"Cacturne, use Revenge!"
Upon hearing Ethan's words, Cacturne's gaze sharpened instantly.
Then, it fixed its eyes on Machamp; with a sudden stomp, instead of retreating it advanced, charging straight ahead to take Machamp's punches head-on.
"Quick Guard!"
Machamp seemed to have been waiting precisely for this move.
Even before Kevin Brooks could give the order, Machamp had already placed its four arms into a defensive stance.
Immediately, Fighting-type energy condensed between its hands, transforming into a shield that directly blocked Cacturne's attack.
Boom!
A deafening explosion resounded through the area.
Cacturne's Revenge, which had already accumulated enormous power after absorbing several of Machamp's attacks, was nonetheless quickly stopped by Machamp.
After blocking the attack, Machamp immediately executed a kick, striking Cacturne's legs; caught off guard, Cacturne stumbled.
In that instant, Machamp's entire body lunged forward; with its four arms it firmly grabbed Cacturne's body and lifted it into the air.
"Cacturne, Thorn Assault!"
Ethan's gaze tightened as he issued the order swiftly.
Next, thorns could be seen sprouting directly from Cacturne's arms as it twisted its body and tried to embrace Machamp with them.
"Machamp, Bulk Up!"
At that moment, Kevin suddenly gave the order.
Immediately afterward, the muscles throughout Machamp's entire body swelled all at once.
In that instant, Machamp's musculature became as hard as steel; Cacturne's thorns failed to penetrate in the slightest.
The effect of the move Bulk Up is to tense all the muscles of the body with full force, thereby increasing attack and defense.
This move, which was originally a boosting move, was used by Machamp to coordinate and harden all the muscles of its body, turning them practically into steel and completely nullifying Cacturne's thorns.
Boom!
In the next instant, after using Bulk Up, Machamp violently slammed Cacturne into the ground.
Then, Machamp mounted directly onto its body: two of its arms restrained Cacturne's arms, while the other two concentrated Fighting-type energy and unleashed direct blows toward its head.
"Damn, this Machamp is absurdly strong!"
"Cacturne is in total crisis—under this Machamp's strength, it has no chance to counterattack at all!"
Seeing this scene, everyone's expressions changed; under Machamp's attacks, Cacturne showed not the slightest capacity to resist.
"That's it, Machamp, finish him off in one go!"
Witnessing this, Kevin clenched his fist in excitement.
Boom, boom, boom!
On the field, Machamp's attacks did not stop.
Meanwhile, Cacturne used Revenge to defend itself, and the thunderous sounds did not cease.
"Now's the time, use Revenge!"
With Ethan's voice ringing out, Cacturne's eyes widened.
Immediately, a powerful burst of Fighting-type energy erupted from its body, forcefully blasting away the Machamp that was on top of it.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
Cacturne quickly stood up, breathing heavily; it was obvious that the previous attacks had caused it considerable injuries.
In front of it, Machamp once again assumed the Bulk Up stance; Fighting-type energy flowed through its body again as it executed the move once more.
"Cacturne, interrupt it—use Power-Up Punch!"
Ethan's gaze tightened as he ordered Cacturne to launch the attack; Fighting-type energy concentrated in its fist, making it even more solid.
"A head-on clash?"
"My Machamp isn't afraid of that. Use Close Combat!"
Boom, boom, boom!
The two Pokémon clashed once again.
With every punch Cacturne threw, one could clearly see its offensive power increasing.
However, after using Close Combat, Machamp's attacks became much more fluid and chained together, keeping Cacturne constantly under pressure and not giving it even a second to catch its breath.
"Hurry up and use Water Absorb Punch!"
"What is Cacturne doing?!"
Seeing Cacturne completely suppressed, a spectator couldn't help but exclaim.
"It's useless—right now Machamp is using Bulk Up to control its body. Even Cacturne's Water Absorb Punch shouldn't be able to extract the water from its body, right?"
Another spectator frowned; this Machamp's bodily control was far too strong, and he voiced this conjecture.
And just as this spectator had said, Cacturne indeed used Water Absorb Punch, but the result was exactly the same: the attack had no noticeable effect.
"It really is completely countered..."
"Although... the time should be more or less up by now, shouldn't it?"
Just as Ethan's words fell, Cacturne and Machamp collided head-on once again.
This time, before the incredulous gaze of the entire audience, Machamp was sent flying into the air by a single punch from Cacturne!
"What's going on?"
"Just a moment ago, Machamp had the absolute advantage!"
"Why is it Machamp getting blown away now?!"
Seeing this, the spectators' eyes widened in shock.
From the way Machamp was sent soaring high into the air, it was clear that in that exchange, Cacturne had not only gained the advantage, but had completely crushed its opponent.
"Wait, look at Machamp's condition—doesn't it seem a bit strange?"
Suddenly, a spectator voiced his doubt, causing the others to be taken aback.
They turned their gaze and saw that Machamp had already stood back up, but around its body there was now an unhealthy purple aura.
"Wait... that appearance is... poisoning?"
"Damn it, I can say with one hundred percent certainty that Machamp has entered a poisoned state!"
A spectator with some knowledge of Poison-type Pokémon immediately shouted, leaving the others stunned.
If Machamp was truly poisoned, then how had Cacturne managed to inflict that status?
"Is that even a question?"
"It must be that Cacturne used some kind of Poison-type move!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
"This Cacturne definitely used some Poison-type move!"
Students from the Machamp dojo began shouting from various parts of the venue, leaving the other spectators even more confused.
Had Cacturne really used a Poison-type move?
But clearly, they hadn't perceived any fluctuation of Poison-type energy...
Had Cacturne completely concealed the emission of that energy?
The crowd, utterly bewildered, couldn't help but turn their gaze toward the guest area, hoping they would provide an explanation.
"Indeed, it did not use any Poison-type move."
The first to offer an opinion was Professor Sterling, as a Pokémon researcher.
"That's true, it wasn't that—but then... what method did Cacturne use to poison Machamp?"
The other guests also began expressing their views one after another, and that same question left everyone full of doubt.
(End of chapter)