When Flint said the word "Nihilego," everyone present was stunned.
They had never heard of Flint owning this kind of Pokémon?
Blueberry Academy has been around for quite a while and has a very complete library, and quite a few students have seen the name of Ultra Beasts in old books.
These people quickly did a bit of science popularization and explained Nihilego's general typing.
Then the people in the plaza became even more confused.
'You're a Fire-type Elite Four and you're using that thing in battle?'
'Is that appropriate?'
Marina looked doubtfully at her boss, blinking her big eyes hard.
'Senior Crispin, where's the Fire-type guidance you talked about?'
Crispin: "..."
Even if Flint took out a dual Water/Fire-type Volcanion, he could still forcefully explain it. But of all things, Flint picked something that has no Fire typing at all.
How is he supposed to spin this?
While Crispin and Marina were still stunned, Flint threw out the semi-transparent Poké Ball he got from Axel.
Carmine's clear voice rang through the speaker, "Now that Player Axel has sent out his Pokémon, Player Marina, please release your Pokémon."
"This battle still uses the standard ranked battle rules, with the sole difference being that Player Axel may challenge multiple times."
"Also, all players who have registered are not allowed to refuse for any reason!"
Hearing Carmine's reminder, Marina blushed and quickly released her Pokémon.
The moment Charizard appeared from its Poké Ball, it let out a huge roar.
As one of the most popular of the three starter Pokémon, the Charizard line is usually very proud.
Marina's Charizard was no exception. Before the referee could even say "Begin," it was already glaring fiercely at its opponent, Nihilego.
"You're being silly, girl!"
The moment Marina released Charizard, some people who knew Nihilego's typing immediately clutched their hearts in pain.
"As one of the strong Pokémon, Charizard is 4× weak to Rock."
"That Nihilego is a Rock + Poison dual-type Pokémon, very good at using Rock-type moves."
"Isn't this going to get flattened?"
"It's over, it's over. After this match, Flint might think everyone in Blueberry Academy is a noob."
"Unless Senior Marina has enough confidence in her Charizard and wants to show, 'Even though I'm 4× countered, I'm still a real trainer'?"
"Show my ass! Anyone with basic common sense knows Charizard can't beat Rock types, okay?"
"If she actually manages to win, I'll go eat two kilos in the bathroom next door. Livestream."
"Bro that's wild. If you dare eat it, I'll toss in two kilos of soup to go with it!"
Hearing these two jokers acting up, the others went speechless.
A 100% losing rate situation, what's the point of betting?
Even if Charizard is a prodigy who refuses to bow to fate, this time it still has to bow down to Nihilego, right?
Hearing the noise around the field, Marina's aura, which wasn't strong to begin with, clearly weakened even more.
'It's over, it's over. If I'd known this, I wouldn't have rushed over so quickly to sign up.'
"Relax," Flint put his hands in his pockets, giving her an encouraging look.
"I'm just in charge of guardianship. The owner of this Pokémon already told her the general tactics, and they don't rely much on Rock-type offensive skills."
"After the battle ends, I'll give your Charizard some training suggestions."
"Then thank you, Elite Four Flint!", With Flint's reassurance, the girl's mood clearly improved quite a bit, and she immediately commanded Charizard to start the battle.
"Charizard, use Earthquake!"
A straight-up aggressive opening, and a signature wide-area Ground-type attack.
Charizard roared, and slammed its thick tail hard on the ground.
Rich brownish energy poured in, and the arena that had just been set up trembled violently.
A wave of cheers instantly erupted from the audience.
"As expected of a student of Blueberry Academy! I knew senior wouldn't take a type disadvantage fight."
"This is a reverse 4× counter!"
But the cheers only lasted for an instant and disappeared immediately.
Because they saw that, at the same time the Ground-type energy rose up, a thick Reflect wall had appeared in front of Nihilego at some unknown time.
The moment the energy touched the Reflect wall, half of it disappeared instantly.
As a result, the powerful Earthquake struck Nihilego, but did not produce the expected effect.
Nihilego wasn't affected at all by the audience's comments and calmly continued its formulaic battle.
She raised her hand again, and a second wall, more lightweight and radiating a crystalline glow, appeared behind the Reflect.
Her action speed was already slightly faster than Charizard's, and combined with a level advantage, by the time both Light Screen and Reflect had fully formed, Charizard still hadn't had time to use its second move.
Unhurried, Nihilego raised a tentacle again. A purple energy ball quickly formed, which she lightly tossed into the sky.
Pop~
A faint sound was heard.
The purple ball exploded above the field and dispersed into threadlike particles that drifted over the arena.
Only now did Marina finally come back to her senses.
The Rock-type Pokémon beside Flint is actually using poison tactics.
Each of these three terms was familiar to Marina, but when combined together, they were just unbelievable.
Flint, the aggressive trainer; Rock type, 4× countering Charizard.
Either of those advantages alone would be enough to flatten Charizard.
And yet… the opponent is going for poison? Is that even reasonable?
Marina took a deep breath and tried to throw away the distracting thoughts.
'So it's a status battle?'
'We Fire-types can do that too!'
"Charizard, if we can't break through their Light Screen and Reflect, then use Heat Wave and inflict burn!"
"ROOOAAAR!", Charizard answered loudly, its wing beats instantly accelerating.
A wave of hot air spread out from its body, covering every corner of the arena.
Heat Wave, Fire-type move.
Not only does it pack a punch, it also has a chance of causing burn.
Although the chance of triggering the status isn't high, the skill lasts long rather than being a single instant.
As long as your luck isn't too bad, it usually burns.
Seeing Marina's response, Flint couldn't help nodding.
Indeed, in the current situation, this was the best possible response.
Nihilego had pre-set Light Screen and Reflect, sealing off any major damage.
Even though Charizard knew a Ground-type move, the damage dealt would be limited.
Rather than trying to force through, it's better to inflict burn and limit the opponent's upcoming performance.
If she wants to keep her big advantage, Nihilego must strike before being burned.
"Ugh~?", Nihilego blinked her big eyes and glared fiercely at Charizard in front of her.
'You hateful thing, Sis Garde said girls need to take good care of their skin, and you're blasting me with such high temperature heat?'
（｀へ´）
'Hmph! I'm angry now!'
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