, having been meticulously trained by Arthur for a long time, still represents a certain authority in the realm of close combat. This is undeniable!
The first problem Leo needed to solve was how to withstand Greninja's stormy barrage of combos after it got in close.
And the answer he presented in this round was already obvious: stack armor, build tank, get counter-armor!
Originally, Chesnaught also had some poisoning ability, which, combined with its armor-stacking, stalling tactics, could execute the classic "Substitute-Protect-Toxic" strategy. A true master of dirty tricks.
Unfortunately, the Misty Terrain that Arthur had Little Eevee set up beforehand had completely shattered all of this.
Under Misty Terrain, Pokémon cannot be poisoned.
This made a pure stall strategy much less meaningful.
So, up to this point, Little Eevee was, without a doubt, the undisputed MVP of the match!
At the start of the round, Arthur naturally took the offensive: "Go on the attack, Greninja!"
The duration of Misty Terrain is limited, especially with the halftime break between the two rounds.
Arthur couldn't let his opponent drag this round out for too long!
And Leo, naturally, had the exact opposite idea.
"Plant Worry Seeds around you, then hunker down and defend!"
Chesnaught revealed its nature right from the start. After using its move, it squatted down on the spot and neatly pulled its "pot lid" over itself…
The Grass-type move: Worry Seed!
This was a move specifically designed to counter Greninja's Protean ability.
Its effect is to, for a period of time after latching onto the target Pokémon, forcibly change its ability to Insomnia.
The Insomnia ability, as the name suggests, makes it impossible to sleep.
This move could have also been used to counter Greninja's Rest, allowing Chesnaught to carry out its dirty "Substitute-Protect-Toxic" strategy to the end.
In his mind, after poisoning the opponent, all Chesnaught would have to do is change Greninja's ability to Insomnia, disabling its only means of curing poison. Then, it just had to pull up its pot lid, pull up its blanket, and whatever you throw at me, I'll just say "yep, yep," and give up.
Although it's dirty, when you think about it, it's actually quite feasible.
Unfortunately, the one move, Misty Terrain, from Little Eevee at the end of the last round had rendered half of these dirty tricks useless!
Although there were still continuous damage moves like Leech Seed as a backup, their effect was far inferior to Toxic.
Leo was also fuming in his heart!
One Eevee that could transform at will had completely disrupted his entire tactical chain.
How can such a disgusting Pokémon like Eevee exist in this world?!
As he was thinking, Greninja had already passed through the area where the Worry Seeds had been scattered.
Even knowing its ability would be changed, at this moment, Greninja did not flinch!
Just as Arthur trusted his Pokémon, they also trusted their master, believing that Arthur would have a way to break through these tricks.
"Use Extrasensory! Push it into the corner!"
Then, after seeing the two Pokémon get close, Arthur quickly gave a command.
In the Demon King Team's backstage lounge, another analyst crumpled several pages of data in his hand and slammed them into the nearby trash can in frustration.
Arthur's Greninja had a new move again!
He had improved again!
Now, the data he had stayed up all night preparing was all useless!
Damn it!
The Psychic-type move: Extrasensory. Use invisible psychic power to attack the opponent, which can cause crushing, impact, tearing, internal explosions, and other effects.
Here, Greninja was only using one effect: impact!
With the help of the unscientific psychic power, all Greninja had to do was gently place its hand on Chesnaught's "pot lid," and without taking any damage from the barbs, it could easily blast it a dozen meters away with a single palm.
This effect was much more explosive than those fake chi masters!
Following Arthur's instructions, Greninja continuously herded the opponent towards the corner of the field.
The commentator made a guess: "Is Arthur's move an attempt to push the Chesnaught out of the arena? But that seems a bit difficult."
The competition field is surrounded by an energy barrier to prevent stray moves from hitting the audience.
If it were a throwing move like Submission, it might be possible to throw the opponent directly over the barrier.
But just with the impact of Extrasensory, it seemed a bit difficult, didn't it?
However, Greninja faithfully carried out Arthur's command.
At the same time, Leo, as expected, began his three-part stall-for-your-life strategy.
"Use Leech Seed!"
As expected, he chose the continuous damage-type move, Leech Seed!
As a lower-tier replacement for the now-useless Toxic, if Leech Seed were to rely on its own damage to drain Greninja dry, it would probably take at least forty or fifty minutes.
The spectators in the stands were now subconsciously putting down their drinks and crossing their legs.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
At the same time, Sage Hwang also spoke up: "It seems Captain Leo is trying to play a long game again. I predict the duration of this battle will not be short."
The newcomer commentator couldn't stop him in time.
And at this moment, Arthur seemed unfazed by any of this, still constantly giving the command: "Use Extrasensory! Continue to push the opponent into the corner."
After three Extrasensory pushes, Greninja had successfully herded Chesnaught into a corner of the field.
And in the process, Chesnaught had also completed a triple combo of Worry Seed, Leech Seed, and Giga Drain.
Giga Drain is a Grass-type move, and it has inherited the noble tradition of the Grass type of being incredibly tanky. It deals damage while also healing the user.
After that one hit, combined with the energy continuously fed back from Leech Seed, Chesnaught had almost healed all the damage from Greninja's initial three Extrasensory pushes.
When it comes to stalling, the Grass type is the best!
But at this moment, Arthur had also finally completed the repositioning of Chesnaught!
Now, the tables had turned. It was his turn to make a move!
Dirty tricks?
Hah!
He then coldly commanded: "Block its escape route! Use Power-Up Punch!"
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