Chapter Sixteen: Pachilis—Let Me Show You What I’m Good For!

Under the guidance of the Tiger God, the two fairies’ attack power had significantly diminished, so Chibana dared not slack off and directed both Aggron and Tyranitar to focus their fire on Sylveon.

However, it was the overlooked white little squirrel that struck first.

Chibana was taken aback. “So this little guy is actually this fast?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Forget it, it doesn’t matter. What use is speed if it has no attack power?”

Soon, Pachirisu showed Chibana just what it was capable of.

A gentle rub against the cheek!

A flash of electricity streaked by, and Aggron was hit by Pachirisu’s affectionate rub.

Although the damage was negligible, what troubled Chibana was that Aggron was afflicted with a status that halved its speed and carried a chance of paralysis.

Its massive steel frame instantly became sluggish and cumbersome.

Meanwhile, Sylveon cunningly used Protect, and under the transparent shield, both Rock Slide and Hyper Beam were rendered ineffective.

Well, not entirely—since Rock Slide is an area move, Pachirisu standing nearby also got brushed.

But clearly, the heavily weakened Tyranitar was no longer the desert tyrant it once was, its attacks painfully weak.

Chibana gritted his teeth in frustration. Just moments ago, it was fiercely countering me; now it’s hiding like a turtle?

“Try again. I don’t believe it can Protect twice in a row!”

Once again, Pachirisu acted first.

Its second move choice after entering the field surprised Chibana anew.

Pachirisu lightly clapped its tiny hands twice, and a golden light shimmered around Sylveon.

Helping?

What use did this obscure move have...

Ah, it seemed to greatly boost the skill damage of its allies.

Chibana’s heart sank, but it was too late.

With paralysis halving its speed, Aggron was now slower than Sylveon.

Before the Hyper Beam could hit Sylveon, another Hyper Voice struck.

Thanks to Pachirisu’s Helping Hand, the already considerable damage of Hyper Voice reached a terrifying level.

The health bars of the two mighty beasts plummeted rapidly; while not disappearing entirely, they were perilously close.

Especially Aggron—this bulky giant was naturally much stronger in physical defense than special defense, and taking two full hits from Sylveon’s Hyper Voice left it like a flickering candle in the wind.

As for the Fairy-type-countered Tyranitar, it fared better; with higher special defense and a longer health bar.

The sandstorm weather further boosted its special defense by 1.5 times, so its health remained fairly stable.

A small consolation for Chibana was that the pesky Sylveon finally fell under the belated Rock Slide and Hyper Beam.

---

If Aggron failed to use Hyper Beam again due to paralysis, Chibana was ready to call the authorities.

“There’s no need to protect Aggron anymore; Tyranitar needs cover.”

Focused on the battle, Chibana quickly made his decision.

He spoke into the microphone on the controller: “Aggron, use Heat Wave! Tyranitar, return. Salamence, get ready to enter!”

On the other side of the field, as expected, Xia Chi switched in Incineroar to replace the fallen Sylveon.

The Tiger God returned, intimidating the whole arena.

Salamence had barely done anything when it was greeted with an unprovoked roar, and Chibana’s already pale face darkened further.

He truly had never experienced such an annoying match.

Wasn’t Pokémon battling supposed to be a passionate clash of fists and beams?

What was the opponent playing at today?

Intimidate, Fake Out, trash talk, cheek rubs, Helping Hand...

Could they be any more obnoxious?

Xia Chi paid no mind to these antics and commanded Pachirisu to unleash an Angry Tooth on the just-arrived Salamence.

As for Aggron’s Heat Wave?

Oh, so that was Heat Wave. I thought it was just a breeze.

Due to varying HP pools, the damage of Angry Tooth in this game isn’t a fixed half of the target’s total HP but only a quarter.

Still, it was enough to give Salamence a good hit.

Meanwhile, Incineroar didn’t waste time either.

Salamence, you haven’t eaten yet?

No?

Then take my Fake Out!

Smack!

One slap left Salamence stunned again.

Chibana looked at the ignored Aggron helplessly—it was clear the opponent didn’t care about the crippled giant at all.

They even let it block positions on the field.

No choice but to survive with one arm.

“Salamence, Earthquake! Aggron, Heat Wave!”

As the saying goes, Helping Hand Earthquake—no kinship spared.

Although there was no Helping Hand this time, the Earthquake clearly sacrificed nearby Aggron.

---

But though Chibana’s plan was clever, Xia Chi wouldn’t let it succeed so easily.

With a flash of light, Pachirisu vanished from the field.

Accompanied by a dragon’s roar, Garchomp made a grand entrance.

Taking Pachirisu’s place, it endured the Earthquake with just a quarter of its HP.

In contrast, Incineroar and Aggron suffered badly.

Incineroar’s HP was crushed to just a third, while Aggron collapsed outright.

Chibana quickly sent out the recently withdrawn Tyranitar.

His last Pokémon was the Desert Dragonfly.

As a youthful version of Garchomp, it was far inferior to the elder brother in both attack power and endurance.

Compared to that, it was more reliable to send out the Desert Tyrant.

Watching the arrogant land shark on screen, Chibana fell into thought.

Undoubtedly, after Sylveon’s fall, all output depended on Garchomp.

If Meteor Mash and Crunch took it down...

Impossible. With that kid’s cunning, it’s definitely a trap.

Garchomp would surely use Protect, waiting for him.

Meteor Mash was the key move that could decide the whole match’s direction and couldn’t be wasted.

Better to deal with the hopping Incineroar first.

Thinking this, Chibana commanded, “Tyranitar, Earthquake! Salamence, Dragon Claw! Target Incineroar!”

Since Salamence was Flying-type, Tyranitar could use Earthquake recklessly without worrying about hitting its ally.

These two powerful moves represented Chibana’s determination to cut down Incineroar decisively!

His decisiveness paid off.

The fierce pincer attack of the two semi-legendary Pokémon was too much even for the Tiger God.

Weakened and low on health, Incineroar finally fell under Salamence’s Dragon Claw.

Before dying, it burned its final ember in a blazing charge at Salamence—an honorable end.

Beside its fallen body, Garchomp glowed with golden light.

Chibana’s vision darkened.

Damn it, Garchomp—you dared to directly set up a Swords Dance!