Chapter 433: Peaks and Valleys
Hammer Arm versus Acrobatics!
Both Pokémon charged forward, a head-on clash with neither side backing down!
In terms of pure power, the two moves were evenly matched. With the no-item condition met, the power of Acrobatics was no less than an ultimate move!
Roman's Swampert was much stronger than Greninja in terms of raw power and strength, but with the help of its Protean ability, Greninja had changed its type to Flying the moment it used the move, thus gaining a partial resistance to Fighting-type moves.
As a result, it was still Arthur's Greninja that came out on top in the clash!
Greninja took the opponent's downward-swinging Hammer Arm head-on, and in a counter-move, it danced out a set of acrobatic moves, knocking the Swampert back step by step, as if to ask the opponent: Do you also wish to dance?
After finishing a gorgeous combo, Greninja ended with a backflip, creating distance once again.
"Greninja, fall back! After your cooldown ends, prepare to scatter Toxic Spikes!"
Upon receiving the command, Greninja hopped back several times, constantly keeping its front facing the Swampert in a state of alert while retreating, waiting for its cooldown to end. Then, it waved its hand and scattered Toxic Spikes, blocking the opponent's pursuit!
From the opening Water Shuriken to summon its kunai, to the one-two punch of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist for armor-breaking and damage, to the subsequent bare-handed Acrobatics to suppress the opponent, and finally, scattering Toxic Spikes on its way out to delay the opponent's pursuit and prepare to regroup!
This whole combo from Arthur was as smooth as silk, without a single unnecessary action! It was a textbook-level arena performance!
It left the two commentators in awe.
"My heavens! Arthur's Greninja has actually suppressed Roman's ace, Swampert! This is truly incredible!! Is Arthur going to write another miracle today?!"
At first, everyone was worried that Arthur sending out Greninja would be unstable, but now, he had clearly gained a certain advantage!
"Swampert, use Tackle! Close the distance!"
But at this moment, Roman's command was still steady and orderly.
The threat of the Toxic Spikes did not make him hesitate in the slightest.
Even though his Swampert now had no move slots left to cure the poison, his determination to attack did not waver!
Roman's tactical style was just like his own personality: stubborn, unyielding, silent, and tough!
As it got closer, Arthur couldn't help but start a second combo.
"Use Water Shuriken!"
And this time, Roman adjusted his thinking, directly using his ultimate move.
"Swampert, use Earthquake!"
This time, Greninja didn't have time to change its type and was hit hard by the shockwave of the Earthquake.
After that, he played it safe and steady.
"Swampert, attack!"
He let Greninja, with its agile movements and the advantage of its kunai, continuously move and suppress the Swampert. Even when Arthur had Greninja use that astonishingly powerful Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist again, Roman simply commanded.
"Raise your arms and defend! Tank this hit!"
It wasn't until after Greninja had finished its Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist that his eyes narrowed.
"Now! Use Ice Punch!"
Arthur was caught off guard.
Swampert suddenly used Ice Punch, which made him not dare to rashly use Acrobatics.
The Protean ability is sometimes a double-edged sword. If you blindly change your type, you can easily get countered.
The Ice type is super-effective against the Flying type.
At this time, he could not use the Flying-type Acrobatics, or it would be like serving himself up on a platter.
In that one moment of hesitation, Greninja took a solid Ice Punch and was knocked back several meters.
Now, Arthur's combo had been broken. It was clearly not as big a win as last time.
The commentators were quick to switch sides.
"It seems Captain Roman has already found a way to break Arthur's strategy? As expected of our current league number one!"
For a commentator, being able to read the winds of change is a basic skill.
Director Mian, beside him, offered a more detailed interpretation.
"Roman has likely grasped the peaks and valleys of Arthur's system. In this combo of Greninja's, the strongest phase is undoubtedly when it has its water kunai in hand. That is the 'peak' phase! In this phase, Roman chose to just tank it, giving up on a skill exchange. Instead, he attacked at the beginning and the end, using Earthquake and Ice Punch when Greninja didn't have its kunai. A very wise judgment! At the same time, to be able to see through the peak-and-valley changes of Arthur's strategy after seeing it only once, Captain Roman's insight is also quite astonishing!"
Arthur let out a breath.
His opponent was no simpleton!
The current number one singles player in the Kubfu Alliance, how could he be an easy opponent?
But Arthur still held one advantage!
And that was his lead in move slots!
"Greninja, use Lick!"
In the process of stalling earlier, Little Eevee had successfully forced his opponent to use up all six of his move slots. This was undoubtedly a great contribution!
It really deserved a "Little Eevee, YYDS!"
Roman seeing through his combo so quickly was indeed impressive!
Using Ice Punch to block his Acrobatics was also very clever!
But—the opponent having no move slots also meant that he could no longer cure status conditions!
The poison from the Toxic Spikes, the Swampert had to endure. And now, why not let him have a taste of paralysis too!
The moment the Lick move came out, Roman clearly became anxious.
"Use Water Pulse to stun him! Press the attack!"
And at this moment, Arthur also became aggressive!
"Maintain distance! Be ready to parry! Use your tongue to Lick!"
His opponent's attack suddenly became extremely fierce. In this situation, Greninja could no longer dodge and parry while also getting in a good, hard lick.
But fortunately, Greninja's long tongue was usually wrapped around its neck, which now became a convenience.
He could use his long tongue like a whip, turning a lick into a lash, a hit-and-run, and still use it to perform Lick. The speed of the move was now much faster!
At this point, "Lick" was less of a lick and more of a "long-tongue lash"!
Although the contact time was shorter and the chance of triggering paralysis was lower, it was fast and left no openings!
If the chance is low, just do it a few more times!
On the third lash, Greninja finally successfully triggered the paralysis effect!
And at this moment, Roman finally couldn't take it anymore and commanded another ultimate, Earthquake!
But as luck would have it!
After being paralyzed, the Swampert's first attempt to stomp its foot was met with a jolt of electricity, and it froze.
The release of Earthquake was interrupted by the paralysis!
Greninja took the opportunity to quickly retreat!
The commentators were now back on the other side of the fence.
"The paralysis effect triggered at just the right time! Arthur is truly a man of fate, with both skill and luck on his side!"
"Swampert, Tackle! Pursue him again!"
From here on, it was very difficult for Roman to play, but he still hadn't given up!
No matter what, before Greninja can summon its water kunai again, he must finish off his opponent!
And this time, Arthur was also going all in!
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
In front of the pursuing Swampert, Greninja crossed its hands and summoned its water kunai once again!
Let's go!
"Swampert, Hammer Arm!"
In the blink of an eye, the final showdown between the two had arrived!
Paralyzed and poisoned, the Swampert was destined not to last long!
This time, if he let Arthur finish another tactical peak, the final Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist would very likely take down the Swampert!
This was something Roman could not accept!
He was determined to go all in!
And Arthur did not flinch in the slightest!
Greninja took an ultimate move head-on to forcefully summon its water kunai, and then, in turn, began to wildly slash at the Swampert, which was hindered by paralysis and the side effects of Hammer Arm!
Finally—
"Swampert, Earthquake!"
"Greninja, Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"
Their commands overlapped!
With this one blow, one of them was destined to fall
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