Chapter 657: The Spirituality of Combat
The appearance of Aegislash drew screams and exclamations from countless spectators at the scene.
Even the commentators were startled.
"We're already deep into the knockout stage, nearing the semifinals, and Arthur from Kubfu actually brings out a new Pokémon at this time?"
At this moment, not only the teammates of Nine-Tailed Fox but all the professional players were frowning.
Because the information they had reviewed before the match contained absolutely no data on this Aegislash!
A completely unfamiliar new Pokémon!
Having reached the second half of the knockout stage, did Arthur really dare to bring out a completely new Pokémon with a blank record?
Was it a passive choice made in haste, or did he really have unusual judgment and confidence?
Everyone seemed skeptical at this moment.
But at this time, Future Yuzuru's command had already been issued—
"Carbink, Rock Polish!"
Coincidentally, Arthur's command was similar.
"Aegislash, Autotomize!"
Both were speed-boosting moves. The former reduced air resistance by polishing the body, while the latter gained acceleration by shedding weight.
Then, the attack rhythm of the two Pokémon, who originally didn't float very fast, suddenly became fierce!
"Carbink, Diamond Storm!"
Starting with her signature ultimate move!
This signature didn't refer to the species Carbink, but to Future Yuzuru personally!
Because Diamond Storm was actually Diancie's move, and among all the Carbink in the world, probably only hers could use it.
But Arthur's response was exceptionally tough—
"Straight thrust, Iron Head!"
For a blade, the tip is the head.
So Aegislash's Iron Head was essentially a thrust!
A point of cold light arrived first!
Then the sword thrust like a rainbow!
Carbink was doubly weak to Steel! This salty fish thrust was the ultimate move Arthur had specifically practiced these days to counter Carbink!
But Future Yuzuru seemed to have anticipated this calamity.
"Change move, Smack Down!"
That was a feint just now!
Carbink actually just put on a show and didn't really chant the ultimate move.
Seeing Aegislash, Future Yuzuru guessed the opponent would definitely use Steel-type moves to counter her.
If she couldn't even see through such a calculation, she wouldn't deserve to be a professional player.
However, the proud Nine-Tailed Fox princess didn't choose to retreat and defend but chose a more aggressive counterattack!
She played along, targeting Aegislash's signature ability: Stance Change!
This was an ability unique to Aegislash, closely related to its body structure.
In Shield Form, Aegislash would keep its blade behind the shield. At this time, its Defense and Special Defense would be extremely high.
With equal strength, it was almost no less than Carbink!
However, once it launched an attack and released an offensive move, the Stance Change ability would trigger. At this time, Aegislash's body would become fragile, sacrificing defense for extreme attack power!
Steady as Mount Tai when defending, but unstoppable once attacking!
This was Aegislash's combat mode, extremely focused on both offense and defense, leaving no room for compromise.
To switch back to defensive mode, one needed to use Aegislash's signature move: King's Shield.
But Aegislash definitely wouldn't have time right now!
Future Yuzuru was seizing this time difference!
She fought very aggressively!
Relying on her Carbink's superior raw power, she baited the opponent's attack move and then chose a strong counter-attack directly!
Smack Down was just foreplay, aiming to knock Aegislash to the ground. The next step would inevitably be—
"Use Earth Power!"
The routine was well thought out, and the sudden change of moves seemed to catch Aegislash off guard!
The thrusting blade was knocked down by rocks.
Not only interrupting the opponent's attack but also knocking Aegislash into the range of Ground-type moves!
However, Arthur's subsequent command caught Future Yuzuru off guard.
"Throw the shield, continue with Iron Head!"
Who said you can't stab people without a blade?
Who said Aegislash can only attack with a sword and defend with a shield?
You dare assume my combat mode? How bold!
And Arthur was obviously never the kind of player who stuck to conventions.
He wasn't traditionally trained at all but leaned more towards the wilder side of real combat.
Sword knocked down? Throw the shield!
What he had been teaching Aegislash since the first training session was: Spirituality!
Moves could be unstructured, but combat needed spirituality!
After Stance Change triggered, both sword and shield would become fragile, but correspondingly, both would become sharp!
The sharp edge of the shield slammed into Carbink.
This could also be the move Iron Head!
"Wow!!"
In an instant, the whole venue exclaimed, and the Kubfu livestream room was jubilant.
Consequently, the heavily hit Carbink was a beat slower in releasing Earth Power, failing to seamlessly connect the combo as Future Yuzuru wished.
This gave Aegislash a chance to float up again!
Ground-type moves mostly only affected targets on the ground!
So this Earth Power missed as expected.
Future Yuzuru's opening setup failed completely!
"A very exciting duel! Kubfu's Arthur seems to have seized the initiative again!"
The live commentator exclaimed repeatedly.
With just this round of exchange, everyone's doubts and worries about Arthur suddenly bringing out a new Pokémon vanished.
Off the field, Roman was also applauding continuously.
"He really is even better than my best imagination."
He was arguably the most qualified person to speak about this duel.
Future Yuzuru was someone he had faced in the group stage, and Arthur's Aegislash was trained step by step with his help during the break.
He had seen how dominant Future Yuzuru's Carbink was in the arena;
He had also seen how immature and ignorant Arthur's Aegislash was when it just evolved during the holiday!
Yet Arthur managed to bridge most of the gap between the two with astonishing talent and spirituality.
In his eyes, this was nothing short of a miracle.
"No wonder they call you the miracle rookie."
At this moment, he muttered softly to himself, adding a few points of expectation for this boy's future.
Kubfu now only had Starlight and Frost left as the sole survivor.
But it didn't matter; at least Arthur's performance was still worth their expectation to this day!
Although only one move hit, it had already interrupted most of Future Yuzuru's plans for this round.
Then Aegislash separated sword and shield, attacking alternately, actually suppressing the stronger Carbink to the point where it was hard to fight back!
As the battle progressed, Aegislash became more confident, understanding the spirituality his master spoke of more and more.
"Carbink, Diamond Storm!"
This time Future Yuzuru really used her ultimate move.
However, the result still didn't satisfy Future Yuzuru.
Aegislash withstood it!
At the same time, he was counterattacking—
"Use Flash Cannon, blast the opponent out of the storm range!"
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