Although Whitney had paid some attention to Ash, she only really began focusing on him after she found out that Ash had defeated Elite Four Lorelei. As for the Indigo Conference earlier and Ash's other battles, Whitney had actually only watched the replays. So it was normal that her memory of them wasn't deep.
Moreover, when watching the replays, she only focused on Ash's battle in the finals, paying little attention to the semifinals. She was the type to drag the progress bar directly, so she genuinely didn't know the situation regarding Annihilape.
When she first saw Annihilape, she just thought it was a Pokémon from another region that she had never seen before. Who could have imagined that this was actually the evolution of the Primeape she knew so well?
Whitney took a deep breath, slowly suppressing the shock in her eyes, and refocused on the opponent in front of her. "Since Annihilape is the evolution of Primeape, its typing should also include the Fighting-type, right? In that case, let's try this move!"
"Clefable, Dazzling Gleam!"
She was seventy percent confident in her judgment. Even if she guessed wrong, the opponent looked at most like a Ghost-type, and Dazzling Gleam could still deal very considerable damage.
Clefable brought its hands together in front of its chest, and pink Fairy energy condensed in its palms, transforming into a brilliant light. The light grew brighter and brighter, turning into a miniature sun in the blink of an eye, stinging the eyes of the spectators and forcing them to squint.
"Cle-fa-ble!" Clefable suddenly spread its arms, and that brilliant light turned into countless beams, pouring down toward Annihilape like a torrential rainstorm.
Fairy-type moves had a super-effective advantage against Fighting-types. If this hit connected, it would definitely deal considerable damage to Annihilape, provided that Annihilape was indeed a Fighting-type.
However, facing Clefable's Dazzling Gleam, Ash did not let Annihilape dodge, nor did he even issue a defense command.
"Annihilape, take it head-on, then use Rage Fist!"
"What?" Whitney's pupils suddenly constricted, and a wave of exclamation came from the spectator stands.
Regardless of whether Annihilape was a Fighting-type, choosing to take Clefable's Dazzling Gleam head-on was simply too risky. Could it be that her guess was completely wrong, and Annihilape was actually a Pokémon that resisted the Fairy-type?
The brilliant beam slammed solidly into Annihilape, and the pink energy exploded across his body, completely swallowing his figure.
After the light dissipated, Annihilape's figure reappeared before everyone's eyes. There were some slight burn marks on his arms, and his fur was a bit messy, but his feet were rooted to the ground. He hadn't moved an inch.
A fire of rage seemed to burn in his eyes, and taking this blow head-on directly doubled the power of the Rage Fist that Annihilape was preparing to use.
"How is that possible? It only dealt this little damage?" Whitney's eyes widened. "Judging from how Annihilape withstood Dazzling Gleam just now, Annihilape should be a Fighting-type Pokémon! How could it have barely any effect?"
Under a type disadvantage, Dazzling Gleam had only caused such a small amount of damage. That could only mean one thing: this Annihilape's level exceeded Clefable's.
"Annihilape, counterattack!" Ash's voice exploded across the battlefield.
"Hok-cha!"
Annihilape let out a deafening roar, clenching his right fist tightly as a visible wave of angry energy gathered on his fist. That energy presented a bizarre dark purple, resembling wraiths rising from the underworld, exuding a heart-palpitating aura.
This was precisely Annihilape's signature move, Rage Fist. The higher Annihilape's anger, the stronger the power of this move. Simply put, it was about taking hits. Every time it took a hit, Rage Fist increased its original power.
If the base power of Rage Fist was fifty, taking a hit once made it a hundred, twice made it one hundred fifty, and so on, stacking up to a maximum of six times, which was seven times the original power.
This was also why Ash had chosen to let Annihilape take Clefable's move head-on. Even with a super-effective Dazzling Gleam, in the face of the level gap, it couldn't cause too significant damage to Annihilape.
In the previous match, Ash had been suppressed by the opponent's level, and multiple successful hits had failed to deal fatal damage to Kangaskhan. This time, it could be considered an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
"Clefable, hurry and dodge!" There was anxiety in Whitney's voice.
