Chapter 627: You Are Not Allowed to Play Pokémon! Chapter 312

What does damage not exceeding half mean?

It means that even if it just stood there and let Lucario hit it, as long as it kept using Roost, Lucario couldn't do anything to this Scizor.

Unless it hits a critical hit twice in a row.

But Xiang Qingyu obviously wouldn't give it that chance.

"Scizor, Bullet Punch!"

For this move, Xiang Qingyu didn't make any predictions.

Because there was no need.

Bullet Punch is extremely fast; let alone Lucario, even if Garchomp came, it would be hard to react.

So Zhulan would definitely withdraw Lucario and not let it be drained of HP for nothing.

And he just needs to keep applying pressure to her; no matter who she rotates in, they will have to lose some HP to Scizor first.

Almost at the same time Xiang Qingyu spoke, Zhulan reacted immediately.

"Come back, Lucario!"

Before Scizor could act, a red light shot out from the opponent's half, withdrawing Lucario, which already had several wounds on its body, back into the ball.

"Go, Milotic!"

The graceful sea snake appeared, using its elastic body as a defensive pivot to block the Bullet Punch that would have been fatal to Lucario.

The attack was painless and didn't consume much of its HP.

But after Scizor's offensive ended, some burn marks quickly appeared on the body of Zhulan's Milotic, and the colorful scales on its surface also bloomed with a faint light.

"I know this one: use Flame Orb to trigger Milotic's Marvel Scale ability, gaining a significant increase in defense. Mikeli used this set before!"

"Feels like they all learned it after watching Teacher Yu's previous Guts + Flame Orb Heracross that could one-shot everything with Headbutt. Teacher Yu's tactics seem to have been studied by quite a few people?"

"Same Milotic, same routine. Last time Mikeli used it, he seemed to be easily crushed by Teacher Yu? I don't know if Champion Zhulan can win against Teacher Yu this time..."

Regarding this, Xiang Qingyu wasn't too surprised.

Because as early as the main story of the Diamond/Pearl remakes, Zhulan, as the Alliance Champion, had used this routine on Victory Road.

To some extent, she should be the earliest developer in this world.

And Milotic itself has good resistance to the Steel-type Bullet Punch. After triggering the Marvel Scale ability, the power will only be further reduced, having no deterrent effect.

After falling into a burn state, since only one status condition can exist in the game at a time, other interference effects like sleep or poison are no longer effective against it.

At the cost of continuously reducing a small amount of HP, this Milotic's ability to stand on the field has achieved a qualitative leap, which is a very cost-effective deal.

However, Xiang Qingyu's goal had actually already been achieved.

Scizor indeed couldn't do anything to Milotic, but conversely, it couldn't do anything to Scizor either.

"Scizor, Roost!"

"Milotic, Aqua Ring."

Both sides stopped attacking with great tacit understanding.

On Xiang Qingyu's side, Scizor landed on the ground, quickly replenishing its HP through a special resting method, and soon returned to health.

Zhulan's Milotic took the opportunity to use Aqua Ring, using layers of water curtains to curb the continuous damage from the burn state.

"Why isn't Teacher Yu being greedy? If he let Scizor use Swords Dance at this time, wouldn't there be a chance to Baton Pass and let a teammate start sweeping?"

"The idea is good, but Milotic can learn Haze, so standing on the field to buff in front of it is meaningless."

"Indeed, it's better to use Roost to recover. Next time it comes out, it can continue to take damage. In Teacher Yu's hands, Scizor is the best universal punching bag..."

"Shouldn't Teacher Yu send out Rotom-Wash to start electrotherapy on the opponent? Feels like after the threat of Lucario is gone, the opponent seems unable to break through this iron wall!"

"It's called a Sandstorm team, but where is my Sandstorm?"

"No way, Tyranitar is eaten to death by Lucario. Teacher Yu has no choice, can only wait for an opportunity to send it out later..."

In fact, what Xiang Qingyu was thinking was even more than what the comments estimated.

Lucario did indeed lose a lot of HP, but if it seized the opportunity to enter the field, the threat would still be very great.

So, he must be more ruthless and strike while the iron is hot to completely eliminate the possibility of it entering the field again.

"Scizor, U-turn."

As Xiang Qingyu spoke decisively, his trainer avatar on the screen had already raised its arm, ready to withdraw Scizor at any time.

And this time, Zhulan on the opposite side did not make a command simultaneously.

Until two or three seconds passed, Scizor had already performed the smooth combo of U-turn, kicking Milotic while using inertia to retreat, and after being withdrawn into the Poké Ball, she made her command a beat late.

"Come back, Milotic."

She didn't make any predictions, but withdrew the Poké Ball after him.

Xiang Qingyu raised an eyebrow immediately.

If it were someone else, he might really believe it was a mistake due to hesitation.

But the opponent this time is Zhulan, a ruthless character who just won the Dragon-type Master Tournament not long ago.

And...

With their understanding of each other, how could Xiang Qingyu not know the mind of this little fox, Zhulan?

So, this is a trap!

His original plan was to send out Skarmory again, using the information gap to set up Stealth Rock in advance, completely cutting off the possibility of Lucario entering the field again.

The effect of one layer of Stealth Rock is just enough to make Lucario "paronychia flare up" immediately after entering the field, unable to stand up.

But clearly, Zhulan had already predicted his thoughts, which is why she immediately withdrew Milotic.

The goal is simple: to switch back to the matchup at the beginning.

Skarmory vs. Lucario.

