"Guhoho!"
Super-Armored Rhyhorn that Rages was seeded with Leech Seed, and that made it instantly furious.
These young Pokémon these days are really getting more and more arrogant. They dare to show off this kind of parlor trick in front of it?!
But in the next second, crackling blades of air slashed down on Super-Armored Rhyhorn that Rages like raindrops. It had originally planned to counterattack, yet its body suddenly went rigid!
Flinch!
Air Slash: attack with blades of air sharp enough to slice even the sky itself, with a 30% chance to make a target that hasn't acted yet flinch!
After Hikaru manually stacked "Serene Grace" on it, that probability directly doubled on the spot!
Super-Armored Rhyhorn that Rages's typing wasn't afraid of Flying-type attacks, but the disgusting part of "infinite flinch" was exactly that it made you just stand there and watch, unable to do anything!
Leech Seed began to drain HP, and Air Slash was shaving away at Super-Armored Rhyhorn that Rages's stamina. The big lug was utterly furious, but the angrier it got, the less it could move!
That rage churned in its heart, to the point it felt like this big lump was going to literally "Self-Destruct" on the spot!
Damn it, it had seen plenty of strong Trainers before, but none who battled like this!
"…You've got such a huge body, and yet you're using such a scummy tactic?!"
Even Giovanni, who had always favored strength and battlefield tactics, couldn't help frowning, feeling rather speechless.
You call this a battle?
Pokémon battles really were cruel. Clearly it was a fight that required two participants to start, but only one side was allowed to deal damage!
That "Rocket Pokémon" in front of him… this Pokémon was really hard to deal with!
If you fought it up close, the dump truck would smash you flat. If you stayed at range, you'd get worn down to death by all kinds of disgusting moves!
In short, this thing wasn't something an ordinary Pokémon could handle. It really was the "Wall of Sighs" of the Pokémon world!
It had such a massive body, yet the first thing it used was Leech Seed.
Relying on the powerful resistances granted by its Steel typing, it leisurely weakened its opponent while restoring its own HP.
Ingrain, Leech Seed, Giga Drain — those were obviously Grass-type moves.
When you judge a Pokémon's typing, sometimes you can't rely only on its movepool or just on its appearance. You have to combine both…
Rocket, Rocket! Like a gigantic rocket soaring into space — can bamboo go into the sky?
So, if you peel away that seemingly important but actually unimportant outer layer of "bamboo," the answer you get is—
Steel + Flying!
Although Haru Shion had already guessed that, Giovanni still preferred to step onto the field himself to analyze it.
"Rhyperior, return."
The corners of Giovanni's mouth curled into an evil smile. He had already formed a battle plan in his heart, and when he saw Hikaru freeze for a brief moment, he chuckled.
"Though the previous gatekeepers all used three Pokémon, no one ever said they can only use three."
That was indeed true.
Hikaru thought about it.
A challenger could bring six Pokémon into the challenge, and the gatekeepers would generally only use three. However, there was no explicit rule that said gatekeepers could only use three!
So, was Giovanni going to fight with the full six?
"Here it comes! Krookodile!"
When Hikaru saw that black-and-red, big crocodile appear, he immediately understood.
This was the partner Giovanni had newly caught in Unova, part of his World Championships line-up!
As the leader of the "Desert Four," Krookodile had always been extremely powerful in battle, and all three of its abilities allowed it to truly shine in combat.
Giovanni swung his arm in a grand gesture and roared loudly:
"Smack Down!"
As an important method for Ground-types to counter Flying-types, Smack Down was a move that Ground-type masters would definitely learn.
Of course, actually hitting Pokémon that were flying in the sky wasn't an easy thing.
At times like that, it came down to the Trainer's own skill and the Pokémon's accuracy when using the move.
But when facing Celesteela, unexpectedly, you didn't need any of those "little tricks"!
After all, that body was just too huge! No matter where you aimed, you could land a hit with 100% accuracy!
"A gigantic body has its downsides too!"
"Let me teach you that lesson!"
The massive boulder shot out like a cannonball and crashed into Celesteela with a boom!
[Eh, eh, eh!!! I can't fly, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do…]
"Leech Seed."
Hikaru responded to all changes by refusing to change at all. No matter what Giovanni sent out, he still just flung Leech Seed.
Celesteela nervously lifted its thrusters. A string of Leech Seeds spat out from the exhaust like a machine gun!
Giovanni: "Hmph, you're taking the bait!"
"Grass Knot!"
Along with Giovanni's shout and his arrogant laughter, Hikaru was also shocked!
The almighty, invincible Grass Knot! You could say this move was rare — indeed, very few actually used it in serious battles.
But if you said it was common, well, quite a few Pokémon used Grass Knot as a substitute for Vine Whip. It was really convenient!
In daily life, the range of uses for Grass Knot was far broader than just combat!
The original purpose of this move was to use grass to trip and bind the opponent. The heavier the target, the higher the power!
And Celesteela, one of the heaviest bodies in the entire Pokémon world, could perfectly trigger Grass Knot's maximum base power!
That is, 120!
[Uwaaaa! It hurts, it hurts so much! My thrusters went out!]
