Chapter 430: Who Says a Hero Can't Be Covered in Mud?
Arthur's stalling tactic was something he had thought of right after the regular season ended!
Because the opening swampy terrain is a non-renewable resource for Swampert. In a singles duel, this kind of terrain can only be created by using the mid-battle switch. The Water-type Swampert itself cannot produce a second Grass Pledge.
In other words, Roman cannot renew the swamp!
So, what Arthur needed to do now was stall!
Stall until the swamp disappears, then have a decisive battle with his opponent!
But this was easier said than done.
Roman had used this system for an entire season. Everyone knew how he would play, and everyone knew what the counter-strategy was. But very few people could actually pull it off.
After dodging the Ice Punch, the Little Eevee on the field had just breathed a sigh of relief when, in the next moment, Arthur immediately shouted a command.
"Roll to the side! Jump up after you get up!"
Fortunately, Little Eevee trusted Arthur 100%. The moment it heard the command, it acted, without any regard for the mud and dampness on the ground.
By rolling to the side, it narrowly dodged a blow from Swampert's two-fisted slam.
Even without using a skill, this one blow still sent muddy water splashing nearly two meters high!
Then, Little Eevee got up and quickly hopped back, dodging a low sweep from Swampert's separated hands.
The upper body of Roman's Swampert was extremely well-developed. Its physique was already showing a trend towards that of a Mega Swampert. When its arm muscles bulged, they were probably as thick as Little Eevee's waist!
At this moment, the size difference between the two Pokémon was stark.
It made Little Eevee look like a cute little pet challenging a giant monster.
The kind that would be sent back to the fountain with one wrong move!
This one thrilling encounter had also made Little Eevee put its guard up completely.
The opponent is not just a threat when it's using skills!
Just as Arthur's Greninja could KO the Ghost Dragon Team's Nidoking in thirty seconds in a doubles match, Roman's Swampert had the same kind of dominance in a main singles match!
If it were really caught, Little Eevee would be in no better shape than that Nidoking…
Stalling for five minutes really isn't that easy…
Then, seeing the Swampert draw its fist back to its waist again, Arthur quickly commanded through their mental link, "Get ready!"
It was time for a battle of eyesight and timing again!
But this time, Roman had surprisingly backed down.
"Use Water Pulse!"
As everyone knows, the success rate of blinding an opponent with Sand Attack is very low. Arthur hadn't backed down and was still gambling. But in the end, it was Roman who had yielded first, changing his method of attack.
In a way, this could be considered Arthur earning the highest level of respect from his opponent through his own plays!
A single, basic Sand Attack, a move that a Pidgey from your front yard would know, had forced the number one player in the league to change his attack move twice in a row.
Arthur had set a record!
But now was not the time to be proud. The situation on the field was still perilous!
"Little Eevee, use Substitute!"
Even though Leafeon is resistant to Water-type moves, at this moment, Arthur did not hesitate to use his last move slot to escape!
Because the focus of this Swampert's Water Pulse had always been on the vibration, not the water current.
Roman used this move as a control skill, not a damage skill.
Once Little Eevee was stunned by the vibration, what awaited it would only be a storm of torment.
Using Substitute, it flashed to the furthest possible distance. Although it wasn't enough to get out of the swamp, this distance should be enough to stall for a long time. After all, the opposing Swampert had short legs and ran slowly.
But just as Arthur had this thought—
"Swampert, use Earthquake!"
The cooldown for the previous Water Pulse was very fast. Swampert had activated its move again before Little Eevee!
This time, Arthur had miscalculated…
An intense tremor was transmitted through the ground. Little Eevee immediately let out a cry of pain, its entire body feeling as if it were being torn apart. It was frozen on the spot, unable to move.
In the end, his opponent had found an opportunity.
Swampert has the Ground type. This was its own STAB ultimate move!
Seizing the opportunity while Little Eevee was in agony and unable to control itself, the Swampert waded through the muddy water, step by step, with a slow and oppressive presence!
"Hang in there, Little Eevee! Use Baby-Doll Eyes again!"
In reality, the debuff effects of moves like Baby-Doll Eyes and Charm are not permanent. They will gradually decay over time.
But at least at the moment of impact, the weakening effect of these moves will be at its peak!
The illusion from the eye technique weakened the Swampert's attacking desire, causing it to subconsciously hold back some of the force in its punches.
Little Eevee thus withstood the sandbag-sized fists and seized the opportunity to quickly roll away and dodge.
And then, just as his opponent was about to use Hammer Arm to finish it off—
"Now! Sand Attack!"
Sand Attack again!
For the third time this round, Arthur had used this normally overlooked basic skill to neutralize his enemy's fatal close-range attack!
In the stands, several of Arthur's fans were both excited and helpless.
"I have a feeling that in my amateur matches for a while, I'm going to see a ton of trolls using Sand Attack!"
"What the hell?! It's over! My regular doubles partner in amateur matches has an Eevee! Crap! I feel like I'm going to be screwed for the rest of the year's matches…"
"It's fine. Many Pokémon can learn Sand Attack. I think you can just strike first."
The fan beside him showed a shocked cat-head emoji.
Setting aside the baseless worries of the fans in the stands, the two commentators on the scene were also repeatedly sighing with emotion.
"So tenacious!"
"Yes, it's hard to imagine that Arthur's young Eevee is still holding on! It hasn't fainted yet!! In front of Roman's ace, Swampert, the performance of this un-evolved Eevee in this round has undoubtedly been better than that of most captains' counter-picks this season!"
"It's just too incredible!!"
Even though it had been critically injured by that unexpected ultimate move, Earthquake, Little Eevee had still stubbornly held on!
And afterward, with the continuous nourishment from Leech Seed, it had even slowly recovered!
Even Roman himself was growing more and more alarmed as he fought.
"This willpower is astonishing! And the timing of that Sand Attack… how many times has the opponent practiced that?! This has to be a cheat code, right?!"
Time passed, second by second…
One minute!
Two minutes!
Three minutes!!
Under the pressure of Roman's Swampert, currently the strongest in the entire league, Little Eevee had somehow managed to hold on for more than three minutes!
It wasn't until nearly four minutes had passed that Arthur finally took out his Poké Ball, proactively using his mid-battle switch to recall Little Eevee.
In that instant, the fans of Arthur and Starlight and Frost in the audience once again erupted in a stunning wave of cheers.
Who says a hero can't be covered in mud?
In this round, even though the Little Eevee rolling in the swamp had dealt almost zero damage, it was still the undisputed hero!
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