Under Incineroar’s debuffs, both of his Pokemon’s attack power has plummeted.
Raihan does not dare slack off, ordering Archaludon and Tyranitar to double-target Sylveon.
However, the ignored little white squirrel is the first to act.
Raihan is stunned.
“Wait, is this thing really that fast?” He waves his hand dismissively.
“Whatever, what’s the point of being fast?
What kind of offensive threat does it even have?” Soon, Pachirisu shows Raihan exactly what it can do.
Nuzzle!
A flash of electricity zips across the field, and Archaludon is struck by Pachirisu’s Nuzzle.
Leaving the negligible damage aside, what makes Raihan’s brow furrow is that Archaludon is now afflicted with [paralysis], cutting its speed in half and giving it a chance to be fully paralyzed.
Its massive steel body instantly slows down, looking even more lumbering.
Meanwhile, the sneaky Sylveon uses [Protect].
Under the barrier of translucent light, both Rock Slide and Flash Cannon fail to do any damage.
Well, that is not entirely true.
Since Rock Slide is a spread move, Pachirisu next to it takes a minor hit.
But Tyranitar, with its heavily lowered Attack, is no longer the Tyrant of the Desert; its damage output is pathetic.
Raihan grinds his teeth in frustration.
*Just a moment ago you were fighting me head-on, and now you’re hiding in your shell?* “Do it again!
I don’t believe it can use Protect twice in a row!” Pachirisu still moves first.
And its second move catches Raihan off guard yet again.
It claps its tiny paws twice, and a golden light immediately envelops the adjacent Sylveon.
Helping Hand?
What is the point of this niche move…
Wait, doesn’t it significantly boost a teammate’s move damage?
Raihan gets a bad feeling, but it is too late.
The paralyzed Archaludon is now slower than Sylveon.
Before Flash Cannon can hit Sylveon, the latter’s Hyper Voice unleashes.
Boosted by Pachirisu’s [Helping Hand], the already formidable Hyper Voice reaches a terrifying level of damage.
The HP bars of the two massive beasts plunge.
It is not quite an instant delete, but it is close.
Especially Archaludon.
The big guy’s Physical Defense is far superior to its Special Defense, and taking two of Sylveon’s Hyper Voices back-to-back has left it hanging on by a thread.
Tyranitar, despite its weakness to Fairy, fares slightly better due to its higher Special Defense, longer HP bar, and the 1.5x Special Defense boost from the sandstorm.
The silver lining for Raihan is that the annoying Sylveon finally goes down to the delayed Rock Slide and Flash Cannon.
If Archaludon had been fully paralyzed and failed to get Flash Cannon off, Raihan would have lost his mind.
“No need to save Archaludon.
Tyranitar, on the other hand, needs cover.” Focusing intensely on the battle, Raihan makes a quick decision.
He speaks into his controller’s microphone: “Archaludon, use Heat Wave!
Come back, Tyranitar!
Salamence, get ready to battle!” On the other side of the field, Xia Chi predictably sends Incineroar back in to replace the fainted Sylveon.
The tiger returns, Intimidating the field.
Salamence gets roared at before it can even do anything.
Raihan’s face, already dark, drops another shade.
He has truly never played such an annoying match.
Shouldn’t Pokemon battles be about passionate, fist-to-the-flesh action and epic beam clashes?
What is this garbage his opponent is playing today?
Intimidate, Fake Out, Parting Shot, Nuzzle, Helping Hand…
Can you get any more disgusting?
Xia Chi does not care about any of that.
He commands Pachirisu to hit the newly arrived Salamence with [Super Fang].
As for Archaludon’s Heat Wave?
Oh, Heat Wave?
With that pathetic damage, I thought it was just a gentle breeze.
Because of the increased HP pools in this game, [Super Fang] does not deal a fixed 50% of the target’s total HP, but rather 25%.
Still, it is a heavy blow for Salamence.
Meanwhile, Incineroar acts.
“Hey, Salamence, have you eaten yet?
No?
Then eat my Fake Out!” Whack!
With a slap, Salamence is flinched.
Raihan looks at his practically ignored Archaludon with helplessness.
The opponent is clearly treating his crippled steel dragon like it doesn’t exist, letting it clog the field.
“Salamence, Earthquake!
Archaludon, Heat Wave!” As the saying goes, a Helping Hand Earthquake spares no one.
Although there is no [Helping Hand] boost here, this Earthquake is clearly sacrificing his teammate Archaludon to deal damage.
But while Raihan’s plan is good, Xia Chi is not about to let him succeed so easily.
With a flash of light, Pachirisu disappears from the field.
With a mighty dragon’s roar, Garchomp makes its grand entrance.
Taking Pachirisu’s place, Garchomp tanks the Earthquake, losing only a quarter of its HP.
But Incineroar and Archaludon are hit hard.
Incineroar’s HP drops to a third, while Archaludon finally collapses.
Raihan quickly sends Tyranitar back out.
His last Pokemon in the back is Flygon.
As a budget version of Garchomp, Flygon’s offensive power and bulk are far inferior to its older brother.
It is much more reliable to let the Tyrant of the Desert fight.
Staring at the menacing land shark on his screen, Raihan falls into deep thought.
With Sylveon gone, the opponent’s only real source of damage is Garchomp.
If he can double-target Garchomp with Draco Meteor and Crunch to delete it…
No, knowing how crafty this kid is, it has to be a trap.
Garchomp is definitely going to use [Protect] to stall him.
Draco Meteor is a game-changing move; he can’t waste it.
Better to get rid of the annoying Incineroar first.
“Tyranitar, Earthquake!
Salamence, Dragon Claw!
Target Incineroar!” Since Salamence is Flying-type, Tyranitar can use Earthquake without worrying about hitting its teammate.
These two powerful moves represent Raihan’s determination.
He is going to take down Incineroar no matter what!
And his decisiveness pays off.
Even the mighty tiger cannot survive a double assault from two pseudo-legendaries.
Already low on health, Incineroar finally falls to Salamence’s Dragon Claw.
Before going down, it burns its last embers, ending heroically with a Flare Blitz on Salamence.
And right next to its fallen ally, Garchomp glows with a golden aura.
Raihan’s vision goes dark.
*Damn it!