[Lv. 72 Blastoise — Legendary-tier]
"Blastoise!"
Scott was taken aback.
It had been over two months since he had last laid eyes on Blastoise.
"So this is the Blastoise Scott mentioned—the one that defeated Agatha's Gengar. It really does look strong," Spenser thought to himself.
That morning, Scott had come to warn Spenser that this challenger was extremely powerful. He had even revealed which Pokémon Gary had used so far and singled out Gary's remarkably strong Blastoise.
However, Scott had also mentioned that Gary rarely used Blastoise, and that he had not brought it out in any of the previous four Battle Frontier matches. Spenser had never imagined that Gary would use it against him.
Glancing at Lapras floating on the sea, Spenser instantly realized the truth. Of all Gary's Pokémon, only Blastoise could battle properly in the water. Without meaning to, he had forced Blastoise onto the field.
"Lapras, be careful," Spenser cautioned. "This Blastoise is very strong."
"Lapras!"
Lapras nodded to show that it understood. Any opponent that prompted its Trainer to give such a warning had to be strong.
"Blastoise, use High-Speed Water Blade!" Gary ordered.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise sprang toward the sea but did not submerge. Using Rapid Spin, it hovered above the surface as streams of water gathered and formed several water blades around it, then rushed at Lapras at great speed.
Caught off guard by the head-on assault, Spenser countered at once.
"Lapras, use Ice Beam!"
A frigid glow flashed in Lapras's mouth as it fired a freezing beam. Ice Beam struck Blastoise, instantly freezing it along with the water blades surrounding it.
But the freeze alone was not enough to halt Blastoise's charge. In fact, the Ice Beam had upgraded the High-Speed Water Blade into a High-Speed Ice Blade.
Bang!!
"Lapras!"
Lapras wailed as the ice blade smashed into its body and shattered. In the same instant, Blastoise's head and limbs burst out of its shell.
"Good chance! Dynamic Punch!" Gary ordered.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise was barely a meter from Lapras. Its fist erupted with fierce Fighting-type energy as it launched the attack.
Bang!!
The punch connected with Lapras's neck, sending it hurtling backward more than a thousand meters.
"Lalass!!"
Struck by Dynamic Punch, Lapras immediately fell into confusion.
Gary had no intention of wasting such an opening.
"Aura Sphere!"
Blastoise lowered its cannons and, without aiming, fired off two blue spheres of energy.
"Lapras, use Protect, quickly!" Spenser shouted.
But instead of using Protect, the confused Lapras fired an Ice Beam uselessly into the sky.
Boosted by Blastoise's cannons, the two Aura Spheres shot forward at tremendous speed. With their homing ability, they closed in on Lapras in the blink of an eye.
Boom!!
Once again, Lapras was blown away.
Bang!!
It crashed onto the beach, its eyes spinning.
"Lapras is unable to battle. Blastoise wins," the automated referee announced.
Now only Arcanine was left for Spenser. And this Arcanine had already taken a fair amount of damage in its earlier fight against Tyranitar. Given the gap in strength, it stood no chance against Blastoise.
Spenser already sensed that defeat was coming. All he could say was that this time, Scott had found a monster of a Trainer to challenge the Battle Frontier. Among all the Frontier Brains in Kanto, only Brandon was likely capable of matching Gary.
"Arcanine, take the field once more," Spenser said, sending it out again.
"Arcanine!"
The moment it appeared, Arcanine triggered its Intimidate Ability.
Unfortunately, Blastoise was a balanced mixed attacker, with virtually no difference between its physical and special power. Lowering its Attack made little difference—it would simply switch to special moves.
Gary raised his hand and ordered, "Use Water Pulse!"
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise's cannons fired a steady stream of water spheres, bombarding Arcanine like cannon fire.
"Dodge with Extreme Speed!" Spenser countered, still fighting on.
Arcanine showed off its agility, slipping past every Water Pulse. Not one landed. As it dodged, it steadily worked its way closer to Blastoise.
"Aura Sphere!" Gary immediately changed his order.
Blastoise stopped firing Water Pulse. At that same moment, Spenser called out his own command.
"Now, Wild Charge!"
"Arcanine!"
Arcanine surged forward. Golden sparks exploded across its body, wrapping it in electricity as it dashed across the sea on all fours—moving fast enough to run atop the water.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise fired a blue Aura Sphere. It sped toward Arcanine, but the instant it touched the electric coating around Arcanine's body, it was knocked aside.
Boom!!
Arcanine slammed straight into Blastoise, and a burst of black smoke exploded outward.
"It actually landed. As expected of Senior Spenser…" Scott said, surprised, as he looked toward the sea.
He saw Arcanine swimming back toward the beach.
After colliding with Blastoise, Arcanine had fallen into the water as well. Enduring the recoil from Wild Charge, it now paddled clumsily toward the shore.
At this point, Arcanine was little more than a small boat drifting through the water, so slow that it hardly deserved to be called the "Legendary Pokémon."
"A fine effort. In return, we'll answer with our strongest attack. Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!" Gary ordered.
Blastoise raised its head above the sea, more than ten meters from Arcanine. Transparent blue energy condensed at the muzzles of its shoulder cannons.
"Arcanine, stop swimming! Turn around and use Flamethrower!" Spenser ordered hurriedly.
Arcanine spun around at once and unleashed a torrent of flame. The fire raced across the sea like a burning serpent, leaving white steam rising in its wake—proof of the flame's intense heat.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise's cannons unleashed two thick blasts of water. The sea split apart on either side, forming a vacuum between them. The terrifying Hydro Cannon instantly snuffed out the flames and slammed into Arcanine.
"Arcanine!!"
Arcanine cried out in pain as the Hydro Cannon hurled it onto the shore. It broke through several trees before finally coming to a halt.
The automated referee flew over at once to check Arcanine's condition. After confirming the result, it announced, "Arcanine is unable to battle. All three of Palace Maven Spenser's Pokémon have been defeated. The winner of this match is Gary."
"Blastoise, come back and rest."
Gary recalled Blastoise.
Scott looked at the victorious Gary and sighed with dismay. "The fifth stronghold of the Battle Frontier has fallen to him as well…!"