Chapter 272: The Rabbit Is So Cute, We Can't Let It Go
In the opposing team's lineup, Minun's primary role was to provide the Minus ability and offer support, at most throwing out a niche move like Entrainment to mess with the opponent. That was it.
Just like the Pelipper in the rain-and-thunder combo, a Pokémon like Minun is not naturally suited for battle. Even if the team had handpicked this one from dozens of Minun, its combat power was still slightly inferior to traditional professional-level Pokémon.
Not to mention comparing it to Arthur's close-combat god of death, Greninja.
The Yankee Team's choice was one of necessity—there weren't many Pokémon with the Minus ability, and Minun was the most readily available on short notice.
Their Plan A, B, and C had all been well-thought-out—
Minun makes a small sacrifice at the beginning to seal Greninja's Protean ability.
Then, Ampharos, with its ability boost and type advantage, would absolutely demolish Greninja!
It was a surefire win, how could they possibly lose?
But their dreams were beautiful, and reality was cruel…
After its ability was sealed, Ampharos had yet to land a single hit on Greninja.
Instead, it was the other side that had first found the weak point in their lineup!
Minun's trainer felt as if ten thousand Alpacas were stampeding through his mind.
This is such a screw-up!
"Minun, use Nuzzle!"
Though he was internally collapsing, he couldn't stop giving commands.
The Electric-type move: Nuzzle. The name alone seemed to fit Minun's personality, giving off a cute, kawaii vibe.
The move's power was as cute as its art style, but the important part was its ability to inflict paralysis.
It was still a move to be wary of.
Unfortunately, the difference in battle experience between the two sides was a bit too large.
The moment Minun jumped up, Greninja instantly knew it was up to something!
With a twist of its head, the tongue usually wrapped around its neck shot out!
Before Minun's electrified little cheek could nuzzle Greninja's head, the long tongue had already wrapped around Minun's rear and tail.
Then, with a sharp flick and a whip, the poor Minun was naturally dazed. It was then lifted up, its eyes spinning in circles.
"OH!! Incredible!"
The commentator once again exclaimed with amazement.
This was a home game for the Sea Carp Team, and Arthur's current popularity and record far surpassed that of the opposing rookie, Derek. So, for most of the match, the commentary was naturally biased towards Arthur.
This scene was undoubtedly worthy of high praise!
"I can't believe Greninja neutralized Minun's counterattack without even using a move! That's a clear skill gap!"
As mentioned before, in a professional match, trading one move for another, regardless of the outcome, could still be spun as a roughly even exchange.
But once one side nullifies the other's attack without using a move of their own, it signifies a "skill gap"!
And that's a much harder situation to spin!
Miles away, the Otter Team, who had no match this weekend, happened to be watching the live broadcast.
The Raichu trainer from their rain-and-thunder combo watched this scene and sighed with deep emotion.
"He's improving so fast!"
Both teams were using Electric-types to counter, and both had a one-main-one-support lineup. The Yankee Team's Plus and Minus combo had many similarities to their own rain-and-thunder combo.
However, as veterans who had been there, they could see it very clearly—Arthur was having a much easier time against the Yankee Team now than he had against them back then!
The two lineups were on the same level of strength. As professional players, they could naturally see the many targeted strategies the Yankee Team had prepared for Arthur. These preparations were no worse than what they had done!
But Arthur's response was far more relaxed than when he had battled them.
It wasn't because the opponent was weaker.
It was because this guy had gotten stronger!
And he had gotten stronger way too fast!
"Not only has he filled out its move pool, but his close-combat skills haven't fallen behind either. Even small techniques like reaction speed and tongue control have become more refined!
If his Greninja had its current level of skill back in our match, my Pelipper's fate probably wouldn't have been much better than this Minun's."
The other member of the rain-and-thunder combo said with a self-deprecating tone.
As a support player, he could particularly understand what Minun's trainer was feeling right now.
I'm just a support…
What can I do? I'm pretty hopeless here too!
Beside him, Raichu's trainer let out a bitter "tch."
"Damn! How the hell does this kid train? Do the Sea Carp instructors have some kind of secret formula?"
To this, the Sea Carp instructors in their own lounge could only look on with bewildered expressions.
What's going on? How did this Greninja train? How the hell should I know! Besides Rest, we've never seen him do anything else! He hasn't attended a single one of our classes all season!
In fact, ever since Greninja had brutally beaten the Ghost Dragon Team's Nidoking, the media had been trying to interview the Sea Carp Team's hand-to-hand combat instructor.
But they had searched the entire Sea Carp training base and couldn't find this person.
Every instructor they asked gave them the same exasperated answer.
"We really don't have a hand-to-hand combat instructor here! Please, stop asking!"
It wasn't until the instructors looked like they were on the verge of a breakdown that the reporters finally relented.
The identity of Greninja's hand-to-hand combat instructor would likely top the list of the professional circuit's top ten unsolved mysteries this year.
But what did any of this have to do with Arthur?
He was just a "know-nothing" rookie. Right now, all he wanted was to beat the opposing Minun as quickly as possible.
Without needing any specific commands from Arthur, Greninja's current fighting skills were more than enough to handle a little rabbit.
"Damn it! Ampharos, go support Minun!"
"Gallade, Zen Headbutt!"
On the other side, Elijah was desperately trying to stop Ampharos from providing backup!
Perhaps fate was on his side. Having been on the bench for so long, his luck exploded the moment he returned.
Gallade's Zen Headbutt slammed into Ampharos's head, successfully triggering its flinch effect.
For a moment, Ampharos trembled all over, unable to move.
"Crap!" Derek cursed loudly.
Gallade was no match for Ampharos. Even without the Plus and Minus enhancement, Derek's Ampharos had better base stats than Elijah's Gallade.
But for the time being, Ampharos couldn't shake off this persistent pest.
Ampharos couldn't learn Teleport, and Derek's Ampharos didn't know Volt Switch.
"Minun, Substitute!"
In just a few short seconds, Minun's trainer had clearly recognized the gap and was forced to use the self-damaging Substitute to escape.
But Arthur was ruthless.
"Greninja, use Substitute to chase!"
At the same time, the two substitutes left behind—one Greninja and one Minun—began to fight "passionately."
And not far away, the real Greninja had once again caught up to the real Minun!
The rabbit is so cute, and that's why we can't let it go!
The torment continued!
With both sides out of moves, the poor Minun couldn't even fight back against Greninja…
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