Pokemon: Spiritual Master

Wicked Blow.

A Dark-type move specifically targeting sound-based attacks.

Any Pokémon hit by this move would experience hellish pain in their throat, unable to use any sound-based moves for a period of time, such as Roar, Hyper Voice, or Sing.

Nemona's Pokémon lineup consisted of Glimmora setting up hazards, combined with Dragapult's high mobility using Dragon Tail to force opponent Pokémon switches.

When Dragapult's Dragon Tail couldn't take effect, there was also Altaria, a typical tank-type Pokémon that could delay the opponent's poisoning process and wear down their stamina.

This was a very typical hazard-setting tactics approach.

However, few people knew that Altaria could actually master the Roar move, able to force switches on Pokémon that Dragapult couldn't force to switch.

Even more so.

According to Johan's understanding of these tactics, among Nemona's remaining Pokémon, there were probably more than just Altaria that had mastered Roar.

But now...

Urshifu tightly gripped Altaria's throat, preventing it from making any sound and unable to use Roar for a certain period.

But similarly, Urshifu had also been poisoned by stepping on the Toxic Spikes on the ground and injured by hitting the seemingly omnipresent Stealth Rock.

Regardless of the current situation, Nemona's hazard-setting tactics had taken effect.

"Altaria, Rapid Spin, shake it off!" Seeing Urshifu suddenly appear in front of Altaria, Nemona was also somewhat surprised.

So fast?

Then she realized.

The Psychic Terrain created by Indeedee had already disappeared, so priority moves could finally take effect. Urshifu had used Sucker Punch to reach Altaria so quickly.

However, Altaria was inherently a slow Pokémon and definitely couldn't compare to Urshifu in speed.

But Altaria's size, its exaggerated physical defense, and stamina made it a typical tank-type Pokémon that wasn't easy to deal with.

Therefore, after Nemona's command, Altaria immediately exerted all its strength, twisting its body and trying to shake off Urshifu through spinning.

"Garruu!"

Feeling the terrifying force from Altaria's body, Urshifu immediately raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Truth be told, this Altaria's strength was indeed quite powerful. Urshifu's arm muscles completely bulged with clear definition, his feet slowly grinding against the ground, carving out a groove.

This strength...

Even Johan was secretly amazed.

He knew very well how strong his bear coach was. Nemona's Altaria could actually drag Urshifu and almost spin him around?

Not only was Johan surprised, but Nemona on the opposite side was even more surprised.

Her Altaria's massive size required terrifying strength to support, and she had indeed trained Altaria in the direction of power...

"Urshifu, throw it up!"

Altaria needed all four limbs on the ground to fully exert its strength; once off the ground, it would be difficult to perform.

"Garruu!!"

Urshifu roared explosively, both arms firmly gripping Altaria's body, his whole body suddenly exerting force, actually managing to forcibly lift Altaria up!

The entire audience stared blankly at this scene.

Altaria varied in size - normal ones might be around two meters tall, but Altaria was a horizontally-oriented Pokémon. A two-meter height was already quite exaggerated, and the weight from that thick, solid ice was immeasurable.

Nemona's Altaria was already over three meters tall, and its size and weight were even more...

It gave the impression that Urshifu had forcibly lifted up half a mountain!

"Hoo hoo hoo~~" Master Mustard, with his hands in his pockets, laughed happily. "Unity of waist and horse! This is the most standard unity of waist and horse!"

Seeing Urshifu's current strength and fighting techniques, Master Mustard was very pleased and especially grateful that he had helped Kubfu find Johan back then.

Even more exaggerated, Urshifu roared again and actually threw Altaria up.

"Re-really threw it up?"

"That, that Altaria's weight must be..."

"Indeedee, Tinkaton, plus Urshifu... Where is Teacher Johan's 'stall' team? This is completely a 'violence' team!"

The audience was amazed.

Nemona's expression froze for a moment, but she immediately snapped back to reality.

She knew that once off the ground, Altaria would become a sitting duck for Urshifu.

