Chapter 631: Substitute, Protect, Toxic Fails
The Grand Master teammates were quite surprised by Steven's explanation.
They didn't expect that such a seemingly simple victory the day before yesterday had so many calculations by Steven behind it.
Nor did they expect Steven to rate that young Kubfu man so highly!
"Captain, are you saying Arnold might still lose even if he replicates your tactics?"
Steven glanced at his teammate. "Isn't that normal? That Kubfu man, in my opinion, is probably one of the strongest individual players in this year's Champions Cup, maybe even the strongest.
"I used all my tricks the day before yesterday, and in the end, I only won by one point due to luck. If that Ice Beam hadn't frozen me, I would have lost.
"Even I can't guarantee an absolute win in a rematch. Why do you think Arnold will definitely win just by copying my tactics?"
"..."
Everyone was speechless.
Staying at the top for too long had made the Grand Master Team often arrogant, looking down on the world.
In fact, not just the Grand Master Team, but the top players of the Hoenn Alliance all had this problem to some extent.
Because they firmly believed they were the number one region, the king of the seven major leagues, they felt only their own people were worthy opponents, and star players from other alliances were not worth mentioning.
Once upon a time, Hoenn indeed had the capital for such pride.
But the number one region is never eternal!
As the current number one player, Steven was much more clear-headed than his teammates.
"Arnold is too ambitious, only seeing me. He might not even pass this round."
The teammates were startled.
In the double-elimination format, teams in the winner's bracket essentially had a resurrection token. Losing a match just meant dropping to the loser's bracket, with a chance to continue fighting. But the loser's bracket was truly a one-match deathmatch!
If Arnold couldn't pass this round, he would really be gone.
Everyone couldn't believe it, but the situation on the field forced them to.
Flareon was completely suppressed by the opponent's Charizard!
Even without using Fire and Dragon-type moves, Lina still led the opponent in close combat, and Flareon couldn't turn the tables at all.
Although rolling in the Smog allowed Arnold to poison Lina as wished, seeing how lively Lina was now, she was far from collapsing due to poison.
"Mega Punch!"
Lina attacked again.
"Protect!"
This time Arnold didn't even dare to use Substitute.
Using Substitute damaged the Pokémon itself. Since teleporting away couldn't shake off the opponent, this consumption seemed meaningless.
He was forced to switch to the versatile defensive move Protect.
Substitute, Protect, Toxic tactic, assembled.
But a Flareon using the Substitute, Protect, Toxic tactic seemed a bit incongruous no matter how you looked at it.
Moreover, in a major tournament like the Champions Cup, expecting to win with the most basic Substitute, Protect, Toxic tactic was underestimating the heroes of the world too much.
"Lina, stop and go around!"
The energy shield of the move Protect would stay open for about two or three seconds. During this period, the Pokémon protected inside the energy shield was almost invincible, but as a price, they couldn't move either.
An unexpected Protect could block critical damage.
The ideal Protect should be an energy shield that just catches the fatal ultimate move, then shatters on the spot after neutralizing the damage, blocking the damage while instantly dissolving without affecting movement.
It could even counterattack unexpectedly.
This is the perfect Protect!
Kind of like a perfect parry.
But Flareon's Protect right now was obviously not perfect enough.
Arthur reacted quickly, making Lina stop in time!
Flareon's energy shield didn't break, so it could only continue to maintain it in place.
Lina took the opportunity to go around the back.
Timing it right—
"Flareon, lung forward and dodge!"
"Lina, tail whip to knock him into the air!"
Both sides ordered simultaneously, but Lina's tail whip had a significantly larger range. Flareon couldn't escape and was sent flying into the air by a single hit.
Then came another gorgeous aerial combo, juggling Flareon in the air for a long time.
Watching this scene, everyone in the Magma Team clenched their fists.
Their expressions changed from the initial pride, trust, and smugness to anxiety and unease.
Flareon's condition visibly declined after landing.
However, the poison on Lina was far from critical.
At this moment, even the commentator could see it. "It seems unrealistic for the Magma captain to rely solely on poisoning to wear down the opponent.
"Compared to the day before yesterday, the Grand Master captain's Chandelure at least had the move Curse."
Named by the commentator, Steven sighed helplessly.
Even he wouldn't dare say he could wear down that Kubfu young man's Charizard just by poisoning.
The day before yesterday, his Chandelure had to sacrifice itself to use the Ghost-type move Curse to force the young man to give up resistance and switch out Charizard.
Arnold was too naive.
An opponent of this level couldn't be countered by simply copying the outline of a tactic.
On the field, Flareon was struggling more and more.
He had laid so much groundwork, but in the end, he was pierced through by the opponent's raw power.
"Lina, use Seismic Toss to finish him!"
Arthur's command basically announced the end of this round.
Even without using Dragon and Fire moves, Lina holding up Flareon with one hand still showed invincible dominance.
The moment the referee declared Flareon down, Arthur didn't forget to smile faintly, striking at the heart again.
"Like I said, you are not Steven."
Implying that just because Steven could succeed didn't mean you could too.
One sentence almost broke Arnold's psychological defense on the spot.
Score 1-0!
At the same time, Arthur retained the authority to switch Pokémon mid-battle!
This time, unlike the day before yesterday, Arthur established his advantage right from the start!
Then in the second round, Arthur still sent out Lina, and Arnold helplessly had to send out his ace Pokémon: Blaziken.
Opening with Mega Evolution as well, clashing head-on with Arthur!
Blaziken had the Speed Boost ability, but Lina also had the exclusive Heat Wave acceleration technique!
The two Pokémon fought speed with speed, staging a battle of speed and passion under the sun, sparks flying from collisions, punches hitting flesh.
The audience shouted in satisfaction!
But while the audience watched happily, Arnold on the field wasn't so happy.
His tactics had seriously deviated.
This passionate offensive scene wasn't what he wanted!
On the contrary, Arthur, who still held one mid-battle switch authority, was very happy to engage in such mutual combat and damage exchange.
In the end, Lina dragged Blaziken until it was scarred and exhausted, then followed a red light and leisurely returned to the Poké Ball to rest.
Arthur switched Pokémon.
He sent out Flygon instead, easily taking down the low-health Blaziken.
The score reached 2-0!
Arnold almost crushed his teeth.
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