Dakota proved to Etorre that he, too, shared a true Bond with his Pokémon.
On the road toward pursuing strength, he had not completely forgotten the original purpose of his journey.
"Eelektross, help Girafarig win back its honor!"
Dakota threw out his fifth Pokémon, the Electric-type Eelektross.
Looking at the Eelektross floating above the ground, Luther could not help but sigh. This thing was genuinely disgusting to deal with.
An Eelektross with the Levitate Ability had no type weaknesses at all.
"Contestant Dakota has sent out his fifth Pokémon! Although Trick Room is no longer affecting the battlefield, Dakota has somehow fallen behind in Pokémon count before anyone noticed. Can Eelektross help him turn the situation around?"
Compared to Eelektross's elongated body, Steelix, which was several times larger, was obviously far more imposing. Moreover, Electric-type moves were basically ineffective against Steelix, leading many spectators to believe Etorre already had victory in hand.
"Generally speaking, Steelix's physical defense is terrifying enough already. If Etorre has also trained its special defense, then it's a genuine monster."
Having raised an Onix before, Brock naturally knew just how absurdly durable Steelix became after evolution.
Ground-type moves were basically ineffective, and Steel-type moves would not accomplish much either. After guessing the typing of Dakota's final Pokémon, Etorre made his decision.
"Screech."
Steelix's body joints emitted an ear-piercing grinding noise. The audience in the stands did not feel much, but the Pokémon they had released outside their Poké Balls were already trembling in fear.
Eelektross, standing directly on the battlefield, felt the pressure most clearly. However, after only a brief moment of unease, it fired a Flamethrower straight at the Steelix that was still grinding its body together.
The flames blasted Steelix's head upward, and its enormous mouth released a spine-chilling roar.
The power of the fire exceeded everyone's expectations, it actually pushed Steelix backward.
With this level of force, even Houndoom going all-out would probably only be this strong.
"The power of this Eelektross's moves…" Luther paused and turned toward Lucian.
"You're not seeing things. This Eelektross has probably completely abandoned defense in favor of speed and offensive power. The only explanation for the strength of that Flamethrower is an extremely unbalanced build."
Etorre had originally intended to weaken Eelektross first, setting up a one-hit kill and ending the battle quickly.
However, Dakota's Eelektross had no defenses to weaken at all!
Both Steelix and Etorre realized it at the same time. Steelix moved out of the Flamethrower's path, and without even waiting for Etorre's command, it charged toward Eelektross.
During his long journey with Etorre, Steelix had seen many Pokémon trained with this kind of extreme specialization. As long as a Pokémon focused heavily on offensive power, it was usually as fragile as paper, tear it once and it would shatter.
"Crunch!" Etorre roared.
Steelix lunged at Eelektross. To ensure accuracy, it abandoned ranged attacks once again, using its massive size and explosive force to close in and strike.
"This is bad."
Within Etorre's field of vision, several green vines suddenly burst out from the already ruined battlefield and wrapped themselves around Steelix's tail.
Steelix, which had leapt from the ground, failed to crash straight into Eelektross. A tremendous force abruptly interrupted its momentum, causing its attack to halt mid-charge before it slammed heavily into the battlefield.
The entire arena seemed to experience a miniature Earthquake.
As the dust cloud dispersed, Steelix had already been embedded into the ground, leaving behind a massive elongated crater.
"Steelix is unable to battle. Eelektross wins."
"That was Grass Knot, wasn't it?" Luther said. "Sure, the heavier the opponent, the more effective that move becomes, and it also has a type advantage against Steelix, but this is still…"
The grass rope created by Grass Knot required tremendous energy to restrain a gigantic monster like Steelix. Though the move looked effortless, it actually demanded incredible Strength and Stamina from the Pokémon using it.
Just two moves had directly knocked Steelix flat.
This was the very definition of extreme damage output.
Although Eelektross would probably collapse after taking even a single hit, that did not mean your Pokémon could survive its attacks either.
This was no longer mutual damage exchange.
This was mutual instant-kill territory.
Luther had already begun wiping sweat from his forehead. This was way too intense. He could not help but think about what he would choose if he were the one battling on the field.
The situation had completely reversed.
Etorre only had two Pokémon remaining. One of them, Chandelure, was already barely hanging on.
As for the other…
No one knew whether it could be even tougher than Steelix.
Dakota truly was proving himself. You could say he did not value the Bond with his Pokémon enough, but you could not say he had none at all.
Luther had originally believed Darkrai was already Dakota's most violent damage dealer. Who could have imagined that an eel was hiding behind Darkrai all this time?
Lucian openly admitted that even his Bronzong probably would not be able to endure more than two hits. Although Eelektross's defenses were practically paper-thin, it had been trained to such an absurdly violent degree that it could completely ignore that weakness.
If I can instantly kill you the moment I attack, and you cannot dodge it, then the battle is over. Who needs defensive power at that point?
Because I'm afraid of getting hurt, I put all my points into attack. As long as I kill all my opponents first, I will never get hurt. Eliminate every danger before it can even emerge.
Etorre gritted his teeth. After hesitating for a long while, he ultimately chose to send out Chandelure first.
At this point, everyone was going down in one move anyway. The battle had already become a direct sniper duel through the middle lane, so they might as well go all-out.
The flames on Chandelure's body flickered unsteadily as it struggled to remain conscious, while Eelektross opened its enormous mouth, one large enough to kill any strange thoughts, and lunged slightly forward.
That threatening motion even startled the referee, who almost thought the two Pokémon were about to start fighting before either Trainer gave a command.
"Chandelure, use Flamethrower!"
Since this was going to be a clash of moves, speed and precision were everything. For Chandelure in its current condition, Flamethrower was the best option.
"Thunderbolt."
The violent electric current moved faster despite being launched later, slicing through the flames and reaching Chandelure in an instant. Furious electricity immediately engulfed Chandelure's entire body.
This was not even a beam struggle.
The exhausted Chandelure's attack could not even slow Eelektross down for a moment.
"Chandelure is unable to battle. Eelektross wins."
It had happened too quickly.
The entire battle had instantly spiraled out of control.
Ever since Eelektross entered the field, the match had shifted into a completely different rhythm.
"Contestant Etorre only has one Pokémon remaining! Can this final unrevealed Pokémon create an incredible comeback from the brink of defeat?!" the commentator shouted passionately, whipping the audience into excitement.
Etorre rubbed the Poké Ball in his hand. After a long silence, he finally let out a breath and sent out his final Pokémon…
Magnezone.
(End of Chapter)
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