"It's so lively here."
A voice came from behind them. Everyone turned around and discovered it was Officer Jenny from Sandgem Town.
"Cousin Jenny, why are you here?" Officer Joy asked with a puzzled look.
Officer Jenny from Sandgem Town walked over to the group and said, "Cousin Reese sent me a message. I happened to be free today, so I came to watch the battle. Ever since I graduated, I've been working in Sandgem Town, and I haven't watched a battle in a long time—especially one this exciting—so I just had to come and see it."
"Come over here, Sister Jenny." Shauna scooted over to make room for Officer Jenny from Sandgem Town to stand next to her.
Officer Jenny from Sandgem Town smiled and patted her on the head. "Good girl, Shauna."
Then she looked toward the arena. "Has it just started?"
"Yes."
On the field, Lucas and Diantha both threw a Poké Ball simultaneously.
With a flash of red light, a Pokémon appeared before Lucas—it had a bright green body, wore a bright green dress, and had an extremely vibrant flower blooming on top of its head.
In front of Diantha appeared a giant long-necked dragon. Its body was deep blue, and from the lower part of its neck to its abdomen were light blue ice crystal patterns. From its head to its neck, it was covered in yellowish-white, aurora-shaped fleshy fins, with white markings on its head. At the same time, it had diamond-shaped, gem-like protrusions on its head and body.
"This is—" "Aurorus?" Lucas looked at this incredibly beautiful giant dinosaur in front of him and said.
"Wow! What a beautiful big dinosaur!" Shauna's mouth fell open.
At this moment, Nina's phone rang. She took out her rotom phone, and the video call connected automatically. It was Cynthia.
Officer Jenny from Twinleaf Town, Officer Joy, and Nina had long since exchanged numbers with Cynthia.
"Has the battle started?" "It just started." Nina hurriedly flipped the camera, then let the rotom phone float to the side to record properly.
"Then, let's count down from three. The battle officially begins." Professor Rowan raised the flag Gengar had handed him. "3" "2" "1"
"Aurorus, Light Screen!" Aurorus's speed couldn't match Lilligant's, so Diantha didn't hesitate to have Aurorus set up Light Screen.
Lucas and Diantha spoke at the same time, having Lilligant use Sunny Day. The sunlight overhead became more intense. When in doubt, start with Sunny Day.
"Solar Beam!" "Blizzard!" The powerful beam and the blizzard crashed into each other.
Solar Beam blasted through the blizzard, then pierced through the Light Screen and struck Aurorus, knocking it back a distance.
Aurorus stood up and let out a weak cry. A super-effective Solar Beam didn't one-shot it? Lucas was surprised.
What a pity. If not for Light Screen, that hit would likely have taken Aurorus down. In fact, if it were someone else's Pokémon, it might have already collapsed, but the opponent was, after all, a Champion-level entity.
"Aurorus, Reflect." Aurorus let out a roar, and a Reflect appeared in front of it.
"Energy Ball." The massive Energy Ball smashed toward Aurorus, passing through the Light Screen again and landing on Aurorus, which slammed heavily into the ground.
"Stealth Rock." Aurorus, lying on the ground, used its last bit of strength to scatter Stealth Rock, then closed its eyes.
Lucas: ??? Scattering Stealth Rock while on the verge of fainting? Isn't that overpowered?!
"You've worked hard, Aurorus. Go, Hawlucha." A masked, caped bird Pokémon glided down from the sky.
"You've worked hard, Lilligant." Lucas recalled Lilligant into her Poké Ball, then flicked his wrist and threw another Poké Ball. "Staraptor, I'm counting on you."
The exceptionally fierce Staraptor appeared on the field, but as soon as it entered, it was struck hard by the invisible Stealth Rock and sent flying backward. It flipped its body in mid-air to adjust its posture and came to a halt in the air.
"Brave Bird!" "Hawlucha, Close Combat." Staraptor slammed hard into Hawlucha's body, while Hawlucha's fist also hammered heavily onto Staraptor.
When Staraptor collided with Hawlucha, a Reflect appeared in front of Hawlucha.
"Hawlucha, take advantage of this, Thunder Punch!" Hawlucha clenched its fist, which was covered in golden lightning, and punched Staraptor in the head.
"Use your claws to control it, then fly high into the sky." Lucas looked at Staraptor, whose head was scorched black, and gave a new command.
Staraptor gripped Hawlucha tightly with its claws, flapped its strong, powerful wings, and flew high into the sky.
"Flying high into the sky? What is it trying to do?" Diantha muttered to herself. "Hawlucha, use Close Combat to break free."
Just as Hawlucha started using Close Combat to break free, Lucas suddenly ordered Staraptor to let go. "Let go of it, Staraptor."
The sudden sensation of weightlessness forced Hawlucha to stop Close Combat, and it used its wings to control itself and glide down to the ground.