"Altaria, Iron Defense!"

Hum—

Altaria's massive icy body immediately took on a metallic luster.

Its already exaggerated physical defense became even more ridiculous with Iron Defense's enhancement.

As long as it could block Urshifu's impact this time, being thrown into the air would actually become an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

"Urshifu!" Johan's eyes gleamed with a faint blue light.

"Garruu!"

Urshifu assumed the stance for Focus Punch, his body emanating an air current that scattered the surrounding dust. Faint blue streams flowed around him as he stared intently at Altaria thrown into mid-air.

Tuck abdomen, bend knees, clench fist, focus mind.

Bang!!

The ground exploded.

Urshifu shot skyward, wrapped in pale blue light, and delivered a fierce punch to Altaria's massive belly.

Bang—

For an instant, time seemed frozen.

Altaria blinked.

Hm?

Why didn't it feel anything?

Not only did Altaria feel this way, but the audience felt the same.

But the next second.

Boom!!

Altaria's back suddenly erupted with a terrifying explosion, the blast wave blooming like a flower and shooting straight to the clouds.

Altaria, whose eyes had been filled with confusion the previous second, now only had whites showing in the next second.

Thud—

Urshifu landed.

"Garruu..."

A puff of white vapor slowly exhaled from his slightly open mouth.

Bang!!

Altaria crashed heavily to the ground.

"Al-Altaria is unable to battle!" The referee, watching the massive Altaria fall, felt the ground shake beneath his feet and shook along with it as he announced the result.

It... it was one-shot?

The entire audience had almost identical expressions.

Such a large Altaria, with such strong defense, and it had used Iron Defense. Even with the double weakness to Fighting-type, wasn't this one-shot a bit too exaggerated?

"Aura?"

As a Champion, Nemona had vision beyond ordinary trainers and quickly replayed the scene in her mind.

Altaria was indeed skilled in physical defense, but aura...

That was special attack!

Combined with Urshifu's Focus Punch technique...

Nemona could only barely understand it. To truly comprehend it required professional fighters like Master Mustard and Bruno.

"Using aura as force, making aura the striking power of Focus Punch..." Bruno crossed his arms with a serious expression.

Master Mustard smiled even more happily.

Not because he saw Urshifu one-shot Altaria, but because he saw... beyond the techniques of Focus Punch and Rapid Strike, Urshifu had achieved a new breakthrough!

"Garruu..."

Urshifu frowned slightly.

Poison was rapidly spreading through his body.

Nemona's Glimmora's poison was no ordinary toxin. As a Champion's ace Pokémon specializing in poison, even if it wasn't badly poisoned, the spreading toxin wasn't something ordinary Pokémon could endure.

"Thank you for your hard work, Altaria." Nemona recalled Altaria.

In their battle so far, this was the first Pokémon to lose its ability to fight.

Looking at Urshifu, who was already glowing with a purple aura, Nemona hesitated briefly before throwing out her fourth Poké Ball.

"Please, Chesnaught!"

"President Nemona's fourth Pokémon is Chesnaught!!" the commentator announced.

The final evolution of the Kalos region's Grass-type starter, the Grass and Fighting-type Spiny Armor Pokémon.

According to Pokédex descriptions, Chesnaught had a gentle nature and didn't like fighting, but if angered, it could unleash enough power to overturn a fifty-ton tank. It would use its sturdy, spike-covered shell to protect its companions.

Another typical tank-type Pokémon.

"Chesnaught, Leech Seed!"

Nemona had understood Urshifu's exaggerated strength and fighting techniques, so her tactical approach and focus had changed accordingly.

Before continuing with hazard-setting tactics, she needed to ensure her Pokémon had sufficient survivability.

Fortunately, while Chesnaught's physical defense wasn't as strong as Altaria's and didn't look as sturdy, its agility was incomparable to Altaria's, and its defensive capabilities were actually no worse than Altaria's.

