Chapter 610: Shattered! Perseverance! A Great Cheer!

Light flashed.

A Pokémon resembling an ostrich, with wide skirt-like tail feathers featuring multiple layers of folds, majestic like an Egyptian queen and boasting remarkably vibrant colors, made its entrance.

At this moment, Goodra's sticky body seemed to melt, spreading out almost into a puddle of "slime," before rapidly reshaping itself.

Subsequently, red waves indicating a stat increase appeared on its body.

The Poison-type move "Acid Armor" could greatly boost its Defense, providing excellent compensation for Goodra's unremarkable physical defense.

—However, Hearing Nimo's command had clearly been predicted by Geeta and utilized against her.

Espathra, a pure Psychic-type Pokémon.

It possesses three Abilities: "Wind Rider," "Frisk," and "Speed Boost."

And Geeta's Espathra's Ability was—

Seeing the red waves of stat enhancement light up on both Pokémon the instant Goodra completed its boost, Luo Mu raised an eyebrow.

The "Wind Rider" Ability has an extremely simple effect: if the opponent boosts their stats, the user boosts theirs as well.

To draw an analogy, it resembles a "permanently active Self-Suggest."

The difference is that Self-Suggest can be used after the opponent boosts, whereas "Wind Rider" only activates simultaneously with the opponent's boost; any "Wind Rider" entering the field after the boost has already occurred cannot freeload off the opponent's enhancement.

The only silver lining is that Goodra has few boosting moves; otherwise, if that had been Dragon Dance or Calm Mind, wouldn't this situation have exploded immediately?

"Lumina Crash!"

Having freeloaded a negligible Defense boost, Geeta didn't hesitate and chose to attack.

Espathra's eyes, somewhat eerie upon closer inspection, suddenly lit up, and two beams of strange purple light shot forth from them like lasers.

The lasers traveled at incredible speed, striking Goodra in the blink of an eye.

Accompanied by the explosion of purple light, Goodra immediately felt its mind grow dull and its vision blur, as if some inherent power of its was being suppressed by that strange light.

From the perspectives of Hearing Nimo, Geeta, Luo Mu, and even the live-stream audience, it was clearly visible that following the stat increase, blue waves indicating a stat decrease now appeared on Goodra's body.

Immediately after, as Espathra began to run on its talons, a second Lumina Crash began to charge and was subsequently fired.

"Protect!"

Realizing the danger, Hearing Nimo decisively chose Protect to prevent this wave of attacks from exploding on Goodra.

She recalled what her biology teacher, Jacq, had mentioned during class when introducing Pokémon species unique to Paldea: the additional effect of Espathra's signature move, "Lumina Crash."

—As long as it successfully hits, the light embedded within the laser, capable of affecting even the spirit, will destroy the Pokémon's resistance to special attacks.

In other words, it lowers Special Defense!

Moreover, every hit significantly lowers Special Defense; no wonder Geeta, despite knowing Goodra's outstanding Special Defense, still sent out Espathra.

Relying on Espathra's running speed, it could completely avoid Goodra's attacks while leisurely using Lumina Crash to weaken Goodra's Special Defense to the extreme, finally securing victory in one fell swoop.

It cannot be hit by Lumina Crash again!

The moment this decision was made, the Protect barrier shattered; Espathra, under Geeta's command, had already rushed to Goodra's side, with a third Lumina Crash charging and ready to fire.

Not gambling on the probability of two consecutive Protects succeeding, Hearing Nimo said without hesitation: "Power Whip!"

"Nu!"

Goodra responded with a low sound, slightly lowering its head; its two antennae, resembling twin tails, were enveloped in emerald green light, extending spontaneously by a segment before whipping toward Espathra like lightning.

Crack!

An extremely clear sound of whipping rang out; Goodra's powerful force struck Espathra, causing it to stumble, and consequently, the charging Lumina Crash failed to release.

"Toxic!"

Seizing the advantage, Hearing Nimo immediately pressed her attack.

Now that Goodra's body contained the toxic spikes poison from the Crystal Flower, releasing this move would instead make the toxin even more potent.

As long as Espathra could be inflicted with the same status condition as Goodra, Hearing Nimo was confident she could wear it down or force Geeta to switch!

However, Geeta, who had anticipated this, simply smiled and snapped her fingers.

"I won't let you succeed. Psychic."

After all, Hearing Nimo was a student taught by Luo Mu; although her personality dictated that she didn't much enjoy playing grinding, dirty tactics, this did not mean her Pokémon didn't know those moves, just like Toxic in this instance.

The barely stabilized Espathra instantly erupted with powerful psychic energy, firmly blocking every drop of toxic liquid, preventing even the slightest possibility of contamination.

