Chapter 299: Slaking!! Entering the Stage!!
BOOM!!! —
"Espe!!!"
Serperior's tail slammed down from above like a guillotine, striking Espeon squarely on the forehead and driving it deep into the dirt.
The Sun Pokémon's head made a very "intimate" acquaintance with the concrete floor.
In the next heartbeat, Serperior's body coiled like a whip, instantly binding Espeon's torso.
Espeon's physical defense had been significantly boosted by Psych Up, so it wasn't going to be defeated by a single blow. Knowing this, Serperior wasted no time. Capitalizing on the split-second daze from the headshot, she used her coiled body to hoist Espeon up and deliver a massive, bone-jarring Slam.
With a thunderous CRACK, Espeon was hurled back onto the ground. Its furry body hit the floor so hard it actually bounced before skidding several meters away.
The sheer force behind Serperior's Slam was terrifying.
Not giving her opponent a chance to recover, Serperior opened her mouth and fired a point-blank Energy Ball.
The orb of deep green energy rocketed toward the bouncing Espeon before its feet could even touch the ground.
THUD!!! —
The Energy Ball detonated, kicking up a cloud of thick dust and smoke.
When the screen cleared, Espeon lay in the center of the crater, eyes closed and breathing shallow. It was completely unconscious.
"Espeon!!"
"Espeon is unable to battle!! Serperior wins the round!!"
Serperior let out a soft hiss as the emerald light surrounding her body began to fade. Her posture slumped slightly, and a look of profound exhaustion washed over her face.
This was the fatal flaw of overusing her Apex Surge ability. Once those thirty seconds of god-like power ended, not only did all her stat boosts vanish, but she entered a prolonged state of extreme weakness.
"Return, Serperior. You worked hard. That was an incredible performance."
Kenji raised his Poké Ball, recalling the exhausted snake to let her rest.
"Return, Espeon."
Across the field, Ruan Jiaqi also recalled her partner, her expression grim.
The battlefield was now empty, save for the craters and debris left behind by the first clash. Both trainers reached for their belts simultaneously.
"Go, Sweetie!! Steelix!!!"
"It's your turn!!! Slaking!!!"
RUMBLE...
Two streams of red light hit the field.
In front of Kenji, Slaking appeared in its usual fashion—reclined on its side, propped up by one elbow. It squinted its "dead-fish eyes" at the opponent, looking like it would rather be anywhere else but in a fight.
In front of Ruan, a massive, jagged serpent made of interlocking steel segments rose from the ground. Every movement it made sent a low-frequency tremor through the floor.
[Steelix]
Gender: Male
Level: 74 (Elite)
Type: Steel / Ground
Ability: Sturdy (Prevents a one-hit KO if the user is at full HP.)
Potential: B+
"It's the Slaking!!" A roar of recognition went up from the stands. Everyone leaned forward, eyes glued to the lazy ape.
During the National League, Kenji's Slaking had become a legend. Its "One-Punch Man" style—appearing out of nowhere to delete opponents—had left a lasting scar on the audience's memory.
It had single-handedly caused the market price for Slakoth to spike nationwide.
Unfortunately, thousands of aspiring trainers soon discovered that the "One-Punch King" was a massive trap. Getting a Slakoth to follow a basic training schedule was nearly impossible, let alone commanding one in a high-stakes battle.
The Truant ability had turned many rookie trainers into frustrated wrecks. Even those who managed to evolve theirs into Slaking realized the hard way: not all Slakings were created equal. Most would throw one punch and then take a five-minute nap while the opponent beat them senseless.
But this only served to highlight how special Kenji's Slaking was.
SWISH!!!! —
The classic formula. The moment the match started, Slaking's massive frame vanished.
"Steelix!! Watch your back!!"
Ruan Jiaqi had clearly studied the tapes. She knew exactly how Kenji's ape operated and shouted the warning instantly.
But knowing a punch is coming and dodging it are two very different things.
Before her words had even fully left her mouth, Steelix's shadow was overtaken by a much larger, denser shadow from above.
Light was blocked out from overhead.
Looking up, Steelix saw Slaking's face looming over it. The ape's expression was dark, shaded by the overhead sun. Those uninterested, droopy eyes stared down at the steel snake, radiating a pressure that made its metallic heart skip a beat.
Slaking's massive arms were raised high, muscles rippling with the force of ten thousand pounds of raw power. A pulsing aura of Fighting-type energy swirled around its fists.
Hammer Arm!!!
KRA-KOOM!!!!! —
Under the gaze of nearly a hundred thousand people, Slaking brought the hammer down. The blow struck Steelix squarely on its massive iron forehead.
In the next instant, a shockwave of displaced air exploded outward from the point of impact.
Steelix's head was driven violently into the earth. The impact was so great that its long, jagged body flipped entirely over from the sheer kinetic energy, whipping through the air before crashing back down.
The ground groaned, the entire stadium vibrating as if hit by a high-magnitude earthquake. The roar of the explosion echoed through the arena for seconds.
As the smoke cleared, Steelix's head was buried deep in a crater in the floor. Only half its body remained visible above ground.
The arena floor was ruined—shattered into a thousand pieces, with deep fissures radiating out from the impact site.
Slaking stood there, or rather, it was already back in its reclined pose. It looked bored, scratching its belly with one hand while staring off into space, as if the destruction it just caused had nothing to do with it.
Rumble... rumble...
The ground shook again. Slowly, painfully, Steelix began to "unplug" its head from the earth.
It looked pathetic. Looking closely, the audience gasped. There was a literal dent in the top of Steelix's reinforced steel head—an indentation perfectly shaped like Slaking's massive arm.
Slaking's strike had actually deformed the metal.
It was a testament to the horrifying power of that Hammer Arm.
Steelix had a base Defense stat of 200—nearly 40% of its total power was dedicated to being a tank. On top of that, it was an Elite-level veteran. Standard artillery shells would feel like a light breeze to its hide.
Yet, it had been nearly deleted in a single blow.
It was only thanks to its Sturdy ability that Steelix was still conscious.
If it had been any other Pokémon, that Hammer Arm would have sent them straight to the Pokémon Center in a box.
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