Chapter 311: Substitute's First Victory
Larvitar's Quicksand Domain was far too vast, so vast that it surpassed even what a Pro-level Pokémon could achieve with Sand Tomb.
Watching the Quicksand Domain continue to expand, the surrounding crowd hastily retreated, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
"Is this the power of the Desert Tyrant's cub?" Alim's eyes were wide, as if a new world had opened up to him.
Sure enough, you can't trust the books completely. Who said Larvitar couldn't have the Sand Stream ability? If it couldn't freely control the sand, how could its Sand Tomb be so massive?
"Hippowdon, Earthquake!"
Akbar decided to try and break through with brute force.
But to his disappointment, the Earthquake was highly ineffective. Its power was drastically reduced, not even a fraction of its usual strength.
"This special Sand Tomb... it can weaken Earthquake?" The bearded man was astonished.
It's bad enough that its range is huge, but its power is also immense? And it even has a weakening effect?
How is anyone supposed to fight this?
With Earthquake rendered useless, Hippowdon had no choice but to switch to ranged attacks, forming several rock projectiles and launching them.
Rock Tomb!
Seeing this, Larvitar's lips curled up. The Rock-type energy in its body surged, and it formed several sharp, chisel-like rocks to meet the attack.
Stone Edge!
Besides sand control, Larvitar's most confident area was its Rock-type moves. Nurtured and strengthened by the Smooth Rock Crystal, who did this little tyrant fear?
Rock Tomb versus Stone Edge, and Stone Edge was a STAB move for Larvitar. The outcome was obvious.
"Sand-heck!"
Stone Edge quickly overwhelmed Rock Tomb. The sharp rocks pelted Hippowdon's body, leaving visible marks. It cried out in pain.
"Heavens! This Larvitar's strength is just too much!"
"Right? Akbar's Hippowdon is an Advanced-rank Pokémon."
"I know! This Larvitar must be holding an Everstone, that's why it hasn't evolved."
"Hippowdon, Yawn!"
Earthquake didn't work, ranged attacks were outmatched, and it couldn't get close because of the quicksand. Hippowdon had to resort to trickery.
But Larvitar seemed to have been prepared. It struck first with Taunt, nullifying the opponent's status move.
If its attack moves don't work, the only thing left is status moves. Basalt had at least that much foresight. Although Larvitar wasn't a Dark-type, it had a strong affinity for it, and its Dark-type moves were part of its specialty.
Finally, Akbar had run out of options.
A few minutes later, Hippowdon fell to Larvitar's Stone Edge.
But just before it fainted, Larvitar "thoughtfully" sent a wave of Stealth Rock its way as a parting gift.
Although Larvitar's Stealth Rock wasn't as massive as Excadrill's, it was still impressive, and it made Akbar's scalp tingle.
"This Larvitar hasn't even evolved; its stamina has to be limited. Controlling such a large Quicksand Domain and using Stone Edge three times... it must be on its last legs."
Akbar's eyes narrowed. He still had hope.
But ground-based Pokémon were at too much of a disadvantage in this Quicksand Domain. He had to learn his lesson.
And so, Akbar threw out his second Pokéball. "Come out, Gliscor!"
Gliscor was a Pokémon with features of both a scorpion and a bat. It was primarily grayish-purple, with red on its inner ears, arms, and abdomen. It had large, bright yellow eyes and massive black bat-like wings, which were now separate from its arms.
"Gli-scor!"
Gliscor appeared, looking majestic. Basalt watched as it flapped its wings, riding the air currents and flying quickly, but completely silently, like a phantom. Its long tail and stinger were laced with poison, and its fangs and claws were powerful.
But before it could do anything, it had to endure the Stealth Rock.
BOOM!
The Stealth Rock hit, but Gliscor wasn't badly injured. Its physical defense was outstanding.
"Larvitar, you still good to go?" Basalt was a little worried. Larvitar's Quicksand Domain was useless against an airborne Gliscor. With that, Larvitar's power was effectively neutered.
"Yuji!" (■_■)
Larvitar flexed its claws, murder in its eyes.
A little tyrant never says no!
"Good!" Basalt was also infected by Larvitar's fighting spirit, his own morale soaring.
The battle resumed. Akbar once again commanded an Earthquake.
Hippowdon's Earthquake had been nullified by the Quicksand Domain, but Gliscor had no such worries. It just had to fly over.
A point-blank Earthquake... in theory, it should be enough to send Larvitar to the afterlife.
...Assuming it could hit.
"Rock Slide!"