"Now! Once more, Brave Bird!" Staraptor flew to a high altitude, then folded its wings, rotated its entire body 180 degrees, and plummeted at extreme speed. Its body was enveloped in terrifying blue-white energy. After falling a certain distance, Staraptor suddenly spread its wings, its gray feathers turning into blades, and with a flap, its entire body transformed into a divine bird, charging toward Hawlucha at extreme speed.
"Hawlucha, hurry and dodge!" Hawlucha hurriedly flew to the side, but in the blink of an eye, Staraptor caught up and mercilessly slammed into its back.
The powerful impact shattered the Reflect instantly. Even with the attenuation of Reflect, the super-effective Brave Bird still caused Hawlucha to let out a cry of extreme pain, and its entire body slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Clear the dust." Lucas commanded Staraptor to flap its wings, clearing the smoke from the field. As the smoke dissipated, Hawlucha lay in a deep crater, having lost consciousness.
Reckless Ability, 120-power Brave Bird, plus super-effectiveness, plus natural gravitational acceleration—so what if you have Reflect! You're getting carried away!
"Return, Hawlucha." Diantha recalled Hawlucha, then looked at Lucas. "Your strength is indeed very strong, but even so, I will not give up."
"I'm counting on you, Goodra." A Goodra, whose body was mostly purple, appeared on the field, its large, powerful tail slapping against the ground.
"Goodra, Thunder!" Golden lightning began to surge over Goodra, but Staraptor rushed over at extreme speed. Goodra instinctively raised its hands to defend. Staraptor charged in front of it, slashed it hard with its sharp claws, and then turned into red light, returning to the Poké Ball in Lucas's hand. This is—U-turn?
Diantha's pupils constricted. Immediately afterward, she saw a flash of red light in front of her, and an elegant Pokémon wearing a black court dress appeared on the field.
As soon as Gothitelle appeared, it felt as if its head had been smashed by a rock; its vision went black, and it was sent flying backward. How is it Stealth Rock again?!
Gothitelle felt the Stealth Rock spread across the field, and a nameless fire rose involuntarily in its heart.
"Goodra, take this chance, Dragon Breath!" Terrifying blue energy gathered in Goodra's mouth, then it spat it out toward the flying Gothitelle. In mid-air, it transformed into a giant dragon and charged toward Gothitelle.
"Psychic!" Gothitelle was flying backward in the air, its eyes glowing with an enchanting purple light. Terrifying psychic power swept out, dispersing the blue dragon.
"Light Screen." Gothitelle smashed the Light Screen with a punch, then scattered it.
"Tch, this move again." Diantha watched Gothitelle's actions and couldn't help but click her tongue in frustration.
It was just like this when fighting Cynthia: using psychic power to find the location of the Stealth Rock, and then using fragments to clear all of the Stealth Rock.
Facing Gothitelle on the opposite side of the field, Diantha felt it was incredibly troublesome. In the battle against Cynthia, this Gothitelle was almost a force that turned the tide. Facing Cynthia's efficient offensive methods, it had stubbornly withstood them all, neutralizing Cynthia's various combo combinations. It wasn't relying on pure strength; it was relying purely on being tanky!
"Return, Goodra. It's your turn now, Gourgeist." A cute Pokémon with pink hair and a body like a jack-o'-lantern appeared on the field. At the same time, Lucas also swapped Gothitelle out and sent in Ninetales.
"Gourgeist, use Trick-or-Treat." Countless ghosts drifted toward Ninetales and hung onto its body, causing it to have the Ghost-type added to it.
"Flamethrower." Ninetales opened its mouth wide, and scorching flames swept toward the Gourgeist on the opposite side.
Gourgeist let out a painful wail in the flames; the sound was as hair-raising as a ghost resurrected on Halloween.
Shauna, watching from the side, couldn't help but hug Officer Jenny from Sandgem Town's leg tightly.
"I didn't expect Lucas's strength to be this strong." Officer Jenny from Sandgem Town couldn't help but remark. From her perspective, Lucas was currently suppressing Diantha, the Champion of the Kalos region, having defeated two of Diantha's Pokémon without losing a single one of his own.
"So this guy is actually this strong. I thought he was just bragging to me." Nina chewed on the sausage Shauna had handed her and said indistinctly.
"This guy—so this is the expression he has when battling. It actually looks a bit like a Champion." Officer Jenny from Twinleaf Town said, "His usual happy-go-lucky attitude doesn't look like a Champion at all."
On the screen, Cynthia sat in her chair, watching the battle on the field intently. She watched as Diantha's moves were neutralized one by one: either the dual screens were forcefully destroyed by Lucas's brute force and the Pokémon were forcibly defeated; or the Stealth Rock was destroyed by Lucas using Gothitelle's psychic power; or the rotations were countered by Lucas's Pokémon. Cynthia couldn't help but ask herself in her heart: Diantha, how will you respond now?
