Chapter 283: A Mature Pokémon Figures Things Out On Its Own
Seeing Honedge use the move Slash, the Scizor that had been clamping down on its blade hastily let go.
The broadsword then swished and struck the ground again, carving another shallow pit in the arena floor.
On one hand, this demonstrated the power behind Honedge's attack, strong enough to drive its tip into the ground.
But on the other hand, it also showed that Indeedee had absolutely no control over the sword. If the opponent didn't block it, the blade would just slam into the ground.
This gave Honedge a major headache.
It was even tempted to abandon Indeedee, but the opposing Rotom immediately taught it a lesson with a Confuse Ray.
Just as Arthur had guessed, the opponent did indeed have a status move up their sleeve.
Being confused was not a pleasant feeling.
Fortunately, Indeedee promptly used Aromatherapy to cure Honedge.
Now, Honedge itself realized: it really couldn't abandon Indeedee.
But to protect Indeedee, its blade had to constantly return to defend, blocking Scizor's attacks or redirecting Rotom's shocks. This made it impossible to maintain a consistent offensive rhythm.
The problem was incredibly difficult to solve.
Even Arthur didn't have a great solution for the time being. All he could do was command as best he could, teaching Honedge how to seize fleeting opportunities to strike, to avoid being completely led by the nose.
But this felt like a temporary fix, not a real solution.
The opposing bug and machine took turns using their moves, their downtime much shorter than Honedge's, pressing it until it could barely breathe.
If it weren't for Arthur's guidance, if Honedge had been left to fight on its own, it would have likely been defeated by now.
But even so, the disadvantage continued to mount.
Seeing this, the host couldn't help but get excited, his commentary growing louder and louder.
"Could this be the end of the legend? Will this year's miracle rookie of the professional circuit fall at the hands of a fan today?!"
This host had gotten his start on a trash-talk show. He was known for being bold and never shied away from poking at popular players, a perfect fit for the organizers' vision for the All-Star Weekend.
Right now, he looked dead set on watching Arthur fall from his pedestal.
Unfortunately for him, fate had other plans.
At the critical moment, it seemed destiny had smiled upon Arthur once more.
Just when he himself couldn't think of a better way to balance both offense and defense, Honedge figured it out on its own—
Its entire body suddenly began to radiate a bright, blinding white light.
Seeing this, the referee immediately blew the whistle to pause the match.
After a brief verification, he confirmed: "Honedge has temporarily entered a state of evolution! The match is paused! All players and Pokémon, please maintain your current positions and refrain from any unnecessary actions or commands!"
No one could have expected that, under these circumstances, Honedge would, in a fit of pique—evolve on the spot!
Even Arthur was stunned.
But after a moment of surprise, he thought about it and realized it actually made sense.
Honedge had been with him for a year now, and even before it was caught, it had spent a long time in Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower.
Because Honedge was a Pokémon that few people sought out, the ones in the tower were all quite old, each having lived there for many years.
Arthur's was no exception.
In terms of accumulated experience, it wasn't lacking. In terms of training, Arthur had always taken care of it. In terms of food… well, that was the one area where it had it rough. Ever since joining Arthur, Honedge hadn't absorbed any life force in a long time.
But for a ghost, that wasn't a necessity anyway.
All things considered, Honedge had actually met the basic conditions for evolution.
It was just that things had been relatively peaceful lately, so Arthur hadn't thought to arrange for its evolution.
He never expected that, without any deliberate planning from him, Honedge would just handle it itself!
Truly, a mature Pokémon!
After the white light faded, Honedge's appearance had undergone a major transformation.
Just as its name would change, it was now a Doublade!
The single sword had become a pair of swords.
Normally, when sheathed, the two swords would be crossed in an X-shape, with a small, diamond-shaped shield connecting their sheaths at the back.
However, this shield was still too small in the Doublade stage, serving as little more than a base for the sheaths. It wasn't of much use.
In the future, when it evolved again into Aegislash, this shield would become a major asset.
After the evolution was complete, the referee immediately addressed Arthur.
"Your Pokémon has completed its evolution. You now have up to two minutes to communicate with your Pokémon and confirm its current condition. Once you have confirmed, you may notify me at any time, and the match will resume."
Although a Pokémon evolving mid-match was a rare event, it wasn't without precedent. The referee had a standard procedure for handling it.
This included pausing the match, prohibiting any illicit actions during the pause, and providing time for the trainer to confirm their Pokémon's post-evolution state.
Everything was handled in an orderly fashion, without a hint of chaos.
He was not affected by the screaming and shouting from the audience.
Arthur used his mental link to briefly communicate with Doublade. A few dozen seconds later, he gave the referee his reply.
The whistle blew.
The match resumed!
And this time, Doublade no longer had to struggle with its previous dilemma.
After handing its sheaths and shield to Indeedee to hold, it could place one sword in Indeedee's left hand for blocking and defense, and the other sword in its right hand for attacking!
With two swords, handling both offense and defense at the same time was no longer a problem!
"Doublade, use Slash!"
Now, Doublade could attack without reservation!
"CLANG!"
Scizor hastily raised one arm to block the blow, then used Metal Claw with its other pincer, attempting a counterattack straight to Indeedee's heart!
But then, another "CLANG!"
Doublade's other sword parried the claw.
"Rotom, Shock Wave!"
The opponent immediately tried to press their doubles advantage with a follow-up move, but Doublade swung both blades wide. It tanked the Shock Wave while its two swords rapidly struck the armor Rotom was possessing.
No matter if the design was Iron Man armor or undead plate mail, a piece of electric half-armor handcrafted by a fan could only be so strong.
Even tech geniuses have their limits.
After a quick three-hit combo, the armor began to show signs of damage. Sparks and arcs of electricity shot out from some of its retractable parts.
"Warning! Warning! Possessed appliance has sustained critical damage! Rotom requests a change of vehicle! Repeat, Rotom requests a change of vehicle!"
This Rotom was quite the drama queen. After being hit, it immediately began to emit a series of robotic sounds.
But unfortunately, the rules were the rules. Its master couldn't just swap in a new suit of armor on the spot.
After Scizor flapped its wings and retreated, Doublade once again led its wielder, dragging Indeedee in two circles before striking a cool, sword-wielding pose.
Ignoring Indeedee's pitiful bleating, the pose was quite intimidating!
Doublade, from this moment on, would begin its counterattack
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