Facing the approaching Gliscor, Larvitar immediately launched a move to block it. In an instant, countless rocks rained down from the sky, covering the entire field.
"This Larvitar's mastery of the Rock type is just too good! Look at all those rocks, it's terrifying!"
"Seriously! My Probopass is a pure Rock-type, and I don't think it's even as good as this!"
"Pseudo-legendary cubs... even as cubs, they're not to be underestimated!"
The crowd's attention was immediately captured by Larvitar's Rock Slide, and they all marveled at it.
But Akbar's Gliscor was a formidable opponent. It was not only agile and fast, dodging the vast majority of the rocks, but its claws were also strong enough to shatter any it couldn't avoid.
The Rock Slide only managed to slow Gliscor's advance; it couldn't stop its attack.
Looking at the now-close Larvitar, Gliscor whipped its tail and slammed it into the ground, just a meter away.
A terrifying Ground-type energy wave spread out, and the ground began to heave.
"We won!" Akbar's eyes narrowed, his face filled with joy. At such a close range, how could the Quicksand Domain weaken the Earthquake?
But in the next second, a shocking scene unfolded.
Pop!
With a soft sound, the Larvitar... shattered.
"What's going on?"
The crowd was astonished, not understanding what had happened.
Only the bearded man, after a moment's pause, had a drastic change in expression. "Oh no! It's a Substitute!"
Substitute, a Normal-type move. It uses the Pokémon's own life energy to create a lifelike decoy, consuming some HP.
"A Substitute? How does it still have the stamina to create a Substitute?"
Akbar couldn't accept it. Larvitar had already used several high-stamina moves. Its health shouldn't be high enough for that. This wasn't logical!
But what Akbar didn't know was that with the Smooth Rock Crystal, Larvitar's energy consumption for Rock-type moves was rapidly replenished. It wasn't worried at all.
"Now!"
At the same time, Basalt's voice rang out, filled with excitement. "Smack Down!"
Pop!
Just as Gliscor's surprise turned to shock, the real Larvitar burst out of the quicksand dozens of meters away. It formed an ancient, dark-colored rock projectile between its palms and hurled it, striking the Gliscor.
And so, Gliscor, as if under immense pressure, found itself unable to fly, no matter how hard it flapped its wings.
A Gliscor that had lost its ability to fly was even less of a threat than Hippowdon. Before long, it had followed Hippowdon's fate.
"You thought the Rock Slide was just to slow it down? Too naive." Basalt's lips curled up.
The real purpose of Rock Slide was as a diversion. While everyone was distracted by the dense barrage of rocks, Larvitar had used the opportunity to create a Substitute, while its real body had dug into the ground and moved away, waiting for the right moment. And because of the Quicksand Domain, its digging didn't leave an obvious hole, making it hard to notice.
Having lost two in a row, Akbar's face was flushed red. But he couldn't lose his composure. He quickly sent out his third Pokémon—Palpitoad.
Larvitar was 4x weak to Water. Palpitoad was a good choice.
Unfortunately, Akbar had still underestimated the Quicksand Domain. Under its cover, Larvitar could dig and launch sneak attacks at will, without having to worry about Palpitoad's Ground-type moves or its Water-type moves.
And so, after a few short exchanges, the Palpitoad also fell.
"He lost again! He lost again!"
The crowd cried out in disappointment.
He got clean swept?
This little Larvitar is too terrifying.
It's a monster!
Larvitar, on the other hand, wasn't even breathing hard, as if it had done nothing at all.
Its face was full of excitement. It turned to the crowd and made a "come at me" gesture. It was an open challenge.
In its own team, it couldn't beat anyone.
But here... this was paradise!
"Yuji!" (▼ヘ▼#)
Larvitar struck its flashy pose. The Roba tribespeople, seeing this, were about to explode with anger.
"That Pokémon is too arrogant! Brothers, let's get him!"
"I'll go! I, Arburg, will challenge you!"
"No, I was first!"
"Nonsense, I, Grimm, challenged him first!"
...
The crowd was in an uproar.
Basalt's face paled. He looked at Larvitar, who just gave him a thumbs-up, its face full of pride.
"Yuji~" d=====(￣▽￣*)b
(Larvitar: Don't worry, I can take 'em!)
"You can take 'em, but I'm not sure I can!"
Basalt covered his face. He was the one being surrounded by a crowd of angry young men. He felt a chill run down his spine.
Just as he was wondering who to pick as the next opponent, a man and a woman pushed through the crowd. They were both good-looking, and their faces bore a strong resemblance. They seemed to be siblings.
The man looked at Basalt and said in surprise, "Are you... Basalt?"
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