Two chapters in one!
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As the air currents representing Speed Boost swirled around Combusken's body, the livestream chat erupted in confusion:
[Speed Boost?? What kind of ability is that? Does Combusken even have that ability?]
[Yo dude, is your Pokémon even legal? How can it auto-boost speed like that?]
[Holy crap, so next turn he'll outspeed Ludicolo, won't he?]
While the chat was in chaos, Cynthia calmly took in the scene, immediately grasping the gravity of the situation.
Sure enough, gym leaders in this game would never make the basic mistake of giving away a free Pokémon!
The reason Brawly dared to use Swords Dance against the type-disadvantaged Ludicolo was because he knew Combusken's Speed Boost would activate at the end of the turn, letting him regain priority in the next round.
But… how could Combusken have the Speed Boost ability?
Wasn't his ability supposed to be only Blaze?
She had no time to dwell on it—the command timer was down to 15 seconds.
For now, she had to focus on the match.
The situation was clearly unfavorable. With a two-level Attack boost, Combusken's moves would effectively deal double damage.
Worse, after Speed Boost activated, he would outspeed any Pokémon on her team—gaining even more speed with each passing turn.
Her eyes narrowed as she made her decision, selecting Zen Headbutt again.
It was fine—Ludicolo at full HP might withstand one hit from Combusken.
Ludicolo's Defense and HP stats were excellent at this stage. As long as Combusken didn't have a Flying-type move, it'd fall to Ludicolo's counterattack.
The turn began.
Fortunately, Combusken didn't use Wing Attack or Aerial Ace. Cynthia breathed a small sigh of relief—the worst-case scenario hadn't happened.
But the next move shattered her expectations.
Instead of attacking, Combusken's body glowed white, and a baton floated in the air as if held by invisible hands.
[Combusken used Baton Pass and switched out!]
In an instant, Combusken transformed into red light and vanished, replaced by a towering, two-meter-tall Pokémon with a muscular frame and steel rebar strapped to its back.
[The opponent sent out Gurdurr!]
Dazzling red light and powerful air currents swirled around Gurdurr.
[Gurdurr inherited Combusken's stat changes!]
The chat exploded:
[Huh??? What was that move just now? Why was there a stick?]
[Baton Pass… seems like it can transfer boosts? Wait, holy crap??]
[Oh no.]
Cynthia's expression grew serious.
The moment she saw the baton, she knew what had happened.
Baton Pass transferred the current Pokémon's stat boosts to another team member while allowing a switch during battle.
In real-life battles, this move was rarely used—it required careful setup, and even Champion-level Pokémon could only pass on a fraction of their boosts.
But in this game, the effect was far stronger.
Gurdurr now had Combusken's stat boosts at full health, and his Attack stat was already terrifying.
In her career, she had only faced one trainer who used Gurdurr's evolved form, Conkeldurr—and that battle left a lasting impression.
If giving Combusken those boosts was like handing him a razor-sharp sword…
Then giving them to Gurdurr was like loading a machine gun with explosive rounds.
As she considered her next move, the situation worsened.
Ludicolo's head glowed pink as he charged with psychic energy—but he missed completely.
[Ludicolo used Zen Headbutt, but it missed!]
A critical miss.
The next turn began. Cynthia chose Zen Headbutt again—it was her only option.
Gurdurr's speed wasn't exceptional, even with a boost, so Ludicolo might still move first. Zen Headbutt also had a 20% chance to make the opponent flinch.
If Ludicolo couldn't survive an attack, maybe he could still control the match.
But as the turn began, a sudden change occurred.
From the deep red orb on Gurdurr's chest, flames burst forth, enveloping him.
[Gurdurr's Flame Orb activated!]
[Gurdurr was burned!]
Cynthia froze.
Flame Orb? Burning himself?
The chat was just as puzzled.
[Carrying an item to burn yourself?? What's the point?]
[This Gurdurr might be an M, confirmed.]
[First Swords Dance, then Baton Pass, now burning himself—Brawly's a madman.]
From previous matches, viewers knew that a burn status cut a Pokémon's Attack in half and drained HP each turn.
For a physical attacker like Gurdurr, this seemed like self-sabotage.
But then—
[Gurdurr's Guts ability activated!]
[The Attack reduction from burn was nullified!!]
[His Attack rose!!!]
The chat went wild:
[Huh???]
[Wait, how did his Attack go up instead of down??]
[This is insane!!!]
Cynthia bit her lip.
So it was Guts.
In that case, Ludicolo had no chance of surviving.
Her only hope was for Zen Headbutt to cause a flinch.
But before Ludicolo could move—
[Gurdurr used Mach Punch!]
A brown flash, and Ludicolo's HP dropped to zero.
[Ludicolo fainted!]
Without hesitation, Cynthia closed the game and restarted.
With two Attack boosts, Gurdurr could one-shot Stufful and Grovyle as well—and Mach Punch had priority. There was no point continuing.
The chat was still reeling.
[Brawly bro—no, Lord Brawly. I kneel before you.]
[He looks sunny and cheerful, but he's terrifying in battle.]
[Gurdurr just punched Ludicolo's hat clean off.]
[Cynthia, explain how he got so strong—I'm lost.]
After a moment, Cynthia spoke.
"Brawly's tactics were brilliant. Combusken could use Speed Boost and Swords Dance to pass stat boosts to Gurdurr on turn two.
"If I'm correct, Combusken held a Focus Sash. Even if hit by a super effective move, he could survive with 1 HP, complete his boost pass, and retreat.
"Gurdurr, after inheriting two Attack boosts, became even deadlier with Guts, which boosts Attack under a status condition while ignoring burn's penalty.
"Combine that with Mach Punch's priority, and he can sweep the late game."
She paused, her gaze thoughtful.
The scientific community believed Gurdurr's abilities were Sheer Force or Guts—but she had never seen anyone actively exploit Guts this way.
It was clever—and exactly the kind of resourceful play every trainer should strive for.
Rather than just a strong team, this showed the game's creator had a master-level understanding of Pokémon battles.
But Cynthia's eyes now shone with determination.
The harder the fight, the more seriously she would take it.
She restarted the game, entered Dewford Gym, and stood before Brawly once more.
This time, she had a plan.
Instead of challenging immediately, she opened Ludicolo's move configuration menu.
In this game, Pokémon could carry only four moves in battle. Learning a new move required replacing an existing one—but any previously learned move could be re-equipped at any time.
She scanned the list, stopping at one move in particular. Her eyes lit up.
"Perfect… this is it."
"This battle is just getting started."
She smiled, speaking softly.
Ten seconds later, the match began—Ludicolo and Combusken taking the stage once again.
The chat buzzed:
[Combusken lead again? He's going for the same strategy.]
[Yeah, it's unbeatable. Focus Sash guarantees the pass.]
[Only chance is Zen Headbutt flinch, but it's risky.]
But this time, Ludicolo didn't use Zen Headbutt—or Bubble Beam.
Instead—
A palm of dark energy formed and struck Combusken.
[Ludicolo used Fake Out!!]
The move dealt only minor damage—but that wasn't the point.
[Combusken flinched!]
Fake Out could only be used on the first turn after a Pokémon entered battle, but it had high priority and guaranteed flinch.
Cynthia smiled.
Focus Sash only triggers at full HP. Even a small chip of damage rendered it useless.
Just like now.
"Ludicolo, use Bubble Beam!"
"Ludi!!"
Bubbles surged from Ludicolo's mouth, rushing straight toward Combusken.
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