Cross's command of "Go all out," filled with hostility, was like a spark thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the air of the battlefield.
Facing the Gym Leader's anger, you show no introspection and actually dare to provoke her?
This is probably what they call "seeking death."
So, Erika got serious this time.
Her response was true power.
"Victreebel, Tactic A."
The moment the command fell, Victreebel's massive body suddenly sank. Its thick roots stabbed deep into the soil of the Grass-type field with astonishing speed, making a tooth-aching rustling sound.
It abandoned all mobility, transforming itself into a green fortress.
This Victreebel was not ordinary.
She was Erika's reserve main force.
To put it simply—
If Erika's current main force is the First Team.
The reserve Pokémon are the Second Team.
Then this Victreebel is the Third Team.
Its potential is very strong, and its talent is also very good; it just lacks sufficient training level.
It lost to Ash because its role was that of an [Examiner].
But now, its identity is not an [Examiner], but one that truly views the opponent as an enemy.
It's roughly similar to—even if you are a 2500-point Peak Glory King, if you don't bring your Runes...
...it is quite normal to be killed by a 1500-point player.
Victreebel's body was expanding and growing taller at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The boost brought by the move [Growth] was not merely a simple increase in power, but a brief sublimation of life level, causing the oppressive pressure it emitted to increase steeply.
Victreebel's aura surged! Surged wildly! Exploded!
Similar to Lt. Surge's 6-in-1 electromagnetic tactic, this is Erika's true warfare method—the Plant Fortification Flow!
This time, she was playing for real.
Of course, the final result shown is just a combination of moves.
How was it practiced during training?
Which medicinal instruments were used?
How to connect the support moves? That is the real secret.
It's like telling you right now what the [Mass–Energy Equivalence · E=mc²] is.
Alright, the principle has been told to you; now you should figure out a way to rub out a nuclear bomb.
Anyway, Pikachu hasn't been able to thoroughly connect those two moves from before up until now.
[Zippy Zap] and [Volt Tackle], after combining them... although it's not that they can't be used, the cost-performance ratio is actually not high.
Of course, it might also be that the difficulty of these two moves is too high; perhaps they should start with simpler moves.
Almost simultaneously.
The sunlight pouring down from the sky seemed to be drawn by an invisible traction, turning into specks of fluorescent green light that madly surged into Victreebel's body.
The dual recovery effects of [Synthesis] and [Ingrain], combined with the physical constitution enhancement brought by [Growth], as well as the soaring energy activity granted by the [Chlorophyll] Ability.
At this moment, Victreebel seemed to have become a tireless furnace of life energy fused with the entire field!
Well, it can't really be an infinite perpetual motion machine.
After all, Victreebel itself would have a load limit.
What is consumed is not energy, but mental stamina.
It's like when a person is sleepy and drinks coffee, Red Bull, or takes stimulants to forcibly maintain their mental state; the rate of sudden death also increases... and it may leave behind internal injuries and aftereffects.
"Roar!"
Incineroar's charge did not stop.
Dark red Dark-type energy wrapped around its sturdy body. Like a cannonball leaving the chamber, it slammed ruthlessly toward the seemingly immobile Victreebel.
Its giant fists burning with flames were raised high, carrying an aura that tore through everything—it was [Darkest Lariat]!
"Boom—!"
A loud noise rang out, but it was not the sound of Victreebel being sent flying.
One could see that the originally pliable vines in front of Victreebel had become harder than steel at this moment.
They wove into an airtight, giant vine shield, forcibly blocking this violent blow.
Violent shockwaves spread in all directions, blowing Ash's clothes on the spectator seats so that they fluttered.
Although this Incineroar was trained in the wrong direction, its strength was not poor.
"What?!" The sneer on Cross's face froze.
The scene of crushing decay he had envisioned did not appear.
"It's not over yet! Incineroar!" he roared in exasperation.
Incineroar roared, its sharp claws wrapped in heart-palpitating dark energy, and stabbed fiercely toward the main body behind the vine shield.
However, Erika's voice remained steady: "Resolve it."
Victreebel's huge leaf shook slightly. The vine shield that had taken the attack head-on seemed to possess life; it retracted backward following the force of the thrust, and immediately wound around Incineroar's arms like a giant python.
This was not just a block.
It was a bind!
When wild Victreebel hunt, they just wait quietly, then use their scent to lure prey in and catch them.
And then, there is no 'then'.
"Roar?!" Incineroar struggled with all its might, but the reinforced vines were incomparably tough; it actually couldn't break free for a moment.
"It's over." Erika's voice carried no emotion. "Grass Knot."
