"My God, what thick roots!"
Seeing how the field was instantly covered with roots, the spectators could not help but exclaim in surprise.
Immediately afterward, the roots and vines began to intertwine with each other. For a moment, neither side could gain the upper hand.
"Torterra / Cacturne, use Giga Drain!"
In the next instant, Ethan and Johnson spoke almost at the same time. Even the move they ordered was the same.
At once, both Pokémon acted. The vines and roots were covered in a green light, and that brilliant glow illuminated the entire battlefield.
"They're evenly matched again."
"These two Pokémon have developed their Grass-type talent to an incredible level!"
Seeing this, the spectators could not help but sigh in admiration, their eyes filled with excitement.
When battles reached the Quasi-Elite level, techniques appeared one after another, turning the fights into increasingly spectacular and dazzling displays.
At the same time, many spectators seemed to be reflecting, as if they had learned something from the battle, further reaffirming the path they wanted to follow.
"I think Torterra will win in the end. After all, Torterra is a dual Ground and Grass-type Pokémon. Look! It's already absorbing the power of the earth!"
At that moment, a spectator shouted in surprise. One could see a dense Ground-type energy accumulating beneath Torterra, almost materialized, flowing toward the vines growing on its back and making them thicker and thicker with the intention of crushing Cacturne's roots all at once.
"Sunlight, earth, and water. Those three elements are indeed the three main factors for plant growth."
Seeing this, Ethan slightly narrowed his eyes.
At that moment, Cacturne roared, and its roots also began to plunder the energy and water from the soil.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Cacturne began to dry rapidly. In an instant it turned into dry sand that spread in all directions.
At the same time, as Cacturne absorbed moisture and underground energy through the Giga Drain move and its Water Absorb ability, its roots became thicker and thicker. The roots hidden underground also expanded, growing more and more as they coiled toward Torterra.
"What's happening?"
"The ground is turning into a desert!"
Seeing that scene, the spectators were completely stunned.
"The roots are absorbing the water from the soil by combining the Water Absorb ability with the Giga Drain move."
"That Cacturne is incredible! Its development of the Ingrain move has already reached an unimaginable level."
Amid the astonished cries of the audience, Cacturne's roots displayed a ferocity even greater than that of the Frenzy Plant move. In an instant they covered the entire battlefield and began to unfold a technique similar to the descent of a tree world.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Torterra also noticed the change in the situation and began frantically activating the Frenzy Plant move to resist.
Although the vines could quickly break the roots while thrashing about, the problem was that the roots were far too numerous. Moreover, under the effect of the Growth move and the enormous amount of injected energy, they had become thicker than water barrels, like giant serpents that continuously coiled around the vines of the Frenzy Plant move.
Finally, the "tree world" was completely formed, fully surrounding Torterra.
The Giga Drain move kept activating without pause, absorbing its life energy and the moisture from its body, causing the Grassy Terrain move and the Frenzy Plant move growing on its back to begin slowly withering.
"The battle is over. The combination of the Grassy Terrain and Frenzy Plant moves of that Torterra was already extremely strong. But that Cacturne defeated it using practically the same method. It's truly powerful!"
Watching as Torterra gradually lost the ability to resist, the spectators sighed with emotion.
"It's been a long time since Cacturne used its root domain. But in this situation, it's much more useful than its giant form."
The members of the Daleron League were also watching the battle. That Torterra was truly strong; none of Ethan's other Pokémon could guarantee a victory against it.
However, by sending out Cacturne, he achieved an unexpected result and once again demonstrated Ethan's excellent command and observational ability.
"With this, the Daleron League already has a slot for the eliminations."
Adrian Vane smiled. Now everyone was fighting for their own country, so the more members who entered the eliminations in their respective groups, the better.
"Even Johnson lost?"
"That Ethan is barely 20 years old. Why is he so strong?"
The students of Harvard Pokémon University sighed helplessly. The strength Ethan had displayed far surpassed that of others his age. It was truly terrifying.
"But it's fine. If senior brother James defeats him personally, it will also be a victory for our university!"
"This time there aren't many students participating in the world championship, but senior brother James is definitely the strongest."
One student clenched his fists. Although from the perspective of age it was somewhat unfair, the title of the best university in the world could not be taken away by anyone.
On the field, the battle continued.
After Torterra lost the ability to fight, Johnson sent out his Sceptile, whose strength was close to the Quasi-Elite level.
But facing a Cacturne that had already completed the full deployment of its root domain, Sceptile barely had a chance to show its abilities and was soon defeated, marking the end of the battle as well.
...
"Finally finished. Now come the eliminations."
After the battle, Ethan returned to the rest room and collapsed exhausted onto the sofa.
Although it had only been a 3 vs 3 battle, the demands of command and tactical planning for the trainer were very high, and that consumed an enormous amount of mental energy.
The following battles would be 6 vs 6, so Ethan had to properly adjust his condition.
"Shuck!"
At that moment, Shuckle approached in a pleased manner and handed him a juice.
(End of chapter)