In a situation where both sides end the battle in one hit, Lucario, which has a speed advantage, can steadily take down Skarmory and completely solve this troublesome defensive pivot and hazard setter.

Xiang Qingyu thought for two seconds, and after suddenly realizing, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

Since that's the case, then I'll play a surprise move.

"Go, Garchomp!"

Xiang Qingyu made a prompt decision and sent out Garchomp, which currently has the fastest speed in his team.

The overall speed line of his team is indeed not fast, but Zhulan's team is actually not much better.

The fastest on both sides is Garchomp.

However, sending out Garchomp in front of Zhulan always gives Xiang Qingyu a feeling of inexplicable secret pleasure.

And on Zhulan's side, clearly her thoughts were already not much different from what Xiang Qingyu guessed.

After his Garchomp took the lead, Zhulan actually froze for two seconds unusually, and then sent out her own Garchomp later.

Two Garchomps stood on the field one after another, making the audience faintly smell something unusual.

"Do you guys think... this counts as Teacher Yu's guidance match for Zhulan? Whose understanding of Garchomp is more reasonable?"

"Teacher Yu: Look closely, Zhulan, this is how Garchomp is used!"

"But both sides are actually evenly matched. It's really hard to tell who can win right now. Could the deciding factor be in this matchup of the two Garchomps?"

Both sides sent out the same Pokémon, which is a problem for both commanders.

Because being able to use this Pokémon means both sides have some understanding of it.

For Zhulan, whose Garchomp has been her only ace since her debut, this is even more so.

What moves Garchomp has and what moves it can learn, she is clearly very aware of.

And the Dragon-type civil war is more like a high-stakes gamble.

Because the restraint relationship between the two sides is very obvious, both sides are actually dancing on the tip of a knife. Any move used successfully or resolved by the opponent could directly determine the outcome of this battle.

Therefore, the first-move advantage appears incredibly important.

At this moment, Zhulan has fallen into a dilemma.

The item she gave Garchomp is a Mega Stone, which can further enhance Garchomp's combat power.

But, it seems to have become a foreshadowing now...

In the game, after Garchomp Mega Evolves, because its body size expands, its speed will decrease accordingly.

In most battles, this bit of speed might be dispensable for it.

But only in this battle with Xiang Qingyu, when two Garchomps appeared on the battlefield together, it was destined that she could no longer use Mega Evolution.

With the same configuration on both sides, letting Garchomp Mega Evolve is undoubtedly a bad move, directly handing over the most precious first-move advantage of the game, so the risk is definitely far greater than the return.

"Garchomp, Outrage!"

Zhulan took a deep breath and quickly made a decision.

This is already the best choice she could think of.

If Xiang Qingyu didn't carry an item to increase speed, she would inevitably be able to move first after making the command first.

And the Dragon-type's big killer move, Outrage, is enough to kill Xiang Qingyu's Garchomp in one hit.

At the same time, Xiang Qingyu quickly smiled.

He could predict Zhulan's thoughts.

But there is one thing Zhulan could never think of—

The configuration of his Garchomp might completely exceed her imagination!

"Garchomp, we use Outrage too!"

Although both sides made the same command one after another, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Xiang Qingyu was actually at a huge disadvantage.

"Teacher Yu, you are confused! If you react a bit slower, you won't be able to beat the opponent in speed!"

"Upstairs, you're thinking too small. Can't you see Teacher Yu is intentionally going easy? What if he wins the game but loses at life? You know what I mean~"

"666, there's this kind of understanding too, makes so much sense. I'd like to call you a Yu-ologist!"

"But with Teacher Yu's personality, there shouldn't be a situation of going easy in such a peak battle, right? Why does it feel like he has no moves and can only fight like this..."

Almost all viewers felt that Xiang Qingyu was at a huge disadvantage.

The reason is also very simple.

Once Garchomp is killed first, Xiang Qingyu will never be able to pull out a Pokémon whose speed can rival Garchomp.

Even if Zhulan's Garchomp loses 10 points of speed after Mega Evolution, it can still easily dominate in the endgame.

Even Mega Tyranitar, wanting to deal with this Garchomp with terrifying lethality, has to weigh its options.

After all, it can't compete in speed, and Garchomp's move pool still hides a Brick Break.

Therefore, this move is likely the deciding factor.

The two Garchomps with scarlet eyes quickly entangled.

Outrage, by triggering the emotional switch on the Dragon Pokémon, which is the special scale on its chest, makes them quickly fall into a state of rage and attack the opponent wildly. During the process, the Pokémon will no longer listen to the trainer's commands.

The power is terrifying, but after the move is used, it will also fall into a state of confusion, and may attack itself at any time.

Therefore, it is a move that trades future risks for immediate powerful destructive power.

And the moment the two Garchomps entangled, Zhulan's launched the attack first, venting all its infinite anger on the opponent.

The terror of the Outrage move even exploded the air in the sky, and one could clearly feel its power even through the screen.

And after being hit by the first Outrage, the HP bar above Xiang Qingyu's Garchomp immediately scrolled at an extremely terrifying speed, seeming to have a trend of breaking through the bottom line in one go.

However...

Like the previous Lucario, Xiang Qingyu's Garchomp seemed to have opened a "lock HP" cheat. Just before the HP bar was cleared, it actually forcibly curbed the downward trend.

Although its HP was already like a candle in the wind, it did not fall.

Instead, the other Garchomp, which was the attacker, was also immediately affected after using Outrage, and soon lost more than 1/4 of its HP.