Chapter 534: Breaking the Strategy
"Damn it!"
Anderson cursed inwardly.
His battles had been going so smoothly that he had unconsciously underestimated the competition. Clearly, he wasn't the only one in this desert who was proficient in real combat!
Arthur's precise recalls and lightning-fast Poké Ball swapping had instantly woken him up, making him realize—
This is a tough opponent! This fight won't be easy!
A typical stadium trainer had no reason to have such proficient Poké Ball control!
"F*ck!"
A perfectly pronounced White Eagle swear word. This time, Arthur understood it perfectly.
Anderson abandoned showing off for the camera and quickly reached for his belt, pulling out a Poké Ball to recall his Sirfetch'd!
The little dragonfly had used the powerful knockback of Dragon Tail to send Sirfetch'd flying off the bull's back and into the air.
Up there, Old Flame had just completed his Dragon Dance. He immediately Mega Evolved, spread his wings, ignited his flames, and charged, all in one smooth motion!
Anderson could see at a glance that the Charizard in the sky was not to be messed with! Especially since it had already set up a Dragon Dance!
In this situation, a direct confrontation was obviously unwise. He had to outsmart his opponent.
So, he aimed his recall beam, timing it to retrieve his Sirfetch'd just as Old Flame was about to collide with it.
For a moment, Anderson felt a little smug, thinking he had slightly leveled the playing field.
See? You're not the only one who can control Poké Balls! Kubfu kid, don't get cocky. The battle has just begun!
But the next moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arthur smile in the distance.
That calm smile made his heart skip a beat, and a sense of unease washed over him.
Before he could figure out what it meant—
BOOM!!
A loud explosion ahead revealed the answer, making his heart tremble.
"Damn it!!"
Recalling Sirfetch'd hadn't interrupted Old Flame's Flare Blitz. On the contrary, the command Old Flame had received through their telepathic link had never been aimed at Sirfetch'd in the first place!
Old Flame flew past the red recall beam, his speed undiminished, wreathed in eerie indigo flames. He crashed headfirst into the Beedrill below!
His dragon claws grabbed the Beedrill mid-flight, and he continued his dive, slamming the Beedrill violently into the ground with the force of a meteor. The moment Old Flame hit the earth at full speed, the flames engulfing his body exploded, unleashing all his Fire-type energy in an instant!
An exploding ring of fire swept across the field, the shockwave affecting almost every Pokémon in the combat zone. A wave of scorching flames shot dozens of feet into the air!
This was the power of the ultimate Fire-type move: Flare Blitz!
Only then did Anderson realize: I've been tricked!
He was feinting!
In real combat, especially between human trainers who could both use recalls, effectively damaging the opponent's Pokémon required tactics and calculation.
One approach was like what Arthur did against Kuisqi: ignore everything else and go all-in on the enemy trainer!
Focus on killing the trainer!
This forced the opponent to use all their recall opportunities for self-defense, often neglecting their Pokémon in the process.
History had already proven the viability of this strategy. Just look at Kuisqi, whose ashes had already been scattered...
But in this battle, firstly, the opponent was very cautious. Since mounting his Rhyhorn, he had been circling the outer edge of the battlefield, carefully maintaining distance and never giving Arthur a chance for a surprise attack.
Secondly, Arthur was a bit worried that if he rushed in, the opponent wouldn't be able to handle it and might actually get killed...
The camera wasn't blocked... Ahem, it was because he was kind-hearted and valued life!
So he chose the second approach—
Use tactical deception to outmaneuver the opponent's ball control!
All the exchanges in the first round were actually paving the way for Old Flame.
Greninja pretended to go around the back to attack Tauros's weak point, but his real mission was to bait out Arbok and Beedrill's moves!
That's right. Arthur had spotted the Pokémon hidden under the sand behind Tauros long ago; he just pretended not to notice.
With their moves baited, these two Pokémon were on cooldown when Old Flame dove down, unable to use Protect.
Meanwhile, the little dragonfly used Dragon Tail to knock Sirfetch'd away, drawing all the opponent's attention to the air.
Finally, the ultimate move, heavily injuring Beedrill!
Taking out one of the opponent's members first!
And more importantly—this completely shredded the opponent's wingman cover system!
The knight on the bull's back had just been forced back into its Poké Ball. The wingman guarding the rear was now in Old Flame's grip, critically injured. The hidden card underground had been exposed, and Arbok had also been hit by the splash damage from Flare Blitz and was now being singled out by Old Flame.
The teammates around Tauros had been cleared out in a short time!
And its weak point was now exposed to Arthur!
The opponent clearly realized the danger and knew he had to save his Tauros.
But Arthur's command came first.
He crossed his hands, swapping balls again, summoning two Pokémon! "Specter, Mega Evolve, then intercept the enemy's reinforcements! Little Eevee, evolve into Leafeon and use Grass Knot to trap Tauros!"
Specter, who had just been recalled, reappeared. Using the recall and release to reposition, he now faced Anderson on his Rhyhorn in the distance.
The opponent had indeed summoned a new Pokémon to help.
A Normal/Flying-type Braviary was now carrying Sirfetch'd.
From Bull Rider to Eagle Rider.
"Braviary, use Tailwind! Get Sirfetch'd over there! Fast!"
Anderson was desperate.
Arbok had just struggled to snatch its heavily injured companion from Old Flame—of course, this was partly because Old Flame had gone easy on them at Arthur's instruction. Afterward, Arbok could only drag Beedrill and flee miserably, burrowing through the sand, unable to organize a decent counter-attack, let alone break through Old Flame to support Tauros.
Soon, Little Eevee completed his evolution. He raised his head and cried out, and a large number of grass ropes shot up from the ground, wrapping around Tauros's limbs, trying to pin it down.
"Moo!!"
Tauros roared angrily, stomping its four hooves, creating loud thuds!
With Anger Point activated, its strength was terrifying!
The weakening effect of Haze was currently minimal. Each stomp easily snapped several grass ropes, making Little Eevee's control seem like a drop in the bucket.
"Moo!!"
Tauros roared loudly again, looking at Little Eevee with mockery in its eyes, completely unaware of the disaster looming behind it.
Meeting Tauros's mocking gaze, Little Eevee leaned his head forward and stuck out his tongue at it. The leaf on his forehead extended forward and wiggled rapidly.
"Pfft~"
Not very damaging, but extremely insulting.
Tauros was instantly enraged.
Unfortunately, before it could vent its anger—
Arthur had appeared behind it!
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