The spikes on Chesnaught's shell flew out one by one, transforming into seeds that rapidly shot toward Urshifu's position.

However, just as the Leech Seeds were about to contact Urshifu, a red beam shot over and Urshifu disappeared from the field.

"Teacher Johan has chosen to switch Pokémon!!"

Hazard-setting tactics were meant to force opponent Pokémon switches, and Teacher Johan was actively doing this again?

To avoid Leech Seed?

But... the newly switched Pokémon would also be affected by Leech Seed, right?

Facing numerous questions, Johan quickly provided an answer.

A Luxury Ball was thrown into the air.

"Urshifu, you did excellently. Leave the rest to your teammates. Go! Dragonite!"

Although Urshifu still had fighting capability, Glimmora's poison was indeed strong enough. Without reaching an emergency situation, there was no need for Urshifu to continue fighting while enduring poison erosion.

Red light flashed.

"Draaa~~ (ˊˋ)"

The "robust" and sturdy Dragonite appeared in the sky above the battlefield.

Toxic Spikes and such had no effect whatsoever on Dragonite appearing directly in mid-air.

As for Stealth Rock...

It could only be said that the threat was far less than the poison carried by Toxic Spikes. Dragonite could shatter several rocks just by bumping them with its big belly.

"Teacher Johan's fourth Pokémon is the pseudo-legendary Pokémon—Dragonite!!"

With Nemona's Ice-type Altaria having lost its ability to fight, the existence that posed the greatest "threat" to Dragonite was gone.

Seeing Dragonite, Nemona frowned.

Her hazard-setting tactics were most afraid of encountering Teacher Johan's Dragonite and Gengar.

Since she didn't want to see it, then...

"Chesnaught, Roar!"

"Ches!!"

Chesnaught's voice was steady and deep, roaring with all its might at Dragonite that had just appeared in the sky.

Chesnaught could also learn Roar?

This was something many people didn't know.

But the agile Dragapult's Dragon Tail, the heavy tank Altaria's Roar, the comprehensive tank Chesnaught's Roar, plus Glimmora's hazard-setting, truly constructed Nemona's complete "stall" hazard tactics.

The audience had to admit that in terms of "stall," if Nemona ranked second, probably only Teacher Johan could claim first place.

"Dragonite, Clangorous Soul!" Johan smiled slightly and commanded.

"Draaa~ (ˊˋ)"

Dragonite's small wings vibrated as its thick arms beat against its round, soft, scale-covered belly, producing deafening drum sounds.

The sound waves from the drumming collided with the sound waves from Chesnaught's roar in mid-air.

"Eh? This scene... looks familiar."

"Earlier, President Nemona's Dragapult used Clangorous Soul against Indeedee's Disarming Voice. Now Teacher Johan's Dragonite uses Clangorous Soul to counter Chesnaught's Roar..."

"Good grief, using the opponent's methods against them?"

Rumble rumble—

Sound waves collided with sound waves in mid-air.

"Following the 'script,' shouldn't Dragonite be charging down now?"

Nemona squinted, watching together with Chesnaught as the expanding smoke in the sky, waiting for Dragonite's appearance.

Although Roar didn't take effect, facing Dragonite... Chesnaught wasn't particularly afraid, even though Flying-type had a quadruple advantage over Grass and Fighting-type Chesnaught.

With its Spiky Shield defense, it had this confidence.

Even if Dragonite came down, it had a chance to make Dragonite contact the Toxic Spikes.

Soon, Nemona and Chesnaught got what they were waiting for.

But what came down wasn't Dragonite, but two arc-shaped bright white air blades.

Air Slash?!

Nemona's expression froze.

Shouldn't it take advantage of the excitement from Clangorous Soul and charge down with Dragon Rush?

"Chesnaught, Seed Bomb!" Despite her confusion, Nemona still showed excellent reaction speed.

"Ches!!"

The spikes on its shell shot out like cannonballs, meeting the falling Air Slash.

Boom boom boom—

"Dragonite, Hurricane!"