[Air, Air Slash, I can't slash out any air anymore!]
Unsurprisingly, Celesteela was tripped. Seeing the enraged Krookodile charge in, she suddenly started playing a whole recap of her life in her head.
[Aaah, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die… I got tripped! It hurts so much! I can't move! I'm too heavy, too heavy, there's no way I can get up… That big crocodile is coming! I'm definitely going to shatter! I'll turn into a heap of scrap metal! I'll get stomped flat, thrown into a junkyard, and taken apart!]
[As expected, I'm just useless. An iron can like me should just sit on a launch pad and rust away… (consciousness growing faint)]
Hikaru: "It's still way too early for you to be worrying about being scrapped!"
"Celesteela, since you're tripped anyway, then don't get up. Just find a comfy position to use your moves!"
[Eh? R-really, really, that's okay?!]
"Yeah. Once you've been knocked down the first time, you're not getting knocked down a second time. You're already lying flat, after all!"
As long as I'm a total good-for-nothing, no one can exploit me!
"Giga Drain!"
Celesteela raised her thrusters and fired a powerful beam of light from the exhaust straight at Krookodile! At the same time, Krookodile's Earthquake also struck Celesteela hard!
The brilliant light wrapped around Krookodile's body and began to drain its energy!
Boom! Krookodile also staggered back a step!
However, Giovanni suddenly started laughing.
"Do you know what a Pokémon's 'vital point' is?"
"Of course. When you land a critical hit, the damage the Pokémon takes goes up by a lot." Hikaru glanced at Krookodile. "Giga Drain can also land critical hits, and under certain conditions, the chance of a critical hit is doubled."
"And fixed-damage moves can't land critical hits."
Giovanni chatted as he rolled the Poké Ball in his palm. "Oh? You know quite a lot about this. Not bad."
On the battlefield, Krookodile backed away a few steps, waiting for its Trainer's next command.
Giovanni's fingers idly spun the Poké Ball.
"But that's the mechanics of battle."
"Since you understand the benefits and drawbacks of landing critical hits, you should also understand: where exactly is a Pokémon's vital point?"
"A Pokémon's vital points are often its scars, and other weak spots that are easy to target with concentrated fire."
"And for some of them, it's also the part of their body that's the most special, or that they use most frequently."
"And for my Krookodile… its vital point is its eyes!"
"In your view, getting a critical hit with a draining move is a very low-probability event — something you'd count as quite lucky, right?"
"But to me, it's just as lucky! The first part of Krookodile that Giga Drain hit was its eyes!"
"It has unique eyes that can zoom in on distant objects like binoculars. The membrane covering its eyeballs can protect them from sandstorms, and it can also sense the heat of objects. So even in pitch darkness, it can see its surroundings!"
"And the light of Giga Drain ripped that membrane apart — but that's fine!"
"Waaaoo!" Krookodile let out a deafening roar, a tidal wave of sound that almost shook everything in Area Eight to dust!
Boosting animations began popping up all over its body. Red light surged from its tail, washing upward until its entire body was filled to the brim!
Giovanni: "The ability… Anger Point."
"When its vital point is hit, it flies into a blind rage, and its Attack stat goes straight to maximum!"
Krookodile's Attack shot up to thirteen thousand points!
Hikaru had not expected Giovanni's Krookodile to have the rare Hidden Ability. In past generations, Anger Point wasn't exactly a good ability. It wasn't as stable as Intimidate, nor as easy-going as Moxie.
This ability only really shone in later generations, when the mechanics of critical hit rates were adjusted. That was when it became truly powerful.
But this thing really depended on luck.
Not everyone had access to moves like Surging Strikes or Wicked Blow.
If you ran into a Sniper Kingdra, you might be able to catch them off guard too — assuming you can actually survive taking a hit.
"Let me show you Earthquake at maximum power!"
With Krookodile's physical Attack at this level, if it successfully unleashed Earthquake, even if the Black Skyscraper was built from the latest materials, its floors would be torn apart by that overwhelming energy!
Right now, though, Giovanni was fully fired up!
So what if they demolished the building? Wouldn't that just prove his strength had taken another step forward?!
If Krookodile got off its next move, Celesteela's departure from the field was a foregone conclusion.
Not only that — this battlefield would still be occupied by a "monster" whose Attack had been maxed out, and that could one-shot everything with Earthquake!
Once your Attack reached that level, even a Pokémon with a four-times resistance to Ground-type moves would be either dead or maimed if it took that Earthquake head-on!
And there was only one kind of Pokémon that had a four-times resistance to Ground:
Grass + Bug.
So no matter who came in, they wouldn't be able to deal with this Krookodile!
And so, Hikaru came up with an idea!
"Rest."
Although Celesteela didn't understand what her Trainer wanted to do, she still obediently fell asleep.
People who are loners and socially anxious always have some weird talents, like eating a lot and falling asleep fast.
Rest: sleep continuously for a period of time, restore all of your HP, and cure all status conditions!
I sleep everywhere!
Wherever I fall, that's where I sleep.
This move stunned Giovanni as well.
"What the hell is this?"
