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"You—!!"
Delia had tried to recall her Typhlosion, only to be stopped. Anger immediately flashed across her face as she shot a cold glare at Fang.
"Hehe, Miss Delia, we're in the middle of a match right now. Preventing an opponent from recalling their Pokémon is also a valid battle strategy. You can't say I'm cheating~"
Fang still wore that relaxed smile, his tone utterly unconcerned. After finishing his sentence, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he loudly issued an order to his Pokémon.
"Armaldo! Use Water Pulse!"
"Graaah!!"
Upon receiving the command, Armaldo rapidly gathered a Water Pulse in its mouth. Typhlosion—having already taken two Ground-type attacks—struggled to get back on its feet, but it was too late. The next moment, Water Pulse blasted out!
The powerful surge of water surged across the ground like a raging wave, quickly engulfing Typhlosion and rolling it away!
"Typhlosion has lost the ability to battle! Armaldo wins!!"
With that single Water Pulse, Typhlosion finally collapsed. Its eyes spun as it lost consciousness.
"…Come back. You worked hard. I'll avenge you."
Delia recalled Typhlosion with a frosty expression. This time, Fang didn't interfere. She clenched the PokeBall tightly, her voice tinged with anger.
"Please have Contestant Delia send out her next Pokémon!"
"Hmph! Come out, Dragonair! Defeat the opponent!"
"Haa-wu~~"
As soon as the referee finished speaking, Delia threw her PokeBall. A long, slender Dragonair emerged, floating gracefully in the air as it cried out.
"Oh? Dragonair this time? Hehe—Referee! I'll also switch Pokémon! Come back, Armaldo! And next up—go! Slaking!!"
"Slaking!!"
Seeing Delia send out Dragonair, Fang decisively recalled Armaldo. He flicked another PokeBall forward and hurled it forcefully onto the field!
With a thunderous roar, a massively muscular Slaking slammed down onto the grass. It pounded its chest with both hands and let out a deafening howl!
"Slaking! Contestant Fang switches Pokémon once again! And this time, it's Slaking! A Pokémon people both love and hate—possessing terrifying power, yet extremely lazy! Under Fang's command, just how much strength will this Slaking be able to show?!"
The commentator excitedly announced over the broadcast, while the audience's attention instantly locked onto Slaking.
"Both sides are ready! Slaking versus Dragonair! The battle begins!"
The referee glanced at both sides, raised the flags, and declared the start of the match.
"Another Pokémon I don't recognize… It looks really strong! Dragonair, don't let your guard down! Use Dragon Rage!"
With only two Pokémon left, Delia knew she had to be extremely cautious. She chose to probe first.
"Haa-wu!!"
Dragonair nodded upon hearing Delia's command and let out a cry. A blue-purple Dragon Rage shot straight toward Slaking!
"Slaking! Use Focus Blast!"
"Slaking…!"
As Dragon Rage came flying in, Fang immediately issued his countercommand.
Standing upright on the grass, Slaking clapped its massive hands together. In an instant, a white Focus Blast rapidly condensed, then was launched skyward with a powerful thrust of its arms!
Boom!!
In the blink of an eye, Focus Blast collided with Dragon Rage!
What shocked everyone was that Slaking's Focus Blast plowed straight through Dragon Rage as if there were no resistance at all—instantly dispersing it! With a piercing whistling sound, the attack continued straight toward Dragonair!
"Dragonair, dodge quickly!!"
"Haa-wu!!"
The Focus Blast was already upon Dragonair in an instant! Thankfully, Dragonair's body was flexible—it twisted into an odd angle and barely scraped past the attack!
The missed Focus Blast continued soaring upward, finally detonating after reaching a certain height. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that even Delia could feel it from the ground!
"So… so strong! This—!"
Delia stared at the violent explosion in disbelief. When she looked back at Slaking on the field, a trace of helplessness flashed through her eyes.
But at that moment—
"King~"
After launching a single attack, the ferocity on Slaking's face quickly faded. It slowly rolled onto its side, propping its head up with its left arm while lazily rubbing its belly with its right hand.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Delia was even more confused now, question marks practically floating over her head.
"Oh! There it is—Slaking's Truant Ability! One of the earliest confirmed Abilities! After making an attack, it must rest for a while. During that time, it won't obey its Trainer at all! That's exactly why Trainers both love and hate Slaking!"
The commentator seized the moment to explain, clarifying why Slaking was now lazing around.
"What?! Something like that exists?! This is a great chance! Dragonair! Dragon Rush!"
Delia's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that such an absurdly powerful Pokémon had such a drawback. Seizing the opportunity, she immediately issued her command!
"Haa-wu!!"
Dragonair cried out loudly. Its long body twisted as blue-purple energy instantly enveloped it. In the next moment, it dove downward with tremendous force, charging straight at the lounging Slaking!
Boom!!
"Slaking!!"
The attack landed squarely! Dust exploded everywhere, dirt and grass flying into the air. Slaking's pained roar echoed from within the smoke!
"Haa-wu!!"
After completing the attack, Dragonair quickly floated back up, slipping out of the smoke with a cry.
But just as Dragonair was about to fully emerge—
Suddenly…
"King!!"
A roar of completely different intensity thundered out from the smoke! The shockwave nearly dispersed the entire cloud of dust!
At the same time, a massive hand shot out and precisely grabbed Dragonair's tail before it could escape!
Then—
"Slaking! Use Focus Punch!"
"Slaking!!"
With another earth-shaking roar, the smoke was completely blown away! Slaking stood revealed—its left hand gripping Dragonair's tail, its right fist raised high as powerful white energy rapidly wrapped around it!
"Be careful, Dragonair!! Use Hyper Beam!"
"Haa-wu!!"
With no chance to escape, Delia decisively ordered a counterattack! A golden light gathered briefly in Dragonair's mouth—then erupted at point-blank range!
"Keh-roar!!"
Almost simultaneously, Slaking's right fist smashed forward!
Its punch slammed straight into Hyper Beam, and the beam engulfed Slaking's fist! The exploding Hyper Beam instantly swallowed Slaking's entire upper body!
But—
"Slaking!!"
Another deafening roar rang out!
Within the golden Hyper Beam, white light suddenly flared violently—then a gigantic fist burst straight through the attack without hesitation!
That punch slammed mercilessly into Dragonair's head!!
BOOM!!