binnovel Chapter 573 - 573 – Golden Lightning
Chapter 573 - 573 – Golden Lightning
"Electivire, Thunder!"Reggie used the rainclouds without giving Poliwhirl a second to breathe. In rain, Thunder was much harder to dodge.
Electricity burst across Electivire's body. Its twin antennae shot power into the clouds, and lightning started falling over the whole field.
With rainwater everywhere and the ground soaked through, Poliwhirl had nowhere clean to run. No matter where it moved, the electricity would reach it.
"Poliwhirl, Earthquake!"
"Poli!" Poliwhirl knew it did not have many chances left. Before the lightning came down, it launched itself with Waterfall and punched the ground with all its strength. Muddy water splashed up, and shock waves rolled toward Electivire.
The Earthquake went out, but the moment Poliwhirl's fist touched the wet ground, electricity rushed through its body. It locked up under the shock and could only grit its teeth until the current passed.
"Electivire, draw in the lightning. Thunder Punch!"
"Vire!" Electivire staggered under the Earthquake, but it pushed through. The two cables on its back bent like springs, then launched it into the air. Its antennae pulled lightning from the clouds, and the electricity around Thunder Punch grew even wilder.
Its target was Poliwhirl.
"Good. Come straight at it." Reiji saw Electivire rushing in for a finish. The paralysis on Poliwhirl had just faded too. "Poliwhirl, one last hit. Ice Punch!"
"Poli!" Poliwhirl understood. Reiji wanted the ice burst again.
Frost gathered over its fist. This time, it used everything it had. Its foot cracked the ground as it shot upward, flying straight at Electivire.
The two Pokémon collided in midair.
The explosion swept across the main stadium. The big screen flickered once and went dark again. The newly repaired floodlights around the stadium shattered one after another.
Poliwhirl flew out of the blast and crashed to the ground, unconscious.
Electivire was not much better. It fell from the air too, and the arm it had used for Thunder Punch was charred black. Even the slightest movement sent pain through it.
"Vire…" Electivire was still conscious, but that arm was useless for now.
Reggie looked at Poliwhirl and saw it had already fainted. Its arm did not look burned, at least not badly. Had it blocked the worst of the explosion somehow?
He did not know, and this was not the time to think about it. Poliwhirl was down. That alone let him breathe easier.
Rhydon and Poliwhirl were both gone now. Reiji only had Pelipper, Forretress, and one unknown Water-type left. The match finally looked easier to handle.
"Go, Forretress!"
"So it's Forretress." Reggie understood at once. Reiji wanted to poison Electivire and wear it down.
But Reiji still had not shown his sixth Pokémon, and Reggie still had one switch left. He had no reason to let Electivire fight Forretress head-on. Drapion could handle it first.
"Come back, Electivire." Reggie recalled the injured Electivire so it could catch its breath, then threw Drapion's Poké Ball.
"Dra! Dra!" Drapion appeared and snapped the three claws on its body, staring down Forretress.
"Contestant Reggie has recalled Electivire and sent out Drapion! This is his final switch. The battle between Forretress and Drapion is about to begin!"
"Forretress, Defense Curl and Rollout!"
"Drapion, Dark Pulse!"
Reggie did not use Toxic Spikes. Reiji did not use them either.
Reiji could guess why. From here on, whatever Pokémon came in next would also have to deal with the hazards. It did not matter who won this exchange. If either side scattered Toxic Spikes now, the next Pokémon out would be poisoned.
So both sides left the field clean for now. Only the winner would get the chance to control the field afterward.
Drapion did not have many special moves it could use against Forretress. Most of its moves were physical, and physical contact was too risky. Hyper Beam was an option, but it could not throw that around over and over. That left Dark Pulse and Bug Buzz.
Bug-type moves were resisted by Forretress, so Dark Pulse was the better choice. Neutral damage was better than nothing.
Two dark blasts shot from Drapion's claws and slammed into the rolling Forretress. The impact kicked up smoke, but Forretress burst straight through and kept rolling.
Rollout was a Rock-type move, and it hit Drapion for neutral damage too.
Drapion kept firing Dark Pulse, trying to stop Forretress's charge. It was not enough. Forretress kept coming, and Drapion had to give up the attack. It jumped back, dug into the muddy ground with its claws, and slipped underground.
"Forretress, hit the ground!"
Digging away from Rollout was not that easy. Reiji changed the target at once and had Forretress slam into the field instead.
Forretress launched itself up and crashed down again and again, shaking the ground each time.
One hit was enough to make things miserable underground. Drapion got shaken hard, came up covered in dirt, and had no choice but to return to Dark Pulse. All it could do now was try to wear Forretress down before Rollout caught it.
But if digging could not buy space, getting hit was only a matter of time. With Defense Curl boosting Rollout, the final hit carried terrifying power.
Drapion ran, Forretress chased, and the result was obvious. Forretress caught up and smashed it over.
Forretress was not unharmed either. It had taken Dark Pulse again and again. Its special defense was high, but the damage had added up.
After knocking Drapion out, Forretress opened its shell and revealed its eyes. It looked dizzy. It had been spinning for too long and needed a moment to steady itself. Luckily, Reggie still had to send out his last Pokémon.
"Drapion is down! Contestant Reggie only has Electivire left! Can Electivire turn the match around? Stay tuned!"
"Come back, Drapion." Reggie recalled it. Drapion losing did not surprise him.
He had expected this. That shiny Forretress was strange. Its physical defense was absurd, and its special defense was clearly strong too, just not on the same level.
Dark Pulse had done something, though. Forretress was visibly tired now.
