"Cloyster, Hatching!"
As Kona's voice rang out, the battle officially began.
Hatching?
This technique isn't very common.
Cloyster's body emitted a faint halo, and then its speed increased dramatically.
"Aerodactyl, Sharp Stone Attack!"
Faced with a suddenly faster Cloyster, Lance was somewhat surprised but remained calm and issued a directive.
"Roar——!!"
The Aerodactyl flapped its wings twice swiftly, forming sharp and pointed stone spikes beside it.
Like dense raindrops, they swept towards Cloyster.
The coverage of the stone spikes was large, and although Cloyster's speed increased, it wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack.
The spikes, though ultimately reduced to fine powder upon hitting its sturdy shell, still made Cloyster squint in pain.
Seeing this, Kona's expression changed slightly, but her strategy remained unchanged.
"Cloyster, continue!"
A second "Hatching"!
"Hatching, I remember, sacrifices one's defense and special defense to significantly enhance physical attack, special attack, and speed, right?" Hilona pondered aloud.
"That's right." Natsuhiko nodded.
"Even though Cloyster's Ice Type can restrain Aerodactyl's Flying Type, Aerodactyl's Rock Type also restrains Ice Type. Cloyster's Water Type does provide an edge, but it's not substantial. Using 'Hatching' twice brings all-around enhancements, but the defense dropping is an opportunity for Aerodactyl." Flint added.
The recent "Sharp Stone Attack" from Aerodactyl that hurt Cloyster was the best evidence.
"Indeed. If Lance seizes the gap, it could decide the match. But if Aerodactyl fails to seize it..."
Natsuhiko shook his head.
"What do you mean?"
While they were conversing, the battle between Lance and Kona reached a critical juncture.
With Cloyster using "Hatching" a second time, Lance wouldn't waste the chance.
"Aerodactyl, Rockslide!"
After witnessing the speed from one "Hatching," Lance knew if Cloyster used it twice, Aerodactyl's speed would be at a disadvantage.
This move was crucial.
A huge rock was created from thin air by Aerodactyl, carrying an intense momentum as it hurled towards Cloyster.
Among the five of them, in terms of battle experience, only Natsuhiko could match Lance.
His judgement on this timing was spot on.
Regardless of whether Cloyster's "Hatching" succeeded or not, this "Rockslide" would inflict significant damage, unless Cloyster abandoned the halfway "Hatching."
Bang!!
The enormous rock shattered into tiny stone fragments.
Crunch——
The translucent green energy shield surrounding Cloyster also shattered.
Defend!
Witnessing this scene, Natsuhiko smacked his lips involuntarily.
"Time for another to showcase."
Flint and Hilona glanced at him.
Before they could ask, the match became more intense.
Seeing the "Rockslide" fail, Lance immediately commanded Aerodactyl to approach Cloyster.
He hoped to drag it into close combat to reduce its speed advantage to a minimum.
However.
Kona remembered what Natsuhiko had told her.
After multiple "Hatchings," Cloyster needs to forget all its original combat strategies.
In summary: two words; attack while retreating and kite!
Though Kona didn't fully grasp "kite," she understood "attack while retreating."
So she decisively ordered Cloyster to fall back and commanded, "Ice Cone!"
Watching Cloyster swiftly retreat, firing sharp ice cones at Aerodactyl, Kona clenched her fist.
'Senior Natsuhiko said, after 'Hatching,' Cloyster becomes a relentless output machine. At this point, you only need it to release either 'Ice Cone' or 'Rock Blast.'
Kona's background implied she lacked extensive wild battle experience.
But her strength lay in transforming what she learned into her own skills.
Natsuhiko's strategy, she had grasped its essence by about seventy to eighty percent.
"This...'Ice Cone' always fixed at five times, is this 'Continuous Attack' trait?" Spectating, Flint furrowed his brow.
"It should be."
Hilona agreed, turning to the smiling Natsuhiko beside her.
"So this is the tactic Kona learned from you? 'Hatching' Cloyster with 'Continuous Attack' trait, and with 'Ice Cone'?"
"Pretty much." Natsuhiko shrugged.
"What do you mean by pretty much?"
"I've also told her to equip 'King's Certificate' or 'Sharp Fang,' but it seems she hasn't equipped Cloyster with them yet." Natsuhiko explained.
With these words, Flint and Hilona's expressions paused.
"King's Certificate" and "Sharp Fang"?
Every attack of the 'Ice Cone' technique could trigger these two items' effects, and with the 'Continuous Attack' trait, Cloyster's each 'Ice Cone' would naturally be five times…
In other words, with normal luck, two 'Ice Cone' techniques would inevitably leave the opponent in a 'Wither' state once.
This probability is almost comparable to Togekiss with 'Celestial Grace' using 'Air Slash.'