Victreebel's roots, which had stabbed underground, suddenly exerted force. Beneath the field, a majestic wave of Grass-type energy was instantly triggered.
The ground beneath Incineroar's feet collapsed without warning. Countless even thicker grass knots, containing the power of the earth, broke through the soil. Like living traps, they deadly entangled its legs and yanked it downwards!
It was just like the Wood Release in Naruto.
Only this wasn't Hashirama Senju's Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
It was more like Yamato's Wood Release doing landscaping.
"Thud!"
Incineroar's heavy body instantly lost its balance. It was slammed viciously onto the ground by this power from the earth, falling into a daze.
Fire can ignite things.
But it's laughable; you simply can't burn it all.
Fire overcoming Grass is only relative.
After all, there is still moisture inside plants.
Some plants with high water content are truly difficult to burn.
"Right now..." Erika watched the battle on the field, expressionless. "Giga Drain."
Victreebel opened its giant mouth, and a beam of emerald-green energy accurately hit the fallen Incineroar.
The latter let out a roar of pain, feeling its own physical strength being rapidly drained away like a bursting dam.
Conversely, under the triple nourishment of the energy feedback from [Giga Drain], [Ingrain], and [Synthesis], the energy Victreebel had consumed for defense and casting [Growth] was instantly refilled, and its momentum was even greater than before!
Grass-type battles are never about intuitive environmental destruction.
In fact, due to their high endurance characteristics, if you cannot suppress them with absolute strength, you will be dragged down and exhausted.
Of course, generally speaking, the Gym side will not use this kind of tactic.
Stalling a challenger to death or something... most Trainers won't cultivate a Pokémon's endurance capabilities in the early stages.
Testing endurance is just too excessive.
...After all, the Gym side still has some integrity.
If you use a battle of attrition to wear the challenger down to failure, do you still want your face?
Anyway, Erika never did this kind of thing.
Perhaps this is the idol burden of a high-born lady?
Funny.
"Impossible! Stand up! Incineroar! Use Flamethrower!" Cross's eyes were splitting with rage, unable to accept the scene before him.
His ace was actually being suppressed by the opponent as if they were playing with a child?
Cross could tell that the intensity of the Victreebel before him wasn't very high.
What made this Victreebel strong was its control and usage of moves.
And what made his defenses crumble the most was... this Victreebel was clearly the one that lost to Ash a few days ago.
Did you throw the match?!!!
Incineroar struggled, wanting to lift its head to spew flames, but the vines wrapped around its body suddenly tightened, pinning it deadly to the ground. Even its mouth was forcibly clamped shut, leaving it only able to emit unwilling "woo-woo" sounds.
Relying on a breath of ferocity, Incineroar disregarded the load on its own body, wanting to force an action.
"Leaf Storm." Erika issued the final command.
Victreebel's body erupted with Grass-type energy. Leaves flashing with cold light generated out of thin air, submerging the immobile Incineroar.
The sound of leaves cutting and Incineroar's roars of pain wove together, causing heart palpitations.
When the storm dispersed, Incineroar was covered in fine, dense wounds. It collapsed on the broken field, completely losing the ability to battle.
It only lost the ability to battle; Erika did not strike to kill.
Even if in a bad mood, Erika was a good person.
The entire arena was silent.
The referee paused for a moment before raising the flag: "Incineroar is unable to battle, Victreebel wins!"
In the spectator seats.
Brock held Vulpix, his eyes full of admiration: "[Ingrain] guarantees endurance and stability, [Growth] strengthens its own offense and defense, [Synthesis] maximizes recovery under the sunny day, combined with [Chlorophyll] boosting energy activity... This is no longer about the strength or weakness of a single move."
"Facing an opponent who cannot resolve it quickly, this set of combinations is almost in an undefeated position... This is the move set that a true powerhouse should study and use."
This was just like in a certain 5v5 fair battle game, where the developers reworked a mutated hero.
Although the stats didn't change much, the mechanics changed.
The change in the skill kit caused the hero's intensity to skyrocket.
Turning from a sewer rat into a Five-Spirit King Trisolaran.
Misty also chimed in:
"Every move isn't meant to be used alone, but to connect with and stimulate each other. [Growth] strengthened the intensity of Vine Whip and the power of [Grass Knot], while [Ingrain] and [Synthesis] provided the possibility for the continuous use of high-consumption moves like [Leaf Storm]..."
That being said... if it were Erika's true main force, it could even stack Grassy Terrain on top.
That might truly be a scene like [Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence].
Ash subconsciously pulled down the brim of his hat, the shadow obscuring the complex look in his eyes.
He recalled his experience defeating this Victreebel—relying on Pidgeotto's aerial advantage for ranged exhaustion to finally win.
