Chapter 180: He's an Excellent Trainer
Five days later, the Jubilife City training grounds were buzzing with excitement. A revenge match was about to take place, but no one knew if revenge would be successful.
In the past few days, Nastina had made quite a few appearances at the training grounds. Her win rate was terrifyingly high; it was rare to see her lose even one out of ten matches. And her fighting style was so annoying that almost no one wanted to battle her.
Shigeru's style, on the other hand, was well-known. He was an ordinary, straightforward brawler, with no real tactics to speak of, relying entirely on improvisation and on-the-spot reactions. In short, he was a brute. And against Nastina, this type of trainer was a plaything.
On the battlefield, Shigeru and Nastina were already in position.
"I thought you wouldn't show up before I leave tomorrow," Nastina said, her head held high as she looked down on him. "But it's useless even if you did. You're just asking for another beating."
"Oh," Shigeru replied casually. Having spent the past few days with Will, he had more or less come to understand what he meant. And before the battle, Will had already told him: no matter what Nastina said, he just had to reply with "Oh."
"Hmph, you're overestimating yourself! Toxicroak, teach him a lesson."
"Croak-gunk."
The battle began.
"Toxicroak, use Toxic!"
"CROAK!"
Without a word, the Toxicroak's chest puffed out, and a cloud of poison gas spewed from its mouth, rushing towards the Torterra.
"Torterra, Seed Bomb, in front of you!"
"TOR-TERRA."
Torterra opened its mouth and formed a giant seed in the air in front of it. BOOM! The seed fell from the sky, and the impact sent a gust of wind sweeping outwards, scattering the incoming poison gas.
This move surprised many of the onlookers. Shigeru had actually used his brain?
"Meow!" Meowscarada lifted her chin proudly. Torterra mastering Seed Bomb was all thanks to her.
"Yes, yes, you're the best," Will said, shaking his head with a grin. When Meowscarada was preparing to teach it, he had discovered that Torterra already knew the move, it just had very low proficiency. With her help, it had become much more familiar with it, at least to the point where it could use it successfully 100% of the time.
The battle continued.
"Since that move didn't work, then use Sludge Bomb!"
"Torterra, Razor Leaf!"
Almost at the same time as Nastina's command, Shigeru's voice followed. Will had told him: against Nastina and her Toxicroak, you have to be proactive. You have to push them to a certain point to get a chance to counterattack. So, Shigeru had no intention of waiting for her to attack.
The small tree on Torterra's back rustled. Several large, scythe-shaped leaves flew out and collided with the mud bombs from the Toxicroak. The mud bombs were detonated in mid-air. Toxicroak's attack had been countered again.
The murmuring from the crowd grew louder. This battle was starting to get interesting.
"A little improvement, but not much. With your skill level, you can only..."
"Oh."
"Torterra, use Leech Seed!" Shigeru interrupted.
"ROOAAR!"
Torterra roared, and the small tree on its back shot a volley of seeds into the sky, which rained down on the Toxicroak.
"...Dodge it, quick!" This time, Nastina's command was a little slow. Shigeru's "oh" had gotten to her. But that slight delay was all it took. One of the seeds had stuck to the Toxicroak's shoulder.
This was entirely her fault. In a battle, a Pokémon will not move without its trainer's command.
Now, the roots of the Leech Seed were wrapped around the Toxicroak's shoulder. The occasional pangs of pain were making its entire left arm feel sluggish.
"Damn it," Nastina said, seeing this. She was starting to get anxious. If this continued, her Toxicroak's condition would only get worse.
"Seed Bomb!"
"Sucker Punch!"
Shigeru attacked again. But this time, Nastina reacted quickly. The moment Torterra began to gather energy, the Toxicroak had already shot forward, rapidly closing the distance.
SMACK!
It slapped Torterra on the head, interrupting its move.
"Meow?!" Meowscarada let out a confused sound. She didn't understand why Shigeru hadn't used Rock Tomb to hinder the Toxicroak's approach.
"...Let's just watch and see," Will said, frowning, also a little confused. But he wouldn't say anything. Shigeru knew his own Torterra better than anyone. Perhaps he had realized a certain tactic that could lead to victory.
"Now! Rock Tomb!" Shigeru's excited voice cried out.
With a stomp of Torterra's foot, one after another, giant stone pillars erupted from the ground around it, slanting outwards and forming a small pyramid. The purpose of this move was not to attack, but to trap both of them inside!
"Brilliant," Will muttered with a grin.
Using Rock Tomb to hinder the Toxicroak's movement would have prevented the Sucker Punch and the Poison Touch, but it also would have prevented Torterra from getting a chance to launch an effective attack. But by trapping the Toxicroak right in front of it, it had nowhere to run.
Just then, Will's vision flickered. He saw the phantom of Liz, standing in Shigeru's place. The two figures overlapped. They simultaneously raised their hands and pointed forward.
"Earthquake!"
BOOM!
The ground shook violently. The super-effective Ground-type ultimate move slammed into the Toxicroak. The stone pillars collapsed, revealing the scene inside.
The entire field fell silent. Everyone stared, unblinking.
The Torterra's face was purple; it seemed to have been poisoned. But at its feet, the Toxicroak was lying on the ground, unconscious.
In an instant, the crowd erupted.
"Whoa-oh-oh!"
"Shigeru actually won?!"
"Since when was this guy so smart?"
"That Rock Tomb... it was so powerful! And wait... it looked a lot like the one that Sceptile used!"
"I remember Shigeru is friends with that Sceptile! Look, Sceptile is right over there! He must have been giving him special training!"
"Damn it, so cunning! I want special training from Meowscarada too!"
"Toxicroak?!" Nastina's voice rang out in disbelief. She couldn't believe she had lost to the same opponent from a few days ago. That blockhead who only knew how to attack mindlessly... in just a few days, it was as if he had evolved.
"Yee-haw!!" On the other side, Shigeru was ecstatic. "Torterra! We won!" He ran over and hugged its large head.
"Tor-terra~" Torterra, seeing its trainer so happy, also broke into a broad smile.
"He's an excellent trainer," Will grinned, then looked at the Meowscarada beside him. "We should probably be leaving soon."
"Meow," she nodded. They had been here long enough.
"Sceptile~ Meowscarada~" Shigeru remembered them now. He recalled his poisoned Torterra, then ran over, dancing with excitement.
"Sceptile?!" Nastina heard his voice and turned. Her heart sank. Why is it with that idiot, and not with me?!
"Not bad. Your tactic even surprised me," Will said.
"Hehe, it was alright," Shigeru said, rubbing his nose in embarrassment. In reality, there was no tactic. He had just had a sudden idea and had gone with it. He hadn't expected it to work so well.
"Hey!" Nastina walked over, her Toxicroak recalled. "Don't get too cocky. It was just one win."
"Oh," Shigeru replied. He then led Will and Meowscarada away. His Torterra was poisoned; he had to get it to the Pokémon Center. Besides, he knew they were leaving soon. He had to help his two friends prepare supplies for their next journey.
"Damn it! He makes me so mad!" Nastina stomped her foot in anger. She had made up her mind. She would stay in Jubilife for a few more days! She would not leave until she had beaten Shigeru!
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