The Venusaur in front of it wasn't weaker than it was!
Heracross thought so to itself and didn't dare slack off for even a second.
Equal strength = a big chance it could beat me = a big chance I mess up.
Heracross's little equation instantly clicked into place. As it stared at Venusaur, a heavy seriousness flickered in its eyes.
In the third battle, Green didn't even need Grey to remind her—she struck first.
"Venusaur, use Razor Leaf!"
As one of the classic starter Pokémon, Kanto Venusaur was famous for playing the Razor Leaf + Vine Whip game.
And among those, Razor Leaf was Green's Venusaur's signature move.
"Venu~!"
Venusaur's massive flower bud swayed. A grass-green glow drifted down, and razor-sharp leaves shook loose. Under Venusaur's control, they shot toward Heracross at high speed!
Slash slash slash!
They were so fast that Heracross couldn't dodge. Fresh cuts appeared across its body, varying in size.
Luckily, Heracross had the Bug type, so it resisted Venusaur's Razor Leaf. The damage was tiny.
Probably about as much as burn chip damage.
Basically… almost negligible.
Green's opening was only a probe. When she saw Heracross couldn't dodge, the frown between her brows eased a little.
Okay, okay—so Heracross isn't ridiculously broken in speed. If Bulby's moves can land, then there's still a chance to beat it.
"Heracross, our turn to counter."
In the third battle, Grey switched up his tactical style. Heracross was burned, and dragging things out wouldn't be good for it.
Better to end it fast.
"Heracross!"
At Grey's call, Heracross roared with fighting spirit. Its wings vibrated so fast the afterimages blurred, as if in the next instant it could slip through space and slam Venusaur with a heavy hit!
"Aerial Ace!"
Grey's command was short and sharp. Against a Pokémon like Venusaur, you had to use Flying-type Aerial Ace!
That familiar flash of white burst out again. Heracross's speed climbed rapidly. Green and Venusaur saw only white—then felt the air pressure crash toward them!
"Bulby, quick—use Acid Spray!"
Green's voice turned urgent. Unable to see Heracross, she was so anxious she wished she could jump in and fight for Venusaur herself.
She couldn't help it—Venusaur had the Grass type.
But even if she used a different Pokémon, it would still get targeted by Heracross's other moves.
All Green could do was pick the best option she could think of in the moment, and hope Venusaur could pull through.
Because this was a Venusaur that came from that mysterious secret garden!
"Venu~!"
Venusaur's huge flower bud writhed violently, like a Houndoom opening a gaping maw.
At the same time, its jaw swelled, and purple-black toxin churned between its teeth!
SPLASH!
With a sharp erupting sound—
A sticky waterfall of acid blasted upward!
Dark green poison slurry carved a parabola through the air, hissing as it even corroded the air into pale smoke. The momentum was massive!
Venusaur tried to build a toxic barrier to keep Heracross out!
But it was only Acid Spray—how could it stop Heracross's advance?
Before the "acid waterfall" fully formed, Heracross had already drilled straight into it, closing the distance to face Venusaur head-on.
"Venu!" (Got you—finally!)
When Venusaur saw Heracross rush right into its face, a sharp gleam flashed in its eyes.
As Heracross dove in, Venusaur opened its mouth wide like it had been waiting for this!
FWOOOM!
A purple-black glob of sludge, as big as a tire, blasted out from its throat!
Sludge Bomb!
Unlike the Acid Spray being formed by the bud on its back, the move from Venusaur's mouth was Sludge Bomb!
That sludge ball reeked with nauseating rot, bubbling with toxic blisters across the surface, and it rocketed straight toward Heracross's face at an insane speed!
As expected, Heracross was hit on the spot. Its expression instantly turned awful.
Poison-type move. Disgusting smell.
Good thing it was already burned—otherwise, with how concentrated that sludge was, it might've left "something" behind.
"Heracross!" (So gross—this is making my skin crawl!)
This was the first time Heracross had been this furious in a battle.
"Venu…" (Uh… if I said this was a misunderstanding, would you believe me…?)
Noticing how angry Heracross was, Venusaur gave an awkward little grin, about to explain—
Then it suddenly realized Heracross had vanished from its view again, like a ghost.
The next second—wind screamed!
BAM!
Venusaur felt like its head had been smashed by a heavy hammer. Stars exploded across its vision.
When it regained focus, Heracross's body was already gliding lightly above it, the gust from its wings making Venusaur's petals tremble.
That Aerial Ace came and went without a trace, dealing serious damage to Venusaur in a short span.
If it took a few more like that, Venusaur felt like it might actually go down right here.
"Hiss…"
Green sucked in a cold breath, shaken by Heracross's movement.
So it really was holding back earlier?
That attack clearly wasn't the usual level.
That speed… was what Heracross truly had.
Everyone knew Guts only boosted Attack—League official info said so too.
So was the Attack boost increasing its explosive power?
Thinking about the link between those two, Green decided it made sense.
If only she could lock Heracross in place and slowly drain its stamina, wouldn't that be perfect?
A new tactical plan started building in Green's mind. Facing a Heracross that felt like a killer god descending, she swallowed hard and made a ruthless decision:
"Venusaur, use Petal Blizzard!"
Petal Blizzard—put simply, it was like a one-turn physical version of Petal Dance.
Both used petals to attack, but they were still different.
Petal Dance was about sustained, violent offense over time, while Petal Blizzard leaned more toward control.
"VENUSAUR!"
Venusaur roared, shaking the field, as emerald Grass-type energy wrapped around its body.
It stomped forward—then the giant flower on its back burst wide open!
In an instant, hundreds upon hundreds of cherry-pink petals erupted outward!
The petals wove together into a storm in midair, sweeping toward Heracross like a tidal wave!
Whoo—whoo—whoo…
Petal Blizzard—petals everywhere, flowers falling away.
If this hit most Pokémon that weren't resistant, the power would be both real and brutal.
But the one about to face it…
Was a Bug-type Heracross!
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