Chapter 56: Mentally Broken
Although Justin now had blind faith in Arthur, others clearly didn't think the same way.
As soon as the match started, the senior trainee from the youth training camp confidently declared.
"Ha, kid, let me show you the real difference in skill. Don't think you're hot stuff just because you got some wins in the amateur circuit! Grovyle, use Leaf Blade!"
This person's arrogance wasn't entirely unjustified. He started with a fairly advanced move.
Leaf Blade, a Grass-type move, is quite high-level among Grass-type direct attack moves.
While not as powerful as the big move "Thunder" that Flora's Dratini displayed at the Golden Autumn Cup, it was still much stronger than the common moves like "Fury Cutter," "Scratch," and "Low Kick" often seen in the amateur circuit.
Upon hearing the command, Grovyle's eyes immediately sharpened. With a flick of his arms, the grass leaves at his wrists instantly merged, straightened, and extended forward, resembling two green swords growing from the back of his hands.
The move "Leaf Blade" generally has two applications. One is to use it as a burst move, pouring all energy into a single slash, delivering a powerful blow.
The other, which Grovyle was currently doing, was to concentrate energy on the leaf blades of his arms without releasing it, enhancing subsequent slashes.
Relatively speaking, the second application of the move is more complex and harder to master than the first.
The opponent's decision to show off this technique right from the start likely stemmed from a desire to flaunt his skills.
Perhaps in his view, defeating a newbie who ranked last in the youth training camp was a foregone conclusion. The only thing to consider was how to make his performance look impressive.
Unfortunately for him, he was dead wrong about some things this time.
"Heh."
Arthur, unusually, didn't give a command but simply chuckled softly.
Because Froakie's movements were so practiced and swift that he didn't need any extra instructions.
The moment the "Leaf Blade" on Grovyle's arms straightened, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his lower back.
What... does it feel like I've lost a kidney?
"Holy crap?!"
The spectators watching nearby could see clearly: as soon as the temporary referee said "Begin!", even before the senior trainee's boastful words could finish, a lifelike "Froakie" abruptly emerged from the shadow behind Grovyle.
The Froakie that appeared from the shadow didn't hesitate. He immediately launched a kidney punch at Grovyle!
It was so fast that Grovyle didn't even have time to assume his starting stance.
This was the speed of the priority move: Shadow Sneak!
"Froakie's getting really good at this move. His learning speed is terrifying," Justin, on the sidelines, said with a shake of his head.
But while marveling, he also felt a sense of relief.
Because watching this scene, he finally felt that the world was back to normal.
Right, this is how priority moves should work. These extremely fast moves are supposed to have this kind of shocking effect that leaves people with no time to react.
So, the way Arthur calmly spoke while easily dodging a Pokémon's Shadow Sneak, in Justin's view, was simply inhuman!
It was unscientific, even un-Pokémon-like!
Clearly, this senior trainee's Grovyle didn't have Arthur's ridiculous reaction speed.
Shadow Sneak landed first!
Then, because the senior trainee was slow to react and didn't issue the next command in time, Grovyle instinctively turned around and slashed at the "Froakie" that emerged from his shadow, destroying it.
But this response was clearly another mistake.
That was just a clone formed from shadows.
"Quick Attack!"
Arthur finally gave the command.
The real Froakie immediately launched into action!
The Normal-type move "Quick Attack" was also classified as a priority move, and its speed was equally impressive.
The Grovyle, who had just turned around to destroy the clone, hadn't even had time to fully turn his body back before Froakie crashed into his lower back at high speed.
The same spot was targeted twice.
"Screech!"
Grovyle finally couldn't hold back and let out a pained cry.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his Pokémon suffer heavy damage right at the start, the senior trainee finally realized his mistake.
With a muttered curse, he quickly issued a command to recover.
"Use Leaf Blade to counterattack, don't back down!!"
This time, his command finally kept pace with the battle.
And this command was correct.
Despite the heavy damage from the sneak attack, Grovyle's Leaf Blade had already charged up. He could immediately launch a counterattack.
Moreover, the opponent had just unleashed two moves in rapid succession, so he must be in a state of exhaustion and unable to recover his energy.
This was no time to cower because of the injury!
He could still turn the tide if he played this right!
However, Arthur didn't just stand by. His commands were never slower than the pace of the battle.
"Lean back!"
Froakie didn't move his feet, but tilted his upper body backward, dodging Grovyle's horizontal slash at the last moment.
"Headbutt his right side!"
Grovyle had leaf blades on both arms. The opponent's attack would definitely involve a continuous barrage of slashes from both sides. So Arthur didn't plan to evade by constantly retreating.
Froakie used a non-move headbutt to clash head-on with the opponent.
Normally, a non-move headbutt wouldn't have much power. But coincidentally, both of Grovyle's kidneys had been injured by the previous sneak attacks.
And Froakie's height was shorter than Grovyle's, so this headbutt landed squarely on the opponent's lower abdomen.
On this day, Grovyle's kidneys experienced pain beyond their capacity.
"Kick him away, retreat!"
Seizing the moment when the opponent's movements stiffened due to the pain, Froakie jumped up and kicked off Grovyle's chest with both legs, using the force to jump backward, do a backflip, and calmly create distance.
The whole sequence was fluid and graceful, the Pokémon's movements and the trainer's commands perfectly synchronized, creating a beautiful spectacle.
Even Eleanor Vance, an amateur in Pokémon battles, couldn't help but marvel: This might be the charm of Pokémon competition.
Only the senior trainee on the field couldn't appreciate this beauty.
Because this outcome was unacceptable to him!
In this round of pursuit, despite not using any moves, his Grovyle hadn't landed a single hit.
He couldn't swallow this result no matter what.
"Leaf Blade, full power!!"
At this point, he abandoned any pretense of sustained attacks and ordered Grovyle to switch to the first application of the move.
The energy was no longer contained but unleashed with full force!
This strike had to make the opponent pay!
But at this moment, Froakie, using the time gained from the previous series of dodges, finally managed to recover his energy.
"Double Team!"
Arthur's tone was still calm. His rhythm had never been disrupted from beginning to end.
"What!"
But now, the opponent's mind was clearly in chaos.
Froakie quickly left a clone in place and moved aside.
So Grovyle's full-power slash once again only destroyed a clone...
At this point, the opponent's mentality visibly crumbled...
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