Chapter 609: Resurrection from Death! (6K)

The move "Parting Gift" is a Dark-type status move; its effect is to consume all of the user's remaining HP, causing the user to faint immediately, in exchange for sharply lowering the target's Special Attack and Attack.

Since Glimmora was already slated for sacrifice, Geeta had originally intended to save this Parting Gift for Nemona's core fighters.

For instance, Ursaluna or Tauros; under the best circumstances, it would ideally be applied to Pawmot.

Unfortunately, Nemona's lead Pokémon was Decidueye, whose Shadow Sneak completely locked Geeta out of switching, forcing Glimmora to fight to the bitter end.

Fortunately, her battle layout was already complete; now was the moment to reap the results.

Having more than fulfilled its objectives by laying multiple layers of Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock, and by heavily draining Decidueye's stamina while inflicting bad poison, Glimmora did not hesitate to march heroically to its death.

Suddenly, a dense cluster of jet-black light erupted from its body surface and rushed swiftly toward Decidueye.

Even though Nemona reacted and instinctively ordered Decidueye to drain Glimmora's last bit of HP immediately, the speed of the arrow could not match the speed of light.

The jet-black light clung to Decidueye like a gangrenous sore; as Decidueye's expression abruptly twisted in agony, a blue glow instantly flashed across its body from top to bottom.

Decidueye's Attack and Special Attack have been sharply lowered!

A sense of powerlessness welled up; Decidueye, still suffering under the erosion of bad poison, plopped down on the ground, barely able to stand.

Meanwhile, Glimmora, having lost the ability to battle, was already recalled by Geeta into its Poké Ball.

Inside Iono's livestream.

Although Nemona had taken the lead in points first, Iono could not feel optimistic at all.

As Geeta's signature Pokémon, even though it was the first to lose the ability to battle, Glimmora's performance was utterly flawless.

Everything it could do, it had done to the best of its ability.

Next, Nemona would face an even more difficult situation.

"It's your turn to take the stage now, Avalugg."

Geeta tossed out her Poké Ball, and the appearance of the colossal giant caused the entire battlefield to tremble slightly.

It was a large Pokémon whose appearance and form closely resembled a turtle, composed entirely of a Bingshan.

Its "ice-shell" was overall a perfectly smooth plane, yet marked with three fissures on its surface; numerous sharp ice pillars protected its vital areas on its underside, while cylindrical legs bearing spiked claws supported the movement of its heavy body.

This was a pure Ice-type Pokémon, Avalugg!

Gazing at the appearing Avalugg, Luo Mu, who was watching the battle, recalled some unpleasant memories and grew even more worried about Nemona.

Come to think of it, his and Nemona's teams were quite similar, both featuring an extremely high proportion of physical attackers.

Even with Swampert's innate monstrous strength, it would be very difficult to deal effective damage to Avalugg.

But back then, he at least had Cangyan Cangyan Rengui tanking that terrifying defense, relying on the technique of focusing on a single point to forcibly break through Avalugg's guard.

However, Nemona's team did not have many Pokémon that could counter Avalugg; Tauros and Pawmot—that was all of them. Weighing the options, Luo Mu believed Nemona would choose Tauros.

"How will you choose next?"

Luo Mu watched Nemona's expression, murmuring to himself.

"Avalugg... return, Decidueye!"

Nemona could not possibly allow Decidueye, in such a terrible condition and weak to Ice-type moves, to be cleanly taken out by Avalugg for nothing, so she immediately chose to switch.

Thanks to Avalugg's speed being limited by its heavy body, even if Geeta wanted to order Avalugg to prevent Nemona from recalling Decidueye, she simply lacked the power to do so.

After recalling Decidueye, Nemona did not immediately send out her second Pokémon; instead, she paused, her facial expression clearly showing distress.

Obviously, she was struggling over which Pokémon to send out.

Even though Diejie Diejie Mengmeng could fly and avoid stepping on the Toxic Spikes, it would still suffer heavy damage from the super-effective Stealth Rock.

But any other non-flying Pokémon would be invaded by the Toxic Spikes the instant they entered the field, falling into a badly poisoned state.