The boss of Team Rocket was taken aback by Celesteela's "I'm done, I'm out" attitude. For some reason, he had this sudden urge to kick this socially anxious Pokémon awake and immediately shove it back to work overtime.
This was probably that unique trait that all "corporate bosses" shared — the urge to never let employees slack off.
Well then, time to wake up, employee!
Krookodile suddenly lifted its massive foot, and just as that enormous power was about to be unleashed, its body abruptly shuddered.
A wave of painful, invisible force slammed in from all directions, making Krookodile howl in agony.
Harsh, violent noise rattled around inside its skull, causing real damage and tacking on extra effects!
"What's going on… urgh!"
The sound waves echoing through the battlefield weren't just attacking Krookodile — they also hit Giovanni!
This, this move is…?!
Giovanni tried to recall it in his mind, but the shrill roaring made it impossible for him to think.
"It's a sound-based move, but which one? Round? Hyper Voice?"
This shrieking, terrifying mechanical roar, like the ignition of a rocket engine!
The low, rumbling drone, the crackling blasts, the whooshing of spinning turbines — and then a series of booming detonations!
It was like a giant bomb going off!
Hikaru: "Wrong answer. It's Snore!"
When you're asleep, let loose a noisy attack, with a 30% chance to make a target that hasn't acted yet flinch!
Not even pausing for a moment to mourn the shutdown of "fake Serene Grace Air Slash,"
Charging into the battle in its place was "fake Serene Grace Snore"!
Even Giovanni couldn't help exclaiming in amazement!
"So this terrifying, suffocating noise, like some rocket exploding… is actually the sound of snoring?!"
That was basically a scathing commentary on Lady Celesteela's sleeping state.
To think she could snore this violently while sleeping.
That's just not ladylike at all!
"What a great stalling tactic! So this is your way of battling? This Pokémon really is nasty to the core!"
Still, no matter how ferocious Snore was, how many times could it actually flinch something?
Giovanni waited.
He waited for the moment Krookodile broke free of the flinch!
He only needed it once!
Just once, and the power of the earth would completely destroy this entire area!
"Torment!"
Finally, the chance came!
Krookodile roared, and Torment sealed the opponent's move, preventing them from using the same move twice in a row!
And at that moment, Celesteela also woke up!
With flinching and Snore out of the picture, the outcome seemed clear—
Seeing that swaggering Krookodile still standing, not only unfallen but even more enraged and berserk, Celesteela's heart filled with a bottomless inferiority complex.
As expected, relying on her own power alone, she couldn't defeat the enemy.
In the past, she always just rammed things down with the dump truck. There was really zero skill involved, and now that she couldn't ram, her newbie level was completely exposed!
As expected, she really was corroded metal refuse and stinking bamboo drifting uselessly through space…
Was there any way, any way at all?!
Yes, yes, that's it!
Hikaru was planning to switch Pokémon at this point — switching during battle was also a crucial part of fighting.
Enemies that Celesteela's enormous body couldn't handle could naturally be left to other teammates!
However, just then, Hikaru heard Celesteela's voice in his heart.
She still had one last "secret art"!
Lady Celesteela thought back to how pathetic she'd looked just now.
Tripped up by grass ropes and smashed into serious injury, to the point she was so embarrassed she couldn't even get up.
Although she had always been pathetic before,
She was now a member of the Defense Squad!
How could she just sit here and let that Krookodile, carrying super-charged power, go attack the other members of the Defense Squad?
Even though she was so heavy she couldn't fly, even though she'd been tripped by grass…
Since she was a "Rocket Hero," she couldn't run away on the brink of battle!
"That is…?!"
"Celesteela!" Hikaru made a snap decision.
"You're going to use the secret art! Then I'll leave it to you!"
"Use Explosion!"
Trigger a massive explosion and attack all Pokémon around you!
"Don't worry. I'll find materials to repair you afterwards. And Explosion is just venting all the energy inside your body outward in one huge blast. You're not actually going to be blown into pieces!"
"Celesteela, team member — your burning heart (referring to Explosion) must never be extinguished! And I'll be right there with you!"
Ultra Bomb, confirmed!
Celesteela, desperate last stand!
"Krookodile!" Giovanni issued his command at the same time.
"Earthquake at maximum power!"
Celesteela's body began to blaze with intense white light and high-temperature energy!
[O, O god of the universe, E-Explosion! I'm going to self-destruct! I'll become a pile of useless iron scrap! Not even a junkyard will take me!]
[But but… I-I'm sorry, I'm going to dirty the battlefield… Captain, Captain! Please watch closely — a Rocket Hero's final liftoff!]
[I'm sorry… please, take care! Aaaahhhh—!]
The light of Explosion illuminated the road ahead!
The entirety of Area Eight was engulfed in the high-temperature shockwave of the blast!
The violent explosion swallowed up all sight, and the raging storm it kicked up tore the walls apart. Only Gimmighoul, with its back against its treasure chest, one hand casually resting on the lid, watched the whole scene with great interest.
It even had time to whistle.
"Cool~!"
Your zero-distance nuclear-blast field observer, reporting in!
This is the power of the Ghost type, my friend!
(End of Chapter)
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