Chapter 153: Don't Fight Him, You Can't Win
Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"What powerful sword aura."
Red, the bodyguard, couldn't help but blurt out.
This Ivysaur before him looked unremarkable on the outside, and the Vine Whip it lashed out wasn't as flexible or powerful as Ash's Bulbasaur's, yet it was inexplicably domineering.
A sharp sword aura was visibly clinging to the outer surface of one side of the Vine Whip, undulating back and forth in the air, spreading out in astonishing ripples with an imposing might that could sever gold and shatter iron.
"Squeak..."
The Rattata hurriedly rolled to the side to dodge. The next second, that Cut Vine Whip slammed down, actually cleaving a large gash into the metal floor.
"CLANG!!"
Metal fragments shattered. The power was immense.
"..."
At this point, how could Red not recognize who this Grunt in front of him was? In the entire world, besides that cute, yet broken, compatriot of Ash's, he probably couldn't find a second person who could train a Cut into such a monstrous form.
"Wait, she's one of us—"
Before Red could finish, the Ivysaur suddenly produced two more Vine Whips from the bulb on its back. They joined the first two, circling and weaving in mid-air so densely that not even the wind could pass, continuously emitting the harsh sonic booms of air being sliced apart.
The Garlic Turtle family uses Vine Whip with an innate mathematical pattern. The Bulbasaur stage generally uses two, the Ivysaur stage can produce four, and upon reaching the Third Stage Venusaur Form, it can even achieve exponential growth, unleashing 2 to the 3rd power, for a total of 16 Vine Whips.
Red: "..."
He looked at the four snake-like Vine Whips surrounding them, then at the passerby Grunt whose eyes were gradually losing focus, her entire attention fixated on his Rattata, her expression savage. Red couldn't help but frown slightly.
She was in a frenzied state.
As the saying goes, it is easy to draw a sword, but difficult to sheathe it. This was even more true for controlling such a sharp sword aura.
"I'll just have to take this Ivysaur down."
With this thought, things became simple. Red focused his gaze on the Ivysaur, which was frantically brandishing its Vine Whips, each lash like a sword's slash. His own Rattata could only scramble for its life under the four bladed vines, constantly using Quick Attack to dodge. The situation was critical.
He knew that with the huge level difference between them, his Rattata couldn't possibly withstand even a glancing blow, to say nothing of the poisoned status that was continuously draining its stamina.
This had to be a swift and decisive battle!
Red's gaze didn't change, remaining exceptionally calm, but in his mind, he had already thought more than 50 steps ahead.
He gave his command: "Rattata, watch for an opening and use Quick Attack on the side of the top-left Vine Whip."
"Squeak."
The Rattata understood instantly, as if its soul had merged with Red's for a moment. Comprehending his trainer's intention, it kicked off with its hind legs and charged toward the ferocious top-left Vine Whip.
Why were its master's commands so on point today?
"You're courting death!!"
With a fierce cry from Blue, one side of that Vine Whip suddenly became incomparably sharp, as if a blade had materialized out of thin air. The mere sight of it sent a chill down one's spine.
"SWOOSH!!"
The Cut Vine Whip chopped down heavily. The Rattata, of course, didn't dare to take the blow head-on. Its body was once again enveloped in a white light as it barely dodged the strike.
"Now!" Red urged.
"Squeak!"
At that moment, the Rattata had already reached the back of the falling Vine Whip. It rammed its head forward without hesitation.
"SMACK!"
The fallen Vine Whip sprang back up from the ground like a coil, striking the charging Rattata right in the face. The immense power sent it flying several meters away.
From that one whip, the Rattata's hit points were almost instantly depleted, bringing it to an utterly critical state, its life force flickering like a candle in the wind. But its small eyes remained open, and it stood firm, holding on with a sliver of health.
"How could it not be defeated?"
Blue, still in her frenzied state, narrowed her eyes in disbelief.
"There's no way that Rattata could have survived that whip!"
"Tsk. Your Cut only has a blade on one side. So, what's on the back of the blade?"
Red suddenly posed the question calmly.
"The back of the blade... that's the spine of the blade... Ah! You despicable intruder!!"
Blue instantly flew into a rage, understanding Red's meaning.
False Swipe. Attacking an opponent with the unsharpened, blunt back of the blade. Regardless of the opponent's hit points, it will always leave them with at least one hit point, never dealing a fatal blow.
This move, also known as False Swipe, is one of the essential moves for trainers who specialize in capturing Pokémon.
And the Rattata's strange, seemingly self-destructive action earlier was, in a sense, deliberately triggering the False Swipe, lowering its own hit points to an extreme state. But this was also somewhat misleading.
Lowering its own hit points? Is this person a fool?
But the corner of Red's mouth curved up as he commanded:
"Now is the time. Use Endeavor."
At this moment, the Rattata had been sent flying by the back of the Vine Whip, and the direction it was flying was straight toward the source of the whip.
Red had not only utilized the property of False Swipe, but he had also stolen the force from the back of the blade. The Rattata used this momentum to shoot forward. With the Ivysaur's concentration entirely on its Vine Whips, its main body had no energy left to dodge.
"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!!"
The Rattata's body was now covered in an incredibly terrifying, blood-red light. Its imposing might was raised to the limit. As it neared its target, its large buck teeth bit down on the Ivysaur.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"
Instantly, a power that transcended the field rule erupted, descending upon the Ivysaur without any resistance. It ignored the level difference and directly reduced the Ivysaur to an extreme state with a sliver of health as well.
Endeavor. It reduces the enemy's hit points to the same level as one's own.
This is a move that transcends the field rule. Unless the disparity was as vast as between a Rattata and a Groudon, a normal level difference could be directly ignored.
One could say that all of Red's setup was to pave the way for this one ancestral Endeavor from his Rattata.
"Now, let's finish this, Rattata."
For the next move, Red didn't even need to give a command. The Rattata understood. With a kick of its small legs, its body was suddenly enveloped in white light and it shot forward, using a priority Quick Attack to successfully extinguish the Ivysaur's last hit point.
"Little Garlic..."
Blue recovered from her frenzied state, staring in disbelief at her Ace Ivysaur, which was now unable to battle.
Defeated just like that... by an unremarkable Rattata?
If one were to classify them by combat power, her Nidorina was at a level of 1500 and her Ivysaur was at 3000. But this Rattata before her, at most, only had 300, right?
And it still managed to defeat two of her Pokémon back-to-back?
"No, that's not right!"
Blue's gaze sharpened, and she looked at the bodyguard, Red, standing behind the Rattata.
This Rattata was just an ordinary 300-combat power Rattata. The one who had truly brought its 300 combat power to a level of over 3000 was this Team Rocket Grunt before her!
A powerful trainer is capable of drawing out 100%, or even 1000%, of a Pokémon's strength.
She never used to believe it, thinking it was just nonsense spread by marketing accounts, but today, she had finally been forced to see the truth.
Who on earth was this person?!
"Squeak..."
Before Blue could make a move, not long after the Ivysaur fell, the Rattata that had defeated two of her powerhouses also tilted its head to the side and fainted on the ground.
In truth, the Rattata should have succumbed to the poison after using Endeavor. It was only by using the momentum from the Vine Whip that it could execute a nearly seamless Quick Attack, launching its final attack before the poison could take it down.
This was yet another layer of Red's understanding.
With surprise and annoyance in her heart, Blue still wanted to take out her next Poké Ball. After all, Red's only Pokémon had now been defeated. She could absolutely press her advantage.
What use is your strong Command (Strategy) if you have no Pokémon left!
Hmph!
"Don't even think about fighting him. You can't win."
A female voice, seemingly having seen through everything, suddenly emerged in Blue's mind.
(end of chapter)