Chapter 98: My Lord, the Times Have Changed!

Focus Punch.

This is an undisputed heavy-hitting move of the Fighting type, with a power as high as an exaggerated 150, yet it is rarely used because of its special mechanism.

A Pokémon using this move will quickly enter a charging state within one turn, and only after the energy has accumulated will it vent it all at once.

At first glance, it seems similar to moves like Solar Beam, but it has an additional fatal flaw—

Once attacked during the process, the Pokémon's concentration is inevitably disturbed, leading to the move being interrupted.

Therefore, the usage conditions are extremely harsh, making it a "useless move" that even elite trainers wouldn't choose to use.

However, with the configuration Qingyu carefully prepared for Breloom, unleashing this ultimate move became less difficult.

The principle is also very simple: use the previously created Substitute to block an attack, allowing Breloom to charge safely while the opponent attacks, and then unleash a super-high-power STAB move.

As for the HP consumed by Substitute, it was compensated for by Poison Heal + Toxic Orb, achieving lossless operation.

Of course, this strategy still has a relatively fatal flaw...

【Oh my, Focus Punch. This is truly the first time I've seen a streamer use this move online...】

【No wonder the streamer put the opponent to sleep right at the start; it was all to set this up. This is too underworld!】

【How can there be such a dirty Pokémon as Breloom? Strongly condemn!】

【It's not the Pokémon that's dirty, it's the trainer with the dark heart, okay!】

Breloom's speed isn't fast, so if you need to find a way to control the tempo and summon a Substitute with minimal loss, Spore is the best choice.

Back to the live stream screen.

"Breloom, Focus Punch!"

While Qingyu gave the command, Breloom was already prepared, immediately hiding behind the Substitute to start accumulating power.

Meanwhile, Nessa's next Pokémon had already appeared on the field.

A blue-purple marine creature resembling a starfish flew out from the red light, and the moment it landed, it met Breloom's incredibly determined gaze.

"Ha!"

Breloom's punch, full of momentum, was immediately swung out, the attack as fast as an afterimage drawing a white arc in the air!

The iron fist, carrying ten thousand horses of power, hit the unsuspecting Toxapex squarely, instantly sending it flying backward, only barely stabilizing its figure at the edge of the field.

【Whoa, I feel like this punch even had special effects. Is it that exaggerated?】

【What's the use of looking cool? Why don't you look at the damage? I think it's still just scraping the skin...】

【It really is. You landed such a cool punch and it only took that much HP? I thought it was a one-shot!】

The audience only came to their senses after being reminded by the comments, and looking back, this Toxapex had only lost nearly 1/3 of its HP.

It wasn't even enough for it to recover with Recover.

"This..."

This time it was Qingyu's turn to be embarrassed.

Actually, he could roughly guess that Nessa would send out Toxapex for defensive coverage.

After all, they were at the Gym Leader level; unless they were stunned by his tactics like the previous few, they would quickly react with countermeasures.

Nessa's Toxapex looked like a shield configuration, and it might even have the Regenerator ability...

Judging by the current output capability, it wouldn't die even if he hit it for half a year.

This is where the strategy gets awkward; once you encounter a Ghost-type or a physical wall that can tank the hit, it's easy to fall into a stalemate where both sides just stare at each other.

But Toxapex couldn't really do anything to him either.

After all, Breloom was already badly poisoned, and had Substitute as a barrier, with its defensive capabilities basically maxed out.

If both sides insisted on playing, they could fight until the Great Dao itself was worn away, until the system automatically judged a loss.

So Qingyu decisively changed his approach.

"Breloom, Spore!"

Your poison is useless against me, but I can still put you to sleep!

Toxapex spat out a mouthful of poison, which was completely blocked by the Substitute, and soon it inhaled the Spore scattered by Breloom, beginning to feel drowsy.

This hypnotic move was indeed too low-quality, directly causing the opponent's operation to crash for a moment, looking like it was thinking about how to deal with this move.

Of course, it might also be that the person was just stunned.

【Why is the streamer tricking the comments again? You call this One Punch Man?】

【I get it, so the "very powerful" Breloom the streamer mentioned refers to Spore?】

【One Punch, referring to the Sleep-Inducing Punch (Mushroom-type exclusive)】

【If the streamer wants to play a Sleep team, just say so, no need to hide it...】

"Is this human language?"

Seeing the comments start to attack him for suspected high-quality play, Qingyu was amused.

"Is it that my Breloom doesn't want to be One Punch Man? It's just that the opponent isn't giving me the chance! I can't help it if I can't break through head-on!"

"Then let me ask you, are Sleep Powder and Spore Grass-type moves? What's wrong with my Breloom using them?"

"Since our Creator Arceus designed it this way, then status moves are of course an inseparable part of Pokémon battles, right?"

"My lord, the times have changed! Who still uses flowery fists and embroidered legs now!"

For the sake of victory, I can even abandon the dignity of a martial artist!

Oh, wait, I wasn't a martial artist to begin with.

Then it's fine.

【Hiss—I actually think you're right?】

【Although I feel very unhappy, I really can't find a reason to refute it. You can't just use attacking moves, that would be even more boring...】

【It's over, after watching the streamer's broadcast for a few days, I'm not clean anymore!】

Seeing the comments being so receptive, Qingyu couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.

Just one Breloom and they're like this; wouldn't they be scared to death if they encountered a defensive mushroom later?

While he was bickering with the comments, Nessa on the other side finally finished thinking.

She chose to switch again, and this time, the one sent out was Barraskewda, which is as fast as lightning in the rain.

And it also only had one chance to attack.

After appearing and breaking the Substitute with an Ice Fang, Barraskewda immediately followed in its companions' footsteps, sleeping sweetly.

Come to think of it, it's a coincidence; Nessa's rain team has a very slow overall speed, which is why it kept giving Qingyu the chance to move first. ===== CHAPTER 100 =====