Among the Pokémon in her team, only one could temporarily gain immunity through a special method, but the time for its entrance had not yet come.

Avalugg's defensive power was also a major problem.

After hesitating for a few seconds, knowing she could not drag this out any longer, Nemona gritted her teeth and sent out her second Pokémon.

"Go, Tauros!"

"Moo!"

Accompanied by a deep, resonant bovine bellow, Tauros, which had triggered its Anger Point twice and secured considerable results for Nemona, entered the field.

But the instant it landed, the Toxic Spikes covering the field revealed themselves, and toxins scrambled to spread from Tauros's hooves, which were in contact with the ground, into its body.

The surrounding Stealth Rock also materialized; even though Tauros resisted Rock-type moves, those sharp points still stabbed it painfully.

Tormented by this double pain, Tauros even forgot to use its horns to bump its Poké Ball back to Nemona.

Nemona could only bend down to pick up the Poké Ball that had fortunately rolled to her feet.

Right from the start, Tauros's condition, momentum, and stamina were severely weakened!

But the will of the raging bull would not be so easily crushed; Tauros rose once more, snorting heavily from its nostrils, its bloodshot eyes locking firmly onto Avalugg.

Knowing clearly that as time passed, Tauros would grow weaker and weaker under the effect of bad poison, Nemona had no choice but to seek a quick victory, shouting, "Charge forward, Aqua Jet!"

Turbulent water sprayed from the tip of its horns; clearly enraged, Tauros, wreathed in water, vanished from its spot in an instant thanks to its superb explosive power.

The moment Tauros closed in on Avalugg using Aqua Jet, Nemona issued another command.

"Close Combat!"

"Heavy Slam!"

Naturally, Geeta would not just stand idly by; her voice rang out almost simultaneously with Nemona's.

"Roar!"

Avalugg threw back its head and roared, its body enveloped in a silver halo as it charged fiercely at Tauros!

The nearly fivefold difference in weight between them endowed Avalugg's strike with even more terrifying power.

But Tauros was no fool; adept at grappling, it knew that when a head-on collision offered no advantage, it might as well change angles and adjust its force structure.

Wreathed in orange-red light, Tauros circled around Avalugg's Clumsy and Heavy body, launching fierce attacks on Avalugg from all directions.

Every collision between them carried the power to shake the earth and move the mountains; Tauros frantically inflicted wounds upon Avalugg, while Avalugg, in turn, sent Tauros flying dozens of meters away several times.

Both sides refused to yield, yet from Luo Mu's outsider perspective, Hearing Nimo and Tauros were currently at a complete disadvantage.

Even though Hearing Nimo had a sudden idea, using Tauros's physiology to spray high-pressure water from the hole at the tip of its horn like a sharp blade, leaving scars on the Avalugg's ice shell, which was as hard as steel.

But Tauros's condition continued to decline under the effect of the potent poison.

Moreover, given the Avalugg's endurance, this damage meant nothing.

Just as Luo Mu predicted, when Tauros, trading injuries for injuries, finally exhausted all efforts to leave countless wounds on the Avalugg that made it panting heavily.

Yeci's next command directly turned their efforts into bubbles.

"Recover."

That's right; the Avalugg happened to be one of the Pokémon that could learn "Recover" upon leveling up.

At the same time, it was incredibly tanky, having made Luo Mu feel quite nauseous during the Champion Test.

A emerald-green healing light appeared on the Avalugg's surface; within a few breaths, all the scars on its body vanished completely, restoring it to its original state.

This was already the better outcome; at least Yeci's Avalugg had the ability "Unnerve."

If this creature had the "Ice Body" ability, activated the Hail weather, and used Recover afterward, the scene would have been...

"!!!!"

Seeing the Avalugg restored to its original state, Hearing Nimo's breath hitched, forced to accept that her and Tauros's efforts had come to nothing.

Without a moment's hesitation, Hearing Nimo commanded Tauros, whose head was covered in a layer of solid metallic luster, to charge at the Avalugg!

The super-effective "Iron Head" once again dealt considerable damage to the Avalugg.

