Chapter 460: Ace? I'll Cut You Down All the Same
The spray of water exploded outwards. This time, Greninja's Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist was clearly packing more of a punch—and a lot more water. With its signature move, Water Shuriken, massively enhanced, the custom move developed from it had also become significantly more powerful. More water was now being injected into the opponent's body post-impact, meaning the internal damage was far greater.
When Lucario got back to its feet, the pale-yellow fur on its chest and abdomen was half gone, its torso covered in a series of cuts from the water's force. Even the white spike on its chest was chipped. That one punch had left it looking extremely worse for wear.
What made the situation even more humiliating was the sight that greeted it as it stood up, nearly causing it to stumble. Greninja swung its tongue forward, took the spare water blade it had been holding behind its back, and transferred it to its right hand. Just like that, its opponent was dual-wielding again.
Its Quick Guard had been a complete waste. Lucario's inner puppy-man wanted to flip a table. This is a total scam!
Meanwhile, the commentator had spotted another crucial detail.
"Oh? It seems that Trainer Arthur's Greninja only consumed a single shuriken to use Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist this time! It no longer needs to expend its entire weapon reserve with each punch! And the power of the attack hasn't diminished in the slightest—in fact, it's even stronger than before! Doesn't this mean that this combo cycle no longer has a cooldown period?!"
This observation from the commentator made Forrest's expression grow even more serious. The crowd erupted in another wave of astonished gasps.
From his platform, Arthur just smiled and nodded to himself. That's right.
The truly game-changing aspect of Greninja's Bond Phenomenon was finally on full display. The enhancement to Water Shuriken had massively increased the condensed water energy in each blade, making a single one more potent than the seven or eight kunai and shuriken it used to create combined. Although the move's cooldown had been extended as a result, the trade-off was absolutely worth it.
Now, not only was Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist more powerful, but it also consumed fewer blades. A single water blade was now enough to fuel one punch. With two blades still in hand, the assault could continue unabated. This meant that the skill cycle Arthur had developed no longer had a weak phase or a downtime. The advantage of dual-wielding would be maintained throughout the entire battle.
With its Bond Phenomenon, Greninja had finally reached the threshold of a captain-level Pokémon. The title of "ace" was no longer a distant dream.
"Continue the attack, Greninja! Use Quick Attack!"
After being sent flying, Lucario had intended to create distance, as it had a powerful long-range Fighting-type move, Aura Sphere, at its disposal. But Arthur wasn't about to give it that chance. Armed with two sharp water blades, even low-power moves like Cut and Quick Attack now packed a significant punch. Lucario couldn't afford to be careless against a charge from an armed opponent and immediately abandoned its plan to use Aura Sphere.
"Lower your center of gravity, arms in front!" Forrest commanded.
But his order could only mitigate the damage. There was no stopping the lightning-fast Greninja as it closed the distance and slashed at Lucario.
Forrest immediately followed up with another command: "Use Counter again!"
It had to be said, Forrest's commands were brilliant. "Beautiful!" the commentator exclaimed in admiration. After using Quick Attack, Greninja's Protean ability had temporarily changed its type to Normal. Lucario's Fighting-type Counter would now be super-effective, a critical hit!
But Arthur remained unfazed. "Tank it, don't retreat! Keep attacking!"
Both Pokémon were close-combat specialists, and their damage output even without moves was terrifying. The key was to seize control of the offensive rhythm. Even if the opponent landed a critical hit, as long as Greninja could maintain pressure on Lucario, it could make up for the damage with a few slashes of its own.
But Forrest was clearly just as familiar with this style of combat. "Fall back, don't get greedy! Focus on dodging!" His judgment was calm and collected, giving Arthur no easy openings.
A few seconds later— "Use Quick Guard, try to cut into its center!"
Lucario once again entered the surreal, slowed-down state of focus granted by Quick Guard. Seizing the right moment, it took a single step, sidestepping into Greninja's attack range, its body slipping past the edge of the water blade to get right in front of Greninja. In the hands of a battle-hardened expert like Lucario, the heightened senses and reaction speed from Quick Guard were truly fearsome.
With a single hand-chop, Lucario struck Greninja's right wrist, knocking the water blade from its grasp and neutralizing the attack at its source. But after this single action, the move's effect faded. It was, after all, difficult to use for offense.
A small smile played on Forrest's lips. Disarming his opponent was enough.
"A beautiful use of Quick Guard! Can Lucario turn this defense into an attack?" the commentator cried excitedly.
But in the next second, Arthur once again hit the brakes on the commentator's rising excitement. It was the second time.
You think the same trick will work so easily a second time? Don't underestimate this frog!
"Kick the blade!"
Just two simple words, and through their bond, Greninja understood perfectly. It lashed out with its foot. The dislodged water blade was kicked by the handle, sent spinning once again toward Lucario's face.
"Holy—!" The commentator was so shocked he couldn't help but swear, a fine from the network was surely in his future.
"Lean back!" Forrest quickly ordered Lucario to abort its attack.
In the nick of time, Lucario leaned its upper body back, dodging the blade. The water blade was about to fly past.
"Whip out your tongue, pull the blade back, and slash again!"
But then, Greninja's long tongue shot out like a ninja's grappling hook, snagging the water blade before it could get away. With a snap, the tongue retracted, pulling the blade back with it.
"What?!" The commentator was stunned once more.
This time, even Forrest didn't have time to react. The returning blade slashed across Lucario's back and then snapped back into Greninja's waiting hand.
Arthur's command followed instantly: "Cut!"
This time, Lucario had no way to dodge. Greninja's twin blades slashed down in a cross pattern, as fast as lightning.
With that, Greninja had officially established its dominance in the duel against the opposing team's captain-level ace. After the Bond Phenomenon had drastically closed the gap in physical stats and energy output, the skills and experience Greninja had accumulated over two years of training with Arthur were finally unleashed to their full potential.
A frog's life, second to none.
Ace? I'll cut you down all the same.
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