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What happened?
Marnie stared blankly at her defeated Liepard, completely unable to understand how her Liepard had suddenly been knocked out.
Logically, it shouldn't have happened. Although it was expected that its power wasn't as strong as Glastrier's, that was already anticipated.
But Liepard has strong mobility, and…
How could Fake Out have failed?
"Was it ice?"
Marnie, being a talented Trainer after all, quickly reacted, looking at the frost around Glastrier and the solidified cold air emanating from its limbs.
As for why Fake Out didn't work, it must have been because of the ice crystals. She vaguely remembered that when Fake Out struck, a layer of ice crystals was shattered by it.
So, it used frozen air to condense a layer of ice crystals, taking the Fake Out attack for Glastrier?
Because of this, Fake Out didn't actually hit Glastrier directly, and the move's effect couldn't be triggered.
"It seems you've figured it out." Seeing the change in Marnie's expression, Mammon smiled faintly with one hand in his pocket.
"Glastrier's movement speed is relatively slow, so it's more difficult to deal with agile opponents."
"Flexibly utilizing a Pokémon's inherent abilities is also one of the formulas for mastering victory."
Mammon unhesitatingly pointed out Glastrier's weakness. That's right, Glastrier's speed is actually quite slow.
Therefore, Glastrier is actually a Pokémon that is very well-suited for Trick Room, but when would there always be an opportunity to set up a Trick Room for Glastrier?
However, in reality, due to its skilled use of ice and frozen air, as long as an opponent gets close, Glastrier isn't afraid of them using speed and agility to toy with it.
In pure close-quarters combat, Glastrier is extremely strong!
Aside from speed, Glastrier's 'base stats' are exceptionally good, practically flawless.
Marnie frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and sent out her second Pokémon, Scrafty.
This is a Dark/Fighting-type Pokémon, which is super effective against pure Ice-type Glastrier.
Clearly, Marnie intended to use Fighting-type moves to counter Glastrier, but it was useless.
Scrafty charged forward with a High Jump Kick, while Glastrier showed no fear, meeting it head-on with a Double-Edge.
The two were simply not on the same level of strength. Glastrier directly overwhelmed Scrafty's High Jump Kick, sending the little guy flying.
Immediately following was an Icicle Crash, a massive icicle falling from the sky and heavily smashing onto Scrafty.
Scrafty was defeated.
Toxicroak, Morpeko, Grimmsnarl—as her main Pokémon were defeated one after another, Marnie's breathing gradually became more rapid.
Even with prior mental preparation, being so easily defeated by the opponent still uncontrollably affected Marnie's emotions.
Until finally, even the recently acquired Guzzlord was easily defeated by Glastrier, and Glastrier's Chilling Neigh was already fully stacked.
Marnie was stunned.
"So… am I that weak?"
Marnie questioned herself. She had always thought she was very strong, even when battling her brother Piers, it was a 50/50 match.
But she, like a random kid in shorts, was utterly crushed by Mammon, who swept her entire team with just one Glastrier.
"No, it's not that you're weak, it's that Mammon is too strong." Platinum's clear voice reached Marnie's ears.
Marnie looked up, pursed her lips, and gazed at the blue-haired girl.
"The world of Trainers is always like this. When we reach a goal, we realize we've only just begun."
"You haven't reached the Champion level yet, have you? Once you get to that stage, you'll find that even as a Champion, you're still incredibly weak when facing those top-tier Trainers."
Platinum said with a smile, after all…
At Indigo Plateau Arena, Giovanni-uncle defeated Lorelei and Bruno just like that.
Moreover, Mammon used Glastrier to battle Marnie, so Marnie naturally lost even more terribly.
"…I understand."
Marnie took a deep breath and still accepted the result.
But if that's the case, is this girl in front of her a Champion-level Trainer?
"It seems you haven't suffered too severe a blow, Marnie. That's good."
Mammon slowly walked over. He had originally intended to comfort Marnie, but Platinum had already stepped in.
Tsk~ This was a good opportunity to gain favor.
"How do you feel?"
Mammon asked Marnie.
"Astonishingly, despairingly powerful." Marnie tilted her head and thought: "It's like the difference between an adult and a child."
Yes, she was the child, barely able to fight back.
"A very apt description, that's pretty much it. So you still need to work hard. I believe that with your talent, Marnie, you will definitely reach this level in the future."
Mammon encouraged Marnie.
Marnie remained silent. Could she really do it?
"Actually, if you want to spar and train, it's better for you to battle with Gloria and Serena more. It will be very beneficial for you."
It wasn't that Mammon was lazy, but rather that his main Pokémon's strength was too far superior to Marnie's, so it wouldn't serve much purpose for special training.
He could only provide guidance from the sidelines.
"And then, Marnie, is your main team just those Pokémon you used just now?"
"Yes." Marnie was startled by the question.
"How should I put it? I think your team needs some improvement."
Mammon mused.
"Improvement?"
"Yes, I'll be direct. Your team isn't strong enough for you to join the ranks of powerful Trainers within the next two years. Their strength is insufficient."
Mammon spoke bluntly. To be honest, he thought Marnie's team was even more outrageous than Ash's.
Ash at least only had a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle dragging his team down, but what about Marnie's team?
Liepard, Toxicroak, Scrafty, Morpeko—four Pokémon with base stats under 500.
Of course, in reality, there's no absolute rule about base stats, and even in the games, it's not entirely true; in games, it also depends on effective base stats and Pokémon mechanics.
For example, Mimikyu with its Disguise ability, and Amoonguss that can scatter Spore.
But the key is that Marnie's Pokémon don't have any special mechanics either.
"…" Marnie immediately frowned. Did he mean she should replace her current main Pokémon?
"Of course, I'm not telling you to abandon them. It's just that if you want to train them to a level where they can contend with other powerful Trainers, you'll need to invest far too much time and effort."
"I think you could train some other, stronger Pokémon."
Mammon was slightly more tactful this time.
"Moreover, Grimmsnarl as an ace isn't necessarily bad, but you still haven't perfectly utilized Grimmsnarl's combat effectiveness."
"A Prankster Grimmsnarl, even if you teach it one more Parting Shot, its restrictions on the opponent's team are quite strong."
Parting Shot: Uses Parting Shot on the opponent, lowering the opponent's Attack and Special Attack.
The ace of Marnie's team was Grimmsnarl, and this was also Marnie's Gigantamax slot, but Mammon felt that Marnie hadn't fully utilized Grimmsnarl's potential.
Grimmsnarl's Prankster ability allows Grimmsnarl to use status moves with increased priority.
This makes Grimmsnarl excellent at using status moves, such as Taunt, Flatter, Light Screen, Reflect, etc., causing great trouble for the opponent.
But Marnie basically used Grimmsnarl as a pure attacker.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, as Grimmsnarl's combat power is still excellent, but Mammon thought, couldn't it be more versatile?
"…"
Marnie was deep in thought.
"Besides, since you like Dark-types, you need to make the most of their unique qualities. Dark-type Pokémon have strange and varied fighting styles, and it's not just about type differences."
Mammon himself was quite skilled with Dark and Ghost types, so he naturally had the right to speak on this.
"I understand. So, Mammon, do you have any recommended Pokémon?"
Marnie humbly asked for advice; she felt that Mammon's words made a lot of sense.
"Strengthening the lineup is actually very simple. I'll give you a few ideas," Mammon said with a smile.
After all, simply strengthening a mono-type lineup is much simpler than a multi-type one.
"Tyranitar and Hydreigon are relatively classic physical and special attackers. If you can obtain them, that would be best, and Tyranitar can also serve as your Mega slot."
Marnie nodded upon hearing this, but to be honest, both of these Pokémon are precious pseudo-legendaries, and obtaining them is not easy.
"Next is Incineroar with the Intimidate ability. Not only is its combat power impressive, but its functionality is also very good, and it can have excellent synergy with Grimmsnarl."
Mammon suggested again. The combination of Incineroar and Grimmsnarl is actually absolutely infuriating.
Incineroar uses Intimidate first, then Fake Out + Parting Shot to lower both attacks, followed by Grimmsnarl using Fake Out + Parting Shot again.
After such a round, the opponent's Attack would directly be lowered by 3 stages and Special Attack by 2 stages. If you then switch in a Shadow Tag Pokémon, the opponent's mentality would probably collapse.
Unfortunately, the Shadow Tag ability is only possessed by Mega Gengar, Wobbuffet, and Gothitelle.
"Incineroar, huh…"
Marnie made a note. Compared to Hydreigon and Tyranitar, Incineroar is relatively easier to obtain.
"Yes, preferably with the Intimidate ability," Mammon emphasized.
While it's not impossible without Intimidate, an Incineroar without Intimidate has no soul.
"Then there's Kingambit. Kingambit is a very powerful Pokémon, both in its type combination and combat power. It can completely be trained as a core main Pokémon."
The Dark/Steel-type Kingambit, out of eighteen types, has resistance to nine types and is immune to Poison and Psychic types.
Although it has a quadruple weakness to Fighting, this is completely overshadowed by its strengths. If you're really worried about that, couldn't you just Terastallize it?
Moreover, Kingambit's Supreme Overlord ability increases its Attack and Special Attack based on the number of defeated allies when it enters battle.
This means the later Kingambit enters battle, the stronger its combat power!
It's a natural candidate for a core main Pokémon, even an ace, and Kingambit truly deserves such treatment!
It's genuinely very strong in battle!
"As for the others, you can decide for yourself. If I remember correctly, there's also a Dark-type Mythical Pokémon in the Galar region. You can pay more attention to it as well. If you can catch it, that would be best."
Mammon thought for a moment; there wasn't really anything else he could particularly recommend.
There are actually quite a few excellent Dark-type Pokémon. Mammon didn't even know how Marnie managed to assemble this team that lacked both strength and unique mechanics.
No wonder Marnie would say things like 'Gloria is despairingly strong.'
Comparing Marnie's team to Gloria's, they're simply not on the same level. If the team composition doesn't change, Marnie will never catch up to Gloria in this lifetime.
Hmm, even if Gloria takes maternity leave, Marnie probably won't catch up.
And the Dark-type Mythical Pokémon he mentioned was Zarude.
"I understand!"
Marnie's eyes became resolute.
"Thank you, Mammon."
Marnie looked at Mammon, her usually cool voice now slightly wavering. Mammon…
He's truly a good person!!
"Mm, I look forward to your changes later."
Mammon smiled in response. After all, he quite liked Marnie and hoped this girl could truly become stronger and perform well in next year's World Tournament.