Chapter 202: Battlefield Stall
Ryan's match ended, and next up was Sapphire's battle.
Sapphire's opponent was a man from the Johto region named Silver, who specialized in using powerful offensive Pokémon to quickly overwhelm his opponents.
For this reason, Sapphire specifically brought out a Pokémon she had captured for situations like this. Ryan learned from Ruby that Sapphire planned to use that Pokémon and couldn't help but feel sorry for Silver—that Pokémon was devastatingly effective against aggressive trainers like him.
As the referee announced the start of the match, Sapphire and Silver simultaneously sent out their Pokémon. After the two Pokémon appeared on the field, Ryan's eye twitched. He rubbed his temples and groaned, "Why are these two Pokémon battling? How long is this going to take?!"
Ruby and Lillie also looked miserable. Ash and his friends had already gone to their own matches. At this rate, they'd probably finish their battles and come back before this one ended.
Why did he say that? Sapphire was using Ferrothorn, and Silver was using Chansey. These two notorious stall monsters clashing meant this battle would drag on forever.
Sapphire watched her opponent with a hint of exasperation, and Silver looked back at Sapphire with equal frustration. He had only wanted to experiment with a different battle style, but things had turned out this way. However, since he had already committed, he had no choice but to fight it out to the bitter end.
Although Ferrothorn had offensive capabilities, its opponent was Chansey—one wrong move could easily lead to defeat. Therefore, Sapphire decided to play it safe, adopting a defensive approach and seeking victory through steady, patient progress.
"Ferrothorn, Ingrain!" Sapphire commanded.
Ferrothorn immediately sprouted roots that penetrated deep into the battlefield, absorbing nutrients from the earth to gradually recover HP.
"Chansey, Egg Bomb!" Silver, seeing that Sapphire had no intention of attacking, launched the first strike.
Chansey pulled out an egg charged with energy and hurled it at Ferrothorn, but Ferrothorn didn't even flinch. It's worth noting that Ferrothorn is only 2x weak to Fighting-types and 4x weak to Fire-types, but it boasts an incredible eleven resistances. A Normal-type attack like Egg Bomb was completely ineffective.
Furthermore, Silver's Chansey clearly lacked any moves that could effectively counter Ferrothorn, which explained why it resorted to Egg Bomb for chip damage.
Sapphire saw her opening and immediately said, "Ferrothorn, Toxic!"
Ferrothorn sprayed a stream of purple venom at Chansey, but Chansey nimbly dodged it. Sapphire wasn't worried about Ferrothorn being knocked out quickly, so she had it continuously spray Toxic across the field.
Silver could only have Chansey keep dodging while constantly lobbing Egg Bombs at Ferrothorn. Watching this unfold, Ryan said helplessly, "This is going to take forever. Both of them are playing ultra-conservative; we probably won't see a result for hours."
Ruby and Lillie also looked distressed. Sapphire's match had started almost at noon, and at this rate, they probably wouldn't even get lunch.
"How about we grab something to eat first, then come back to watch?" Ryan suggested.
Ruby hesitated—was that really okay? But considering how long this match was going to last, he nodded in agreement. After all, he couldn't let himself starve!
Ferrothorn kept spraying Toxic until the move's PP was completely depleted, then reluctantly stopped. Chansey, exhausted from all the dodging, decisively used Soft-Boiled to heal itself once the poison barrage ceased.
Silver was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly realized the entire battlefield was almost completely covered in toxic puddles. The space available for Chansey to maneuver had become incredibly limited.
"Hehe, try dodging now! Ferrothorn, Power Whip!" Sapphire called out with a grin.
"Chansey, dodge! Use Double-Edge!" Silver hesitated for a moment, then made his call.
Chansey watched the thick vine whip hurtling towards it and reluctantly dodged to the side—stepping directly into the poison. Its body instantly turned purple as the Toxic took hold. Then, without hesitation, Chansey charged fiercely at Ferrothorn, slamming into it with Double-Edge.
Ferrothorn barely registered the Normal-type attack. More importantly, Sapphire had achieved her goal: poison the opponent and slowly whittle down its HP. If Silver didn't want to lose his Chansey to the escalating Toxic damage, he'd have to use that move. Once all four of his moves were revealed, Sapphire would have a guaranteed path to victory.
Silver had realized this too, but there was no other option. "Chansey, Refresh, then Soft-Boiled."
Chansey used Refresh to cure the poison, then Soft-Boiled to restore its health. With all four moves now revealed, Sapphire was in complete control.
Sapphire shouted, "Ferrothorn, Power Whip!"
"Dodge, then Double-Edge!" Silver countered.
Chansey decisively dodged Ferrothorn's powerful whip attack but stepped into another poison puddle, getting poisoned again. It then charged directly at Ferrothorn, taking the recoil damage before retreating and using Refresh to cure itself.
Ryan and his friends finally saw hope for an end to this grueling match. Ferrothorn's ability was Iron Barbs—every time Chansey rammed into Ferrothorn, it not only suffered recoil damage from Double-Edge but also took additional damage from Iron Barbs. Fortunately, Chansey had enough recovery options to withstand the onslaught; most other Pokémon would have fainted long ago.
Even so, the battle dragged on for almost an hour before Chansey finally gave way, collapsing from accumulated damage and losing its ability to battle.
"Chansey is unable to battle! Ferrothorn wins! Therefore, the victory goes to Sapphire from Littleroot Town!" the referee announced loudly.
The spectators quickly dispersed to find food—the match had taken far too long. Even Ryan and his friends were starving, so they quickly met up with Sapphire and headed to the restaurant for a late lunch.
While eating, Sapphire complained, "I almost starved to death out there. Who would've thought that Silver, who's famous for his hyper-aggressive style, would suddenly switch to a defensive tank? If I'd known, I would've sent out Blaziken. A Fire/Fighting-type could've roasted that Chansey in no time."
Ruby forked a piece of his hamburger patty and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "That's hard to say. After all, Chansey's reputation as a battlefield nightmare isn't just for show."
Ryan lightly smacked Ruby on the head and said, "Don't talk with your mouth full." He then continued, "Anyway, we've finished the preliminaries. Now the real tournament begins. It'll be a doubles format—still three matches, still elimination. There's going to be a lot more strategy involved."
Sapphire swallowed her food, patted her chest confidently, and said, "No problem! I have complete faith in my Pokémon."
Ryan, however, wasn't too optimistic about Sapphire's chances. After all, the trainers who had made it this far were basically the elite of the elite, and the battles ahead would only get harder. Sapphire, who had just started her journey not too long ago, was lacking in experience compared to these veterans. It was uncertain how far she could go.
(End of Chapter)
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