Chapter 223: The Countdown
"CRACKA!"
By the time everyone heard the sound, the lightning had already struck.
Greninja froze for a moment, its body tensing for an instant, then, seeing it was unharmed, it continued to slash at Raichu with its water kunai.
Not far away, Weavile, who had just been sent flying by a tail whip, opened its mouth and coughed out a ring of black smoke, feeling like it would never love again.
The once-red crest on its head was now completely charred black, with most of it scorched away, leaving only a few sparse tufts.
The once-handsome red-crested warrior was now completely reduced to "Three Hairs"...
The after-effects of the lightning strike were still quite strong. After taking that hit, Weavile's expression became dazed, and it took a long while for it to come back to its senses.
Fortunately, Arthur had just used the rules to trick Pelipper, causing it to be in its penalty time and unable to use skills. It could only fly over and clamp down on Weavile's head, twisting left and right as if trying to swallow it.
Without Arthur's calculation, if Pelipper had followed up "Thunder" with some more damage-dealing skills, Weavile would very likely have been knocked out by now.
But now, after being dazed for two or three seconds, it woke up. It just felt that its head was a bit heavy, its vision a bit dark, and its face sticky. Other than that, there didn't seem to be any major problems.
Pelipper's mouth was indeed quite large, but unfortunately, it had no teeth.
Without skills, simply trying to swallow it whole, the damage was truly limited. Its biggest contribution was probably just slobbering all over Weavile's face.
"Dark Pulse!" Asher commanded immediately.
At this time, Weavile was not near Greninja, so there was no fear of the ring-shaped ripple injuring a teammate. This kind of area-of-effect attack was particularly effective against an enemy clamped onto its head.
With a "BOOM"!
Pelipper forcefully spat out the Weavile it had swallowed up to its shoulders, then rapidly flapped its wings, ascending to dodge.
It had only come down to take advantage of the opponent being stunned by lightning. If it were a real head-on fight, Pelipper couldn't beat any of the other three Pokémon on the field.
But it didn't matter if it couldn't win; it just needed to ensure it wasn't knocked out.
As long as it was still on the field, the dark clouds would not dissipate!
And in Weavile's current state, it could at most withstand one more lightning strike before falling.
"Weavile, ignore that bird, go support Greninja!"
At this moment, Asher was also going all-in.
If it weren't for Arthur's move just now, he might have already been lying down waiting to surrender. Just as he had said before the match, losing to the opponent's ace pair was not shameful.
But since his teammate had truly shown him a glimmer of hope, who wouldn't want to take a gamble?
Even a salted fish has dreams!
The way he looked at Raichu now was as if he were staring at his father's killer!
However, the good times didn't last long. A few seconds later, Pelipper's penalty time was finally over.
"Tailwind!"
The opponent stared at the screen counter on the sidelines and immediately gave the command the moment the countdown hit zero.
The wind direction changed again with the opponent's control.
Greninja and Weavile's pursuit was suddenly hindered by a strong wind, while Raichu rapidly retreated with the wind at its back.
And then—
"Thunder!"
It was Thunder again!
The fourth time this ultimate move had been used in this match!
"Weavile, Protect!"
This time, Asher finally anticipated the lightning strike and shouted the command half a second in advance.
However—
"CRACKA!"
This time, the Pokémon struck by lightning and kneeling on the ground, stiff and paralyzed, was Greninja!
The opponent had predicted their prediction.
The target of the lightning strike was not Weavile, which only had a sliver of health left, but Greninja instead.
And Arthur had made the wrong bet.
He had guessed that the target of the lightning strike would not be Greninja, so he had held back the "Substitute" command.
You can't walk by the river all the time without getting your shoes wet.
He had predicted the opponent's move at the start and dodged the first lightning strike, then greedily focused on damage and never used Substitute again. Now, he finally failed to dodge this bolt.
"Damn it!"
He rarely showed any emotional change on the battlefield.
But then, his will remained firm.
"Continue the attack!" he commanded, while quickly glancing at his partner. "You too!"
Asher swallowed hard and didn't argue, only reminding him quickly in a low voice, "I don't have Substitute!"
The implication was: my Weavile won't survive the next lightning strike.
Because as everyone knew, "Protect," as the strongest defensive skill capable of blocking ultimate moves, had the drawback of not being able to be used consecutively, otherwise the shield's effectiveness would be greatly reduced.
The "Protect" just now was the last of Weavile's "Hamon."
Arthur remained silent, not responding.
At the same time, the situation on the field was not optimistic.
After the lightning strike, Greninja was blasted to its knees, its body temporarily stiff and unable to move. Raichu seized the opportunity to rush up and, with a spin of its tail, sent it flying again.
Then, with Pelipper's "Tailwind," it quickly ran far away.
The opponent was also very smart, knowing to avoid being caught in a pincer attack by Greninja and Weavile as much as possible.
So far, although it had also been heavily injured by Arthur and Asher's all-in assault, as long as the two opposing Pokémon couldn't attack together, it wouldn't be instantly killed.
And any discerning person could see that Weavile was on its last legs.
The commentator was now getting more and more excited, practically high on the action!
"This duel has now reached a white-hot stage!! On the field, apart from Pelipper, the other three Pokémon are all in very bad shape! The winner will very likely be decided when the next bolt of lightning descends!"
Throughout the stadium, including all the league viewers watching the live broadcast, everyone's hearts were in their throats, waiting with apprehension and anxiety.
"Bro Arthur... isn't going to lose, is he?"
The voices of the group of middle school students in the stands began to tremble.
At the players' bench, Luna commented with a calm demeanor, "For them to have fought to this point is already unexpected."
But her fingers, constantly rubbing the handle of her water cup, betrayed her true inner feelings.
This duel seemed to have entered its final countdown.
Just waiting for Raichu's cooldown to end!
Three…
Asher was still giving commands, but the sweat on his face was enough to wash it.
He knew this lightning bolt's target must be Weavile; the opponent wouldn't pass up this perfect opportunity now that it had just used "Protect."
Two…
Arthur's face was as grim as still water. His communication with Greninja had completely switched to telepathy; he hadn't spoken a word for a long time.
The atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
One…
The last second!
Greninja and Weavile were still attacking with all their might, but it was clear there was still a small, insurmountable distance to overcome to take down Raichu.
And this was very likely to become a heavenly chasm.
Zero!
Raichu seized an opportunity and, taking some damage, continuously hopped back to create distance.
A victorious expression couldn't help but appear on the face of the opposing trainer.
"Thunder!"
The familiar command, heard for the fifth time in the arena.
"OOH!"
Before the thunder even fell, cheers had already erupted from the crowd.
The Otter Team's fans were already excitedly preparing to pop the champagne.
They were going to win! That's what they all thought!
However, at this very moment, Arthur, who had been silent for a long time, finally shouted out his command again.
"Greninja, use Fling on Weavile!"
He had not given up!
The outcome was still unknown!
(End of Chapter)
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