The dopey Clodsire opened its large mouth.
The energy accumulated through moves gradually turned into pure white light, quickly forming a white sphere of light that expanded visibly.
Watching Clodsire's movements, beads of sweat formed on Aiden's temples.
Judging by the power scale in Pokémon games, the Earthquake Clodsire used earlier had a power of 100, and even devastating moves like Hyper Beam only had a power of 150.
And this simple beam attack that Clodsire was now unleashing probably had an immeasurable power...
The power of Spit Up increases exponentially with the user's stored energy. After Clodsire continuously used Stockpile, it reached an extremely terrifying level.
This wasn't a game; Aiden himself didn't believe Rika's Champion-level Clodsire would have a limit of only three Stockpiles.
But even so, there was still a glimmer of hope.
Aiden took a deep breath and calmly gave the command:
"Eevee, Baton Pass!"
Given Eevee's reaction speed and the agility provided by the bamboo dragonfly, it could likely avoid without needing to be recalled into the Poké Ball.
But precisely because this move's power was immense, the currently dire situation might actually turn around.
After all, Eevee's moves against Clodsire couldn't be said to be completely ineffective, but they were more like scratching the surface.
Only sending out Riolu for a desperate try...
Upon hearing the command, Eevee's small hands immediately gripped the air twice, quickly forming an energy baton. Simultaneously, a red light shot out from the Poké Ball in Aiden's hand.
Aiden had previously demonstrated Baton Pass tactics in the game, and he'd made some small attempts in reality as well.
Although Eevee hadn't strengthened itself, the applications of Baton Pass in reality extended far beyond that…
Eevee's figure disappeared, another Poké Ball was swiftly thrown out, and the serious-looking Riolu appeared in Aiden's half of the field.
"Ri…."
Even facing such an opponent, Riolu remained unfazed, already beginning to contemplate the current situation before being released.
Inside the Poké Ball, Riolu had been observing the battle using Aura.
With Eevee's strength, it couldn't break through the opponent's defenses. Several consecutive attacks instead ignited its fighting spirit.
This was normal. After a few days of interaction, Riolu could sense that Eevee wasn't suited for direct confrontations.
However, compared to Big Sister's main team, this opponent still had some gaps.
As Clodsire opened its big mouth, the white light condensed into a beam, seemingly about to unleash all its furious energy.
Since the trainer had made the decision to send him out, it meant he must have already thought of a solution…
Against pure energy attacks, his Counter wouldn't have much effect, so it definitely wasn't about enduring the opponent's ultimate move.
As for Protect or Detect, under such a vast difference in strength, they wouldn't yield any good results.
Simply avoiding the attack wasn't that difficult, but obviously, the trainer wanted more than just survival—he wanted a brilliant counterattack!
So…
It was about finding a way to interrupt it.
"Riolu, Fake Out!"
Almost the instant Aiden spoke, Riolu stepped forward first.
Then, at lightning speed, it slapped Clodsire with one palm.
Fake Out, though seemingly just an ordinary slap, actually has the added effect of stunning the opponent.
What happens when Clodsire, who has Stockpiled to its limit, is suddenly interrupted?
After being hit by Riolu, Clodsire froze for a moment.
In that split second, the already restless and violent energy immediately spiraled out of control, enveloping everything in dazzling white light.
Instinctively shielding his eyes with his hand, Aiden exhaled in relief.
He had to admit that there was an element of gambling involved, but now it seemed he had bet correctly.
Neither Riolu nor Eevee could deal effective damage to the vastly superior Clodsire, so they had no choice but to use this risky method.
A classic aspect of RPG games: if your attacks can't even break through the opponent's armor, the best solution is to make them defeat themselves.
And Clodsire's current state, commonly known as—
Backlash!
The move originally intended to attack the opponent prematurely detonated in Clodsire's own mouth.
Under these circumstances, a powerful move would bring about even more severe backlash.
The damage caused by internal attacks is much more severe than directly receiving an attack, potentially rivaling the effects of a massive explosion.
When the white light dissipated, blackened marks already appeared on Clodsire's originally brownish, dumbfounded fish face. After spitting out several black smoke rings, it eventually rolled over, knocked out cold.
"Ri..."
Riolu let out a relieved sound, subtly hiding its hands behind its back.
At such close range, even just absorbing the blast's aftershock momentarily numbed the hands Riolu used to block.
If he had endured this attack and still failed to defeat the opponent, he would likely have temporarily lost all combat ability...
Thankfully, the mission was accomplished!
With all their might, a hard-fought victory!
To prevent something like this from happening again, he felt that perhaps he should learn from another bear master how to use kicks for attacks.
"Too cool, Riolu!"
Nemona shouted excitedly.
No wonder that in front of Teacher Aiden, not even a Champion stood a chance!
Standing next to Nemona, Geeta was equally shocked by this unexpected result, her eyes widening instantly.
Originally, in her view, Aiden, who could match wits with Rika and understood pre-battle planning, was already a rare talent.
But no one expected him to defeat this Clodsire in such an outrageous manner...
As the league's top champion, she could see that both of Aiden's Pokémon were relatively average, at least not yet at a sufficient level to evolve.
Yet these two babies, in Aiden's hands, actually managed to defeat Rika's Clodsire.
Even if not going all out, it was enough to be astonishing.
This young gym leader named Aiden's talent might be several levels higher than they had previously imagined...
Rika, who had been stern-faced, also paused in shock.
This tactic was too...
Though countless curses wanted to spill out, she ultimately held back.
If only conventional moves were used, with Riolu and Eevee's current strength, they might fight Clodsire all day without making a dent.
So using such an outrageous move was understandable.
What frightened Rika even more was...
You, a new gym leader, could you really have been thinking from the start about how to win this battle???
With this thought, Rika looked at Aiden with a complex gaze and said:
"There's no need to continue the assessment, your abilities are fully sufficient to pass."
"Now I'm more curious to hear from you—how many tactical plans did you prepare before this battle?"
Only she, facing Aiden, could detect that from start to finish, this guy's reactions were flat, as if everything had been meticulously prepared.
So, had he thoroughly calculated every possible step in this battle to be so confident?
A terrifying conjecture involuntarily arose in Rika's mind, prompting her to eagerly ask Aiden.
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