At this moment, Yeci revealed her long-gestating counterattack: "Hold on, Avalanche!"

Instantly, a mass of gray dark clouds gathered above Tauros's head; before Tauros could escape, countless snow chunks, nearly frozen solid into ice blocks, rained down from the sky, striking Tauros like raindrops!

Bang bang bang—

Amidst Tauros's cries of pain, the Avalanche raged for a full five seconds before stopping.

Even though Tauros resisted the Ice-type Avalanche move thanks to its Water-type resistance, the Avalugg also triggered an effect similar to "Double Trouble" for Avalanche, doubling the damage directly.

"No, we can't keep going like this."

Hearing Nimo, realizing this was equivalent to a slow death, began to think, searching for an opportunity.

Triggering "Anger Point" again to defeat the Avalugg with an attack strengthened to its extreme, crushing everything in its path—this was the simplest method, but achieving it still required the favor of luck; at the very least, Hearing Nimo would not let Tauros in this state expose its vital points, allowing the Avalugg to attack freely.

While commanding Tauros to maneuver against the Avalugg, Hearing Nimo activated her brain to think, and then, a flash of inspiration struck!

Right, there's still that move!

During class, Teacher Luo Mu had emphasized it: when facing a defensive Pokémon that cannot be beaten by attacking and cannot be worn down by stalling, this is the move to break the deadlock!

If this move is combined with another move, perhaps the Avalugg can be taken down without even triggering Anger Point!

The more Hearing Nimo thought, the brighter her eyes became; she never lacked the courage to try boldly, and she began to command Tauros to survive in the cracks under the threat of poison and the Avalugg, executing her own strategy.

Luo Mu immediately noticed the change in Hearing Nimo's expression, and a smile unconsciously rose at the corner of his mouth.

"It seems she has an idea; then let her try boldly."

On Luo Mu's shoulder, the Zygard Core carefully observed the back-and-forth game between the two sides, fulfilling its duty as an observer.

Yet it subconsciously thought in its heart: Humans are indeed a cunning bunch; they have so many tricks up their sleeves.

One can only hope the two young juniors from the Kalos region won't get tricked; otherwise, I'll have to go rescue them later.

"Hmm, something's off."

Being a seasoned veteran herself, how could Yeci fail to notice the change in Hearing Nimo's tactics? Even though she instinctively sensed something was wrong, she couldn't immediately figure out what other cards Hearing Nimo had to play.

Yeci simply continued to stabilize the current situation, using "Recover" to heal when the Avalugg's health dropped below half, while simultaneously dealing damage to Tauros with "Avalanche," "Gyro Ball," and "Heavy Slam," waiting quietly for Tauros to lose its ability to resist under the effect of poison.

Tauros's "Surf" slammed hard into the Avalugg; amidst the bursting water spray, not only did the Avalugg suffer considerable injury, but Tauros itself also had its health further reduced by the recoil damage.

Its already precarious health was now like a candle in the wind.

Seeing that it would be no surprise if Tauros fell in the next moment, Yeci thought for two seconds and did not let the Avalugg use "Recover" to heal itself.

The use of "Recover" is not infinite; now is the time to preserve the Avalugg's health as much as possible.

But Yeci did not know that at this moment, her thoughts were exactly what Hearing Nimo wanted.

No, it should be said that it was precisely under Hearing Nimo's subtle influence that she thought this way.

Hearing Nimo loved battle and was passionate about Pokémon battles, but she was not a reckless fool who charged forward without regard; rather, thanks to her good upbringing, intelligence, and Luo Mu's unreserved teaching, she possessed tactical literacy that exceeded her peers.

Upon confirming the conditions were met, Hearing Nimo unhesitatingly revealed her disguise.

She still used "Aqua Jet" to approach the Avalugg; according to Yeci's expectation, the next move would be either "Close Combat," "Rage Bull," or "Surf."

The probability of "Surf" was low, after all, the current Tauros could not withstand too much recoil damage.

Just as Yeci was contemplating taking this hit and then immediately ordering the Avalugg to use "Recover" to maintain its state.

Hearing Nimo's command voice rang out like a thunderclap from flat ground.

