Chapter 418: Indeed
Seeing that she couldn't get any information from the others, Elara had no choice but to turn to Arthur.
"Are you normally the one in charge of guiding the whole team's training? You're a rookie… are you really that amazing?"
Bella pouted on the side.
"If you're going to ask a question, ask a question. Why are you blushing?"
Arthur gave a calm smile.
"I just give everyone some personal advice. It's not really guidance."
But he never expected his ill-intentioned teammates to expose him in an instant.
"Don't believe him! Did you see my Milotic's tail-blade move this season? He taught her that!"
"That's right! You can always trust Coach Arthur's plays! So don't doubt it. Hurry up and bring out your Pokémon!"
Even Justin, who wasn't even in the singles division, chimed in at this moment. "Brother Arthur is really amazing! For real!"
Arthur smiled silently on the side, a vein gradually throbbing on his forehead.
These guys are clearly up to no good, just waiting to see the newcomer get crushed!
Arthur secretly swore that not a single one of them would get away with this later!
"Don't be too nervous. It's just a normal internal spar and exchange. It's not any special guidance. Just treat it as usual."
Although Elara was skeptical, she still tried her best to nod. "Alright, then I'll begin!"
For the first round of the spar, she decisively sent out her usual starting Pokémon: Scolipede.
Because it was an internal exchange, she didn't hide anything and took the initiative to reveal her plan.
"My Scolipede's ability is Speed Boost. As long as it's in a battle state, it can continuously increase its own speed. The first activation takes about a minute, and after that, it can stack a layer of speed buff every thirty seconds. Its current limit is four layers."
Arthur nodded in understanding.
No wonder Elara always had her Scolipede open with an ultimate move and then immediately use Baton Pass to faint.
Because the speed increase from the Speed Boost ability is a positive buff. If it were passed to her Serperior, it would be reversed into a negative effect by the Contrary ability.
So in the past, she had always opened with an ultimate, only letting her Scolipede stay on the field for a few dozen seconds before fainting, so as not to trigger its ability, and thus stably pass the negative debuff to the Contrary Serperior.
But this time was different.
"According to your team's… no, now it's our team's head coach's advice, I've prepared a second strategy. I'll let my Scolipede stay on the field to accumulate positive buffs, and then pass them on to my Espeon via Baton Pass. That's how I'm planning to play this match. Little brother Arthur, please give me some advice."
Arthur nodded at her words.
The headmistress's advice was sound.
Elara was confirmed to be a substitute player. She didn't need to be as well-rounded as a starter. It was better for her to stick to her own style and take the Baton Pass system to its logical conclusion!
If she ever ran into an opponent who was a hard counter to Baton Pass, they could just not send her out.
A starter needs to have as few weaknesses as possible, but a rotational player can take their individuality to the extreme!
Two different Baton Pass relays, to keep the opponent guessing. It was a very good idea.
Arthur acknowledged, "That's a good idea. But in that case, your Scolipede needs to have a certain amount of field presence. At the very least, you have to ensure it doesn't collapse in the first one or two minutes of the battle."
Elara nodded. "That's exactly what I'm working on right now!"
Arthur understood. After some simple thought, he had a rough idea of how to guide her.
"I see. Then I'll have my Greninja test your Scolipede first."
"Alright!" Elara replied, full of fighting spirit.
But then, a question arose in her mind. "Hey, wait. Aren't you going to command from a distance? Isn't your current position a bit too close to the Pokémon?"
Hearing this, everyone on the sidelines gave Elara a meaningful look, which made her feel a bit uneasy.
What's going on? Why are they all smiling at me? Did I say something wrong?
Arthur waved his hand, signaling her not to worry.
"Don't mind me. I'm just getting a closer look for observation. I'll make my move after your Scolipede passes the test. I won't hurt it in the first round, don't worry."
"???"
Elara suspected she had misheard something.
"I'll make my move"… that must mean switching to one of his other ace Pokémon, right? Elara reasoned in her mind, based on common sense.
She couldn't understand why everyone on the sidelines was smiling so strangely.
Are they afraid that Arthur's ace will seriously injure my Scolipede the moment it comes out? Hah! You're underestimating me!
With this defiant thought, Elara was the first to give a command: "Scolipede, use Defense Curl, then Rollout!"
The Scolipede on the field, upon receiving the command, immediately curled its chubby body into a ball and rumbled towards Greninja!
The combination of Defense Curl and Rollout was very suitable for Elara's current playstyle. It could continuously build up momentum with Rollout, and the defense boost from Defense Curl could be passed on later via Baton Pass.
A very reasonable choice of moves.
But Arthur almost immediately thought of a counter.
"Greninja, meet it head-on!"
He actively met the Scolipede that was rolling towards him like a ball. At the moment of contact—
"Mat Block!"
Greninja squatted down, and with a table-flipping motion, it instantly pulled up a thin energy board!
The timing of this move was perfect. The Scolipede, rolling at full speed towards Greninja, had no time to turn back.
"THUD!"
A dull thud.
The Scolipede slammed headfirst into the extremely hard mat, and was so dizzy from the impact that it was immediately knocked out of its shape, unable to maintain its curled-up form.
Its Rollout was interrupted.
And because its form was no longer perfectly round, the effect of Defense Curl was also greatly reduced.
Well, that…
Elara's confident first play had met with a major setback in less than ten seconds.
At this point, Arthur, from up close, gave her some pertinent advice.
"Defense Curl and Rollout is a good opening idea, but you could consider maneuvering around the field first. There's no need to rush into a head-on clash with the enemy. With the Speed Boost ability, time will always be on your side. And most importantly, don't rely too much on your moves! Your Scolipede seems to have no idea what to do after its Rollout failed. That won't do!"
After blocking the Scolipede's unlicensed driving, Greninja was already eager to go forward and fight three hundred rounds with this new opponent.
But the Scolipede still seemed a bit confused, its eyes filled with a mixture of suspicion and bewilderment.
In Arthur's opinion, this was a serious failure!
"A Pokémon that needs to stay on the field for a long time and doesn't excel at long-range moves, how can it be so afraid of close combat? That won't do! This Scolipede is clearly lacking in training! Greninja, come on, let him experience it firsthand!"
With Arthur's command, Greninja solemnly agreed!
And on the other side, Elara was already in a panic.
Hey, wait a minute, no! That's not my plan! My Scolipede, she—
But at this moment, Aaron, from the sidelines, spoke up. "Indeed. The Scolipede species has always been quite strong. How can it be so afraid of close combat?"
Then, a series of teammates chimed in, leaving Elara completely stunned.
"Indeed. How can it be so afraid of close combat? My Bisharp would never be like that."
"Indeed. My Escavalier wouldn't either."
"Indeed. Brother Arthur is right. My Pidgeot and Azumarill would never be afraid!"
"Indeed. Even my Froslass wouldn't flinch in this situation."
This continuous chain of "indeed" made Elara's scalp tingle.
On her first day at the Starlight and Frost team, she was honored to witness firsthand the extremely distinct style of this team…
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