Chapter 208: Commanding Like RAP
Many people had guessed the outcome of this duel beforehand.
But very few had guessed that this outcome would come so quickly!
At this point, less than half a minute had passed since the referee blew the whistle to start the match, yet when Empoleon's "Swords Dance" buff was complete, many people couldn't help but feel a thought bubble up: "It's already over."
The rest should just be garbage time…
Even Elijah himself had a bit of this thought, to the point that he failed to follow up with a command in the first instance.
After the "Steel Wing" skill ended, the light on Empoleon's wings dissipated, but the slashing continued.
Its two wide penguin wings swung like broadswords, each slash heavier than the last as they chopped down on Gallade.
"You retreat, switch opponents! Go stall Luxray!"
At this critical moment, it was Arthur who gave a sharp wake-up call. His yell was almost enough to jolt Elijah back to his senses.
Glancing sideways, he finally noticed that his partner's eyes were still focused and grave.
He hadn't given up.
The match wasn't over yet!
In a daze, Elijah finally remembered what he was supposed to do and silently cursed himself for losing his head.
Damn it, I was completely stunned by the opponent's momentum. I almost made a huge mistake!
Ultimately, this match was just a tryout. The win or loss wasn't actually the most important thing; what was important was letting the team see everyone's performance.
It was normal for a rookie to lose to active professional players. No one expected them to beat one of the top three doubles pairs from this year's entire league regular season right after leaving the youth training camp.
But losing was one thing; they couldn't lose so unremarkably!
At this moment, Elijah couldn't help but feel a bit of relief and gratitude.
Thankfully, the teammate he got in this first match was Arthur;
Thankfully, he was much calmer than himself!
"Gallade, retreat to the left rear!" he quickly commanded after coming to his senses.
At the same time, Arthur quickly and quietly communicated with him, "You're not good with Fighting-type moves. Don't even think about using type advantage. Just stall Luxray. If you can outlast the Swords Dance, we still have a chance!"
Arthur needed to both recharge his partner's confidence, lest he "surrender at 20," and at the same time, persuade him to calm down and not do anything foolish again.
Elijah's Gallade was not good with Fighting-type moves.
This was obvious. The "Brick Break" he had just used was of a much lower quality than his "Psycho Cut"!
This actually wasn't strange; many Gallade were not proficient in Fighting-type moves.
This Pokémon's first two forms, Ralts and Kirlia, were both Psychic/Fairy type. Kirlia's other evolutionary form, the famous "doujinshi queen" of the Pokémon world, Gardevoir, was also Psychic/Fairy type.
In other words, Psychic and Fairy were the orthodox typings for this evolutionary line; Gallade's Fighting type was an off-shoot.
The vast majority of Gallade in this world were biased towards Psychic-type moves; this was a common phenomenon.
Elijah just wasn't an exception.
His Gallade only knew one Fighting-type attack move: "Brick Break."
Otherwise, if he had used the low-hitting "Low Sweep" just now, the interruption effect would have been much more reliable.
Alas, it didn't know it.
One could only say that Gallade had made a mistake that its gender was prone to making.
And Luna was truly daring to gamble, betting that the opponent didn't have "Low Sweep"!
As it turned out, her gamble paid off.
And so, "Swords Dance" was completed!
Greninja now switched opponents, proactively facing Empoleon, its expression more serious than ever before.
This opponent was not to be trifled with!
"Water Shuriken!"
Water-type moves wouldn't be very effective against Empoleon, but at this moment, Arthur had no choice.
Facing a main player-level Pokémon after a "Swords Dance," Greninja had to have a weapon in its hands; otherwise, the defensive pressure would be too great.
The thrown water shuriken were blocked by Empoleon's wide wings and failed to hit its vital torso, having a mediocre effect.
Then, Luna was heard saying, "Continue the attack!"
Empoleon spun its body, wings spread, like a great sword master dragging his sword in a spin, finally bringing the door-panel-sized broadsword down with the force of ten thousand jun!
Greninja met the attack!
With a "BANG"!
A water kunai in one of its hands shattered on impact!
Elijah, quietly watching the situation from the side, felt his eyelids twitch twice.
No matter what, the water kunai in Greninja's hands were created by a skill! The opponent's Empoleon had just finished using "Steel Wing" and was still in its cooldown period. This wing swing, to put it bluntly, was just a basic attack.
A basic attack breaking a skill!
Its defense has been broken!
But unlike Elijah's trepidation, Arthur remained calm, not even wrinkling his brow.
Losing a water kunai so quickly was worth it.
At least Empoleon's spinning momentum had been checked! It wasn't allowed to spin round and round and round.
"Duck!"
At this time, Arthur once again began his mode of high-frequency, detailed commanding.
Ever since this kid of his had evolved into Frogadier, he hadn't used this kind of hand-holding, refined command style for a long time.
Greninja quickly ducked, avoiding the horizontal swing of Empoleon's other wing.
"Stab low!"
As it was ducking, Arthur's next command smoothly followed. Greninja seized the momentum to thrust out the only remaining water kunai in its hand, attacking the enemy's lower body.
Empoleon hopped back with a small penguin-like step to dodge.
At this point, even Luna was no longer giving commands.
Even professional players couldn't keep up with such a fast combat rhythm; they could only entrust the on-the-spot performance to their Pokémon.
"Forward roll, kick out!"
Only Arthur's commands, like RAP, came one after another, his speech extremely fast, the rhythm never stopping!
After ducking, Greninja didn't rush to stand up. It did a forward roll on the spot, catching up to the back-hopping Empoleon.
Then, with both hands on the ground, head down, and feet up, it bent one leg and then forcefully kicked out at a 45-degree angle!
This kick landed squarely on Empoleon's face, kicking it back.
Empoleon resembled an emperor penguin, and the golden marking on its face was like a golden trident, often described as an emperor's crown.
This image of Empoleon truly fit that old joke: Don't bow your head, the crown will fall.
"Holy crap!"
At this moment, the spectators on the sidelines couldn't help but cry out in alarm!
Just when everyone thought the Swords Dance-buffed Empoleon was about to sweep the field, Greninja, under a flurry of "RAP" commands, had successfully landed a counter-kick on the opponent!
This—
Amazing, my bro!
This rookie is strong!
But now, the real test was about to begin.
"Throw the kunai!"
Although the water kunai's duration was far from over, Arthur still had Greninja throw the weapon without hesitation.
Because he had already read it—
"Use Steel Wing!"
The opponent's skill was coming!
"Upper right, receive!"
"Upper right" was to inform Greninja of the direction the opponent's next attack would come from.
And "receive" meant exactly that.
Block it head-on!
The opponent had used "Steel Wing" earlier than Greninja had used "Water Shuriken." At this moment, Greninja's skill cooldown was still short by one or two seconds.
Without a skill, it could only block head-on!
Just as Arthur's voice fell, a bright blade light was already upon it.
And Greninja could only—catch the sharp blade with its bare hands!
This next slash was destined to be the greatest test it would face in this match!
A "Steel Wing" enhanced by "Swords Dance"!
Blocked head-on!
Could it handle it?!
(End of Chapter)
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 35 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you