"Tauros, Endeavor!!!"

"What!?"

With Yeci unable to maintain her composure, her expression shifting to one of surprise serving as the backdrop.

As if venting all the frustration accumulated over this period, Tauros, with red eyes, charged at the Avalugg without regard for anything.

At this moment, all the accumulated injuries stacked upon it transformed into Tauros's power; everything it had endured was fully reflected back onto the Avalugg by "Endeavor"!

Boom—Crash!!!

Amidst the violent explosion, the Avalugg's cry of pain was incredibly clear.

Realizing something was wrong, Yeci hurriedly issued the command: "Hold on, Avalugg, Recover!"

Endeavor is a special Normal-type move that returns all damage received by Tauros in a single strike.

At this moment, the Avalugg's health was forcibly equalized to that of Tauros.

—This also meant the Avalugg had reached the execution line!

Seizing the gap while the Ice Rock Monster was temporarily immobilized due to "Self-Recovery," Hearing Nimo once again threw her final card.

"Tauros, Reversal (Return from the Brink)!"

The moment to turn the tables was right now!

Even with his consciousness nearing blur, Tauros forced his body to hold firm; his bloodshot bovine eyes were filled with stubbornness and resolve, and carrying the determination to create an advantage for Hearing Nimo, a brown-red light erupted across Tauros's body.

At this moment, even though the Ice Rock Monster's stamina was recovering endlessly through "Self-Recovery," Tauros's all-out strike, with its power pushed to the limit, was still capable of creating a miracle!

Tauros crashed violently into the Ice Rock Monster; brilliant light completely engulfed both of them, then exploded outward.

A powerful shockwave swept through the surroundings; the three people could only half-cover their faces with their hands, and even while squinting, they refused to miss a single detail on the field.

Moments later, the dust and smoke cleared.

Both Tauros and the Ice Rock Monster lay in a large crater, evidently having lost consciousness.

This also meant that in this round, both sides had ended in a draw!

In the livestream room, Kiers was already dancing with excitement, passionately voicing her thrill.

"Reckless Charge combined with Reversal, indeed a quite excellent method to break through."

Knowing that Hearing Nimo had taken his teachings to heart, Luo Mu felt quite good.

"I suppose this counts as my defeat."

Knowing she had fallen into the trap, Geeta smiled helplessly; although the starting conditions for both sides were not on the same level, even so, Hearing Nimo and Tauros had seized the opportunity and forcibly taken the Ice Rock Monster down with them.

For Geeta, this round was a loss for her.

Two red beams shot out from opposite directions of the battlefield, landing on the unconscious Tauros and Ice Rock Monster, recalling them into their Poké Balls.

The two placed the Poké Balls into a columnar device that rose from the ground; the device was directly connected to the Pokémon Center equipped by the Paldea League Headquarters, where Pokémon that had lost their ability to battle during the Champion Assessment would receive meticulous treatment from Nurse Joy, ensuring neither side in the battle had any worries.

Having done all this, Geeta clapped her hands lightly in Hearing Nimo's direction, making a gesture of applause.

"Truly a dazzling finishing move, worthy of standing up and applauding for."

"Thank you for your praise!"

Hearing Nimo responded without arrogance or impatience; for her, the comeback achieved by going all out at this moment was far more attractive than any gourmet food or game.

Seeing that Hearing Nimo had already impatiently taken out her third Poké Ball, Geeta nodded slightly.

"Then, let the assessment continue."

Saying this, Geeta and Hearing Nimo simultaneously threw the Poké Balls in their hands.

"Chesnaught!"

"Goodra!"

As the light flashed, two Pokémon appeared on the field where Tauros and the Ice Rock Monster had just fought fiercely.

Coincidentally, the Pokémon sent out by Hearing Nimo and Geeta were, strictly speaking, both originally from the Kalos region.

One was a Dragon-type Pokémon from the Kalos region that matured late, while the other was a Grass-type starter recommended for novice trainers in the Kalos region.

The two, both considered defensive-oriented Pokémon, faced off against each other.

