Chapter 206: I Know a Thing or Two

Chapter 206: I Know a Thing or Two

Asher had to ask this question. If he didn't, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Because the move Arthur made at the end was too unconventional and simply couldn't be explained away by coincidence or accident—

At that time, Nidoking was already covered in wounds and on the verge of collapsing, while Togekiss was in good shape; taking one "Slam" wouldn't have been a big deal.

Any normal person's judgment in that situation would have been to take down Nidoking first and secure a numbers advantage, right?

How could he have thought of suddenly going to rescue a teammate?

It wasn't logical!

It wasn't until Arthur explained with a light chuckle, "You were saving your skills the whole time, right?"

Before making that move, Arthur had specifically glanced at the skill-counter board by the referee.

"I suppressed you for so long, yet you were never willing to use up all your skill slots. Leaving the field with empty skill slots should be considered a huge mistake for you professional players, right? I don't think you're that unwise of a player."

If it were an amateur match, it would indeed be common for a Pokémon to have no defensive skills and just charge headfirst down one path from start to finish.

But in a professional match, that was rarely the case.

When facing an opponent that couldn't be overpowered, there were all sorts of clone, defensive, weakening, and status-inflicting moves available. There was no need to be bull-headed.

However, after Arthur had gained the advantage, Nidoking had never used a purely defensive skill, and this had aroused Arthur's suspicion.

Asher smiled wryly. "I can't believe you've adapted to the rules so well after just coming up from the youth training camp. You've even learned to calculate the opponent's skill slots."

Amateur matches had no skill slot restrictions.

For a rookie just entering the professional scene to utilize the rules so well made Asher unavoidably a little jealous.

Just who is the veteran here, you or me?

Unexpectedly, Arthur then continued, "Of course, that's only one of the reasons."

"Then what's the other reason?"

"Another reason is that your Nidoking has actually been training 'Earthquake' and 'Stomp' recently, right? I noticed when it entered the field: its lower body muscles are far more developed than the rest of its body, its hips habitually sink, but its tail is simultaneously raised to deliberately avoid touching the ground. These are all side effects of intensive training of lower-body skills in a short period. A normal Nidoking wouldn't be like that.

With these characteristics, I was on guard against 'Earthquake' from the very beginning."

Hearing this, Asher was even more dumbfounded.

"You... you even know this? Have you raised a Nidoking before? But that's not right, the Pokémon you've registered are only the ones in your file, aren't they?"

Arthur was more or less a celebrity. The internet had long since dug up everything about the Pokémon he had, and there was no Nidoran-line Pokémon among them.

Furthermore, this level of professional Pokémon assessment... even Asher, who had been raising this Nidoking for several years, didn't know about it.

Does my Nidoking have a habit of sinking its hips recently?

He had occasionally noticed its tail not touching the ground, but was that caused by training "Earthquake"? Honestly, he had no idea…

"Why do you know more about Nidoking than I do?"

Asher squinted at Arthur, one side of his brow twitching.

Why do I inexplicably feel like I've been NTR'd by this kid...

Arthur could only shrug and smile.

"Perhaps I'm just more observant."

"..."

Asher was speechless for a moment.

Back on the sidelines, Bella excitedly ran to Luna to show off first thing.

"How about it, aren't I amazing? I told you I could carry Little Arthur!"

Luna smiled and shot her a look. "Wasn't it Little Arthur who carried you in this match? You were just a 'pendant' getting a free win."

"No, I wasn't!" Bella glared at her good friend, pouting. "You're just jealous of me!"

"Then I'll take the initiative to tell the team that I'll team up with Little Arthur next season, and not with you."

Bella immediately put her hands together in a pleading gesture. "No, no, I was wrong, big sister. Please carry me for one more year, big sister…"

When it came to having no shame, Bella had never lost to anyone. She didn't care at all if people said she was being carried or was clinging to a strong player. She engaged in self-deprecating humor daily and lacked any proper demeanor.

After two years, Luna had long since gotten used to this goofy partner.

She then turned her head and asked Arthur, "On your training trip, did you really not hire a coach?"

Hearing this topic, Bella also immediately stopped her antics.

"Oh right, speaking of which, I just remembered. I heard them say before that your Frogadier... now Greninja... wasn't good with Water-type moves before?"

During this transfer period, a total of three rookies from the youth training camp had come to the Sea Carp Club. In the days they were waiting for Arthur, they had all chatted, and the other two rookies had naturally revealed Arthur's background in the youth training camp.

So, everyone actually knew about Frogadier's past weakness; it wasn't a secret.

It was just that no one had expected that after just a short month, this intel would already be outdated.

What a pity.

Arthur smiled and explained, "A month ago, it really wasn't very good, but after a month of training, it's much better. I really didn't bring a coach this time. Didn't I tell you guys that before I left?"

Who could have known you'd change so much upon your return? Luna thought to herself.

Arthur's answer made her eyes instantly light up.

If Bella hadn't known that her best friend was always putting on a prim and proper act, she would have almost thought Luna was about to try and steal her "tender grass."

"No wonder..." Luna suddenly murmured.

Bella, at the side, was still clueless.

"No wonder what?"

Luna glanced sideways at her.

Bella immediately pouted.

She suspected her partner was looking down on her intelligence, but she had no proof.

Fortunately, Luna wasn't a "Riddler" and quickly solved her clueless friend's confusion.

"No wonder you said before that you had the ability to train Pokémon yourself. No wonder you dared to fight with the club for authority over your Pokémon's evolution and training. I really can't figure out, you're clearly so young, where on earth did you learn so many skills?"

Bella was suddenly enlightened, and at the same time, she shared the experience that had just happened with her friend.

"After the match, Asher asked him why he guessed there would be an 'Earthquake.' He explained that he could tell from Nidoking's posture and habits that it had been practicing lower-body skills recently. He doesn't just know the things you mentioned, he also knows Pokémon physiognomy!"

For a moment, the way Luna looked at him became even more fervent.

Arthur coughed twice.

The two women thought he was about to be modest.

Who would have thought he would just explain, "That's not physiognomy. It's just a basic technique for Pokémon Breeders to assess Pokémon."

"You even know Breeder skills?"

"I just know a thing or two."

After a few seconds of silence, Bella suddenly patted his shoulder solemnly.

He looked over at her, puzzled.

The next moment, he heard Bella, as always, abandon all her shame and declare, "Little Arthur, from now on, I'll be counting on you to carry me. I never thought you'd be even more reliable than that old auntie over there!"

When she needed to be carried, it was "big sister." When she wasn't needed, she became "old auntie."

Luna had also seen through her best friend's true colors and irritably rewarded her with a single word: "Scram!!"

Arthur could only shrug helplessly.

Fortunately, at this moment, the next match was about to begin.

Since neither Arthur's nor Bella's Pokémon had been seriously injured in the last match and were in good condition, they both had to compete again in this round.

But no longer as teammates…

(End of Chapter)

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