"Can you still hold on?"
Himeko looked at Lopunny, a flicker of pain in her eyes.
After taking Mightyena's Take Down and Bite, Lopunny's stamina had already been drained by more than half.
But thankfully—
Things really did seem to be unfolding the way Shiko had arranged.
They had already taken down one of the opponent's Pokémon.
Next—
As long as they could heavily injure the next one that came out, even if Lopunny went down afterward, she would have completed her mission perfectly.
"Lopun!"
Lopunny looked at Himeko and nodded hard.
In those clear eyes was a stubborn, unyielding fighting spirit.
"Next, I'm finishing you!"
"Go! Victreebel!"
Joji flicked his Poké Ball.
A red beam of light condensed into a plant Pokémon shaped like a giant pitcher plant, taller than a person.
"Veeeee!"
Victreebel let out a shrill cry.
Staring at Lopunny, the eyes on the surface of its body flashed with vicious intent.
As expected—
Another Elite-level one!
Himeko glanced at Victreebel's information, her expression still taut.
"Victreebel! Ingrain!"
The moment Joji gave the order, roots and tendrils grew from Victreebel's base and plunged deep into the ground.
That way, it could continuously siphon nutrients from the earth to steadily restore its stamina.
Of course—
The downside was that once it used Ingrain, it wouldn't be able to move anymore.
A double-edged sword.
But for Joji, a Victreebel at full condition dealing with a Lopunny who had already taken serious damage was the most cost-effective tactic there was.
"Lopunny! Extreme Speed!"
Himeko didn't hesitate.
Since the opponent wanted to turn into a long-range turret, then she would naturally close in for a melee fight.
"Vine Whip! Stop it!"
Whoosh!!
Thin vines shot out like a rain of blades, cutting through the air as they flew straight at Lopunny.
Lopunny was nimble beyond belief.
She didn't even need Himeko to guide her.
With a single sidestep, she cleanly avoided the whip-like vines.
The vines twisted and turned under Victreebel's control, changing direction again and again, stabbing and lashing at Lopunny repeatedly.
But every time—
She slipped past them with effortless lightness.
The distance between them kept shrinking.
This Vine Whip only managed to slightly slow Lopunny down, nothing more.
Her right fist ignited with flame.
Scorching Fire-type energy coiled around it.
Fire Punch was primed and ready.
Seeing that, Joji's neck veins bulged with urgency.
"Razor Leaf! Stop her!"
Since Vine Whip wasn't working, then he had to rely on a wide-area move like Razor Leaf.
Countless leaves were whipped up, sharp as blades, sweeping toward Lopunny in a dense, sky-filling wave.
Faced with that kind of packed barrage, Lopunny had no choice but to halt.
She twisted her body to evade the cutting leaves, and swung her flame-wreathed fists to smash some of them apart.
"Now's the chance—Power Whip!"
Joji's eyes lit up.
Lopunny was hemmed in by the storm of razor leaves.
Right now, she was basically a living target.
A long vine snapped forward, extending to Lopunny's front—
And then came a brutal, unreasonable flurry of wild strikes.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Explosions rang out across the ground in rapid succession.
Under that terrifying force, rock and soil were whipped apart into fragments.
Dust billowed up, swallowing everyone's view.
Watching Victreebel's ferocious, lightning-fast assault, the spectators couldn't help but tense up for Lopunny.
"Vee! Vee!"
Suddenly, Victreebel stopped whipping.
It cried out twice, its tone oddly bright—almost delighted.
Joji stared at the taut vine and understood at once.
"You got Lopunny tied up?!"
Ecstasy burst across his face.
If that was the case, then that long-eared brat couldn't run anymore!
He could squeeze her however he wanted!
"Be careful—don't get cocky! Drag her out!"
Joji abruptly remembered that battle a few days ago—
The one where an Aipom had been dragged across the ground by its tail.
His heart instantly turned cautious.
"Vee!"
Victreebel began to slowly apply force.
Then—
Little by little, it dragged Lopunny out of the dust cloud.
Lopunny was tightly bound by vines.
Pain contorted her face as she struggled hard, but it didn't do anything.
"Perfect!"
Seeing that, the last bit of wariness in Joji's mind vanished.
Looks like Lopunny was simply out of stamina now, with no strength left to break free!
"Solar Beam! Finish it!"
Joji shouted excitedly.
"Vee!"
Victreebel began gathering sunlight energy above its head.
Lopunny kept struggling, but no matter what she did, she couldn't break the bind.
The arena fell into a heavy silence.
The spectators looked at Lopunny, bound tight by vines—
Then at Victreebel charging power—
And an inexplicable feeling rose up, like they were watching an execution.
Some people even shut their eyes and covered their faces, unable to keep watching.
"VEEEEE!!"
More than ten seconds later, Victreebel completed the charge.
A grass-green beam shot out—
And hit Lopunny's body dead-on.
"Perfect!"
Joji threw his arm up and shouted, joy exploding across his face.
With this, it was basically over—
Lopunny was done.
Now the situation had flipped back to five versus two.
And his Victreebel was still at full condition.
Absolute advantage!!
Bang!!
A scene that caught everyone completely off guard suddenly happened.
After the grass-green beam raked through "Lopunny"—
She didn't faint or lose the ability to fight.
Instead, her whole body turned into a puff of smoke and vanished?!
This—
This was Substitute!!!
Joji snapped to realization.
Lopunny had used Substitute, letting the decoy get caught.
So where was her real body?!
Joji's emotions instantly shifted from ecstatic to intensely tense.
That feeling of being utterly crushed on a tactical level made him furious.
"This is bad—dodge, now!"
Joji suddenly realized something.
No matter where Lopunny was—
The instant the Substitute broke, she would launch an attack!
They had to avoid it immediately!
But even as he gave the order—
Victreebel was rooted by Ingrain.
It couldn't move at all!
Whoosh!!!
The next second, a sharp tearing sound came abruptly from above at an angle.
A pink figure streaked straight toward Victreebel like a pink meteor!
Flame-wreathed fists slammed down without mercy—
Smashing hard into Victreebel's body!
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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