However, the moment Goodra appeared, just like Tauros, it immediately suffered the poisonous assault of Toxic Spikes, along with the attack of Stealth Rock.

"Migoon."

Goodra shook its head, flinging the slime from its chin onto the ground.

Even though it was a Dragon-type Pokémon with an inherently excellent constitution, suffering consecutively from severe poison and Stealth Rock was still extremely uncomfortable.

Chesnaught, bearing a shell like armor covered in large spikes, also folded its arms in front, standing ready for battle.

The battle situation was poised to erupt at any moment!

"Goodra, Ice Beam!"

Hearing Nimo struck first; just like Luo Mu's Dragonite, Goodra had also mastered moves of different types to a considerable degree, gaining an excellent coverage of attacks.

Goodra opened its mouth and spewed ice-blue lightning, carrying an aura of frost, attacking toward Chesnaught.

For the Grass-type Chesnaught, an Ice-type move was undoubtedly super effective; even though its Fighting type countered Ice, it could not help it resist.

In response, Geeta, having composed herself, also issued a command.

"Bulk Up!"

Chesnaught quickly responded to Geeta's order; at the instant the ice-blue lightning descended, Chesnaught raised its arms and roared skyward.

"Buka!"

In an instant, a red mist-like light swirled around Chesnaught's body, and the heat generated as its muscles expanded vaguely offset some of the threat from the Ice Beam.

"Charge forward, Brick Break!"

Chesnaught, whose size seemed to have expanded somewhat, shook itself forcefully, shattering and shaking off the ice layer congealed on its body; after receiving Geeta's command, Chesnaught charged toward Goodra like a land tank.

"Flamethrower!"

Hearing Nimo switched tactics without hesitation; Goodra released scorching lines of fire that pierced through the air, shooting toward Chesnaught.

"Spiky Shield!"

Chesnaught was indeed not very good at dealing with Fire-type moves, so Geeta immediately chose to switch it from offense to defense.

Chesnaught crossed its arms, and a round shield adorned with emerald-green spikes was thus used by Chesnaught to withstand the Flamethrower.

The Flamethrower struck the Spiky Shield and was directly split into several streams that canceled each other out, while Chesnaught's feet never stopped, charging straight to Goodra's front.

Only this time, Geeta did not issue another command for it to use "Brick Break," but instead—

"Leech Seed!"

With Goodra being extremely close and not agile enough to dodge, Chesnaught spat several brownish seeds at it.

Mid-flight, the seeds sprouted vines; the moment they landed on Goodra, the vines rapidly coiled, seemingly intending to root deeply into Goodra's body.

Once Leech Seed was successfully planted, Goodra's stamina would be transferred to Chesnaught every moment by the Leech Seed, which also meant Goodra had directly become Chesnaught's "stamina reserve."

Even so, Hearing Nimo allowed Chesnaught's Leech Seed to hit Goodra, making no attempt whatsoever to respond.

"Could it be?"

Geeta narrowed her eyes, suddenly recalling Goodra's three Abilities.

"Sap Sipper," "Hydration," and "Gooey."

It seems I've hit the jackpot, then?

Just as Geeta had predicted, the moment the Leech Seed made contact with Goodra and closed up, it was as if drawn in by a strange force, instantly turning into points of light that flowed into Goodra's stamina.

In an instant, red light indicating a stat boost appeared on Goodra's body.

The Ability "Sap Sipper": when hit by a Grass-type move or affected by a status move, Attack rises by one stage!

One could say that in front of Goodra, Chesnaught's Grass-type moves would be completely useless!

Chesnaught froze on the spot in shock.

"Goodra, Acid Armor!"

Seizing this opportunity, Hearing Hearing Nimo immediately chose to have Goodra boost itself.

After using Acid Armor, Goodra's Defense would increase drastically, leaving the physically-attack-oriented Chesnaught with nowhere to strike!

But at this moment, Geeta did something that completely exceeded Hearing Hearing Nimo's expectations.

Without hesitation, she raised her hand, recalled Chesnaught into its Poké Ball, and simultaneously threw out another Poké Ball.

"Take the field, Espathra!"

(End of Chapter)