"Go, Electivire!"
"Vire!" Electivire appeared, and rain started falling again. It had used Rain Dance.
Only Electivire left.
Reiji let out a slow breath. This final had dragged on so long that he was exhausted too. He wanted to end it.
Electivire was the last opponent. Reiji still had three Pokémon: Forretress, Pelipper, and Accelgor.
Kingler and Slowpoke were out of the question. Against Electivire, both would be trapped under rain-boosted Thunder. And Thunder was already coming.
"Electivire, Thunder!"
"Vire!" Electivire beat its chest and sent electricity into the rainclouds, calling down lightning.
"Forretress, Toxic Spikes!"
"Forre!" Forretress ignored the Thunder overhead and spun in place, scattering spikes across the field. Lightning struck its metal shell, and it endured the paralysis long enough to set two layers.
The moment the Toxic Spikes settled, Electivire became badly poisoned.
Damn it. I have to beat Forretress before the poison gets worse.
Reggie clenched his teeth. Electivire did not have long.
"Electivire, grab it. Pull the lightning down on it!"
"Vire!" Electivire rushed forward with electricity crackling all over its body.
Forretress was already clearing the hazards it had just set.
Reiji could not leave Toxic Spikes on the field. Accelgor would be poisoned the moment it touched the ground, and Pelipper would be poisoned too if it landed to use Roost. The field had to be clean.
But while Forretress was clearing the spikes, Electivire reached it.
Electivire threw itself onto the spinning shell and pinned Forretress down. Its one good arm locked around the huge body, and its cables wrapped tight to hold it in place.
Forretress barely managed to retreat into its shell. It tried to roll free, but Electivire tightened its grip.
Bad poison flared across Electivire's body in a faint purple glow. It forced itself through the pain, then wrapped one cable around Forretress while raising the other toward the sky.
Thunder crashed down.
The lightning charged Electivire and passed through its body as it forced the power into Forretress. Bolt after bolt fell until the clouds finally emptied and broke apart.
Only then did Electivire let go.
Its body was overflowing with electricity now. It aimed its antennae at Forretress and fired Thunder again, bringing down another wave of lightning.
After several more strikes, Electivire was panting hard.
Forretress finally opened its shell. Its black eyes had turned into spirals.
"Electivire, Rest!"
The moment Reggie saw Forretress was out, he seized the chance. Rest would cure the poison and restore Electivire's HP.
"Forretress is unable to battle. Contestant Reiji, please recall Forretress and send out your next Pokémon."
The referee only raised the flag after Reggie gave the order. He glanced at Reggie but said nothing. In that situation, using Rest was still within the rules. It just did not look very clean.
"Forretress has been recalled! What will Contestant Reiji send out against Electivire? Pelipper? Or the sixth Pokémon he has kept hidden until now?"
"Come back, Forretress." Reiji looked at the sleeping Electivire.
So Electivire only had Motor Drive.
After taking that much lightning, its Speed had probably risen a lot.
Electivire's Hidden Ability was Vital Spirit. A Pokémon with Vital Spirit could not fall asleep, and Rest would fail. Since Rest worked, this Electivire did not have it.
In that case, Reiji threw Accelgor's Poké Ball.
He had to move fast. This was the perfect chance to slow Electivire down, and the first move was his.
"Accelgor, Mud Shot. Then Toxic."
Electivire had used Rest to cure poison, so Reiji would just poison it again. Toxic could put it right back under a bad poison timer.
"What? Accelgor? Not Kingler?" Reggie's heart dropped. He had misread it. Badly.
Who would have thought Reiji's last Pokémon was Accelgor, not Kingler or another Water-type?
Even Paul shot to his feet, staring in disbelief at the golden-helmeted Accelgor. How was it this Pokémon?
The match had looked settled a moment ago. With Accelgor's appearance, everything became uncertain again. Even the announcer could not hold back.
"It's Accelgor! A golden Accelgor! Contestant Reiji's final Pokémon is Accelgor! Some of you may not know this Pokémon. Accelgor is a Bug-type from Unova, and its evolved form was only discovered a month ago. Speed is its biggest strength, and this golden Accelgor may be even faster!"
The announcer looked at the information prepared on the computer in front of him and continued.
"Who would have guessed Contestant Reiji had kept Accelgor hidden until the final stretch? He really fooled us all!"
"With Accelgor's arrival, this match is wide open again. Accelgor has entered as the final card, while Electivire is asleep. Who will win this final?"
"Electivire, wake up. Wake up now!" Reggie watched Accelgor blur across the field and appear beside the sleeping Electivire in an instant. Mud splattered across Electivire's body.
He had heard the announcer too.
Speed.
That was the key.
He had just seen it himself. Accelgor moved so fast his eyes could barely follow it.
It had not used a single speed-boosting move, yet it already left afterimages behind, like a streak of gold lightning. If it boosted itself, Reggie did not even want to imagine how fast it would be.
Electivire still did not wake up.
Accelgor leaned in and spat dark poison straight into its open, snoring mouth.
The moment the poison landed, Electivire was badly poisoned again. The pain shocked it awake.
Accelgor sprang away before Electivire could grab it, then fired another Mud Shot to cut its speed further. Its movement showed off that ridiculous speed all over again.
"Electivire, Thunder!"
"Vire!" Electivire spat out the black sludge in its mouth. It felt worse after waking up, not better.
That was not its imagination.
It had been poisoned again.
Badly poisoned.
If Toxic triggered five times, Electivire would be finished.
It did not have much time left.
[End of chapter]
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