"Draaa—"

Wings flapped.

A terrifying storm immediately swept over.

It could block one or two air blades but couldn't stop that massive storm.

For a moment, the terrifying storm raged within the arena barriers, and the audience's vision was completely obscured by the dust kicked up by the storm.

"Chesnaught, Pain Split!"

"Ches!"

In the massive storm, Chesnaught, enduring the storm's ravages, emanated an eerie black light that quickly swept through mid-air and enveloped Dragonite.

"Draaa!!"

Dragonite let out a pained cry, immediately feeling nearly half its stamina drained.

But fortunately, Chesnaught finally fell in the center of the raging storm.

When the storm dispersed.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle!!" the referee immediately announced.

With a quadruple weakness to Flying-type and such a powerful Hurricane, Chesnaught's fate was predictable.

But Chesnaught's Pain Split at the last moment also made Dragonite suffer considerably.

Not a loss!

Nemona took a deep breath.

With Altaria and Chesnaught consecutively losing their ability to fight, it almost announced that... her hazard-setting tactics had been more than half破解了.

She had a feeling... as if Teacher Johan could see through her every move.

Urshifu's Sucker Punch approach to Altaria, Wicked Blow forcibly interrupting Altaria's Roar.

Dragonite's Clangorous Soul dispersing Chesnaught's Roar. Accustomed to starting with Dragon Rush, today it opened with Air Slash and Hurricane, two special attack moves, giving Chesnaught no chance for Spiky Shield defense.

Only Chesnaught's final tenacity with Pain Split consumed considerable stamina from Dragonite.

But... ultimately, Nemona had fallen into an obvious disadvantage.

The score: 2-0!

Time to change tactics...

Looking at Dragonite in the sky, Nemona slowly exhaled the air from her lungs, took out the Premier Ball she had used before, and threw it out.

"Dragapult!"

"Pult—"

Nemona's Dragapult entered the field again!

Only Dragapult could better handle Dragonite's aerial agility!

"Draaa?"

Dragonite, who had been rubbing its belly with a pained expression, immediately perked up upon seeing Dragapult enter.

A dragon?

Seeing this scene, Johan, who had been preparing to switch Dragonite out, chuckled and put Dragonite's Poké Ball back.

Upon seeing Dragon-type Pokémon, Dragonite probably wouldn't obediently return.

At the same time, Johan's heart was getting excited.

Whether he could meet Lance later was uncertain, but the "surprise" reserved for Lance could very well be revealed to him now.

"Dragapult, Dragon Darts!"

After abandoning hazard-setting tactics, Nemona's entire momentum and state changed extremely quickly.

As soon as Dragapult entered, she unhesitatingly issued an aggressive command.

Swoosh swoosh—

From the two holes in Dragapult's triangular jet-like head, two arrows wrapped in blue-purple Dragon-type aura shot out at extreme speed.

"Dragonite, Dragon Claw!"

"Draaa!!"

Dragonite's expression became serious as it swung both claws. Despite its chubby appearance, it displayed agility completely inconsistent with its body.

Facing the Dragon Darts shot by Dragapult, it immediately swung two claws and deflected both arrows.

These two "arrows" were clearly the initial evolution of Dragapult's species, Dreepy.

After being swatted away by Dragonite, they bared their teeth and called out a couple of times at Dragonite before vanishing invisibly.

Seeing this scene, a thought suddenly occurred to Johan.

Logically speaking... Dragapult and Dragon Darts amounted to three Pokémon entering at once, right?

Although the relationship between Dragapult and Dreepy was recognized as special, but... this was still three Pokémon.

Then couldn't his side also have "external assistance"?

Reasonably speaking, there was nothing wrong with the Meltan on Tinkaton's hammer, or the Spectrier in Gengar's shadow...

"Dragapult, Dragon Pulse!"

His scattered thoughts immediately refocused. Johan, who could multitask, immediately waved his hand and shouted sternly:

"Dragonite, Dragon Rush!"

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 or 10 advance chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates