A brilliant, vibrant green light erupted from Celebi's body. As the light flashed, countless emerald green vines materialized.
Robust branches twisted and entwined, and within a few breaths, they formed a large wooden giant approximately four meters tall.
"F*ck!" Sven couldn't hold back a curse at this sight. He even forgot to command his Snorlax to use Heavy Slam.
He stared blankly at the strangely shaped giant and murmured, "Bro, what is this thing…"
While checking Celebi's status bar, Caleb replied, "Have you seen the Celebi movie?"
Sven nodded numbly, "Yes."
"Then that's it," Caleb said, looking up at Celebi, who was 'piloting' the mech, "Do you want to continue the battle?"
Only then did Sven react. Now that the opponent's size had changed, Heavy Slam was clearly no longer suitable.
After a moment's thought, he issued a command with inner astonishment, "Snorlax, use Crunch! Aim for its right leg!"
Although Celebi had successfully used the Forest Giant transformation, it had also fallen into a drowsy state due to Snorlax's Yawn. Therefore, faced with Snorlax's attack, Caleb could only stand by and watch.
Giantification was like a protective shell. Unless the outer vines were broken, the enemy couldn't harm Celebi inside.
Moreover, with the boost from Grass-type power, Celebi's Physical Defense and Special Defense in this state were greatly enhanced. Only Pokémon with extraordinary power or type advantage could break through this shell.
Snorlax's Crunch hit successfully, but it didn't seem to have a significant effect on Celebi.
Sven continued to command, "Snorlax, use High Horsepower! Keep attacking the same spot!"
Before he finished speaking, a green light suddenly emerged from Snorlax's body and flowed into Celebi's.
That was the effect of Leech Seed draining energy. Although not obvious, it barely offset the damage from Crunch.
If this move were combined with Toxic, along with Celebi's Recover and Safeguard, its sustainability and damage output would instantly reach their peak.
In this scenario, unless someone could defeat Celebi in one hit, it would be nearly impossible to beat it.
But in its giantified state, it was clearly very difficult for an average person to one-shot it.
Besides testing this strategy, Caleb also wanted to see the duration and cooldown of Giantification.
While Caleb was thinking, Snorlax's High Horsepower also hit Celebi successfully, but it still didn't budge it. Instead, it woke Celebi from its drowsy state.
Having just woken up, Celebi looked around in confusion, "Bi?"
'Crap! The opponent is awake!' Seeing this, Sven's heart sank.
He couldn't help but glance at Caleb across from him. But the other party didn't seem to notice Celebi had woken up. He stood still, unmoving, and even gave Sven a questioning look.
Sven suddenly felt something was off, but he couldn't figure out what exactly was wrong. He could only grit his teeth and command Snorlax to continue fighting.
Time passed, and under Snorlax's relentless attacks, the wooden giant's right leg finally staggered, seemingly on the verge of collapsing.
'It's working!' Sven's heart leaped with joy.
He was about to order a follow-up attack, when he heard the opponent command, "Celebi, use Recover!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a green light surged around the wooden giant's right leg. Under the glow, the damaged area instantly restored to its perfectly intact state.
Sven's mood instantly plummeted. Prolonged use of moves in battle had exhausted his Snorlax's PP. It now stood panting wearily on the spot.
Caleb, from start to finish, had only used Leech Seed and Recover… Although the damage from Leech Seed wasn't high, its healing effect combined with Recover was utterly torturous.
'Can I really defeat such an opponent?' A thought of retreat surfaced in Sven's mind.
He hesitated for a moment, then opened the battle panel and pressed the surrender icon. The next second, his figure left the Battle Arena and returned home.
Even though he lost the battle, for some reason, Sven felt unprecedented relief...
...
The opponent had fled...
Caleb looked somewhat speechlessly at the notification of gaining 25 ranking points that popped up on the panel.
He looked at Celebi and asked, "Can you maintain this state a bit longer?"
"Bi!" Celebi nodded.
"Good, let's continue." Caleb said.
With that, he started matching for the next opponent...
...
Thirty minutes later, the second opponent mentally broke down and chose to surrender.
Caleb: "..."
"Bi?" Celebi looked back at its trainer in confusion, not knowing what was going on. They were fighting just fine, so why did the opponent suddenly disappear?
Caleb thought the opponent might have been disgusted by this stall tactic. He didn't say much and silently matched for the next opponent...
...
Twenty minutes later, the third opponent's mentality shattered, and they fled on the spot.
At the same time, Celebi also reverted from its giantified state.
"Can you use it again now?" Caleb asked as Celebi flew back.
"Bi…" Celebi carefully sensed and then shook its head.
It seemed the duration of the giantified state was about an hour. Now, only the cooldown time remained.
Thinking this, Caleb said, "Tell me immediately the next time you can use it, understand?"
"Bi!" Celebi nodded, then, its stomach let out a series of growls.
Just then, Caleb received a message from Gardevoir that lunch was ready, so he directly left the Battle Arena and teleported home...
...
Meanwhile, a thread appeared on the player forum:
{..Mentally Broken! Sob sob, the top player on the leaderboard is inhuman! He went to the Battle Arena to use stall tactics and stomp noobs!..}
This thread detailed the battle the player encountered in the Battle Arena that morning and tearfully accused Caleb of the despicable behavior of stomping noobs.
Within five minutes of being posted, the thread's replies exceeded 3000:
{1L: 233, even though I feel sorry for you, why do I want to laugh so much!}
{2L: Caleb Chase… that name again. I remember he's a newcomer too, right? Haven't seen him in the Battle Arena before...}
{3L: If I'm not mistaken, this should be his first time unlocking the Battle Arena… As for the tactic you mentioned, it's indeed disgusting, haha!
- Reply to 3L: I'm truly mentally broken. That Celebi is such a cancer. It not only uses Safeguard to prevent status conditions, but also uses Heal Block to prevent opponents from recovering HP...}
{4L: I'm curious about what kind of player Caleb is... He's not OP, right? He should still be in the Poké Ball rank if I'm not mistaken.
- Reply to 4L: Yes, I saw he only has 75 ranking points. So he has likely only fought three matches.
- Reply to 4L: Ok, that's good. I'll intentionally drop some points and try to meet him...}
{5L: The above reply wants to snipe Caleb? What's your rank? Can you stream it? Let everyone watch the fun?
- Reply to 5L: Ultra Ball Tier 3. Ok, I'll go set up a stream and post the room number here later...}
{6L: Here for the show.}
{7L: Here for the show +1...}