This battle wasn't exactly like official battles, but it was definitely traditional.
Although it wasn't the 6-on-6 full team battle that was highly demanding on Trainers, the 3-on-3 battle format was still the most commonly used rule among Trainers.
Terrance and Leo took out their Poké Balls and threw them almost at the exact same time.
"Awooo!!"
An Arcanine with flax-colored, fluffy fur and black-and-orange stripes, its body seeming to merge with the wind, stepped onto the battlefield amid a burst of sparks. It let out a majestic roar toward the opposing Galvantula.
Galvantula, a spider-like Electric + Bug Type Pokémon with a mostly yellow body, revealed a mocking expression in the face of Arcanine's intimidation, showing that it wasn't affected by the Intimidate Ability at all.
"As expected of a Pokémon raised by a Master-level Trainer..."
Seeing that Arcanine's Intimidate had no effect, Terrance wasn't particularly bothered. This Galvantula seemed to possess a strong will, and its strength was nothing to scoff at. After returning to Sootopolis City, Terrance had watched the event footage of this Galvantula. In the Bug Type event, it had easily won the event thanks to its exceptional mastery over silk techniques.
Galvantula's use of silk surpassed that of Terrance's Beautifly by a huge margin.
"Arcanine?"
When Terrance sent out his Pokémon, many in the audience wore puzzled expressions. This Arcanine...
Wasn't it the same one from the Fire Type evrnt?
Judging by its performance back then, this Arcanine's strength didn't seem particularly impressive. For a moment, most people couldn't figure out what Terrance was thinking.
Mismagius, Castform, Altaria, Beautifly... Didn't he have so many other Pokémon to choose from?
"That must be the same Growlithe from back then…"
Winona of Fortree Gym looked at the Arcanine, which was clearly larger than a typical one, with a flawless coat and a dignified gaze, and recalled the battle nearly two years ago, when Terrance had fought her with a Growlithe.
"That Arcanine's battle style is probably the reckless kind, right?" She remembered the Growlithe's way of fighting vividly. To be honest, its combat style had startled her quite a bit. Growlithe's ferocity had exceeded her expectations, it gave her no chance to react and immediately took down her Swablu.
"This Arcanine…" Raoul Contesta also fell into recollection.
Those familiar with Terrance knew that the rules of the Fire Type event had limited Arcanine's potential. But most people only remembered Arcanine based on its performance in that event.
"Its control over fire may be decent, but it wasn't exactly impressive, right?"
"Using this Arcanine to face off against an Elite Four's main Pokemon… well, at least it has a type advantage." This was the general sentiment. Right now, Arcanine's only apparent advantage was its favorable type.
"Nice expression." Leo looked at Arcanine, taking the opportunity to observe one of Terrance's Pokémon up close for the first time.
"Thanks," Terrance replied.
After speaking, he looked at Arcanine. Letting Arcanine take the first match was typical of Terrance's style.
The first battle was all about momentum; win or lose, the goal was to make an impression and strike fear into the opponent. After losing the Fire Type event, Arcanine had long been eager to showcase its strength.
On the battlefield, the yellow Galvantula and the black-and-orange Arcanine faced each other, the tension in the air palpable.
Neither Leo nor Terrance made the first move, the atmosphere instantly became heavy.
"Trying to find an opening?" Seeing that Terrance wasn't taking action, Leo stopped waiting and was the first to order Galvantula to attack.
Golden electricity shot into the air like a giant web, sealing off all directions as it descended toward the ground. Leo had Galvantula use the move Discharge.
The currents were dense and numerous, like a woven cage meant to suppress Arcanine.
Arcanine reacted quickly, immediately dodging to the side along the trajectory of the attack. Bolts of electricity rained continuously onto the ground. Galvantula's control of the electricity currents was extremely fluid, and at the same time, Arcanine's coordination skill finally erupted out.
Its coordination skill wasn't about flame control, but rather, control over its own body.
When its body and moves are fully synchronized, that's when Arcanine reaches peak combat power.
Faced with the sweeping electric currents, Arcanine's evasive maneuvers displayed astonishing coordination, as if it could precisely control every muscle in its body. It was always able to forcibly shift its movement in the instant before an attack landed, successfully dodging each time.
"What is Terrance doing?"
The actions of Leo and Terrance left the audience puzzled.
"It's probably just a warm-up." Only a few people showed strange expressions. Albus was one of them. He watched the battlefield carefully. Leo was probing, and so was Terrance. Neither dared to make a reckless move without first understanding the other's trump cards.
"Terrance being cautious is one thing, but why is an Elite Four also being so cautious?" Albus was confused. What he didn't know was that during the previous Dragon Type event, a few casual words he'd said to Leo had already made him take Terrance seriously.
"But… if this probing continues, Arcanine might build up even more power."
Galvantula attacked, Arcanine dodged. The battle played out like this for several short breaths.
After a moment, Leo's expression relaxed. He said, "Is that the extent of its coordination?"
At the same time, Terrance also spoke: "Warm-up's over. Is that all the offense you've got?"
The two had been testing each other out, and neither was fooled by the skills shown so far. Terrance knew that Galvantula's silk was conductive, similar to the way he had raised his Beautifly. But compared to Beautifly, this Galvantula's silk had clearly been nurtured in a much more specialized manner.
Since the silk was conductive, and judging by the intensity of the earlier electricity, Terrance was now confident in allowing Arcanine to attack.
In Terrance's view, the trickiest part of dealing with this Galvantula was its ever-changing conductive silk. But since it was silk, it would surely be afraid of fire. Unless Galvantula had been specially raised to resist flames, its silk wouldn't be able to withstand being consumed by fire.
"Arcanine, show your powers."
After constantly moving around, Arcanine's body had long since grown hot, entering peak condition. The dense fire energy within its body began to get restless. If not suppressed by Arcanine itself, it might have already erupted into endless raging flames.
"Galvantula, cover the entire field with silk."
As a red glint flashed in Arcanine's eyes, it entered the Outrage state, its wild nature fully unleashed. At the same time, Galvantula ceased its Discharge attack. Now that Leo had figured out the extent of Arcanine's coordination skill, he also knew how to suppress it.
Each side was confident in their own abilities. After just one round of exchanges, they had both concluded the other would fall into their own battle rhythm.
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