Chapter 230: Ultimate Torture
Why was facing this opposing pair considered "gambling on luck"?
Why were they said to be the culmination of the Blaze Team's "neurotic blade" characteristic?
One could already get a glimpse of it from their first round of actions—
Because the core damage dealer of this combo, Clefable, her most proficient skill was "Metronome"!
The legendary "character detector," the "bloodline certification skill," the steadfast love of the lucky gods, and the lifelong enemy of the unlucky!
The effect of Metronome was: wagging a finger, randomly using a known Pokémon skill.
The greatest charm of this move lay in its randomness!
No one could predict what kind of thing it would waggle out!
Even Clefable herself couldn't predict it.
And the advantage of this move was: in reality, it was just a small skill, with low consumption and a very short cooldown, allowing it to be used repeatedly.
The Blaze Team's player, Chloe, could be said to have trained her Clefable's proficiency with "Metronome" to an outrageous degree.
Her Clefable could waggle out a "Metronome" once every three seconds or so!
It was practically a tireless skill machine.
And in last year's Champions Cup, her Clefable had once set a famous record by landing three ultimate moves in a row within ten seconds, instantly taking out an opponent at lightning speed!
After the match, that player from the Sinnoh League was completely devastated and even proactively gave up his starting position in the next match.
And at this moment, Chloe was equally full of confidence!
She was always full of confidence in her own Clefable.
Because a believing heart was her magic!
As it turned out, the next moment, the charging Greninja and Blaziken saw—
Clefable bent her short little legs and bounced vivaciously twice.
And then nothing happened…
The Normal-type skill: Splash. A cute, on-the-spot bounce that had no effect.
This move was the same as Magikarp's Splash; it had no use whatsoever. Its only effect was probably to liven up the atmosphere…
For a moment, the other three people on the field were uncharacteristically silent.
The players had all received professional training and generally wouldn't laugh.
But the audience was different.
At this moment, the stands were already an ocean of joy, with the sounds of people spitting out their drinks echoing all around.
Beside them, the Blissey's owner, Rosaline, shot her partner a resentful glance.
Are you serious with that little leap? Such a small action, yet it causes so much damage…
Fortunately, at this moment, the commands from Arthur and Asher arrived, timely interrupting her questioning of her partner's character.
"Greninja, get behind it!"
"Blaziken, Double Kick!"
This Blaze pair had fought many times before. Like the Otter Team's Rain-Thunder combo, their routine had long been figured out.
Besides Blissey, Rosaline also had a Wobbuffet and a Lickilicky, but no matter which Pokémon she sent out, her role was the same—to act as Clefable's bodyguard!
Clefable, wagging its finger once every three seconds, was the absolute core of this team's damage output!
Although she might be unreliable at times, with high frequency, there would always be times when she was reliable.
And Blissey's task was to protect her for as long as possible.
Arthur's side also knew this situation, so Blaziken decisively used "Double Kick" to try and force Blissey back, while Greninja saved its skills and went around the back to take out Clefable!
The strategy was very clear!
As a Fighting-type move, "Double Kick" was super effective against the Normal-type Blissey. Asher had thought that this move should at least force the opponent to use "Reflect" in front of itself.
But who would have known that although Rosaline looked gentle on the outside, she was a ruthless person on the inside.
Blissey directly ignored the attack and proactively used its chubby body to crash into Blaziken's flying kick.
At the same time, it set up "Reflect" directly to its side, blocking Greninja's path!
Completely undefended against a super-effective move, proactively taking it head-on, just to block the enemy!
After leaping into the air, both of Blaziken's kicks hit their mark, kicking Blissey back again and again.
Blissey's energy resistance was very high, but its body was very soft. It had neither armor nor scales, nor an exoskeleton. Its resistance to physical moves was actually very poor.
This "Double Kick" could be said to have had an outstanding effect!
But she didn't care at all!
Having adjusted its position beforehand, it directly used the force of the flying kick to fly backward towards Greninja in the other direction!
The rapidly charging Greninja was blocked for a moment by the "Reflect" that suddenly rose from the ground. Its steps couldn't help but pause. Just as it was about to continue after going around it, Blissey was kicked over.
In the process of being kicked into mid-air, Blissey even spread the two small wings on its sides to proactively adjust its gliding direction.
To be so proactive and well-prepared to take a beating truly opened Greninja's eyes.
"Turn around, pounce on that frog!" Rosaline commanded again.
With the flapping of its small wings, Blissey successfully turned around in the process of flying backward, then spread its short little arms and pounced towards Greninja!
Given the size comparison of these two Pokémon, using the word "pounce" to describe it was indeed not wrong.
"Water Pulse, blast it away!"
Helpless, Arthur was forced to use a skill.
Greninja couldn't just be pounced on like this. Otherwise, once the opponent's cooldown was over, it would use "Body Slam," and Greninja's small frame simply couldn't take it.
A turbulent, vibrating stream of water erupted in a ring, blasting away the pouncing Blissey.
