Chapter 1257: Breaking the Baton Relay Team (Part 2)

So Poliwrath also gave up attacking, stacked two rounds of Bodybuilding, then finished boosting and Passed the Baton off the field. The Farigiraf that came back in completely shed its earlier slump, and its signature technique, Double Beam, blasted Donphan flat on the ground.

What was the difference before and after?

Bodybuilding’s boost to physical defense is one factor, the different stages of Roll-out are another. You have to remember that Roll-out’s power stacks and increases as time goes on.

“A baton pass team…”

Baimu hadn’t expected Otsuka’s opponent to actually play a gimmick team. The execution was crap, but it really did produce results.

But baton pass teams are actually easy to crack.

All that matters is whether Otsuka can seize that fleeting window.

On the field.

Farigiraf pursued Donphan relentlessly. Double Beam starts fast and has long range, and Donphan couldn’t dodge it even by using Roll-out, getting blasted flat a second time as its overall condition plummeted.

Otsuka couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Return!”

He timed it right to switch Donphan out. Seeing this, Fude’s expression grew quite unhappy; Baimu knew he was annoyed at Farigiraf’s damage output.

Two huge Special Attack boosts from Nasty Plot still couldn’t take down Donphan—Farigiraf’s Special Attack was seriously worrying—

Why not use Auxiliary Power?

Using multi-hit Double Beam to break the Solid Trait the first time made sense, but the second time it wasn’t necessary, was it?

Auxiliary Power gains one point of power for each stat that’s been boosted. With Farigiraf having used Nasty Plot twice plus Poliwrath’s two Bodybuildings, its power would far exceed Double Beam.

Does he not know how to use it?

A baton pass team without Auxiliary Power is basically missing a leg!

He looked over at Otsuka, who hesitated briefly before throwing out a Pokeball.

Bang!

White light flashed.

Fude gave the order without a moment’s pause.

“Double Beam!”

Two pink-violet beams shot from Farigiraf’s eyes, nailing the Krookodile that had just stood up—only it was pure energy of the Psychic Attribute, and against an Evil Attribute Pokémon it didn’t have the slightest effect.

“Wane!”

Krookodile charged Farigiraf with a vicious, arrogant roar.

Launching a preemptive strike without even checking what Pokémon your opponent sent out?

Otsuka’s just as bad.

Baimu’s forehead popped a vein: “Pink-violet energy is obviously Psychic Attribute, and he still took so long to decide!”

This is scrub-on-scrub pecking!

Of course he understood that Otsuka was probably worrying about the Energy Level issue. Krookodile had only evolved not long ago, just a bit over Level 40, and hadn’t been trained for long.

But sometimes Energy Level isn’t that important.

Besides, was Donphan that high level? It’s only five or six levels higher.

What matters is whether it can actually do something.

“Magic Reflection!”

Fude shouted the order, flustered and anxious.

Baton pass teams have terrible Attribute Compatibility against Evil Attribute, partly because many Evil Attribute Pokémon know Taunt. Once Taunt lands, you can’t use Passing the Baton and the whole team collapses.

Unless that Pokémon is already boosted to the limit and ready to start sweeping.

Farigiraf clearly wasn’t there yet; otherwise Donphan never would’ve had the chance to return to its Pokeball. And facing the Evil Attribute Krookodile, with the matchup against it, Farigiraf couldn’t possibly bring out its full strength.

“Lin!”

A deep purple Barrier appeared in front of Farigiraf; Fude was betting that Krookodile would use Taunt.

If he guessed right, Taunt would be bounced back by Magic Reflection, forcing Krookodile to eat its own move.

—He guessed wrong.

Otsuka: “Digging!”

“Wane!”

Krookodile dug into the ground, making it clear it wasn’t going to fight Farigiraf in a straight-up surface battle.

This made Fude’s eyes shine, where a second ago he’d been full of worry. He hurriedly pulled out a Pokeball and ordered, “Passing the Baton!”

Baimu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The opportunity’s here!

Red light flared above Farigiraf’s head, then quickly expanded to cover its whole body, turning it into a beam of light that flew back into Fude’s hand.

“Wane!” Krookodile lunged out a second later, just barely missing.

Fude smugly sent out Poliwrath.

Who knew Otsuka’s lips would curl slightly as he shouted, “This is exactly what I was waiting for! Krookodile, use Roar!”

“Nani!?”

Fude was shocked pale, but Poliwrath had already landed; even if he wanted to take it back, it was too late.

“Wane——!!”

Krookodile roared furiously at Poliwrath, and the translucent sound waves blasted it straight back into the Pokeball—fast, precise, and ruthless.

Poliwrath in the Pokeball looked completely confused, and the Farigiraf that was called back out looked even more confused.

“Hahahaha!” Otsuka was so pleased he burst into wild laughter, and Cheng Hong and the others who’d been watching him all along shouted that it was beautifully done.

Over in Silicon City they were all dumbfounded; some didn’t really get what happened, and some had their attention on Ying Ma and Jin Ge’s much fiercer battle. The constant switching on Otsuka and Fude’s side had almost no viewing value.

