Chapter 190: First Half! A 1v3 Sweep!
Suddenly, amidst the rapid spinning and the bath of electricity from the Shock Wave, a sharp crack echoed from Forretress without warning.
A second Shell Smash!
With the second smash complete, Forretress's speed hit terrifying levels. It blurred across the arena, appearing instantly in front of Electivire.
But Electivire was ready. In a split second, the Thunder Armor that had faded was reignited, coating its body in defensive voltage. Simultaneously, it spread its hands, conjuring a brilliant barrier.
Protect!
However, this Protect was different. Instead of the usual translucent green, the barrier shimmered with a golden hue.
Sure enough, the moment Forretress slammed into the barrier, it began to emit a blinding, intense white light.
The telltale sign of Explosion.
The white light grew denser and brighter, signaling an imminent detonation that would wipe out everything in its radius.
But just as the explosion seemed inevitable...
Zzzzt!
A cluster of electric arcs danced across Forretress's shell.
In the next instant, the gathering white light abruptly vanished.
The entire stadium stared in stunned silence at the anticlimactic turn of events.
Paralysis!
That Shock Wave earlier hadn't just done damage; it had successfully inflicted the paralysis status condition. And right at the critical moment, just as Forretress was about to trigger Explosion, the paralysis kicked in, locking its body up completely!
It wasn't just the audience—even Electivire stood there for a second, looking confused. I got all defenses up for nothing?
"Forri..."
Forretress looked equally bewildered.
Electivire recovered from the shock first. It dropped the golden Protect barrier and immediately capitalized on the opening, hammering two brutal Thunder Punches straight onto Forretress's exposed dome.
Remember, Electivire still had a two-stage Attack boost. Combined with the fact that Forretress had lowered its own Defense by four stages due to the double Shell Smash, the result was devastating.
Those punches nearly knocked the soul right out of the Bagworm Pokémon.
With a muffled thud, Forretress was launched backward, crashing heavily into the dirt.
BOOM!
When the dust settled, Forretress was embedded in the ground. The eyes visible through the shell were spinning spirals.
"Forretress is unable to battle! Electivire wins the match!"
"Oh my god! Lady Luck is smiling upon Kenji today! Forretress was fully immobilized by paralysis right before it could trigger Explosion!"
"That is such a pity..."
While the commentators shouted in excitement, a wave of sighs swept through the stands.
An Explosion after two Shell Smashes? The damage would have been apocalyptic. If it had gone off at close range, Electivire would have been in serious trouble.
But the result was... anticlimactic.
In the Imperial Academy lounge, the mood was dead silent.
Looking at the scoreboard, they couldn't see any path to victory for Zephyr. At this point, they weren't even praying for a win anymore. Their only hope was that Zephyr wouldn't lose too humiliatingly. That would be enough.
On the field, however, Zephyr's expression shifted. The heavy, conflicted look on his face vanished, replaced not by disappointment, but by a strange sense of relief.
"Contestant Zephyr has lost three Pokémon! We will now enter the halftime intermission and switch the battlefield!"
The first half had taken place on the Wasteland Field. After the brutalization by Zephyr and Kenji's Pokémon, the terrain was unrecognizable, riddled with craters and scorch marks.
According to the rules, the trainer who lost three Pokémon first would choose the field for the second half.
Kenji raised his hand, recalling Electivire to its Poké Ball.
Despite fighting three consecutive battles, Electivire still had plenty of stamina left. Its three equipped items—Hand of Justice, Infinity Edge, and Edge of Night—were doing their work. In fact, the Edge of Night hadn't even triggered its shield effect yet.
A 1v3 Sweep.
Zephyr went to the console to select the next arena. The break would last twenty minutes.
Unfortunately, because Electivire was recalled, all its accumulated Attack boosts and the status immunity from the [Indomitable Will] Hexcore were reset.
Back in the private locker room designated for the competitors, Kenji let Electivire out.
The massive electric beast appeared in the room. Gone was the fierce, majestic warrior of the arena. Electivire slumped down, rubbing its belly and looking at Kenji with pathetic puppy-dog eyes.
Kenji knew exactly what that look meant. It was begging for snacks.
"Not now, buddy," Kenji laughed, patting its massive arm. "Rules say no items or food during the break. But I promise, once we win this thing, you're getting a feast."
With no food forthcoming, Electivire looked a bit disappointed. It sat cross-legged on the floor next to Kenji, waiting for the second half.
A moment later, the door opened, and Zephyr walked in.
"Thank you."
Zephyr sat down on the bench next to Kenji and spoke quietly.
Kenji turned, looking a bit surprised. "Thank you? For what?"
"Thank you for stopping Forretress from using Explosion." Zephyr offered a faint smile, even though he had just had half his team wiped out by a single Electivire.
Kenji looked at him and asked, "You didn't actually want it to use Explosion, did you?"
Zephyr hummed in agreement. "Right. Explosion... it causes a lot of physical trauma to the Pokémon using it."
Self-destructing moves had massive power, but the recoil and strain on the user were severe.
Zephyr sighed. "Back there, just so I wouldn't lose so badly... just for the sake of the Imperial Academy's 'face'... I almost forced Forretress to do it. I'm glad you stopped it. Now I won't have to look back on this match with regret."
Kenji studied Zephyr's face. His eyes were sincere, his expression honest. There was no acting here. This guy genuinely cared more about his Pokémon than the score.
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