Snorlax jolted, hastily throwing up its forearms to block the blow.
Even so, the impact forced it back a step, and its [Bulk Up] was interrupted.
"Snorlax—Heavy Slam!"
At the call, Snorlax lunged at the Sneasel in front of it.
But Sneasel was far too fast; Snorlax's charge hit nothing but air.
Having slipped past Snorlax's [Heavy Slam], Sneasel clapped a hand over its mouth and snickered behind Snorlax's back. Snorlax glanced over its shoulder—then, in the act of turning, quietly stamped out an [Earthquake].
The shockwave raced outward. Sneasel couldn't react in time and was caught by [Earthquake].
Snorlax seized on the stagger, barreling at Sneasel. Its palm chopped down in a [Brick Break].
"Sneasel—Quick Attack and disengage!"
Sneasel planted its feet, then flashed forward in a [Quick Attack], skimming just past Snorlax's outstretched palm to pull away to safety.
Once Sneasel had opened the distance, it didn't rush to attack. It stood there instead, eyes narrowed, wary.
Su Qianyan clicked his tongue.
"Damn, we went big. Might be getting schooled in return."
For a long beat, the field went still. Snorlax wore a placid smile; Sneasel watched it like a coiled spring. Neither made the first move.
Auron's eyes flicked.
"Snorlax—Bulk Up."
When you can't break the deadlock, get greedy and boost.
Under Sneasel and Su Qianyan's startled looks, Snorlax posed and began [Bulk Up].
"Whoa! Ballsy. Sneasel—Double Hit!"
Startled or not, Su Qianyan barked the order, and Sneasel sprinted in. It was so fast even Snorlax tensed, a hint of panic in its eyes.
"Hold it off—Brick Break!"
Hearing Auron's voice, Snorlax settled, maintaining its [Bulk Up]. Sneasel's claws were already in reach.
"Buu—buu!"
Two sharp blows—[Double Hit] slammed into Snorlax's bulk. Gritting its teeth, Snorlax tanked it out. As [Double Hit] finished, Snorlax completed its [Bulk Up].
Then its gaze sharpened. Fire licked across its right fist, and it drove the punch at Sneasel.
Compared to the recently learned [Brick Break], Snorlax was far more practiced with [Fire Punch]. The move came out blisteringly fast; before Sneasel could pull free, the flaming fist crashed into its small frame and sent it pinwheeling through the air.
With three stages of Attack stacked, that [Fire Punch] hit far beyond what Sneasel could bear—and Sneasel had already eaten an [Earthquake] earlier.
So even before it hit the ground, its eyes were already spiraling. It had lost the ability to battle.
Su Qianyan's grin froze. He'd known Sneasel couldn't beat Snorlax, but he hadn't expected it to fold that quickly.
"Come back, Sneasel."
"Go—Arcanine!"
Auron allowed himself a smug smile at Sneasel's collapse—
—but he barely finished when Su Qianyan sent out Arcanine, and Auron's smile froze in turn.
At the same time, Jace Rowan, watching from the side, brightened and released his own Arcanine to watch along with him.
"Uh… Brother Su, what's this supposed to mean?" Auron asked, not quite willing to accept it.
Su Qianyan smirked at him.
"What, two-on-two? Never played it? C'mon—start the offense."
Auron grumbled inwardly. Losing and moving the goalposts—was he going to make it three-on-three if this round didn't go his way? Too much. Still, he had nothing to counter with; they hadn't set a format before the match began.
Pokémon: Arcanine
Sex: Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Intimidate (When it enters battle or gains this Ability, all opposing Pokémon within range have their Atk lowered by one stage.)
Potential: Orange
Base Moves: Bite, Leer, Extreme Speed, Burn Up, Flame Wheel, Helping Hand, Agility, Fire Fang, Crunch, Take Down, Flamethrower, Play Rough, Reversal, Flare Blitz, Hyper Beam, Solar Beam, Overheat, Dragon Pulse, Giga Impact, Aerial Ace, Rest
Egg Moves: Morning Sun, Double Kick, Body Slam, Close Combat
"Arcanine—Double Kick!"
Auron hadn't even finished scanning Arcanine's move list when Su Qianyan had already sent his Arcanine charging. Auron started, then called out:
"Snorlax—Earthquake!"
Snorlax had only just lifted its foot, the stomp not yet coming down, when Arcanine was already in its face.
[Double Kick] hammered Snorlax's belly in rapid succession, toppling the big bear, which had been standing on one leg to prime [Earthquake].
Snorlax's heavy body slammed into the ground, throwing up a storm of dust. No one could see inside the cloud.
Arcanine paced the perimeter, eyes fixed on the haze.
Suddenly, the scent of Snorlax grew closer.
Before Arcanine could react, Snorlax burst from the dust and crashed shoulder-first into it.
High and true, the ambush with [High Horsepower] landed. Snorlax stood there afterward, huffing hard. It instinctively took a step—two—and then its eyes spiraled. With a thud, it dropped.
Silently, Auron recalled Snorlax. He knew it had given everything. A partner that almost never lost had still fired off a final strike even with no stamina left.
And if not for the three stages of Defense from [Bulk Up] earlier, that first hit of [Double Kick] might have put Snorlax down outright—there'd have been no window to counter.
"Go—Crobat!"
"Crobat—Tailwind!"
"Arcanine—Extreme Speed!"
Crobat's wings beat as it unfurled [Tailwind]. Arcanine vaulted off the rubble, arrowing up at it in an [Extreme Speed], but Crobat, unflustered, leaned into the [Tailwind]'s boost and slipped clear of the rush.
"Rain Dance!"
Just as Arcanine gathered itself for another leap, Crobat summoned [Rain Dance].
[Weather] The weather changed—rain began to fall.
Su Qianyan shivered as the rain pelted down, giving Auron a sidelong look.
"This kid's… what, aiming to topple the strong?"
"Dragon Pulse!"
Drenched fur prickling with annoyance, Arcanine shook itself—and blasted a [Dragon Pulse] skyward at Crobat.
But Crobat's Speed was maxed out and it had [Tailwind] backing it up. No way it would be taken so easily. With a slight tilt to one side, it slid away by several body lengths, the beam ripping past its afterimage.
"Crobat—Toxic."
Crobat snapped a wing, flinging a splash of purple venom down at Arcanine.
Arcanine couldn't avoid it; a violet sheen crawled over its coat.
[Effect] The foe was badly poisoned!
Auron's lips twitched into a faint smile. When a Poison-type uses [Toxic], it can't miss—now he just had to stall.
[Toxic] and regular poison are different. Regular poison chips one-eighth of max HP each turn.
[Toxic] racks up escalating damage each turn, starting at a small fraction and growing with every tick.
All Auron needed was to buy five turns. With a little chip in those five turns, Arcanine would go down.
Even without extra chip, the sixth tick of [Toxic] would be enough to finish it.
Watching the sequence, Su Qianyan chuckled and clapped.
"Nice. You're wringing everything out of your team's kit. If you pilot this right, you really might flip the matchup."
Praise given, he kept his attention glued to the field.
"Now!"
His eyes tightened. He pointed at Arcanine.
"Extreme Speed!"
(End of this chapter.)