Simultaneously, like an ostrich, its talons—boasting astonishing explosive power—exerted force, executing a backward retreat to immediately create distance between itself and Goodra.

Thanks to the previous "Wind Rider," even though Espathra took a direct hit from Goodra's non-STAB "Power Whip" while its Defense was raised, it itself suffered little damage.

Seeing that both sides still had room to fight, at this moment, Hearing Nimo suddenly raised her hand.

"Return, Goodra!"

"I'm counting on you, Ursaluna!"

As the Poké Ball bounced back into Hearing Nimo's hand from Ursaluna, the audience immediately realized that facing the pressure brought by Espathra, Hearing Nimo had chosen to switch!

"Because she knew Diejie Diejie Mengmeng's stat boosts would likely be freeloaded by Espathra, she would rather not rely on type advantages and instead attempt to break through the predicament with raw power?"

Analyzing the battle situation, Luo Mu displayed a contemplative expression.

"Moreover, Ursaluna is..."

His voice paused slightly, landing on Ursaluna, which had suffered an attack from Stealth Rocks yet remained full of vitality.

The Toxic Spikes on the field manifested once again, but before they could inject their poison, they were forced back by the sparks igniting within Ursaluna's fur, unable to advance even an inch.

This also meant that Ursaluna had not been affected by the Toxic Spikes.

"I see... is it a held item?"

Geeta's gaze fell upon the fiery red orb worn on Ursaluna's chest, realizing that Ursaluna relied on the fact that it was already in an abnormal status condition to avoid the influence of the Toxic Spikes.

"A burn... combined with Ursaluna's Ability, it seems this will be quite troublesome."

A solemn expression surfaced in Emperor Yan Di's eyes; having no intention of switching out Espathra for now, she commanded it to launch another attack.

"Lumina Crash!"

Sending out Ursaluna was a choice Hearing Nimo had carefully considered; even though it could allow Sliggoo to use that move to neutralize the severe poison while recovering most of its lost stamina,

under the threat of Espathra, it was highly likely that before completion, Espathra would use "Lumina Crash" to lower Special Defense to the minimum, forcing them into a terrible disadvantage.

They had to eliminate Espathra or Geeta's other three Pokémon first!

And before solving this problem, there was an even more serious issue.

"Toxic Spikes" and "Stealth Rock."

At the very least, they could not let these affect the Pokémon entering the battle next!

Thinking of this, Hearing Nimo immediately shouted, "Take the hit, then use Earthquake!"

Ursaluna crossed its arms before its chest, relying on its thick hide and tough flesh to tank Espathra's "Lumina Crash" head-on; as blue waves descended upon its body, Ursaluna threw back its head and let out a roar.

"ROAR!!!"

Its feet, carrying immense power, slammed violently into the ground; bolstered by the "Guts" ability, Ursaluna's strength had been amplified to a truly terrifying realm.

A powerful shockwave swept across the battlefield, causing even the entire Pokémon League Headquarters to shake.

Had the arena at the peak of the League not been constructed to the highest specifications, it might have collapsed directly from Ursaluna's tremors!

Correspondingly, the effect of Earthquake was quite remarkable.

This was a flash of inspiration on her part; even if the Pokémon in her team lacked specific moves to clear the field, with Ursaluna's strength, it should be able to achieve a clearance in the physical sense!

After the intense shaking passed, the dust obscuring vision vanished, revealing a battlefield in complete disarray.

The entire arena had been practically plowed over, filled with chaotically piled rubble of various sizes, bearing no resemblance to its former orderly state.

The layers of Toxic Spikes scattered by Glitterati were also shaken loose by the intense vibration; without being rooted in the ground, these Toxic Spikes, nearly shaken apart, could only disappear reluctantly as specks of light.

As for the opposing Espathra, its condition was not good either; even though Geeta reacted in time, ordering it to use psychic powers to float and temporarily dodge Earthquake's might, Espathra still took the full force of that initial shockwave squarely.

Had it not melted earlier alongside Sliggoo, after this single blow, Espathra's stamina would have been like a flickering candle in the wind.

"Truly astonishing; so there is such a method?"

Geeta smiled and clapped, clear appreciation floating in her eyes.

Such a flash of inspiration indeed deserved to be praised as a masterstroke.

"Espathra, Baton Pass."

If Espathra stayed any longer, it would only be knocked out by Ursaluna before it could defeat Ursaluna.

Hearing Nimo's Diejie Diejie Mengmeng had not yet appeared; to guard against that "Baton Pass" tactic, Espathra could not lose its ability to battle just yet.

After ordering Espathra to use the move Baton Pass to return, Geeta sent out another Pokémon that had appeared previously.

"Chesnaught!"