Most people in the arena were also focused on Ying Ma. At first they’d been curious what kind of Pokémon Farigiraf was and glanced over a few times, but afterwards they didn’t really watch.

So as for what exactly went down over there, probably only Baimu, Cheng Hong and the others—and Ayana, who was following Baimu’s line of sight—knew.

“Broadening your horizons is important, right?”

Baimu turned his head and said to Ayana with a smile.

Ayana nodded; this play from Otsuka really deserved to be called excellent.

With one move he reversed the situation, and Krookodile started pressing the advantage. Fired-up fighting spirit plus falling into the rhythm Otsuka controlled left Fude, whose battle heart had almost shattered, unable to hold out.

First Farigiraf was beaten by Krookodile, then Donphan took out Poliwrath when it tried to set up another Passing the Baton wave.

The overall situation was decided.

When Fude, face extremely unsightly, sent out his third Pokémon, Baimu knew Otsuka had basically won, unless the former could Burst Seed, adjust his mentality, and regain control of the tempo.

Speaking of which, Otsuka really loves the technique [Rollout]; he’s been using it from start to finish without getting bored.

It’s a pity that his dream of “Rollout blocks everything” is getting harder and harder to realize. He used to think it was possible because the Trainers he saw weren’t very strong.

Baimu shifted his gaze back to the others’ battles.

Two fields had already finished their fights by now——

Pyrite Town’s side had one win and one loss; the arena Trainer who lost was pale-faced, and was warmly “welcomed” by the teammate who’d lost in the previous round.

With someone to suffer with him, he felt at ease.

Everyone’s main focus, Ying Ma and Jin Ge—their battle had entered a white-hot stage at this moment.

Porygon II briefly summarized the process.

Garchomp had the upper hand against Scizor, and Ying Ma decisively adopted Sand Concealment Tactics to try to expand his advantage, only he hadn’t expected that Jin Ge, as Zhengyi’s student, was extremely familiar with Sand Concealment Tactics.

One Clear Dense Fog blew away most of the dust, exposing Garchomp, who had used Digging to lurk underground. Not only did it successfully avoid the sneak attack, it even used Rapid Return to smoothly rotate out in return.

The one switched in was Empoleon; Jin Ge moved fast, and the two Pokémon traded the field one after another, almost not giving Ying Ma any chance to act.

At the same time, the moment it appeared Empoleon used Water Jet to close in on Garchomp, looking like a reckless bandit charging in without regard for anything.

Ying Ma suddenly panicked a little, ordering Garchomp to take to the air and use Quicksand Hell to force Empoleon back, but instead he walked right into Jin Ge’s hands.

Empoleon took Quicksand Hell head-on and countered with Avalanche.

The dark clouds rolled in too fast, and a flurry of ice needles came raining down. A double-power Ice Attribute Technique instantly sent the four-times-weak-to-ice Garchomp crashing down, kneeling on the ground and unable to stand for quite a while.

Ying Ma wanted to switch, but Jin Ge didn’t give him the chance—Empoleon inside Quicksand Hell used Water Cannon straight to the face on a fixed target, and Garchomp was defeated then and there.

Only after losing a Grand General did Ying Ma calm down and start thinking about the next part of the battle.

Venusaur took the field again.

Using the double cover of Quicksand Hell and Sandstorm, Ying Ma quietly ordered Paralysis Powder to be mixed into the Sandstorm, attempting to ride the Sandstorm’s power to spread it onto Empoleon.

Who knew Empoleon would use Beak Drill to spin-charge, turning into an invincible whirlwind spinning top as it burst out of Quicksand Hell.

The momentum was just as fierce as before.

Ying Ma didn’t dare be careless, having Venusaur promptly set up Harsh Sunlight, and with Jin Ge’s unexpected hidden Trait Chlorophyll, it dodged Empoleon’s Beak Drill.

Seeing Paralysis Powder fail to take effect, Ying Ma gritted his teeth and had Venusaur go for a point-blank Hypnotic Powder.

Jin Ge’s intention was to keep pursuing with Beak Drill, but he hadn’t expected Ying Ma to be just as bold as he was, resulting in Empoleon landing its Beak Drill yet getting put to sleep as well.

Tie Tight was applied immediately; Empoleon, firmly bound by vines, couldn’t be recalled by Jin Ge. He could only shout from the sidelines as he watched Venusaur plant Parasitic Seed on Empoleon, then use Growth to crazily power up.

By the time Empoleon woke up, Venusaur’s close-range Sunlight Beam was already coming.

Each side lost a Grand General.

With it two-on-two, both sides grew even more aggressive. Scizor landed a Cross Cut, and Venusaur tanked it like before; the stamina lost from Beak Drill had all been sucked back by Parasitic Seed.

And honestly?

Venusaur’s hide is thick and its flesh tough. Scizor without Sword Dance, even with a same-type Cross Cut, still couldn’t really get through, and it was almost grabbed by Vine Whip—luckily Scizor’s reactions were incredibly fast.