Chapter 370:
"Le... Leaf Storm?"
After the storm subsided, the Grassy Terrain faded away, leaving the original field underneath completely unchanged.
Serperior stood unwavering upon the Grassy Terrain, its demeanor as proud as ever.
But most of the audience in the stands were left with their mouths slightly agape, expressions of shock on their faces.
Although Serperior had only appeared twice, the Grassy Terrain it unleashed the first time was already astonishing enough. Now, this Leaf Storm... was even more outrageous?
"Is that Leaf Storm?"
Someone unconsciously swallowed hard.
"Isn't this damn thing's range even bigger than that Alolan Ninetales's Blizzard earlier?"
Even the announcer, riding his Aegislash high above, broke out in a cold sweat, because the Leaf Storm had nearly knocked him and his Aegislash out of the sky.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the wind currents of the Leaf Storm inexplicably flowed around them.
But even so, he was once again gripped by lingering fear, even forgetting his commentary.
Even the two Elite Four members and the Champion sitting in the highest audience seats were similarly astonished while watching this Leaf Storm.
Kaito, who had experienced the Sky Challenge, was the first to speak dazedly.
He muttered to himself, "This... looks even more terrifying than the hurricane that Pidgeot unleashed..."
"...."
Kazephyr didn't speak.
He was also utterly shocked, even feeling that some of his own Pokémon might not withstand this move.
The Ice-type Elite Four member, Rosaline, also remained silent, but a strange light flashed in her eyes.
Although she was also astounded by this Serperior's strength, even feeling that the power of this Leaf Storm was approaching Champion-level Pokémon energy intensity,
What interested her more was that Alolan Ninetales!
The Alolan Ninetales from the Alola region!
That Alolan Ninetales... if her guess was correct, should still be very young.
This was something Rosaline noticed during Alolan Ninetales's matches. At first, she found it hard to believe, but upon investigation, she quickly found the birth date of that Alolan Vulpix.
To be fair, it wasn't really a secret, because this young trainer named Hayashi Kaede recorded the birth dates of all his Pokémon online.
End of July last year!
*'Both Kaito and Kazephyr have been to that breeding house. Didn't they ask him how he raises these Pokémon?'*
This thought flashed through Rosaline's mind, and then she began to ponder...
...
"Return, Sceptile..."
After a moment of silence, watching the dazed Sceptile on the field, Kensuke recalled it. Then, he gazed at the still-standing Serperior on the battlefield, lost in thought.
Because he felt that even if his Charizard took the field with its type advantage, it might not necessarily defeat this Serperior.
Terrifying, absolutely terrifying. He even felt he shouldn't have taken the field.
The announcer in the sky also finally regained his composure.
He suddenly realized:
The Leaf Storm didn't fail to hit him; instead, it deliberately flowed around him at the critical moment.
What did that signify?
It signified that even with such a massive range, Serperior still had the spare capacity to control the individual leaves within the storm.
This level of precise energy control was simply unimaginable.
He adjusted his tone and reorganized his words.
"Leaf Storm... Serperior's Leaf Storm defeated Sceptile in one move. But as everyone knows, after using Leaf Storm, there is a period of energy weakness. The power of subsequently used moves will significantly decrease. So, let's see if Contestant Kensuke can capitalize on this period of weakness?"
The announcer's words also made Kensuke's eyes light up.
Right! After Serperior uses Leaf Storm, its Special Attack should drop.
That meant this might be Serperior's final moment of glory.
So, as long as Kaede didn't switch Pokémon, he still had a chance!
At the very least, he should defeat one Pokémon, right?
"Help me one more time, Charizard!"
"Groar!"
The jet-black Charizard emerged from its Poké Ball in a flash of red light, soaring into the sky and landing in front of Li Xuan.
Its fierce, sharp claws, the flames leaking from its snout, and the fearless attitude it displayed when activating Blaze against Salamence were still deeply etched in everyone's minds.
The audience above buzzed with discussion.
"This Charizard is ridiculously strong... and it knows the powerful Fire-type move, Overheat. Can Serperior still win?"
"Not sure. Both Pokémon's performances are scary. When Charizard activated Blaze last match, the flame on its tail exploded several meters high... It was simply terrifying."
"Let's watch, let's watch. Finally, an interesting match..."
"Stop talking. I unconditionally believe in Brother Kaede."
"This is just insane. I never knew a trainer primarily following the Breeder path could raise Pokémon this strong. It's over; I want to try being a Breeder too..."
Kaede also rarely smiled on the battlefield. "Charizard, huh..."
Leaf Storm, while it did indeed lower the Special Attack of most Serperior after use...
But that was for most Serperior.
His Serperior's Ability was Contrary.
[Contrary: Reverses any stat changes, causing increases to become decreases and decreases to become increases.]
In other words, buffs become debuffs, and debuffs become buffs.
This was also why Kaede hadn't commanded Grassy Terrain.
"Want to see if Serperior's Special Attack will drop because of Leaf Storm? Perfect timing, I also want to see what level Leaf Storm can reach after the boost!"
Kaede's thoughts raced.
Looking at the Charizard in the sky, he issued the command without hesitation, "Serperior, use Leaf Storm again!"
"Charizard, don't hold back! Go full power, Overheat!"