Chapter 287: What a Coincidence
In stark contrast to Derek's sullen, almost catatonic expression, Justin remained full of fighting spirit.
He had truly come here with the mindset of seeking guidance and didn't care about winning or losing at all, which made his fighting style incredibly unrestrained.
"Pidgeot, engage!"
Even after taking a super-effective Ice Beam, he continued to attack without fear, his momentum unstoppable.
This passionate battle spirit actually won him the approval and cheers of the audience.
Many spectators hadn't understood the series of tactical gambits between Derek and Arthur, nor did they know that Derek was the one devising the strategies for his team.
Based purely on their performance on the field, the youth camp trainee, Justin, was actually more impressive than the professional player, Derek.
And so, applause and cheers rained down, which only made the struggling Derek feel even more miserable.
This idiot!
He mentally grumbled about his unreliable teammate, but that didn't stop Justin from bravely commanding Pidgeot to charge at Little Lapras again and again!
"Dodge! Dive! Forward, Wing Attack!"
During its cooldown, all Little Lapras could do was spit out ordinary, non-powered water arrows to interfere. Before long, Pidgeot had closed the distance.
Its wide wings spread, it skimmed low across the ground, the surface of its feathers glowing with a sharp energy, like a brilliant blade of light!
Seeing that an escape was impossible, Arthur gave a decisive command, "Turn sideways!"
Pidgeot's wing scraped across the side of Little Lapras's shell, kicking up a shower of sparks.
However, the actual damage seemed less than ideal.
Because Little Lapras's ability is Shell Armor!
This ability greatly increases the hardness of a Pokémon's outer shell or armor, enhancing its localized defense!
This ability is most common among tortoise, shellfish, and crustacean-type Pokémon.
In the professional circuit, this ability isn't actually very popular. As a purely defensive ability, it offers very little room for creative plays and is difficult to incorporate into high-efficiency combos.
The Lapras that appear in professional matches more often have the Hydration ability, which, when paired with the move Rain Dance, grants them constant immunity to status conditions.
This was one of the main reasons the club had always tried to persuade Arthur to give up on Little Lapras.
But Arthur had never listened to them.
Little Lapras was very likely the only remaining bloodline of his old Lapras from his past life. He would never give up on her, no matter what her ability was.
Fortunately, Little Lapras had not disappointed him.
Even without an ability perfectly suited for the competitive scene, her strength had steadily progressed to the professional level.
And occasionally, against fast attackers like Pidgeot, tanking a hit with her shell was quite effective.
Very few Lapras with more "meta-friendly" abilities could shine so brightly on the stage at her current age.
"Keep spitting water! Focus on its wings! Don't let it get away easily!"
Thanks to the protection of Shell Armor, Little Lapras was only lightly injured. She immediately began to counterattack under Arthur's command!
The water she spat while her moves were on cooldown was mainly to stall and slow the enemy's movements, creating an opportunity for the upcoming Ice Beam!
The non-powered water arrows didn't deal much damage, but if Pidgeot didn't dodge, they would still interfere with its flight balance, making it difficult to build up speed smoothly.
And the crucial thing was, this Little Lapras spat them out ridiculously fast!
It was very hard to dodge them all.
However, this only served to further ignite Justin's fighting spirit.
"As expected of Brother Arthur! You're amazing! But I won't give up that easily! Pidgeot, again!"
Over there, Justin was channeling the protagonist of a hot-blooded manga.
And on the other side, Derek was just miserable!
He wanted to jump up and smack Justin on the head.
Stop with the hot-blooded duel and look at the bigger picture, bro!
Because Justin and Arthur were so caught up in their fight, no one was paying any attention to him.
All he had was Indeedee, which was ineffectually punching Amoonguss in the chest.
And this punching, unexpectedly, caused a problem!
As it happened, by a stroke of pure coincidence, the two Pokémon's abilities created a perfect combo.
Amoonguss's ability is Effect Spore. When hit, it continuously accumulates and releases toxic spores, which can poison, paralyze, or put nearby Pokémon to sleep.
And Monica's Indeedee, as luck would have it, had the ability Synchronize!
Its effect is that when it falls under a status condition, it releases an energy wave that passes that same status condition on to nearby Pokémon.
Putting these two together was a match made in heaven. Or hell.
Indeedee punches Amoonguss -> Amoonguss releases spores, paralyzing Indeedee.
Then, Indeedee releases a Synchronize wave, passing the paralysis back to Amoonguss.
Back and forth they went, stuck in prison together…
Perfect.
Seeing this, Derek felt his soul leave his body.
And to make matters worse, Amoonguss couldn't get away.
Indeedee had short legs, and Amoonguss had no legs at all.
With a movement speed of half a meter per hop, trying to escape on its own was incredibly difficult.
"Amoonguss, use Giga Drain!"
Helpless, Derek could only try to use an attacking move to force Indeedee back.
But unfortunately, his Amoonguss had been raised as a pure defensive support. It was a master of Ingrain and Synthesis, but its offensive move pool was rather lacking.
Its only decent attack was Giga Drain.
But the point of draining moves is to suck the enemy's health to restore one's own. In terms of raw damage and impact, they were just average.
Indeedee took the hit and swayed, feeling a bit dizzy, but it could still stand.
At the same time, the effect of Rage Powder hadn't worn off. The normally gentle Indeedee was now dead set on punching the mushroom. Nothing could stop it!
So it charged forward again!
Its little fists started swinging once more.
The damage wasn't great, but the stuff that came flying off (the spores) was plentiful.
And so, the two Pokémon were happily locked in their mutual prison again.
After a little while, Monica could even give a command. "Use Aromatherapy!"
While punching the mushroom, Indeedee healed itself, curing its paralysis and the poison it had just picked up.
Now it was Amoonguss's turn to be alone in prison…
A little while later, Indeedee landed another punch, releasing a large cloud of spores.
This time, they were sleep spores.
Now, the enraged Indeedee finally calmed down. It fell asleep first, then passed the status to Amoonguss via Synchronize.
The two Pokémon, sitting side-by-side, dozed off together…
The scene was strangely harmonious.
Seeing this, Derek was so angry he wanted to flip a table.
He, a professional player, was being completely neutralized by a fan's Pokémon.
And it was with the status conditions spread by his own Pokémon.
How humiliating!
And he had no way to break this stalemate himself.
Forced into a corner, he had to once again ask his partner, Justin, for help.
"Stop fighting that Lapras and come help me!"
From a purely strategic standpoint, his request wasn't unreasonable at all.
But this was an exhibition match!
The moment a professional player was forced to ask his amateur fan partner for help, Derek felt like he had already lost…
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