Chapter 403: The Unknown Variable X
Mamoswine is a large, herbivorous Pokémon that generally lives in the arctic tundra. Its appearance is somewhat similar to the mammoths of ancient texts, with the male Mamoswine's tusks being significantly longer than the female's.
Therefore, the Mamoswine commonly seen on the professional stage are generally male, as longer, larger tusks often mean a wider attack range.
Roxanne's Mamoswine was no exception.
It's worth mentioning that after training, Mamoswine can use their tusks to perform the move Ice Fang.
Tusks count as teeth, after all.
This is a signature move for this type of Pokémon!
They are known to have the widest attack range with Ice Fang of any Pokémon, bar none!
This was the reason Roxanne had chosen Mamoswine as her counter to Garchomp in this match.
You could block the Hippowdon's Ice Fang just now. Let's see you try and block a five-meter-long ice tusk!
But Aaron chose to simply say goodbye.
"Stomp out an Earthquake!"
The exact same play as Roxanne had just used. He threw out an ultimate move, then immediately recalled his Pokémon.
He then sent out his Milotic in a counter-move.
Roxanne's brow immediately furrowed.
The Water type is super-effective against the Ground type, and at the same time, Water-type Pokémon have an extra resistance to Ice-type moves. Her Mamoswine also didn't know the counter-move, Freeze-Dry. This was not going to be an easy fight for her.
But even so, she had to attack.
"Mamoswine, use High Horsepower!"
The Mamoswine then revved up its engine and charged towards the opponent's side of the field like a rumbling battle tank!
Even with a type disadvantage, the offensive pressure in this match was still on Roxanne's side, because the opponent's Milotic knew Rain Dance.
If she couldn't keep up the pressure on her opponent, and the Milotic found an opening to change the local weather, her ace Probopass would have an even harder time when it came out later.
But unfortunately for her, Aaron's Milotic had already been completely transformed compared to its past self!
The current Milotic was now an extremely seasoned blademaster, like the best monster hunter on the frozen plains. It easily dodged the Mamoswine's charge with a roll, then spun its body to build up momentum in its tail, and then flew up and brought its blade down heavily on the Mamoswine's side, at the same time using the move Aqua Tail!
"Turn! Attack with your tusks!"
The Mamoswine turned its head and lunged.
But Aaron had already predicted this counterattack.
"Leap up! Use your body to wrap around the opponent's tusks! Swim to the top of its head and use a vertical slash!"
Milotic, with its serpentine body, nimbly coiled onto the Mamoswine's tusks. Then, it quickly swam to the top of the Mamoswine's head, leaped down from its forehead, and, in mid-air, stretched out its body, whipping its tail to complete a vertical slash!
The light of the blade flashed, and blood splattered!
At this moment, the clumsy Mamoswine, in front of the snake-like, agile Milotic, was like a foolish prey, being casually played with and toyed with.
After Aaron's Inteleon had learned close-quarters gun-fu from Arthur's Greninja, now his Milotic had also learned a set of outstanding Foresight Slash swordsmanship from Arthur!
Iai strike, foresight slash, helm breaker, all in one smooth motion!
A true master among hunters!
The clumsy Mamoswine was almost completely defenseless against such swordsmanship!
Even Sage Hwang had to sigh.
"The growth of Starlight and Frost's player Aaron this season is truly astonishing!"
In the end, what Roxanne had feared most had come to pass—
In this round, not only did her Mamoswine lose, but because it had been completely unable to contain Milotic's performance in the later stages, it had given her opponent a chance to use Rain Dance and reverse the sandstorm.
It was a case of losing both the lady and the army. A complete and utter loss!
Helpless, in the second round, she had to send out her Hippowdon again to fight for the weather, hoping to set up her ace, Probopass, one last time. But unfortunately, with Mamoswine down, Aaron's Garchomp was back in the game.
In the end, amidst the furious roars of the Garchomp, the Hippowdon was crushed…
But at least, before it fainted, the Hippowdon had managed to turn the weather back to a sandstorm. It had at least completed one task, and hadn't completely let down its folks back home.
Finally, in the third round, Roxanne's ace, Probopass, took the stage!
With the cover of the sandstorm and the boost from its Sand Force ability, the Probopass once managed to fight the Garchomp, which had already fought one battle, to a standstill, despite a type disadvantage!
Sand Force can boost the power of a Pokémon's Rock, Ground, and Steel-type moves in a sandstorm, which is a huge help for the Rock/Steel-type Probopass!
But alas, Probopass's own typing was at a disadvantage, being doubly weak to Ground!
Roxanne had commanded with all her might, and had several times used Wide Guard and Protect to predict Garchomp's Earthquake. This was the only reason her Probopass had been able to stand until the very end with astonishing resilience.
When the sandstorm gradually subsided, the scarred and搖搖欲墜的 Probopass had withstood the final attack, while the Garchomp, unable to hold on, was the first to fall.
"A magnificent duel! Peak-level command! Roxanne's performance in this round was absolutely perfect! A glorious victory against a type disadvantage!" the commentator praised with all his might.
Roxanne had indeed defended the honor of a top-tier player from the Blaze Team.
Unfortunately, the result was only that she had avoided being shut out.
The problem of her one-dimensional tactics was ultimately unavoidable.
After that, Aaron sent out his third, fully-healthy Pokémon, Inteleon, and easily took the last-hit on the critically injured Probopass with his exclusive move, Snipe Shot.
The final score for this singles match was 3-1!
The Starlight and Frost team had taken the lead, and their morale was soaring!
However, in the second match, the tables turned. It was now Starlight and Frost's turn to expose their weak point.
For the second match, the coach had arranged for Alex to play.
Although it was a bit unkind to say, after Aaron's rapid growth, Alex, with his relatively one-dimensional lineup, specializing only in the Dark type, which often put him at a disadvantage in type matchups, had now become the weakest link in the Starlight and Frost team.
This couldn't be helped. Starlight and Frost hadn't intended to spend a fortune to build a "Galactic Battleship" this year. To expect every single starting position to be top-tier was a bit of a tall order.
And in a way, their situation was actually quite similar to the Blaze Team's: they both lacked substitutes and tactical variety.
And in this round, Alex was up against Zhuge Feng.
Currently, this rookie's record was the same as Arthur's—both were undefeated!
A mysterious rookie who always maintained a squinty-eyed smile, who no one had been able to figure out after more than half a season!
To date, no team's analysis department dared to say they had figured out Zhuge Feng, not even the top professional team in the league, the Demon King Team.
He and Arthur were the two unknown variables, the "X" factors, of this year's league singles scene!
Regrettably, Alex also failed to solve this unknown, and was even mercilessly shut out 3-0.
The Blaze Team had returned the favor, and the overall score was now 3-2 in their favor!
And with that, the singles segment had reached its final major match!
Arthur was finally taking the stage!
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