Chapter 459: A One-Eighty Degree Reversal
The moment Brick Break was shattered, Forrest's perpetually half-closed eyes finally opened a little wider. He had not anticipated this outcome in the slightest.
Of course, neither had the commentators or the live audience.
"Simply unbelievable!"
"Holy crap?! Is that really Water Shuriken?!"
"I told you it was Psycho Cut! Referee, aren't you going to make a call? This is a biased call!"
The next second, the instigator in the crowd who had shouted about the biased call was met with a unified glare from the surrounding fans and instantly wilted. Did he really think Arthur didn't have supporters?
Besides, the referee panel was far more professional than some random heckler in the crowd. Although the head referee himself also had a look of utter shock, he maintained his professionalism and upheld the legality of the move. No matter how absurd it seemed, it was, indeed, Water Shuriken.
On the field, Lucario hastily retreated after taking the hit, its expression a mix of shock and uncertainty. But it was a captain-level ace, not so easily rattled. After a quick mental exchange with his Pokémon, Forrest issued a new command: "Use footwork to maintain distance, and attack with caution!"
The sharpness of the water blades in Greninja's hands was now something that even Lucario had to treat with extreme care.
But as Forrest grew cautious, Arthur became bold.
"Dual-wield, press the attack! Prepare to use Cut!"
The Normal-type move: Cut! Although Normal-type moves weren't particularly effective against the Steel-type Lucario, the best strategy right now was to maximize the utility of the weapons at hand. Energy constructs could be used to assist in executing Pokémon moves. It was similar to how Serena had once used the leaves from a Leaf Storm to unleash Leaf Blade, creating a magnificent ultimate move that resembled a storm of a thousand swords.
Thus, Greninja could also use the water blades from Water Shuriken to unleash Cut. And this time, its weapons were no longer palm-sized kunai. White, Normal-type energy surged into the water blades. The next moment, as Greninja charged forward, it slashed out with both swords in a cross-shaped pattern!
"Lucario, Metal Claw!"
This time, Forrest's command was no longer for offense, but for defense. Lucario opened its hands, and silvery-white Steel-type energy flowed into its palms, making them as hard as steel. Its bare hands could no longer block Greninja's water blades; it was forced to use Metal Claw to defend. The Steel-type Metal Claw also had an advantage when resisting a Normal-type slashing attack.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out incessantly. After a flurry of slashes, Greninja was pressing forward step by step, while Lucario was constantly being forced back.
"The initiative on the field has completely shifted! Greninja is now overwhelming Lucario with a relentless assault! This is a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal from before!" the commentator roared with passion.
The cheers and shouts from Arthur's fans grew louder with every step Greninja took forward. The stadium was in a state of pandemonium.
Back in the Blaze Team's lounge, everyone was in a state of shock.
"I can't believe it. Just by changing its form a little, that Greninja is now completely dominating Lucario. How is that even possible?!"
A teammate tried to reassure himself, "It's fine, Metal Claw is a low-cooldown move."
Unfortunately, Chloe immediately threw cold water on his hopes. "So is Cut."
"..."
After the Cut combo ended, Greninja continued its attack. Even without the boost from a slashing move, the sheer sharpness and hardness of the water blades themselves were still difficult for Lucario to handle.
Forrest was exasperated. Your Water Shuriken is just ridiculous!
"Lucario, use Quick Guard!"
Forced into a corner, he had to commit a second move to deal with Greninja's sustained offense. In the previous two minutes of fighting, Forrest had only used two moves: Brick Break and Counter. Now, less than ten seconds after Greninja's transformation, he had already been forced to use two more. It was a testament to the immense pressure Greninja's new form was exerting.
Quick Guard instantly granted Lucario an extreme level of focus, as if time had slowed down to a crawl. The move multiplied a Pokémon's reaction speed and dynamic vision, granting it an almost precognitive insight that allowed it to see through and parry any attack. Even the fastest priority moves would struggle to land on a Pokémon using Quick Guard.
The only downside was that it was a purely defensive skill. The boosts vanished after a single successful parry and couldn't be used for offense. Otherwise, it would be a contender for the title of the best Fighting-type move.
With time slowed down, Greninja's movements appeared ten times slower in Lucario's eyes. An instinctual premonition guided it to raise its hands.
CLAP!
It clasped its hands together above its head, catching the blue blade between its palms.
After the parry, Lucario immediately snapped out of the surreal, slowed-down state. Forrest quickly followed up with another command.
"Pull it to the right, pin its blade to the ground and step on it!"
With the two Pokémon facing each other, Lucario's right was Greninja's left. By pulling Greninja's right-hand blade to its own left, it could also block the attack path of its other hand. Lucario then forced the water blade down, and once the tip was embedded in the ground, it stomped on the flat of the blade.
This was Forrest's true objective in using a defensive move to counter Greninja's assault—he had to find a way to get rid of its weapons. Otherwise, that absurdly powerful Water Shuriken was simply too much to handle. Once Greninja was disarmed, the power of its Cut would be negligible.
With its blade pinned, Greninja instinctively tried to pull it free, but it wouldn't budge. In terms of raw strength, the captain-level Lucario still had an edge, not to mention it was in a better position to exert force.
In the Blaze Team's lounge, the players erupted in a cheer: "Yes!" The Blaze Team's fans in the stadium grew excited once more.
However—Arthur's calm voice immediately shattered their hopes.
"Punch. Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"
"?!"
Forrest was stunned. Crap! I forgot about that!
The blade is pinned and can't be pulled out? Then just let it go!
As Greninja released its grip and retracted its arm, the blade on the ground immediately dissolved back into a stream of water, which then flowed like a ribbon back up Greninja's arm, coiling around it.
Lucario's foot suddenly found nothing but air, and it knew something was wrong. But it was too late.
Damn it! You're cheating!
That was the last thought that flashed through Lucario's mind before a fist slammed into it, sending it flying backward in a miserable spray of water.
With the enhancement from Water Shuriken, the energy condensed within the water blades was far greater. Consequently, the power of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, which utilized those blades, was now stronger than ever before.
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