Blaziken then rushed over with big strides, picked up Blissey, forcefully leaned back, and slammed it behind it with a backbreaker, taking over this pink demon!
Greninja then continued to charge towards Clefable!
Only this time, it was temporarily out of skills.
Blissey's support had ultimately served its purpose.
Clefable seized the opportunity to waggle out its second finger!
Everyone became nervous again.
But then they saw Clefable wiggle its butt and cutely wag its tail.
Wiggling left, wiggling right.
The Normal-type skill: Tail Whip. Cutely wags its tail, with a chance to release a mental suggestion to slightly lower the hostility of the enemy in front.
It was one of the skills that most beast-type Pokémon were born with.
In summary—still useless!
Chloe's mouth twitched twice, but she remained calm.
No big deal. A believing heart is my magic!
Then, after Greninja had been chasing and hitting Clefable for more than three seconds, she once again commanded "Metronome"!
This time, Clefable waggled out the Psychic-type skill "Rest," a self-healing move that restored its own condition through sleep.
The moment the skill came out, Clefable's eyelids immediately drooped. Unfortunately, it was immediately and violently woken up by Greninja in front of it!
Sleep your ass off, get up and party!
And so, the skill instantly failed.
At this time, Rosaline couldn't help but cast a glance over again. This time, even the gentle-faced Rosaline's gaze towards Chloe couldn't help but reveal a hint of killing intent.
Three "Metronomes" in a row, and all for nothing.
Are you worthy of me?!
From the start of the match, Chloe's luck today was indeed a bit terrible.
However, her mentality was still stable.
For a trainer who specialized in "Metronome," these were all small scenes.
At the same time, Greninja, who had been chasing and hitting Clefable, suddenly stopped without any warning. The hand that was stabbing towards Clefable suddenly slowed down. Later, it even dropped the water kunai in its hand and, instead, involuntarily and gently touched its palm to Clefable's cheek, caressing it with pity and love.
Clefable's ability: Cute Charm!
When attacked at close range, it will continuously release hypnotic signals. When accumulated to a certain extent, it will erupt, briefly charming the enemy and making them infatuated with it. The effect is even better on Pokémon of the opposite gender.
This ability was one of the reasons why Clefable dared to recklessly practice "Metronome."
A so-called gambler must at least have some chips in hand first.
Immediately after, Blissey came rushing over, hopping and gliding, and knocked away the love-struck Greninja.
Clefable seized the opportunity to retreat and create distance.
And then, "Metronome" continued!
This gamble was not over yet!
The fourth "Metronome," perhaps as a turn of fortune after hitting rock bottom, Clefable finally rolled a big one.
In an instant, a storm of leaves surged forth like a tide, its momentum vast, like a waterfall or a torrential downpour!
The Grass-type ultimate move: Leaf Storm!
This was the advanced version of the regular Grass-type skill "Razor Leaf," boasting more leaves, a larger area of effect, and stronger damage!
Even among ultimate moves, this one's damage was quite outstanding.
"Retreat!"
"Fall back, Blaziken!"
In an instant, Arthur and Asher simultaneously commanded a retreat.
Tanking an ultimate move like this was suicide. Moreover, the sky-blotting leaves obscured their vision; even if they charged forward, they couldn't do anything.
And with their retreat, Blissey instantly made its move!
Rosaline said gently, "Use Heal Pulse."
At that moment, even though they knew this was bound to happen, Arthur and Asher still couldn't help but feel disgusted.
How could there be a Pokémon as disgusting as Blissey?!
Although Blissey's body was soft and its physical resistance was low, its vitality was extremely abundant, making it difficult to defeat easily.
Moreover, their move list almost certainly contained a recovery skill. If you gave them an opening, all the damage you had painstakingly dealt before could instantly become useless!
It was incredibly hard to deal with…
Fortunately, in this match, the main duty of Rosaline's Blissey was to protect Clefable, so she had been more conservative with her skill slots and hadn't been able to freely improvise.
Otherwise, if she had thrown in a couple of Poison-type skills, followed by a cycle of "Minimize," "Protect," and recovery, the "Pink Demon" title would have been truly well-deserved.
Blissey itself had no offensive capability; relying solely on poison as a single means of attack was too easily countered on the professional scene, so Blissey rarely appeared in professional matches.
What truly made the name "Pink Demon" famous was actually the amateur leagues.
Legend has it that in the annual collegiate tournaments, the most feared teams were not the ones from the professional Pokémon science academies, nor the military or police academies, but the teams from the women's nursing colleges!
Legend says that those ever-smiling, poison-dealing pink demons that just wouldn't die once became a lingering nightmare for the school team players of all major universities…
Unfortunately, Rosaline's Blissey didn't have much of a chance to display its talent for smiling and poisoning in this match, but its inability to be defeated was something Arthur and the others had now witnessed firsthand.
A single "Heal Pulse," and all the burns, bruises, and bloody wounds on its body were instantly wiped away!
Even its skin had returned to a moist, smooth, and elastic state.
She was clearly very proficient with this move! Her skill proficiency was maxed out!
