"Pikachu!" Pikachu immediately gathered all its energy, while the power from the Light Ball surged through its body.
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, a massive bolt of lightning slammed into Weepinbell.
"Zzzzt— Sprout! Zzzzt— Spri spri!" Weepinbell cried out in pain as electricity coursed through its body!
"Weepinbell! Use a recovery Move with everything you've got!"
Endo Satoshi had no better option. He could only gamble that Pikachu's Thunderbolt wouldn't knock Weepinbell out in one hit.
In truth, this Thunderbolt hadn't reached its true potential. Pikachu's overall energy reserves were still lacking. Even with the Light Ball amplifying its power, it couldn't compare to the energy output of an Elite-level Pokémon.
Thunderbolt was considered a bloodline Move of the Pikachu family, but it was normally only mastered after reaching the Superior level.
Although this Pikachu had already learned the technique, its Electric-type energy was insufficient, meaning the attack only reached around forty to fifty thousand volts.
Puff!
Weepinbell used Ingrain, driving its roots deep into the ground.
"Zzzzt Zzzzt"
The electric current was instantly redirected into the earth through its roots.
"Sprout?" Weepinbell looked surprised. It had only intended to use Ingrain to recover energy, so why was the electricity suddenly being discharged through its roots?
Although the current still hurt as it passed through its body, at least it no longer continued damaging its insides.
"Sprout, spri spri sprout…" Weepinbell continued crying out in pain outwardly, but what it was actually saying was:
"My roots are conducting the electricity, Icarus! I can hold on!"
After all, there was no way they'd randomly encounter someone who could understand Pokémon language without a Mind Contract, so it shouted without worry.
"Good job, Weepinbell! Later, pretend you're on your last legs. Let Pikachu come close, then grab it and use Absorb to recover!"
Thanks to their contract, Icarus immediately understood.
Of course, on the surface, he still acted panicked.
"Weepinbell, hold on! Hang in there!"
Airi and Stone, watching from the stands, both stared nervously at Weepinbell as it endured the Thunderbolt.
"Weepinbell! You can do it!" Airi's eyes were already watery. She remembered how badly her own Poliwag had suffered after taking the same attack. It had been completely charred when it collapsed.
"Finish it!"
"Pikachu is unbeatable!"
"Endo Satoshi, go!"
Meanwhile, most of the audience became excited, convinced they were about to witness another one-hit knockout.
After several moments, the Thunderbolt finally ended.
"Pika Pi"
Pikachu weakly touched its forehead. Its Electric-type energy had been almost completely exhausted, leaving only a small amount of Normal-type energy supporting its body.
On the opposite side, Weepinbell had already been scorched yellow by the electricity, with smoke rising from its entire body.
Just as even the referee thought the battle was over—
"Sprout~"
Weepinbell suddenly opened its eyes again.
"Hm? It still hasn't lost the ability to battle? That's one tough HP bar, but what can it even do in that condition?"
"Hey! You over there! Aren't you going to surrender yet?"
Endo Satoshi was startled for a moment when he saw Weepinbell still conscious, then immediately shouted at Icarus.
The referee also turned toward him, waiting for his decision.
"Sprout! Whoosh~"
At that moment, Weepinbell, already following Icarus's secret instructions, began its acting performance. It shakily raised its head and fired a weak Seed Machine Gun.
Thud~
Unfortunately, the seeds lost momentum halfway and fell harmlessly to the ground before reaching Pikachu.
"Hahaha! Is that Seed Machine Gun supposed to hurt someone?"
"Hahaha~ Just surrender already!"
"Hurry up and send it for treatment, weakling!"
The audience burst into laughter, openly mocking Weepinbell's pitiful condition.
"They! They're going too far!" Airi immediately exploded in anger after hearing the ridicule and seeing Weepinbell's miserable state.
"No, no, Airi. Their words are harsh, but honestly, I think Brother Icarus should send Weepinbell for treatment already. There's no point letting it keep suffering.
Didn't you say your Poliwag almost suffered permanent damage because treatment was delayed?"
Stone hurriedly stopped her and tried to reason with her.
"Brother Stone! Even so, they shouldn't mock it like that!"
Airi still looked furious.
"Relax. Brother Icarus's mentality is much stronger than ours. These kinds of comments won't affect him.
Look, his expression is still calm. Maybe he still has a backup plan."
Stone could only point toward Icarus.
"…"
Airi looked over and noticed Icarus's lips moving slightly, yet he still hadn't recalled Weepinbell.
"He didn't surrender? Does Brother Icarus really have a plan?"
She only regretted not knowing how to read lips.
Since this wasn't a major match, there was no live audio transcription on the big screens. Most spectators could only watch the visuals.
Back on the battlefield—
"I respect Weepinbell's decision. If it wants to continue fighting, then let it fight with dignity."
That was Icarus's response to both the referee and his opponent.
"In that case, Pikachu, finish it! Tackle!"
Endo Satoshi immediately ordered the attack without hesitation.
In the Family academy, stubborn fools who refused to surrender were always used as examples of what not to do.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use ranged attacks, but all of Pikachu's ranged Moves were Electric-type, and its Electric energy had already been completely drained.
Thunder Shock, Electro Ball, then Thunderbolt—
After unleashing all of that, if not for the Light Ball, Pikachu probably wouldn't even still be standing.
Without Electric-type energy acting as a catalyst, even if the Light Ball still contained power, it could only slowly replenish Pikachu's stamina over time.
"Pika~"
Pikachu weakly gathered what little Normal-type energy it had left and rushed toward Weepinbell.
In its eyes, this Weepinbell had already lost and was simply refusing to give up.
"Pika~"
"Don't you know how awful it feels when all your energy is drained?"
Swish swish~
Just as Pikachu approached—
Weepinbell suddenly snapped out of its weakened act!
Several vines hidden underground burst upward instantly, wrapping tightly around Pikachu.
Squeeze Hiss
The thorn-covered vines constricted around Pikachu while simultaneously draining its stamina and energy through Absorb.
"What?! How is that possible?! After taking a Thunderbolt, it still has energy left?!"
Endo Satoshi was completely stunned.
"Hahaha~"
Icarus only laughed inwardly.
"You probably never realized that Weepinbell had roots and vines buried underground to conduct the electricity."
On the surface, however, he simply repeated his opponent's earlier words back to him:
"Hey! You over there—aren't you going to surrender yet?"
How the tables had turned.
Watching someone else get frustrated felt amazing, especially when the audience had already started changing sides again.
"Holy crap! That Weepinbell is incredible!"
"I supported Weepinbell from the very start!"
"I said it before—Pikachu is too fragile! Cute, but fragile!"
"What kind of man carries around such a cute Pokémon anyway?"
"Weepinbell is the best!"
"Yep! When my kid turns fifteen, I'm buying him a Bellsprout!"
Listening to the rapidly changing opinions in the crowd, Icarus couldn't help feeling cheerful.
He knew most of these spectators were just ordinary people who followed whichever side was winning, but hearing praise still felt good.
Especially when he saw the formerly arrogant Endo Satoshi standing there with a dark expression.
"Hahaha~ Weepinbell actually survived! Brother Icarus is amazing!"
"Brother Icarus never disappoints!"
Among the entire audience, Airi and Stone were probably the most sincere supporters.
Both of them looked genuinely delighted.
"…"
The referee silently turned toward Endo Satoshi, waiting for his decision.
"…I surrender."
After a long silence, Endo Satoshi finally gritted out the words upon hearing Pikachu's increasingly weak cries.
More than anything else, he felt humiliated.
Especially because it was his own mistake.
And the ignorant comments from the audience only made him feel worse.
"Please stop attacking, Weepinbell! Trainer Endo Satoshi has surrendered this round!"
The referee quickly reminded them after noticing that Weepinbell was still draining Pikachu's energy.
"Oh? Ah, right, right! Sorry, sorry. It was too noisy over there just now, so I didn't hear him."
Icarus immediately instructed Weepinbell to release Pikachu.
Of course, the truth was that he absolutely had heard the surrender.
He had simply pretended not to.
Every extra second allowed Weepinbell to recover more energy.
After all, it already had Growth active, was using Ingrain, and also carried Black Sludge to continuously restore stamina.
For Weepinbell, even a little more time made a huge difference.
Thud~
Finally freed, Pikachu collapsed to the ground, only a step away from total exhaustion.
"Pika chu"
After weakly apologizing to its Trainer, it closed its eyes.
"Come back, Pikachu! You did great… This is all my fault…"
Seeing Pikachu's miserable condition, Endo Satoshi painfully grabbed his hair.
If he hadn't cared so much about pride earlier and surrendered sooner, Pikachu wouldn't have ended up like this.
Of course, what he didn't know was that even if he had surrendered earlier, Icarus would still have found some way to drag things out a little longer.
"Trainer Endo Satoshi, please send out your second Pokémon."
Though surprised by the sudden reversal, the referee still professionally continued the match.
"Go, Butterfree!"
After thinking for a moment, Endo Satoshi decided not to send out Flaaffy.
Flaaffy's earlier performance had been mediocre, showing it still needed more training at the low Ordinary level.
In contrast, Butterfree, which had mastered Psychic-type abilities, was far more suitable for handling Weepinbell.
Even if its Confusion was still unstable and relatively weak, Psychic-type Moves were still Psychic-type Moves.
"Freee~"
The low Ordinary-level Butterfree showed no fear upon entering the field. Instead, it immediately provoked Weepinbell.
After all, even though Weepinbell had recovered somewhat, its condition still looked terrible on the surface.
To Butterfree, defeating such a battered opponent should have been effortless.
What it didn't know was that Weepinbell had already secretly recovered nearly half its strength.
"Sprout!"
Weepinbell instantly became furious at the provocation.
"I've killed who knows how many Caterpie. What are you acting tough for?"
(While Pokémon languages aren't universal, emotions could still generally be understood. To Butterfree, Weepinbell's tone was obviously full of disdain.)
"The second battle begins now!"
The referee blew his whistle, signaling the start of the next round.
"Weepinbell, use Growth!"
Since Weepinbell had only recovered about half its strength, Icarus chose to strengthen it further instead of attacking immediately.
"Sprout~"
A green glow flashed across Weepinbell's body as its internal energy rapidly surged.
It felt fantastic—almost back to peak condition.
"Butterfree, use Gust and Poison Powder!"
Seeing his opponent finish boosting, Endo Satoshi immediately launched an attack.
"Whoosh whoosh Shhh shhh"
Butterfree flapped its wings, generating strong winds mixed with clouds of powder as they swept toward Weepinbell.
"This is way weaker than Pidgeotto's power… Weepinbell, Acid!"
Although the wind was fairly strong, Icarus immediately noticed the huge difference in power.
Even with the type advantage, the damage remained well within Weepinbell's recovery range, so he directly ordered a counterattack.
Most importantly, Weepinbell was still rooted in place with Ingrain, making movement impossible anyway.
As for the Poison Powder?
To Weepinbell, it was basically a snack.
"Sprout Whoosh whoosh whoosh"
Although the wind stung a bit, continuous recovery from Ingrain and Black Sludge allowed it to endure completely.
It immediately spat streams of Acid toward Butterfree.
"Damn it! Dodge, Butterfree! Use Confusion!"
Endo Satoshi was shocked by how absurdly tanky Weepinbell was.
Even if Butterfree wasn't especially skilled with Flying-type energy, the damage shouldn't have been this low.
Left with no choice, he abandoned the plan of wearing Weepinbell down through ranged attacks and decided to gamble everything on Confusion for a decisive blow.
Unfortunately, Butterfree had only recently learned Confusion, meaning it could only use the Move once.
Whether that one attack would be enough… even he wasn't sure.
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