Relying on its Grass typing, Chesnaught could form an advantageous matchup against the Ground-type Ursaluna, and the Defense boost from Baton Pass would also increase its competitiveness.

In terms of physique, currently only Chesnaught could contend with Ursaluna, which was now riding a surge of momentum.

Hearing Nimo understood this logic clearly as well; since no matter who she rotated in now, Geeta would counter it, it was better to borrow Ursaluna's momentum and sweep all obstacles away!

"Fire Punch."

Clenching her right fist, Hearing Nimo swung it forward.

Ursaluna roared, mimicking the same motion, and charged toward Chesnaught like a land tank with fists wreathed in fierce flames.

"Stone Edge!"

Chesnaught raised both arms, and countless glowing boulders materialized out of thin air, spinning around its body like a halo.

The next instant.

Under Chesnaught's control, the rocks all shot toward Ursaluna, leaving a trail of sonic booms in their wake.

"Roar!"

Ursaluna's gaze hardened, and it smashed its fist directly at the incoming Stone Edge!

With a loud bang, the boulders instantly shattered into scattered fragments.

The burn on its body was constantly draining Ursaluna's stamina; while bringing pain and pressure, it also ignited the hidden power deep within Ursaluna, awakening its wild nature.

At this moment, Ursaluna's state could be described as killing any god who blocked its path and slaying any Buddha who stood in its way.

It smashed through the rocks all the way, yet its speed did not decrease in the slightest; instead, it accelerated even further.

Arriving before Chesnaught, Ursaluna's flame-wreathed arms slammed down fiercely upon its head.

Geeta's response was equally swift; a command of "Spiky Shield" caused Chesnaught to erect a shield in time, tanking the punch by force.

—However, from the muffled grunt emanating from beneath the shield when the fist struck, and the cracking of the ground once again, one could see just how difficult it was for Chesnaught to withstand this blow.

"Roar-roar-roar—"

Even without breaking through the defense, Ursaluna continued to roar ferociously, its flame-wreathed fists ignoring the thorns piercing them, raining down continuously upon the shield Chesnaught held up.

Both sides had fallen completely into a stalemate—

If Chesnaught held on, Ursaluna would lose its ability to battle due to the lingering effects of the burn.

If Chesnaught failed to hold on, Hearing Nimo could completely open up the situation.

Ursaluna's punching speed gradually slowed; just as Chesnaught thought it had endured, it suddenly realized that, shield and all, it was being lifted straight up.

"Naught!?"

Chesnaught looked at Ursaluna in surprise, unsure what it planned to do.

Ursaluna merely grinned ferociously and, under Hearing Nimo's command, directly rolled Chesnaught, which was huddled inside its shield and back shell, into a flat, round object—

"Clear away all the Stealth Rock in one go, Ursaluna!"

As Hearing Nimo's voice rang out, by the time Chesnaught realized it was being used as a weapon by Ursaluna, it was too late to struggle.

Immense force transmitted from the position where Ursaluna gripped the spikes on its shell to use as a handle; before the stunned expressions of countless spectators, Chesnaught was directly swung around by Ursaluna and slammed into the location where the Stealth Rock, which had tricked it upon its entrance, was hidden!

As a creature quite intelligent and vindictive, Ursaluna, having evolved from Cubchoo, had firmly memorized the locations of all revealed Stealth Rocks from the moment it entered the field.

Bang-bang-bang-bang—!

Under Bisharp's collision, countless sharp Stealth Rocks were forced to reveal themselves and shattered into fragments.

In just a moment's work, all the Stealth Rocks were swept away completely.

As for Bisharp, unable to withstand so many powerful impacts, it directly lost consciousness.

"."

Even someone as calm and composed as Geeta unconsciously parted her lips, her eyes widening slightly.

Truly, Nemo's maneuvers had left her dumbfounded.

Could Pokémon battles really be played like this?

Not to mention the equally stunned audience; gazing at the Ursaluna standing like a god of war amidst the rubble-strewn battlefield, Luo Mu broke into a sincere smile.

"As expected, she follows the same style as Ash."

Nemo's flashes of inspiration always bring a sense of surprise.

With this, Geeta had already lost three Pokémon.

On Nemo's side, only Tauros had lost its ability to battle; even though Decidueye's condition was so poor it was barely hanging on by a thread, she still had Pawmot and Diejie Diejie Mengmeng at full strength, along with Goodra, which could recover on its own.

The threats posed by Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rocks had also been neutralized.

The path ahead suddenly became bright.

—But, would Geeta really let Nemo achieve victory with such unstoppable momentum?

"Hah... It's been a long time since I felt this excited."

Geeta gently stroked her chest to steady her breathing, then took out another Poké Ball.

"Bring me victory, Dragapult!"

(End of Chapter)