Greninja and Blaziken had been dishing out damage for half the match, only to find that it was all for nothing.
The only good news was that Clefable was weakened by the side effect of using "Leaf Storm," its own energy fluctuations clearly diminished.
Arthur also sighed helplessly.
So, they had fought for half the match, and their biggest gain had come entirely from the enemy's own self-sabotage.
This match could be said to be quite frustrating.
But there was no helping it. This was Blissey.
This was an inevitable experience when facing such a Pokémon.
The sky full of leaves, after sweeping across the entire field, slowly lost its momentum and gradually scattered to the ground.
Staring at each other through the rustling, rain-like falling leaves, Blissey was still bouncing about vivaciously, while Greninja silently tightened its grip on the water kunai in its hand.
"Go!"
The leaves stopped falling, and Greninja and Blaziken attacked again!
And Chloe continued to encourage her own Clefable.
"Believe in yourself, Big Pi, you can do it! Again, Metronome!"
This waggle went on, and in a flash, ten minutes had passed…
Greninja and Blaziken still couldn't find an opportunity to break through the two pink Pokémon.
Blissey would directly block ranged skills with its body. In close combat, they had to deal with the interference of Clefable's Cute Charm, making their combos consistently unable to flow smoothly.
When "Metronome" was really not going well, Clefable even used the skill "Ally Switch" several times to swap places with Blissey, interrupting Greninja and Blaziken's pursuit of her.
Shortly after, she cast a "Life Dew" on herself and began to slowly heal.
As a fellow pink-hued Pokémon, Clefable also had its own recovery abilities.
It was simply infuriating!
Ten minutes later, seeing that Cute Charm was too difficult to deal with, Arthur quietly communicated with Asher, and then suddenly changed their offensive strategy. The two Pokémon coordinated to try and switch targets, focusing fire to force a kill on that pink demon, Blissey!
The result—
"Ally Switch!"
This time, it was Rosaline who shouted this command.
Blissey... also knew "Ally Switch"…
Both she and Clefable knew this move. You could switch with me, or I could switch with you. Their two-person dance was fluid and seamless.
The swapped-in Clefable immediately spewed out a pre-prepared "Icy Wind." Both Greninja and Blaziken were slowed down.
Their coordinated attempt to force a kill was interrupted once again!
Not long after, the bouncing Blissey once again released a "Heal Pulse."
At the players' bench, Arthur and Asher watched this scene with deadpan expressions, the light in their pupils seemingly fading away.
This fight... was so hard…
It could be called the ultimate torture!
Although this combo of Rosaline and Chloe had already been completely exposed during last year's Champions Cup, if you hadn't faced it personally on the field, you could never feel this kind of pain, which was comparable to carrying sacks of rice upstairs!
Even though they were using a skill like "Metronome," which at first glance seemed very random, ridiculous, and purely based on luck, as their core tactic, in reality, they had made many, many arrangements around this random core to cover their bases.
Including Clefable's Cute Charm;
Blissey's bottomless vitality and stamina;
Its abnormally high proficiency in healing skills;
And the two Pokémon's well-coordinated "Ally Switch," and so on.
This was, after all, the team that had fought its way to third place in the world last year. They relied on more than just luck.
They liked to gamble because they had sufficient foundation to gamble!
It had been almost fifteen minutes now, and Blissey was still on the field, full of vigor and bouncing about.
And Greninja and Blaziken, who had been vigorously dishing out damage to her for half the match, now had expressions that were almost numb.
It was a profound testament to the saying, "There's no such thing as over-plowed land, only bulls that are worked to death."
And Clefable, with Chloe's encouragement, was still constantly wagging its finger, giving off the vibe that it could keep wagging for another five hundred years.
A steel comet slammed down; Greninja and Blaziken both jumped away to dodge.
"Metronome" had rolled the Steel-type skill "Meteor Mash."
The attack continued!
Three seconds later, a small, beautiful sea of flowers bloomed around Clefable.
It had rolled the Fairy-type "Flower Shield."
Useless. The beating continued!
Another three seconds, and Clefable's eyes widened.
It had rolled the Normal-type skill "Leer."
Still useless.
This time, Blissey proactively used "Ally Switch" to swap places with Clefable.
Greninja and Blaziken's encirclement was just about to show some results, but they were forced to break off again.
By the time they caught up again, Clefable temporarily put away its finger and used the Grass-type skill "Grass Knot." A large number of grass ropes shot out from underground, wrapping around Greninja and Blaziken's legs and quickly tying knots.
It wasn't meant to do much damage, but just to hinder their movements.
Then, Blissey rushed to meet up with Clefable, and they started healing each other again.
After that, "Metronome" continued.
If it rolled an attack move that was too strong, Greninja and Blaziken could only choose to dodge, making it difficult to get close.
Torture!!!!!!
At this moment, Arthur even felt an uncontrollable urge to jump onto the field himself and kill that pink demon with one slash of his sword.
It was simply too much torture…
(End of Chapter)
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