Chapter 198: Axew VS Haxorus
With Ash's victory, Ryan and his group returned to their rooms. They had two days left to finish the first round of preliminary matches. This meant there were no matches for the next two days, allowing them to adjust their condition and prepare for the second round of preliminary matches the day after tomorrow.
The next day, Ryan took Lillie to the third arena in Group A for Ariana's operative's competition. Ruby and Sapphire went to other arenas to see if there were any outstanding trainers they could try to recruit into Team Rocket.
The operative's match began quickly. She was a girl with long pink hair, somewhat aloof, but undeniably strong. Her opponent was a boy from the Unova region named Casa.
"Please send out your Pokémon to begin the match," the referee announced.
Both players simultaneously threw their Poké Balls, and two Pokémon appeared on the field at the same time. When the audience saw the Pokémon on the field, they gasped in surprise.
Ryan couldn't help but click his tongue, while Lillie exclaimed, "Is she crazy?! Using that kind of Pokémon in a battle!"
Ryan was speechless. The Pokémon used by the operative was Axew, while the Pokémon used by Casa was Axew's final evolution, Haxorus!
Axew's entire body was mostly cadmium green, with dark green from its horns to the area between its eyes and around them, and grass green from its neck to its chest. It had a long white tusk and red eyes. Haxorus, on the other hand, had a pair of axe-like tusks. Its body had stripes, mostly olive green, with the sharpest parts of its tusks, fingers, and toes red, and the rest black. It also had segmented spikes on its neck.
The two Pokémon standing together looked like a child fighting an adult, which explained why many spectators were shouting that the match was over. However, Ryan didn't think so. At least this operative was a member of his elite team, so her strength was naturally not lacking. Moreover, her main Charizard had helped her defeat and capture a Latios, so she certainly wouldn't joke around with her advancement qualification.
Seeing Casa's confident expression, the operative said calmly, "Then I'll attack first. Axew, Endeavor!"
Axew instantly accelerated, taking advantage of its small size and agility, and suddenly knocked into Haxorus. Due to the effect of Endeavor, Haxorus's HP instantly became the same as Axew's.
But Casa didn't care, because Haxorus's stats were much higher than Axew's in all aspects, so losing some HP was not a big deal. Casa said directly, "Destroy it, Haxorus, use Dragon Claw."
Haxorus was already very unhappy about being hit by its own pre-evolved form, so it released its anger into its Dragon Claw, swinging its claws quickly toward Axew.
"Axew, Dragon Dance," said the operative.
Axew nimbly swayed its body, easily dodging Haxorus's claws while rapidly increasing its attack and speed. With the use of Dragon Dance, Axew's speed increased, and its dance became more and more graceful. Compared to it, Haxorus looked like a clumsy bear.
"Oh no!" Casa instantly realized and shouted, "Haxorus, Dragon Pulse!"
Haxorus unleashed a powerful shockwave from its mouth toward Axew. The operative calmly said, "Endure."
Axew glowed red as Dragon Pulse struck it hard, causing an explosion. Although Axew was nearly knocked out, it still withstood the fatal blow.
In the audience, Ryan shook his head and said, "It's over."
Lillie asked doubtfully, "Did she lose?"
"No, she won," Ryan said seriously.
Lillie was a little confused, so Ryan smiled and explained to her, "She was actually preparing for this final move from the beginning. The initial Endeavor was to ensure that this final blow would knock down Haxorus in one hit. The Dragon Dance afterward was also to increase the attack and speed, so that this final move could hit Haxorus as quickly as possible. As for Endure, it was also to maximize the setup. So, the final move is..."
"Reversal!" Lillie instantly understood and shouted.
Along with Lillie's shout, the operative also shouted at the same time, "Axew, the final Reversal!"
Axew used its last strength, and the speed enhanced by Dragon Dance finally reached its maximum. It transformed into a bolt of lightning and charged directly at Haxorus. Haxorus panicked, because it knew very well that if this move hit, it would definitely lose! But it was too late. Its dragon scales erupted as it unleashed its Outrage attack, its last stand.
But it was too late; the energy formed by Reversal had already slammed into Haxorus. With only a sliver of HP left, the damage Axew unleashed with Reversal was terrifying. A violent explosion sent Haxorus flying, crashing heavily against the wall, rendered unable to battle.
"Haxorus is unable to battle. Axew wins. Therefore, the winner is the trainer from Lavender Town!" The referee waved his flag, declaring the operative the winner. Even he was astonished; Axew's victory over Haxorus shattered his worldview.
Ryan stood up and said, "Let's go, there's not much to see next. Keep an eye on a few people; they're all trainers with legendary Pokémon. Let's see if we can recruit them into Team Rocket."
Lillie nodded, took out a small laptop, checked the list, and said, "Besides you, Ryan, there's Ash, and the rest are our operative, Mizuki, and Delilah. Ash has the three legendary birds registered: Suicune and Latias. Our operative has Latios. Mizuki has two: Deoxys and Latias. Delilah has Heatran."
"Hmm, it really is a legendary Pokémon tournament. Lillie, Delilah is a girl—you go try. I'll handle Mizuki; let's see if we can recruit her. Don't force them; let them do as they please. Whether they join or not doesn't matter. Once we're stronger, we won't have trouble recruiting," Ryan said.
Lillie nodded, parted ways with Ryan, and went to find the girl named Delilah. Ryan checked the schedule and found that Mizuki's match was in the same block as the operative's. Mizuki should have finished her match by now, and if he wasn't mistaken, she would be at the Pokémon Center recovering her Pokémon. Going there to find her would definitely be the right move.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Ryan headed toward the Pokémon Center, hoping everything would go smoothly.
(End of Chapter)
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