"Bellossom has lost the ability to fight—Shuckle wins!"
The referee, momentarily stunned, immediately announced the result of the battle.
"Shuck!"
Upon hearing this, Shuckle began shouting joyfully.
Ethan also smiled faintly at the sight, and then turned his gaze toward the gym leader before him, Victoria Holt.
It was said that this leader, Victoria, came from a family of breeders and possessed exceptional skill in raising Grass-type Pokémon. However, when it came to battling, she was clearly weaker, and the Greenfield Club—the gym—focused more on breeding than on combat.
That was why Ethan had sent out Shuckle for this battle; and now he saw that even Shuckle could handle it with ease. If he had sent out Charizard, the fight would have ended even faster.
"That Rock Throw... what terrifying energy control."
At that moment, Victoria began carefully examining Ethan's Shuckle.
Judging from its body and overall development, this Shuckle was extraordinarily outstanding.
It was hard to imagine that a Pokémon like Shuckle could be trained to such a degree, displaying strength completely disproportionate to its species.
As a breeder, Victoria began inspecting it in detail, and the more she looked, the more astonished she became.
Meanwhile, Ethan also noticed the surprise in Victoria's eyes, and couldn't help feeling a bit proud.
Shuckle naturally possessed the ability to produce nutritious juice, so Ethan never had to worry about its nutrition. Combined with its Hidden Power and the development of its Gluttony ability, Shuckle could fully maximize the effects of Berries.
Additionally, after learning to make Pokéblocks, Shuckle absorbed part of the Berry residues separated during energy purification, greatly enhancing its physical capabilities.
"The next one will be this." Victoria withdrew her gaze and threw another Poké Ball. A well-conditioned Meganium appeared on the field.
"Shuckle, recover first."
Ethan took a moment to think before giving the order.
Shuckle nodded quickly, and its body began to emit a soft green glow, recovering energy at high speed.
"What is that?"
"A move similar to Synthesis?"
Victoria was once again surprised.
As a breeder, she of course knew about Shuckle and its ability to produce nutritious juices—she even had one herself... but she didn't remember Shuckle being able to do something like this.
"Meganium, stop it quickly—Razor Leaf!"
Meganium, already prepared to attack, launched two large leaves toward Shuckle.
"Gyro Ball."
Shuckle repeated the earlier maneuver and blocked the attack with Gyro Ball.
Meanwhile, the green light surrounding it didn't fade; as it spun, that light formed a sort of semi-transparent barrier.
"It can keep recovering while using Gyro Ball?"
This time, even President Elena was stunned.
Did that Shuckle actually have multitasking mastery?
Was its talent not way too monstrous?
Ethan, seeing their expressions, simply smiled.
Shuckle wasn't using any recovery move. It was simply absorbing at high speed the energy of the Pokéblocks inside its body thanks to Gluttony. The green light and the recovery were just side effects of the process—not actual multitasking.
As everyone knew, Shuckle had the highest physical and special defense among all Pokémon, but also one of the lowest HP. That was why it was usually considered useless in battle.
But now, Ethan's Shuckle could manufacture its own Pokéblocks, and the Pokéblocks it produced had an extremely strong recovery effect.
With Gluttony and its affinity to the Grass type via Hidden Power, it could activate that recovery at full strength.
That completely erased its weakness of low HP: as long as the Pokéblocks inside its body didn't run out, Shuckle could heal infinitely.
And by combining constant recovery with its absurdly high defenses...
Shuckle became an unbreakable tank, able to withstand endless attacks while maintaining maximum energy—so long as it wasn't defeated in a single blow.
Boom, boom, boom—
The battle between Shuckle and Meganium grew increasingly intense. But Shuckle looked more and more excited.
The green light covering it never disappeared, keeping its strength at maximum levels. Even after being hit multiple times by Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, it showed no sign of pain.
In contrast, after repeatedly attacking and being struck several times by Rock Throw, Meganium was starting to wear out; its strength waned and its attacks were losing power.
"Meganium, Synthesis!"
Seeing her Pokémon panting heavily, Victoria had no choice but to order recovery.
"Shuckle, use Super Rock Throw."
Ethan wasn't going to let this opportunity go.
Shuckle murmured softly, activated Helping Hand, and then launched Rock Throw.
In the sky, the energy began condensing. With the boosted power from Helping Hand, the rock expanded into a massive boulder nearly two meters tall, which fell from high above.
Victoria felt her eye twitch and quickly ordered Meganium to stop using Synthesis and dodge to the side.
BOOM!
The rock fell and exploded into fragments, which struck the unprepared Meganium, causing it to stagger backward repeatedly.
"This can't go on!"
"There's no choice but to bet everything."
"Meganium, Solar Beam!"
Victoria understood perfectly how dire the situation was. The mere thought that her Meganium might be worn down and defeated by a Shuckle made her scalp tingle.
Meganium, understanding this was its last chance, steadied its stance. The large flower around its neck began absorbing sunlight rapidly and its body released terrifying energy.
"The final attack, huh?"
"Then we'll use our strongest move as well."
The corner of Ethan's lips curved as he gave the order.
Shuckle nodded; it knew exactly which move Ethan meant. It began gathering all the energy within its body.
(End of chapter)