Chapter 345: Specter Takes the Stage
Seeing Arthur send out Specter, Serena raised her eyebrows once again.
Her mood this match was pretty much in tune with the two commentators: What? What? What? What is he sending out now?
She had also assumed that Arthur would send out Greninja. Serperior, as a serpentine Pokémon, excels at coiling and binding, making it unafraid of Greninja's fist-based fighting style. Its own Grass type also gives it a resistance to Water, making it a good counter.
Even if Arthur had sent out Lapras, Serperior would still have the type advantage.
But a Gengar? What the hell?
At this moment, one of the commentators once again boldly made a prediction.
"Is Arthur planning to use a newly captured Pokémon to wear down the opponent? This round could be a good opportunity for Serena to close the gap—"
But just then, his partner decisively cut him off.
"Considering this is Arthur, I think we should wait and see!"
He had realized that he couldn't let his partner keep making predictions like this. Otherwise, his reputation as a jinx would be impossible to shake.
In the live stream chat, comments like "bet against the commentator, get a house by the sea" were already happily scrolling by!
In truth, many people initially had the same thought as the commentator.
You're a newcomer who just became a main singles player. You can't possibly pull out another captain-level Pokémon in such a short time, can you?
But because they were a beat too slow while spamming memes in the chat, they had regrettably missed the experience of being proven wrong this time.
The moment the referee blew the whistle and announced the start, Specter immediately unleashed his power—
"Use Sludge Bomb!"
Arthur's command was standard, choosing a Poison-type move that was super-effective against Grass. Nothing too surprising.
What was truly unexpected was the effect of this Sludge Bomb!
Specter floated in mid-air, its arms crossed, looking down on its opponent with a king's arrogance.
A vast, purple energy vortex appeared in the air behind it, as if it had opened a Gate of Babylon in the heavens!
Then, from each vortex, deep purple sludge bombs began to shoot out, a continuous barrage like a naval cannonade!
The sheer number and power of these bombs were clearly far beyond what an ordinary professional-level Pokémon could achieve!
With just one move at the start, Specter had forcefully declared its power level to everyone—
Captain-level!
Undisputed captain-level!
And a top-tier presence even among captain-level Pokémon!
Only on the players' bench did Old Flame, who had been recalled by Arthur with minor injuries and was still watching the match after some simple treatment, have a strange expression.
"Specter… he wasn't like this before, was he?"
In his memory, Specter was still the silent, ghostly shadow guard who hid in Arthur's shadow, always protecting his master.
Besides his daily bickering with Leafeon, the Specter of that time had been, for the most part, a bit stoic.
So, the fact that a certain ghost had been single for two hundred years was predictable from the start…
But who would have thought that after two hundred years, the Specter of today had become a figure that Old Flame found somewhat unfamiliar.
He had become powerful and domineering!
Like a demon king who ruled over his own domain!
Arthur, on the other hand, accepted this quite gracefully.
While watching the match, he even had time to communicate with Old Flame mentally.
"It's not strange. It's probably related to his experiences over the years. You know, he was the leader of his own organization before."
And at the end, he didn't forget to comfort Old Flame.
"So you don't have to push yourself so hard. Your companions have always been reliable, both in the past and now."
Although Specter had turned himself into a sickly ghost over the past two hundred years, his spirit had never been broken. The soul of a troublemaker burned eternal!
Last season, while warming the bench, he would often say things like "If it were me, I'd crush them all," which always filled the post-match reviews with a cheerful atmosphere.
In contrast, Old Flame always had too many worries. He often thought too much about others, about the league, and in doing so, he had suppressed his own fighting spirit.
That's why he had ended up in that state in the valley.
Arthur had been trying to bring him out—not just out of the valley of Mount Axewood, but out of the valley in his own heart.
His ace Pokémon should not live so hunched over!
Arthur knew that Old Flame wanted his daughter to take over his legacy, but Arthur actually wanted to fight one more glorious lifetime with him!
He had heard that the MVP of the team that wins the Champions Cup can have their Pokémon lineup permanently displayed in the league's memorial hall.
If he ever got that chance, Arthur would want Old Flame to be in the center of that picture!
In this respect, he should learn from Specter.
This was also why Arthur had chosen to keep him here, not rushing to send him for treatment, but letting him watch the subsequent matches.
At this moment, Serena had no idea that she had, without realizing it, become the best assistant in someone's Pokémon therapy session.
When had a star captain ever suffered such an indignity?
Her response was just as strong!
"Serperior, use Leaf Storm!"
Another opening ultimate!
For a professional-level Pokémon, an ultimate move is a heavy burden. But in the hands of these powerful, captain-level Pokémon, it's just a slightly more strenuous conventional attack.
A storm of energy-infused leaves swirled upwards, equally magnificent in its scale!
The moment this round started, the style was completely different from the first.
The first round, Charizard versus Blastoise, had been a martial arts film, a close-quarters, punch-for-punch brawl.
But this round had started like a special effects blockbuster!
The two Pokémon hadn't even made physical contact yet, but explosions, flashes of light, and howling gales had already filled the screen!
It was the ultimate light pollution.
Although Specter was confident in his strength, his opponent was, after all, using an ultimate move. For the moment, he had to evade.
This wasn't cowardice; this was a strategic retreat!
Leaf Storm has a side effect. After using it, the opponent enters a period of energy decline. Counterattacking then would be more advantageous. There was no need to rush.
But Arthur saw more—
Serena's Leaf Storm was not ordinary!
Because after the attack was complete, many of the energy-infused leaves had not disappeared.
Although this wasn't a particularly remarkable ability, for the opponent to waste extra energy like this, she must have had a purpose.
Timing it perfectly, just as Serperior's cooldown was about to end, Arthur decisively gave the command.
"Use Phantom Force!"
And sure enough, at the same time, Serena also commanded: "Use Leaf Blade!"
He knew this woman had a trick up her sleeve!
How could the ace Pokémon of an All-Star captain not have its own unique strategy?
Leaving those residual leaves behind was indeed for a purpose!
She was now directly using those generated leaves to launch Leaf Blade!
She had managed to turn a move that was originally only for close-range slashing into a long-range skill similar to a thousand-sword storm!
The scattered leaves on the ground flew up again, straightening like swords!
Then, they all slashed towards Specter at the center!
But unfortunately, as cool and clever as this move was—
She had once again been read by Arthur.
Serena grit her teeth tightly.
She was so annoyed.
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