Chapter 437: Shadow… Ball?
In the end, Roman successfully secured a victory in that round.
His Poliwrath had defeated Little Lapras.
But unfortunately for Roman, he couldn't be happy about it at all.
The sky had darkened, the rain had stopped, but this time, his Poliwrath was truly done for…
The water on its body and in the surrounding area had been either dried up or frozen by Little Lapras.
Its ability could no longer be used effectively.
The only silver lining was that Roman had been the first to score three points, which meant he had gained a second mid-battle switch before Arthur.
So, for this round, he decisively chose to have his Poliwrath continue fighting.
Since he could switch it out at any time, he wasn't afraid.
And Arthur sent out Specter.
The commentator got excited for a rare moment. "Oh! Are we finally going to see a direct confrontation between the two players' ace Pokémon again?"
But unfortunately, both sides were very cautious in this match.
Because he knew that Roman's Poliwrath would definitely be switched out later, Arthur didn't recklessly go all in.
So, both sides were very sportsmanlike, choosing to stop after a few exchanges, leaving the commentator disappointed.
In the end, as expected, Roman switched his Pokémon mid-battle.
The counter-pick he brought out to deal with Specter was: Excadrill!
To be honest, pulling out an Excadrill was also a surprise for Roman.
That wasn't his original plan.
But after seeing Specter's Mega Evolution, he had temporarily adjusted his tactics.
Facing a Mega Gengar, he found that among the twelve Pokémon he had registered, Excadrill would be more effective than his originally planned counter-pick, so he decisively brought it out.
Because after Mega Evolving, Gengar's ability had changed. Its Levitate was gone, which gave Gengar a weakness to the Ground type.
And so, the Ground/Steel-type Excadrill had suddenly become a better choice.
You had to say, as the current number one singles player in the Kubfu Alliance, Roman's on-the-spot judgment and adaptability were undoubtedly top-tier.
His "tactics-on-his-face" style might be a bit derpy, but his brain was not!
On the commentator's desk, Director Mian also gave his approval. "We see that for this round, Roman has chosen Excadrill as his counter-pick! Indeed, against a grounded Mega Gengar, Excadrill is a very good choice! The Ground type is super-effective against Poison, and at the same time, the Steel type helps it to greatly resist Poison-type damage and makes it immune to being poisoned. A very wise choice!"
At the same time, this time, Roman had once again worn his tactics on his head, playing an open-hand game with Arthur!
Because he had given his Excadrill an item to wear on its head—a Choice Band!
A magical Pokémon item whose effect is to activate when the Pokémon enters a battle state, increasing the wearer's physical attack. But as a trade-off, it will limit the Pokémon to using only one type of energy while the band is active. (Note 1)
And once the band is activated, it cannot be taken off until after the battle, when the energy tide in the Pokémon's body has naturally subsided, can this tight hoop be removed.
In other words, after putting on this band, the Pokémon can only use moves of a single type for the entire battle.
This band is just that choosy!
Once the band is on, it loves no one.
So, you don't even have to think to know that in this round, Roman could only have one tactic—
A head-on clash with Gengar using Ground-type moves! A slugfest to the death!
Whoever backs down is a dog!
This was indeed very much in line with Roman's personality, and it was also because he was being forced by the Shadow Tag ability.
With that ability in play, any fancy tactical maneuvering would be useless.
The Ludicolo from before was a bloody lesson!
So it was better to be a bit more straightforward and have a hot-blooded duel between real men!
Of course, although it was straightforward, Roman still played a little trick at the start.
"Excadrill, use Sandstorm!"
At the start of the match, he had secretly transmitted a message, having his Excadrill take off the band first!
The cameraman immediately cut to the shot, and the live stream chat instantly exploded with a wave of "What a dog!"
But the Metro Team's fans also had something to say: This is a professional player's business. Can you really call it being a dog? This is called a legitimate use of tactics!
For Roman, it was very necessary to set up the Sandstorm first.
His Excadrill has the Sand Force ability, which gets an extra boost in a sandstorm.
And besides, the snowy weather left by Little Lapras on the arena needed to be cleared away.
This Sandstorm had to be used.
But because Sandstorm is a Rock-type move, the Excadrill had to take off the band first to use it.
And Arthur, regardless of this, his opening command was the same as in the second round!
"Phantom Force! Go over there, evolve as you attack, and step on its shadow!"
And then Roman also commanded.
"Put on the band! Channel your Ground-type energy!"
Then, Specter landed as it evolved, stepped on the Excadrill's shadow, and locked the distance between them!
And then—
"Excadrill, use Horn Drill!"
"Specter, Shadow Ball!"
Because he was worried that Specter's Phantom Force could dodge moves, Roman didn't rashly use the ultimate move, Earthquake.
Besides, Excadrill and Simon's Palossand from before were different. The tips of Excadrill's front claws had a metallic, hard, sharp protrusion. They were like steel claws when separated, and like a triangular bayonet when brought together. Their upper limb strength was clearly greater than their lower!
The power of the Ground-type Horn Drill in their hands was also very strong. It wasn't like the sand-form Palossand, which had no sharp claws or fangs and could only rely on Earthquake!
But Specter was no pushover either!
He was, after all, a former Champion's Pokémon!
Mega Evolution had reawakened his long-dormant battle heart!
This time, he clenched one hand into a fist, and at the tip of his fist, a terrifying, jet-black energy ball condensed!
The Ghost-type special move: Shadow Ball!
Although Specter himself greatly preferred Shadow Claw, the Mega Evolution of a Gengar provides a considerable boost to special attack!
Even now, having just mastered Mega Evolution, his form was still unfamiliar, far from the proficiency of Old Flame. Specter could still feel that the energy surging from within his body was much stronger than before!
And a physical-type move like Shadow Claw has a low efficiency in using energy. To use a claw strike at this time would be a bit of a waste.
So recently, Arthur had been having him start practicing Shadow Ball again.
At first, Specter was very unaccustomed to it.
He still preferred the satisfying feeling of sending an enemy flying with a single claw swipe, or the feeling of his sharp claws tearing through an opponent's body!
Firing an energy ball?
Ugh!
There's no feel to it!
Faced with his complaints during training, Arthur had listened very kindly, nodded with a smile, and then, with a benevolent expression, had drawn his sword.
Since then, Specter had not mentioned the matter of "feel" again…
But he had made his own efforts!
Other people's Shadow Balls are usually formed by condensing Ghost-type energy into a solid energy ball and then firing it to injure the enemy.
But Specter was determined not to follow the conventional path.
He stubbornly chose to bind the energy ball to the front of his fist.
And then, as he threw the punch, he pushed the energy ball out!
After hitting the Excadrill's body, the fist squeezed the energy ball, and then—
"BANG!"
A gorgeous, jet-black firework exploded!
For a moment, even the commentators were stunned.
"Is… is that really a Shadow Ball? Are you sure it's not a Shadow Punch?"
"But I think I really did hear Arthur command a Shadow Ball just now."
"Let's see what the referee says. Oh, the move slot has been displayed! It is indeed a Shadow Ball!"
"Maybe… Arthur's understanding of Shadow Ball is a bit special?"
On the field, Specter let out a strange cackle.
On the players' stage, a vein was throbbing on Arthur's temple.
But you had to admit… the power of this move was still pretty impressive!
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