At the time, he only felt Erika was strong, but looking at it now...
"Although I knew that easy battle before was because she went easy on me..."
Ash silently retorted in his heart:
"But this was going way too easy... She let the whole ocean go!"
He saw it very clearly.
This Victreebel was the very one that had battled him.
Victreebel's initial power, speed, and defense were no different from when it battled him.
But after changing its fighting style, it was worlds apart from when it battled him!
Just the difference in the selection of the move set was as if the same engine had been moved from a racing car onto an AE86.
The difference in "mechanics" displayed completely embodied that despairing gap in strength.
It staged a scene of "Déjà vu" straight out of Initial D.
Can an ordinary person driving an AE86 be the same as Takumi Fujiwara driving an AE86?
On the field.
Cross's face was pale.
His hand holding the last Poké Ball was trembling slightly.
He couldn't understand; how could the Incineroar he had painstakingly cultivated... how could it be so vulnerable?
"No... I still have a chance!" Cross seemed to clutch at the last straw, throwing the Poké Ball violently. "Go, Lycanroc! Use Accelerock!"
White light flashed.
A Lycanroc · Midnight Form, with a vigorous build and fur as hard as rock, roared as it rushed out. It turned into a grey-brown bolt of lightning, lunging straight at Victreebel.
This was a Rock-type priority move, and the speed was extremely fast!
Of course, the power wasn't that high.
However, Erika's eyes didn't even waver.
A transparent light shield instantly appeared in front of Victreebel, effortlessly blocking the surprise attack of [Accelerock].
It was [Protect].
Since she was about to win, Erika didn't want any accidents.
She had to prevent this guy in front of her from pulling any petty tricks.
Lycanroc slammed into the light shield, making a muffled sound, and its offensive came to an abrupt halt.
Then Lycanroc was grabbed by the Vine Whip.
The subsequent change was that Victreebel's head began to exhibit a luster.
It was [Wood Hammer].
However, it was obvious it wasn't activated with full power.
[Wood Hammer] is very powerful, and a full-force impact causes damage to the user as well.
But if only a portion is activated, the damage is much smaller.
Victreebel grabbed Lycanroc with Vine Whip, and then directly knocked its head against it.
Theoretically, there is a mouth on Victreebel's head.
But isn't there a leaf there too?
Laughs.
"Bang!"
A heavy, muffled sound.
Lycanroc couldn't even let out a whimper before it was smashed directly into the ground by this blow containing terrifying life force.
Cracks appeared even on the rock-like fur all over its body, and it instantly lost consciousness.
Under the reinforcement of multiple moves, this Victreebel's strength was much stronger than when it first appeared.
Although it is difficult for Victreebel to maintain this strengthened state for a long time, within the duration of this state, its strength gained a massive boost.
Instant kill!
An out-and-out crushing defeat!
The referee's flag waved down again: "Lycanroc is unable to battle, Victreebel wins! Therefore, the winner is the Gym Leader, Erika!"
The battle was over.
Victreebel slowly retracted its roots, and its body returned to its original state after the [Growth] effect ended.
However, looking at Victreebel's appearance, one could clearly see it was very exhausted.
The defect of the fortification flow is the high load on the body.
Theoretically, with every layer of fortification, the load skyrockets.
If one stacks 6 layers of fortification continuously, that is gambling with one's life... the body might fail and die suddenly at any time.
Cross stood stiffly on the spot, as if turned into a stone statue.
He stared blankly at the Pokémon on the field that had lost the ability to battle.
He looked again at the Poké Ball containing the Charmander he had disdained, which had rolled into the corner.
Finally, his gaze looked hollowly toward the kimono-clad woman across from him, who was still as gentle as jade but now seemed unattainable.
His pride, his confidence, his understanding of "power"... at this moment, were crushed to powder by Erika in the most direct and cruel way.
"How could... it be like this..." he muttered to himself, his voice dry and hoarse. "My power... is clearly so strong... Why..."
His question received no response.
Erika just glanced at him calmly, that look devoid of any emotion.
If it's just this kind of [Person]... then he is completely unworthy of her attention.
Erika: As Gym Leaders, we play instructional matches with you challengers... could it be that someone really thinks Gym Leaders are noobs?
Erika turned around, signaling the referee to handle the aftermath, and then floated away.
This was just doing a trivial little thing.
And Victreebel was also recalled into her Poké Ball.
For Victreebel, this kind of full-power outburst was also a bit of a heavy load... it needed to be sent to the medical team for a proper check-up and treatment.
____
New Story: Junji Ito: I Shall Smash Hellstar Remina
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan