Chapter 996: Unlucky Dracovish

The vast forest arena.

Manchong gripped his Poké Ball tightly, watching the referee approach the frozen Charizard.

After a brief silence.

The referee suddenly raised his flag.

"Charizard is unable to battle! Poliwhirl II wins!"

"Confirmed! Poliwhirl II successfully countered Charizard with an Ice Beam! An astonishing display of attack power!"

Flobo's tone rose.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

From the stands, applause erupted like firecrackers, cheers and shouts rising and falling in waves.

An undeniable gap in strength.

The match rhythm, seemingly controlled by Manchong, had been reversed at the most critical moment—not merely luck, but likely anticipated.

Or perhaps both.

The result was plain to see; everyone could only admire All All Baimu, as the true stature of a champion was laid bare—

That no matter how convoluted the battle, no matter how great the early tactical advantage, one single opening was enough to lose everything.

Comebacks were wonderful, indeed.

But could Manchong withstand the pressure?

On the giant screen.

The boy pulled out his Poké Ball and recalled the defeated Charizard; his deep breaths to steady himself were clearly visible.

The sudden turn of events had clearly shaken him.

Still, he managed a faint smile.

Inside the arena now.

Manchong silently reflected on himself—he knew his entire strategy was sound; the problem lay in insufficient attention to detail, a gap between theory and practice.

He had dragged it out too long.

If he couldn't defeat All All Baimu's Pokémon quickly, he had to change tactics.

Manchong threw his Poké Ball.

"Flareon! Again!"

Pop!

"Phii!"

Flareon let out a loud cry, flapping its fiery wings as it circled above the forest canopy.

Though it had been hit by Poliwhirl II's Electric attack, it had been in Roost Balance Mode at the time, allowing its HP to recover.

In other words, its condition remained at the threshold needed to trigger the 【Gale Wings】 ability.

Manchong was about to give an order.

Far away, Poliwhirl II was suddenly switched out by All All Baimu.

Pop!

"Rusuto…"

Dracovish entered, its view partially blocked by trees, which eased its nerves.

Flobo said: "All All Baimu has made a sudden switch! His second Pokémon is Dracovish!

"From past match records, it's clear he prefers to let one Pokémon enter battle at its absolute peak to face its opponent!"

Unlike the common practice of keeping the winning Pokémon on the field to face one opponent after another,

All All Baimu's strategy felt refreshingly novel.

Facing Dracovish, Manchong did not hesitate: "Taunt!"

"Phii!"

Flareon flapped its wings wrapped in tailwind and shot forward in a blur.

Whoosh!

Wind howled!

Dracovish, which had instantly become invisible, froze in surprise—its opponent was already right before it.

So fast!

Faster than it!

Dark energy surged across Dracovish's body, identical to the aura Poliwhirl II had emitted at the start—unnoticed, it had already been affected by Taunt.

Flobo praised: "Flareon successfully used Taunt again! Excellent experience!"

And what was even more surprising:

Immediately after using Taunt, Flareon flapped its wings and flew far away; even though Dracovish's position was now revealed by the dark aura, it showed no intention to pursue.

Nor did it plan to use Tailwind again.

"Come back!"

Manchong manually switched.

Just as he had sent out Charizard earlier, his motion was swift—seamlessly connected!

Pop!

"Nao~"

Machamp entered, licking its sharp claws as it sprinted toward Dracovish's position.

And when the dark aura faded and the enemy vanished from sight,

Manchong: "Detect!"

"Nao!"

Machamp's ruby-red eyes flared with sharp light, releasing a semi-transparent energy field that swept across the entire forest arena at incredible speed.

The invisible entity was forced into exposure.

Dracovish: "Rusuto!?"

Flobo shouted: "Invisibility broken! Manchong's third Pokémon—Machamp has unleashed its signature move!"

The audience erupted in noise.

Everyone understood that much of Dracovish's strength relied on its invisibility.

Facing a Pokémon that countered it, losing invisibility was tantamount to slow suicide!

Switch?

No.

Before everyone's eyes,

All All Baimu looked at the socially anxious Dracovish, wandering nervously away.

"Don't panic!"

"Rusuto…"

Hearing his trainer's voice, Dracovish's tension gradually eased.

It rarely faced situations where its position was exposed.

Especially being revealed in front of so many people—it felt like being tangled by countless Voltorb.

"Xiya!"

"Mie xiya!"

The Dracovish siblings shouted excitedly, eager to charge at the approaching Machamp.

The social anxiety of the main body was nothing compared to their rage.

"Dragon Arrow."

All All Baimu granted their wish.

Clearly, this Pokémon had been specifically chosen to counter Dracovish, just like Charizard before.

Compared to Poliwhirl II, the socially anxious Dracovish had relatively weaker defenses and less margin for error.

There was little room for mistakes.

"Rusuto!"

Dracovish tilted its head slightly; flames erupted from behind its head.

Boom! Boom!

The two little Dracovish were wreathed in azure dragonfire, shrieking as they charged toward the speeding Machamp!

"Nao?"

Machamp smirked, leaping up to perch on a treetop, then suddenly accelerated!

"Quick Attack!"

Zing!

The canopy trembled; countless leaves fluttered down.

The little Dracovish dashed into the falling leaves—but struck nothing. When they turned back, their opponent was already far away.

"Xiya!?"

"Xiya—!!"

Both were furious, spinning around to chase after it.

Yet neither of them came close to the speed depicted in the Pokédex; faced with Manectric boosted twice by Tailwind and Quick Feet, they could only watch its silhouette shrink into the distance.

Flobo shouted: "Manectric used the terrain to dodge Dragon Arrow! It's closing in on Dracovish's main body!"

The battlefield leans left.

Dracovish and Manectric are less than five meters apart.

Both can clearly see each other's expressions.

"Ice Pillar Drop!"

Manchong waved his hand.

Manectric exhaled a freezing breath, instantly coalescing into a sharp ice pillar that shot toward Dracovish!

Whoosh!

The sound of air friction rose.

Dracovish's gaze sharpened; its gradient tail whipped, and a flash of white light suddenly appeared, allowing it to dodge the incoming ice pillar!

Clang!

"Nao!"

Manectric instinctively crossed its claws before its chest, only to find Dracovish had not attacked—it had flown upward.

Manchong was deeply disappointed.

If Dracovish had charged forward,

then what awaited it would be an eye for an eye—Manectric's physical attack would be more than enough to knock it out.

Had its plan been read?

"Ice Shard!"

As he gave the command, he glanced toward All All Baimu—but received no clue.

The latter always wore the same expression during battle, as if wearing a mask.

"Nao!"

Manectric landed on the treetop and fired several shards of ice at Dracovish's tail!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The ice shards tore through the air!

First Speed ensured they not only activated quickly but flew even faster!

Too bad the sky was Dracovish's domain; with its exceptional flight skills, it easily evaded the pursuing shards.

At the same time, it retrieved Dracometeor, which had been forced to abandon its attack on Manectric after its Dragon Flame burned out.

Manchong had been watching them closely—he saw the Dragon Flame fade, so he didn't warn Manectric.

"Ice Pillar Drop missed! Ice Shard missed! Even without its invisibility, Dracovish has shown exceptional evasion!"

Flobo's voice stirred the audience into agitation.

They stared at Dracovish, curious how All All Baimu would strategize against Manectric—a Pokémon that completely counters it—

"Big Bang Flame."

"Luo tuo!"

Dracovish drew a deep breath, then suddenly spat out a massive fireball downward!

Boom!

The fireball exploded.

It transformed into a blazing, fiery character " Da."

Manchong's eyes trembled as he shouted: "Dark Pulse! Shatter it!"

"Nao!"

Manectric crossed its claws before its chest and fired a beam composed of countless black rings, colliding with Big Bang Flame.

Boom!

The moves clashed and exploded in succession.

"..."

Manchong showed no trace of triumph, for even after Big Bang Flame exploded, flames still rained down in all directions.

At first glance, it seemed harmless.

But when the underbrush caught fire from lingering embers and rapidly spread in other directions, All All Baimu's intent became crystal clear!

"Arson in the forest! All All Baimu is trying to trap Manectric, unable to leave the ground, in flames!"

Flobo exclaimed in surprise: "Brilliant use of the environment!"

As he spoke,

Dracovish continued spewing flames downward, accelerating the forest's combustion.

Thick smoke began to rise, engulfing everything on the battlefield.

Watching Manectric grow panicked,

Manchong could not help but admire All All Baimu's quick thinking.

"Come back!"

Before the smoke and flames could interfere with the retrieval beam, he recalled Manectric.

Flobo immediately said: "Manchong has switched! The burning forest is extremely unfavorable for Ice-type Manectric!"

How much power can an Ice-type Pokémon exert in a burning forest?

Even if it used Blizzard to extinguish the fire, Dracovish could simply reignite it, continuing to create an environment hostile to Manectric.

Better to switch early than persist pointlessly.

And in Manchong's current team, only one Pokémon could handle this environment.

"Go!"

"Fei!"

Talonflame made its third appearance!

Aerial battle erupted instantly!

"Dragon Arrow."

"Acrobatics!"

Talonflame entered late, but All All Baimu gave his command first—yet with Tailwind and Guts boosted by Wind Rider,

both Pokémon attacked simultaneously!

"Xi ya!" ×2

Dracovish suddenly lunged at Talonflame, but Talonflame dodged with flashy flight maneuvers.

Just as its move name suggests—

Acrobatics!

"Fei!"

Talonflame traced a Z-shaped path through the air and lunged straight at Dracovish's abdomen.

【Acrobatics】 doubles damage when no item is held—one of the few Flying-type physical heavy-hitters!

"Luo tuo!"

Dracovish strained to dodge.

But how could it evade Talonflame, enhanced by Wind Rider—especially now, when its invisibility was disabled by the "Revealed" status?

Boom!

Acrobatics landed; a cloud of smoke burst open.

The Dracovish clones rushed into the smoke, triggering two more explosions within!

Boom boom!

The dust cloud expanded.

Both Dracovish and Talonflame tumbled down, landing in the blazing forest battlefield.

"Acrobatics landed! Dragon Arrow landed! Both Pokémon successfully hit their opponent! So who will prevail?"

Flobo shouted excitedly.

Unfortunately, the smoke from the fire reduced visibility on the battlefield to near zero—nothing could be seen clearly.

The audience could only guess what was happening below, through the activated barrier.

All All Baimu covered his nose.

He was certain Talonflame had not fainted—this Pokémon's resilience he had already witnessed.

Even with Dragon Arrow hitting twice, knocking it out in one go was difficult.

But it didn't matter.

Dracovish could finish it off!

When both Pokémon fell into the burning field, both in poor condition, Talonflame would very likely use Roost to recover.

After all, as a Fire-type, it feared neither the smoke nor the heat of the forest—these very things would serve as its cover.

Talonflame had no reason—

"Hurricane!"

Smoke and flame could obscure vision, but not the glow of moves.

When the sky-blue energy flared, a gale howled, swirling smoke and fire into a spiraling, terrifying fire hurricane.

All All Baimu was moved by Manchong's fighting spirit.

"Alright!"

Boom!

A massive wave surged into existence, and Dragapult rode the wave through the fiery arena toward the Flame Tornado!

Surf!

Crash!

Water, fire, and wind merged and clashed; a vast burst of steam suddenly exploded, forming a visible milky-white wall of vapor that swept across the entire arena!

And in an instant, it slammed outward!

The protective barrier flickered and shook as if struck by a violent force.

The audience let out excited screams.

Watching all the way through, they now confirmed that the barrier's fluctuations were deliberately engineered by the organizers to heighten the impact.

Flobo shouted: "A clash of Hurricane and Surf—sparked by fire into a massive explosion! What will the outcome be?"

Thanks to the presence of the gale.

When the airwaves cleared, what lay before the audience was a forest arena shrouded in ash.

Flygon and Dragapult stood on opposite sides.

But differently.

One lay collapsed in the ash and charred vegetation; the other panted heavily, hovering midair.

The referee entered to assess the situation.

"Flygon is unable to battle! Dragapult wins!"

"The result is final! All All Baimu has secured his second victory! No wonder—Dragon-type Pokémon! Even under such disadvantageous conditions, he still created a miracle!"

Flobo yelled as the audience continued cheering.

All All Baimu and Manchong gazed at each other from afar; on All All Baimu's usually impassive face, a faint smile suddenly appeared.

He gave a slight nod.

Manchong saw this and smiled too, then immediately composed himself.

Both sides recalled their Pokémon with Poké Balls.

"Flygon! You were amazing!" Manchong praised Flygon happily, not caring that it hadn't stood at the end.

All because All All Baimu's nod just now meant his approval and admiration for Flygon.

In plain terms, it was—

"Not bad, kid."

This kind of unspoken resonance between friends was exactly what Manchong wanted.

On the other side.

"Good job. Why do you always end up in these kinds of matches?"

All All Baimu recalled his battered Dragapult.

It had won, but its current condition ruled out any further appearances.

Without any recovery moves, it might collapse at just a glare from its opponent.

【Gale Wings】.

Not so bad in the anime after all.