Clefable wanted to move, but Annihilape's speed was too fast. That sturdy figure rushed out like a cannonball, blowing two craters into the ground beneath his feet, and arrived in front of Clefable in the blink of an eye.
The dark purple fist slammed solidly into Clefable, emitting a muffled, thunderous roar. Clefable's round body was knocked flying backward, just like a baseball hit by a bat.
A shrill scream echoed across the battlefield. Clefable tumbled through the air several times, ultimately crashing heavily onto the ground and sliding several meters before stopping. She struggled to stand up, but the excruciating pain coursing through her whole body made it completely impossible for her to move.
The power of that punch was simply too terrifying, as if she had been hit by a giant truck. Moreover, Rage Fist was a Ghost-type move, which wasn't a resisted type for Clefable. Coupled with the level suppression, the damage dealt by this punch was quite terrifying.
"Clefable!" Whitney's voice trembled slightly. She never expected that her Clefable would be beaten into such a state by a single punch.
Clefable's level was even higher than Kangaskhan's, having, yet she was still beaten into this miserable state by a single punch from the opponent. That Annihilape was at Elite Four Low.
It was only natural for Ash to have high-level Pokémon. After all, he was someone who had battled Elite Four Lorelei and won. Even if he pulled out a Champion-level Pokémon, Whitney wouldn't be surprised. But Annihilape's level was only one minor tier higher than Clefable's. Theoretically, the gap between the two sides shouldn't be this large.
Previously, Ash's Heracross had a One-tier level difference with her Kangaskhan.
Even so, they had fought to a mutual KO. Why, when it was her turn with only a minor tier difference, was the gap so huge? What on earth was that move? Judging from its power, it could even compare to moves like Hydro Pump, yet the charging time was almost nonexistent. Wasn't a move like this a bit too broken?
Whitney muttered to herself, then cast a worried gaze at Clefable, who was still lying on the ground. "Clefable, can you still stand up?"
Clefable ultimately propped herself up on the floor and stood, though her legs were still trembling slightly. Proof enough of how severe her injuries were right now. Just a single attack had turned her into this state. If she were to be hit by the opponent's attack one more time, what would become of her?
"Well done!" Whitney clenched her fists, her fighting spirit undimmed. "In that case, let the opponent witness our full-power strike! Use Moonblast!"
Clefable threw her head back and let out a clear cry, and an illusory bright moon unexpectedly emerged in the void above her head. The illusory moon scattered countless radiances, which then condensed in front of Clefable, forming a pink energy sphere resembling a full moon.
"Clefable!"
Clefable let out a clear shout, pushing her arms forward abruptly. That pink energy sphere cut across the sky like a shooting star, smashing toward Annihilape.
The pink light illuminated the entire battle arena like daylight, and the spectators couldn't help but squint once again. Moonblast wasn't much different from Dazzling Gleam in typing, except that this time Clefable used more energy, practically condensing all of her remaining power. Whitney and she had staked everything on this single strike.
Facing such a terrifying blow, which was also super effective, Ash still did not choose to let Annihilape dodge.
"Annihilape, show some perseverance and take this hit!"
That's right. Ash's choice was to let Annihilape endure this attack once more. In this way, the power of Rage Fist would reach an even higher level. He wanted to decide the winner right after this strike.
"Hok-cha!" Annihilape didn't dodge or avoid it, crossing his arms and taking Moonblast head-on.
The moment Moonblast exploded on Annihilape, the entire battle arena seemed to tremble. The pink energy poured down like a breached floodgate, completely submerging Annihilape. The ground cracked, gravel splashed everywhere, and the shockwave generated by the explosion even caused the spectators in the stands to subconsciously raise their arms to shield themselves.
The spectators could all feel gravel lashing against their bodies. However, they didn't care at all. What they cared about right now was how Annihilape was doing.
