SWNOVELXO Chapter 220: Chapter 220: The Rain-Thunder Combo
Chapter 220: The Rain-Thunder Combo
Before the match even began, the head coach on the sidelines pounded the table in anger, making the cup on it jump.
He was furious, but also helpless.
This duel concluded very quickly. Luna's Empoleon, under the protection of Bella's Togekiss, successfully finished charging its "Focus Energy" skill, then proceeded to slash its way from the east end of the field to the west, cutting down the two opposing Pokémon until they were crying out loud.
Togekiss hid behind it, taking advantage of the situation with "Ancient Power," and even successfully triggered the all-stat-boosting effect of awakening its potential once.
In the end, the opponents couldn't block either of these two Pokémon and were defeated without putting up much of a fight.
Clearly, not every Pokémon had the skill of Greninja to be able to stop a spinning Empoleon after a "Focus Energy."
However, even though they won this match, the morale on the Sea Carp side did not rise at all.
They were still standing on the edge of a cliff.
In the opposing pair for this match, one of them was a rookie just promoted from the youth training camp; it was normal for them to be lacking in strength.
However, in the next match, it would be the Otter Team's veteran doubles pair taking the stage!
As one of the league's top-tier powerhouse teams, an A-list team whose online popularity had once surpassed the old "Big Three" before last year's Champions Cup, how could the Otter Team's doubles division not have an ace to hold down the fort?
The short mid-game break ended, and the staff, with the help of Pokémon, finished repairing the field.
Now, it was Arthur and Asher's turn to go on stage.
After stepping out of the player tunnel, Asher quietly comforted Arthur, "Keep a level head, kid. Stay calm. Even if we lose this match, the blame won't fall on us."
Although Arthur usually acted like a wise old man in a kid's body, at this moment, Asher, as the veteran, felt it was his duty to help his young partner stabilize his mentality.
Indeed, losing to the opponent's ace pair was not shameful.
Ultimately, the blame still lay with their own main players for not performing well, pushing all the pressure onto the rookies in the end.
Asher had been playing for so many years and had long since become a wily old hand, accustomed to this kind of situation. He was just afraid that Arthur would lose his composure after the match and not be able to recover.
However, after officially taking his place at the player's stand, Arthur spoke in his usual cool tone, "Don't be afraid. What if we win?"
Asher was taken aback for a moment, feeling something inexplicably stir within him.
What if…
Subsequently, the referee nodded to the players on both sides and operated the scoreboard on the side to reset it.
He then raised the flag in his hand high.
The moment the flag fell, both sides had to send out their Pokémon simultaneously, without delay!
Four Pokémon appeared on the field at the same time—
On Arthur and Asher's side were: Greninja and Weavile.
And on the opposite side were: Pelipper and Raichu.
"As expected," Bella analyzed calmly from the sidelines.
At the same time, the live commentators also began to discuss the lineups.
"The Otter Team's Rain-Thunder combo is an old friend of ours. As expected, they've sent out the Pelipper with the 'Drizzle' ability and the Raichu with the 'Lightning Rod' ability. I'm sure veteran viewers with more than three years of watching experience will not be unfamiliar with this pair. Since their debut, they have been the pillar of the Otter Team in the doubles field!"
Then, the moment the referee's whistle blew, the Pelipper swiftly ascended into the air, its wings spread wide. A torrent of energy poured from its body, and the overflowing black smoke gathered like demonic energy. This energy gradually condensed into an artificial dark cloud above the field, and before long, a light rain began to fall.
Ability - Drizzle: Able to create cumulonimbus clouds with its own energy. If released at a high enough altitude, it could even cause a change in the weather.
In reality, abilities like Drizzle and Sand Stream couldn't yet change the environment's weather instantly upon entry, unless it was a Pokémon on the level of the legendaries Groudon and Kyogre, who could forcibly reverse the weather of a region with their power alone.
The manifestation of the Drizzle ability was actually just using one's own energy to create a small patch of dark clouds to make it rain.
Only when a sufficient number of Pelipper with this ability gathered together and rose to high altitudes to release their energy could it be possible to induce a large-scale weather change.
This was also the main method of artificial rain in many arid regions of this world.
This ability was not as unbeatable as described in the games of a parallel world.
But it could not be easily ignored either!
This created dark cloud was not a simple cloud, but a product of Pokémon energy!
Within the range covered by this small patch of dark clouds, the power of Water-type skills would be enhanced, and the power of Fire-type skills would be suppressed;
The recovery effects of the skills "Synthesis," "Morning Sun," and "Moonlight" would all be halved;
The casting speed and power of the two ultimate moves "Thunder" and "Hurricane" would be greatly increased!
A simple small patch of dark clouds, but its effects were not few at all!
And this was the core tactical point of the opposing combo—
At the start of the match, the opponent very domineeringly used an ultimate move right away: "Raichu, Thunder!"
But Arthur had given his command a step ahead of him: "Greninja, Substitute!!"
An electric light flashed directly from within the dark cloud, and in an instant, a bolt of lightning struck down!
"CRACKA!!"
The shocking thunderclap instantly stirred the emotions of the audience, and the scene was filled with gasps of surprise and admiration.
Under the cover of the energy cloud, the casting speed of the "Thunder" skill was more than doubled, leaving almost no time for reaction!
Under normal weather, the "Thunder" move was not this fast. The energy needed to first travel to a high altitude, then the electric charge would condense, generally requiring a delay of one to two seconds before the lightning would strike.
So, this move was generally not that easy to hit with if the enemy was on guard.
Thinking back, when Arthur was fighting in the Golden Autumn Cup, Flora's Dragonair had used "Thunder" against him. At that time, his Frogadier, still in its initial Froakie form, could even interfere with the opponent's aim using "Smokescreen."
However, that was all under normal weather, in general situations…
Now, one of the major effects of this energy cloud created by Pelipper was to greatly increase the casting speed of the two moves "Thunder" and "Hurricane"!
The Thunder that Raichu had just used—the moment the electric light moved, the lightning bolt descended almost instantly!
So fast that it was impossible to react!
Asher, at the side, almost broke out in a cold sweat.
His reaction just now was not as fast as Arthur's; he hadn't been able to predict and give a command in advance. If it weren't for the opponent's straightforward opening, with the first bolt of lightning aimed directly at the Water-type Greninja, his Weavile would have definitely been hit!
On the battlefield at this moment, Raichu's "Thunder" was almost a guaranteed hit!
Because it was too fast!
"Holy crap!" After his exclamation, he immediately heard Arthur's rapid-fire urging: "Gang up on Raichu together! We can't let it keep using Thunder so recklessly!"
Without a doubt, in the opponent's combo, Raichu was the absolute core of their damage output!
A guaranteed-hit ultimate move "Thunder" could really be fatal.
To even have a chance, they had to stop it first!
(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