Chapter 413: Champion Abilities!
For this showdown, Bella was still using her Togekiss, but Justin had chosen not to use his Pidgeot. Instead, he brought out a partner that had only appeared once before on the professional stage: his Azumarill!
That's right. It was the same internet-addicted Marill he had "kidnapped" from the Crescent Bay Reserve when he was with Arthur. The little guy had since evolved into an Azumarill.
The moment the match began, the commentators dropped the biggest bombshell of the day.
"Oh?! Justin has sent out his Azumarill! In that case, in this round, we will have the honor of seeing three Pokémon with Champion Abilities competing on the same stage!"
There are a vast number of Pokémon abilities. In reality, because different individual Pokémon develop their abilities to different degrees, it's often difficult to say which ability is definitively the strongest.
The competition for the "worst" ability isn't very fierce. It's usually a race between Slaking's Truant and Archeops's Defeatist, as both are purely negative abilities with no positive effects whatsoever…
However, while the competition for the strongest ability is fierce, there are some that are more favored in professional play.
These are what the netizens call the "Champion Abilities"!
In a broad sense, there are many Champion Abilities, including Greninja's Protean, Serperior's Contrary, and various abilities that can create pseudo-weather.
But in a narrow sense, the "Triple Crown" as it's often called online, currently consists of just three abilities—
Wonder Guard, Shadow Tag, and Huge Power!
Wonder Guard is the exclusive ability of Shedinja. Its effect is to grant complete immunity to all special damage except for super-effective types!
Judged purely on its effect, it is undoubtedly the strongest. But unfortunately, Shedinja's own species potential is too poor, and in reality, attacks aren't just energy-based; there's also pure physical impact.
This leads to a situation where a Shedinja can tank a Hyper Beam to the face but might be flattened by a passing Pidgey's Wing Attack…
You can only say that while the ability is a champion, the Pokémon still has room for improvement.
Long ago, there was a very famous Shedinja trainer in the world who had once won the Champions Cup. But after his retirement a few years ago, this type of Pokémon is rarely seen on the professional stage.
The other two Champion Abilities, however, have both appeared in this round:
Gothitelle's Shadow Tag, and Azumarill's and Mawile's Huge Power!
Both of these abilities are extremely rare within their respective species. (Note 1) Back when Arthur was training on the island, not a single one of the twenty-plus Azumarill that Greninja had faced had the Huge Power ability.
The little internet-addict's grandmother had the Huge Power ability, so strong that even the Dragonite clan in the reserve had to give her a wide berth.
And the little guy Justin had brought back also had it. This was an important reason why he had always received special attention from his grandmother!
And today, the opposing Mawile he was facing had the exact same ability!
The match began.
Bella and Justin were exceptionally cautious at the start.
"Togekiss, use Will-O-Wisp on the Mawile!"
They wanted to limit the Mawile right from the start.
But unfortunately, their opponent had predicted it.
"Gothitelle, use Ally Switch!"
The opposing Luke didn't rush to attack. He first switched places with his teammate!
The Togekiss's Will-O-Wisp hit the Gothitelle, and it was now burned.
But Bella still didn't dare to linger!
"Fall back, quickly, Togekiss!"
But from the other direction, the Mawile perfectly coordinated.
"Mawile, use Taunt!"
Bella quickly commanded, "Turn your head!"
But that moment's hesitation to dodge the move had cost her. The Togekiss was hit.
The next moment, when she tried to fly away, she found that no matter how much she flapped her wings, it was useless.
The Gothitelle had stepped on her shadow!
The commentator immediately burst out in surprise, "A magnificent two-person combo from the Blaze Team! The Shadow Tag ability has already made an impact at the start! A Champion Ability, truly terrifying!"
"Toge, Toge…"
The Togekiss let out a helpless cry, turning its head to glare at the culprit, the Gothitelle, as if it wanted to kill it with its eyes!
Shadow Tag is just that kind of infuriating ability!
When your shadow is stepped on by an opponent with this ability, you are forcibly bound to them. The distance between you cannot exceed the maximum length of your connected shadows!
Unless your raw power is far greater than the Shadow Tag user and you can forcibly break free, you can only fight to the death in this small arena with a diameter equal to the length of your shadows!
This ability is a perfect counter to any lineup that relies on cover, maneuvering, and kiting.
Normally, a Pokémon's shadow isn't very long. Unless you run into a Steelix, then the Gothitelle might not be able to do much…
Right now, the combined length of Togekiss's and Gothitelle's shadows was only five or six meters.
This meant that for the rest of the match, Togekiss could not leave a six-meter radius around the Gothitelle.
"Gothitelle, take the Togekiss and move away from that side of the battlefield!"
Then, the opponent decisively commanded, splitting the Togekiss and the Azumarill!
With this, Togekiss's original role as a taunting support was now half-sealed!
No matter how powerful Follow Me is, it has a limited range. It can't work from across the entire field. And its Will-O-Wisp and Charm would have no chance to limit the distant Mawile anymore.
And what's more terrifying is—the Gothitelle can still use Ally Switch!
In other words, only the Togekiss can't leave. The Gothitelle itself can leave at any time!
The strategic initiative was now completely in the opponent's hands!
You could say it was extremely broken!
At the same time, the Mawile was doing its best to stop the Azumarill from regrouping with its teammate. Both Pokémon erupted with astonishing power at the same time!
"Mawile, enter your battle state!"
"Azumarill, full power ability! Jump up and use Aqua Tail!"
The moment the two Pokémon clashed, an incredibly shocking sonic boom erupted!
Huge Power ability: when a Pokémon becomes excited and enters a battle state, its physical attack is passively and massively increased!
No side effects, no conditions!
The so-called Champion Abilities are just that purely powerful!
The Azumarill jumped into the air, its downward-swinging tail crashing onto the Mawile's raised arms with a dull, heavy "THUD"!
Just from the sound, you could imagine the terrifying force of this blow!
Then, the Mawile whipped its head, also swinging the long, pincer-like mouth on its back. The same whistling sound as it cut through the air, the same overwhelming force!
"THUD!"
Another dull thud!
The Azumarill was in mid-air with no leverage. It took the hit and was sent flying a dozen meters away.
And that was just a normal head-swing from the Mawile, without using a move…
The Huge Power ability, worthy of its champion name!
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