The pink light slowly dissipated, and a figure gradually revealed itself in the center of the smoke-filled arena.
Annihilape was still standing.
His arms were crossed in front of his chest, his fur had been scorched pitch-black, and his arms were covered in startling wounds. The damage this blow had caused was indeed not small, but it still hadn't knocked him down.
"How is it possible?" Whitney's voice was practically squeezed out. "Taking two Fairy-type moves head-on, one of which was a full-power Moonblast? Why can he still stand?"
Even if there was a level gap between the two sides, it shouldn't be to this extent.
In reality, the gap between them was merely Elite Four Low and Elite Four Mid. This level difference couldn't be said to be negligible, but it truly wouldn't stretch this far.
Under such a level difference, being hit consecutively twice by super-effective moves, even if he hadn't collapsed, he should at least be like a candle in the wind, to the extent that even standing up would be extremely difficult.
On the other hand, looking at Annihilape, although his injuries looked frightening, his spirit and vigor had instead risen to their peak, and his ghost-like eyes seemed to burn with a visible fire of rage. That strike just now seemed to have made Annihilape's fire of rage even more vigorous.
"Great job, Annihilape! Next, it's our turn to counterattack!" Ash punched the air excitedly. "Use Rage Fist!"
"Hok-cha!" Annihilape let out a deafening roar up to the sky, and the anger and fighting spirit contained in that voice made the entire stadium resonate. Just the vibration of the sound caused Clefable to instinctively take a step back, deterred by the aura emanating from Annihilape.
Dark purple energy gushed out from Annihilape's body. It was no longer just condensed on his fist. That energy was like materialized wrath, wrapping around his entire right arm and forming a giant fist condensed from pure anger. Just seeing this dark purple fist was enough to understand how devastating this move was going to be.
Whitney, in particular, felt it firsthand. Rage Fist was even more powerful than before.
Why? Why could the power of this move still increase? Previously, it could already compare to moves like Hydro Pump and Thunder, and now it had reached a level of power comparable to moves like Blast Burn and Hyper Beam.
And those moves, without exception, all had considerable recovery lag afterward. But this Rage Fist didn't seem to have any recoil or lag at all.
Wait a minute. Power enhancement?
Whitney's pupils shrank to pinpoints. She finally understood why Ash had let Annihilape take Clefable's attacks head-on. Every time it endured an attack, that terrifying move became even more powerful.
"Clefable, Protect!" Running away was impossible, so she could only use Protect to take this move head-on and see if any turning point could appear.
The moment Clefable heard the command, she pushed her palms forward abruptly, and a translucent emerald-green barrier emerged out of thin air in front of her, completely enveloping her within it. The Protect barrier flickered with a glowing green hue, looking impregnable.
However, facing Annihilape's terrifying punch wrapped in dark purple anger, Whitney had no idea how long this barrier could hold out.
The giant dark purple fist smashed onto the Protect barrier, emitting a deafening roar. That sound was like two mountains colliding together. The entire Gym trembled because of it, and the glass windows in the spectator stands were buzzing. The shockwave spread outward centered around the collision point, nearly blowing the surrounding spectators away.
For a moment, those spectators had lingering fears. Turns out watching a match could even be life-threatening.
Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the Protect barrier, rapidly spreading from the center to the edges. The emerald-green light flickered violently, as if it would collapse at any moment. But ultimately, she held on.
The dark purple energy slowly dissipated on the barrier, and Annihilape's fist was firmly blocked outside, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch further.
Clefable hid behind the barrier, trembling all over, with beads of sweat sliding down her forehead. She had successfully defended against it. If she had been hit by this punch, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"She blocked it." Whitney let out a long breath, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
However, before she could even finish exhaling that breath completely, the scene on the field froze her entire body.
Annihilape's expression didn't change at all, nor did he hesitate in the slightest. The attack of the right fist had just been blocked when his left fist was already clenched, dark purple angry energy gathering once more, slamming over fiercely with a momentum not the least bit inferior to the first punch.
"What?"
...
STONES 💎
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