The flames dissipated, and the scorched Gourgeist was going a bit mad. It was so exquisite, yet it was almost turned into a roasted pumpkin pie! It was trembling with rage!
However, a single super-effective Flamethrower had almost finished Gourgeist off.
"Flare Blitz!" "Phantom Force!" Ninetales, wrapped in flames, charged toward Gourgeist, but Gourgeist slipped into the shadows, causing Ninetales to lose its target.
Immediately after, Gourgeist emerged from behind Ninetales, its twin tails lashing heavily onto Ninetales. Due to the effect of Trick-or-Treat, Phantom Force was also super-effective against Ninetales. Ninetales gritted its teeth in pain.
"Snarl!" Ninetales opened its mouth and used a verbal attack against the Gourgeist behind it.
*Beep* *Beep* Gourgeist was hit perfectly. Judging by Gourgeist's reaction, it seemed like a critical hit.
Gourgeist hovered unsteadily in the air, looking angrily at Ninetales. "Nan" I *** you *** Ninetales*
Lucas couldn't bear to listen anymore. Snarl is an endless scolding of the opponent, but just now, Ninetales seemed to have perfectly hit Gourgeist's sore spot.
"Dark Pulse!" Gourgeist angrily used its twin tails to gather the malice in its heart, preparing to teach Ninetales a hard lesson.
"Ninetales, end it, Flare Blitz." As soon as Lucas finished speaking, in Gourgeist's terrified eyes, Ninetales charged forward against the Dark Pulse, its whole body ablaze with brilliant flames.
Ninetales, I *** Gourgeist lost consciousness.
Ninetales shook its head. "That hurts—good thing I'm tanky enough." Having taken a few super-effective moves head-on, even Ninetales couldn't quite handle it, and its steps were a bit unsteady.
"Whew." "It's a good thing the opponent was Gourgeist. If it had been Garchomp, I probably would have gone home to eat after the first hit." Ninetales said this as it was recalled into the Poké Ball by Lucas.
At this moment, the just-awakened Gourgeist heard this and was so angry that it fainted again.
Ninetales, I *
Looking at the Ninetales Poké Ball in his hand, Lucas shook his head helplessly. "Ninetales, I told you not to hang out with Gengar, but you wouldn't listen. Now your mouth is so toxic."
Ninetales hiding in the shadow: ??? It's me again?!
The battle continued.
"Goodra, Thunder!" "Gothitelle, Future Sight." Gothitelle withstood the Thunder and used Future Sight.
"Return, Gothitelle. Go, Machamp." With a resentful look from Gothitelle, Lucas recalled Gothitelle into the Poké Ball to let it rest, then sent out the Breeding House's heavy hitter, Machamp.
"Ma Machamp!!!" Machamp appeared, slamming its four fists together, erupting with a terrifying shockwave, and let out a roar toward Goodra.
Goodra: ? I hit you?! Really?! It's not like I haven't stayed at the Breeding House!
"Goodra, Dragon Tail!" "Machamp, take the hit, Ice Punch."
The giant Dragon Tail collided with the Ice Punch. Goodra retracted its tail in pain, ice already forming on it. Machamp continued to charge toward Goodra.
"Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch!"
Cynthia on the screen: ? Professor Rowan acting as referee: ?? Diantha: ??? Goodra: ????
It watched helplessly as Machamp rushed in front of it, four fists: one burning with fire, one flashing with golden lightning, one covered in ice, and the last one plain and unremarkable.
Goodra: ??? Just because you have many fists, can you use them like this? Machamp: Why not? Take this! Boom! Goodra didn't hesitate at all and fell asleep.
Diantha: "Is your Machamp—legal?"
"Fists thrown at the same time—how is that illegal? Besides, Machamp has four fists, isn't that normal?"
Diantha: —— "You're saying that, right, Professor Rowan?" Lucas looked at Professor Rowan. Professor Rowan licked his lips. "Hmm—actually—this is the first time I've seen this situation." Professor Rowan said helplessly.
Which Trainer could raise a Machamp like this? Using three different moves at the same time. Even if you have many fists, this isn't reasonable, okay? Each move requires the full coordination of the brain, but this—Professor Rowan expressed that he had lived long enough to see everything. As expected of Lucas.
Diantha recalled Goodra and sent out Tyrantrum. "Earthquake!" "Dynamic Punch, smash it!" Boom! Tyrantrum fell. One-hit KO style · Machamp!
"Ma Machamp!!!" Who else!!! Then it was recalled by Lucas. "You've worked hard." Machamp: Not hard at all.
Off the field. "Wow, it was one-shot in one move?" Shauna said "wow". Diantha took a deep breath and sent out her trump card. Gardevoir appeared on the field. At the same time, Gengar also crawled out of the shadows. "Gen gengar, I won't go easy on a lady, you know~"
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