Chapter 268: Is This Piplup Legal?
"Because I developed this move myself."
Will chuckled lightly.
He looked at the shocked Cynthia and the Sceptile getting up from the ground, feeling a bit helpless.
He wondered just how many things Celestia had stolen from him and passed down to her descendants.
However...
Will didn't mind.
On the contrary, he was quite happy to see these things again in Celestia's descendants.
Even if...
Now, only he knew the truth.
Whoa~
It wasn't just Cynthia who was shocked; the audience, and even Lorelei, were stunned.
"Why does that Piplup know that move? Isn't that Carmela's signature move?"
"Cynthia is Carmela's daughter, so it makes sense she knows it. But why does Lorelei know it?"
"No, is a Piplup even that fast?"
"Yeah, I heard Professor Oak say that move has extremely high requirements for a Pokémon's technique, weight, speed, reaction, and dynamic vision. Currently, the number of Pokémon species that can pull it off is in the single digits, and Piplup definitely isn't one of them."
"This is ridiculous. Lorelei's Piplup defies expectations every time he comes out."
The audience was buzzing, and many people had stood up.
Will had become like a superstar. Every time he appeared, the audience gave him a standing ovation. From now on, this was Piplup Plaza.
"Sceptile, are you okay?"
"Scep."
Sceptile stood up and nodded, looking at the little penguin in confusion.
All this time, it had relied on this move to dominate battles, even overshadowing Garchomp at times.
But today...
It had been outplayed by a penguin that wasn't even as tall as its foot, using its own move.
"Alright! Double Team, then use Quick Attack!"
"Scep!"
In an instant, a dozen Sceptiles appeared on the field, charging at Will from all directions.
Will calmly used Hone Claws.
Then he stood still, watching the Sceptiles rush at him.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
One Sceptile after another crashed into him and vanished.
When all the Sceptiles disappeared, many people realized... the real Sceptile wasn't on the field at all!
"Hehe, I played this game ages ago."
Will couldn't help but grin. He stomped his foot.
BOOM!
A massive pillar of rock erupted from the ground, launching the Sceptile that had been moving underground into the air. Stone Edge.
Using Dig in front of an Aura master?
Wasn't that just asking for it?
If Sceptile had attacked alongside its clones on the surface, Will might not have pinpointed its Aura immediately. If Sceptile could control its emotions perfectly, Will might not have even found it.
But unfortunately...
It insisted on going underground.
Wasn't that just telling Will, "The real one is down here"?
"Piplup, use that!"
"Okay, okay~"
Will sighed.
He had planned to give Sceptile a taste of Blizzard, but since Lorelei asked...
Sacred Fire!
SWISH!
Will clapped his flippers together, firing a massive fireball radiating rainbow light at the airborne Sceptile.
BOOM!
The giant fireball hit Sceptile directly, exploding in mid-air and sending waves of visible heat rippling outward.
"A critical hit, huh? My crit rate is terrifying now."
Will shaded his eyes with a flipper, looking up casually.
Too easy.
It was a strange feeling.
For Will...
It felt like fighting a weaker version of himself.
He could predict every move, every technique of this Sceptile.
Against other Pokémon, this Sceptile imitating him might perform brilliantly.
But imitating him in front of him... it was like trying to teach a fish how to swim.
"Sceptile?!"
Cynthia's eyes widened. She stared blankly at the fireball falling from the sky.
She wasn't the only one stunned.
The entire live audience and everyone watching on TV were dumbfounded.
"Why does that Piplup know a Fire-type move?"
"What move is that? I've never seen it before!"
"Rainbow-colored fire... legend says the fire of Ho-Oh and Entei is rainbow-colored. Could it be..."
"No, wait, is this Piplup legal? They might ban it next year."
"Sceptile got one-shot by two moves. That Piplup's level is terrifying."
"Water beating Grass again? Does this Piplup have a special ability?!"
Watching the audience erupt like ants on a hot pan, Lorelei nodded in satisfaction.
Perfect.
This was exactly the effect she wanted.
However, Lorelei hadn't expected her little penguin's Fire-type move to deal that much damage.
She had estimated he would need another Flying or Ice-type move to finish Sceptile off.
She hadn't expected a two-shot kill.
Sometimes, even Lorelei couldn't understand Will's battles or what was happening.
"Sceptile, return. You worked hard. It's not your fault; the opponent is just ridiculous."
Cynthia recalled the Burned Sceptile into its Poké Ball.
"Garchomp, I'm counting on you!"
"Garrr!"
With a powerful roar, a figure even larger than Sceptile appeared.
"4x weak to Ice... symbol of the strong, right? Haha."
Will looked at the big guy and couldn't help but laugh again.
Garchomp was strong.
But there were conditions.
At least in front of Will, Garchomp was much easier to deal with than Sceptile.
Only two types were super effective against Will: Grass and Electric.
And the only move of those types Garchomp could learn was Thunder Fang.
"Garchomp, use Sand Tomb!"
"Garrr!"
With a twist of its ankle, Garchomp summoned a massive sandstorm that engulfed the battlefield, raging endlessly.
Liquidation!
Will tapped his feet and leaped up, instantly wrapping himself in a stream of water.
He became a water bullet, shooting out of the sandstorm and slamming headfirst into Garchomp.
"Dragon Claw!"
Cynthia reacted quickly, spotting Will in the sandstorm and immediately ordering a counterattack.
Will looked up and opened his beak.
BOOM!
A massive Hydro Pump blasted out, hitting Garchomp and stopping Will's forward momentum.
"Rock Slide!"
Garchomp swung its arms.
Massive rocks materialized in the air and were hurled at Will.
"Do you really think that will hit me? Or do you just not know what to do anymore?"
Will stared calmly at the falling rocks.
He casually formed a spiraling Aura Sphere and threw it.
CRASH!
The rocks were shattered by the Aura Sphere, turning into harmless pebbles.
Just like that...
The audience lost it again.
"Wait, was that Aura Sphere? Did I see that right?"
"Why does a Piplup know Aura Sphere and I don't?"
"Well, Lucario has 'Rio' and Aura Sphere has 'Aura,' maybe Piplup has 'Plup' and... wait, that doesn't work."
"This Piplup is going to rewrite the entire Pokédex entry for its species."
Aura Sphere, a Fighting-type move.
It was indeed not something a Piplup should learn.
But hey, he had Aura Power.
"Garchomp, use Aerial Ace!"
Cynthia was just like Lorelei when she first started.
She refused to admit defeat.
Even knowing she had no chance, even not knowing what to do...
She still didn't want to give up.
"Let's end this."
Will stomped the ground.
Five massive rock pillars erupted in front of him. Stone Edge.
Garchomp, too fast to stop, crashed headfirst into them.
CRASH!
Garchomp smashed through two pillars before tumbling off the third and hitting the ground.
"Garchomp, dodge!"
Cynthia's panicked voice rang out.
Garchomp instinctively looked around.
Unsure of Will's position, it didn't know where to dodge.
But there was nothing around it.
Suddenly...
On the ground, a smaller shadow appeared next to its own shadow.
It rolled backward frantically, but it was too late.
Will, descending from above, unleashed a torrent of ice and snow, pouring it onto Garchomp like a frozen river.
Blizzard, a 110-power Ice-type ultimate move, hitting a Garchomp that was 4x weak to Ice and 9 levels lower.
The result was obvious.
"Garchomp is unable to battle! The winner is Lorelei from Four Island, Sevii Islands region!!"
With the referee's announcement, this Kanto Conference came to a close.
Lorelei had finally achieved her goal, winning the first major tournament championship of her life.
And...
Lorelei was only 16.
Someone might win a championship at a younger age in the future. But for now, Lorelei had broken the record, becoming the youngest conference champion ever.
Undoubtedly, for the next year, Lorelei's name would be known worldwide. And for the next decade, she would be a topic of conversation at dinner tables across Kanto and Johto.
Of course...
Will's performance today would make him even more popular than Lorelei.
On the other side.
"Garchomp, return. I'm sorry, that was my fault."
Cynthia recalled Garchomp, her voice full of guilt.
Her command had indeed been the problem.
Garchomp had fallen from the rocks and was disoriented; it didn't know where Will was. When Cynthia just said "dodge," how was Garchomp supposed to know where to dodge?
She should have told Garchomp to dodge backward.
Then, it might have avoided Will's attack.
During the awards ceremony.
Cynthia turned to the older sister beside her, Lorelei, and asked, "Sister Lorelei, do you have any advice for me?"
"Advice... um... maybe ask Piplup?" Lorelei frowned.
She thought Cynthia had fought well in the earlier rounds against her other Pokémon. It was just the last two rounds against Will where she seemed to fall apart.
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