Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

With a flash of lightning, Absol tackled Ariados to the ground.

A flash of dim yellow light appeared on the pointed horn above his head, and thick, viscous energy was transmitted to his feet, pouring all over Ariados.

Rock-type move, Rock Slash!

Before Ariados could even struggle after being pinned to the ground, the sharp stone attack burst forth from beneath it, the thick, hard, and enormous object piercing right through it!

Solve one!

This was the first target that Xia Yan had assigned to Absol, and it was also the target that posed the second greatest threat to it after the forced Nidoking.

Because the Bug-type Alethosk is a Dark-type Pokémon.

While Drapion is also a Bug-type, it lost its Bug-type attribute after evolving from Scorpion, making it less threatening than Ariados.

This tactic was also one of the tactics that Xia Yan arranged for Absol.

Named...

Forcibly pushed down!

Seeing Ariados fall, Nidoking and Daenerys Targaryen were enraged and launched a frenzied attack on it.

However, Absol used a counter-attack to evade their attacks once again.

She returned to Xia Yan's side and gave him an admiring look.

This tactic is brutal and effective; it... I'm starting to like it.

"Potpot, defense even."

Having prepared in advance, the pot absorbed a beam of white light from Absol and then quickly reflected it back to it.

Although Shuckle and Absol are vastly different in strength, Shuckle, known for its defense, can still add some defensive capabilities to Absol.

In this way, Absol becomes hard.

Immediately afterwards, Xia Yan gave commands to the Megalodon and the Ditto that had transformed into the Megalodon:

"Ptooey! Bite it!"

Without hesitation, the two elves bit Absol from the left and right respectively.

Dark-type move, Bite!

However, because they actively restrained themselves, they did not cause much damage to Absol.

But Absol, having taken the hit from a Dark-type move, emitted a white light.

The Heart of Justice trait has been triggered!

This tactic is called "Bite".

Chapter Seventy-Four: The Ever-Changing Battle Situation

A sense of justice is triggered.

One of the questions Xia Yan raised when he was discussing tactics with Absol was about Absol's characteristics.

Perhaps Absol isn't entirely clear about its own characteristics either, but that's alright, Xia Yan can use some of its descriptions to rule them out.

Ultimately, it was identified as the heart of justice.

Heart of Justice: When attacked by a Dark attribute move, your attack is increased to a certain extent.

Ditto transforms into Sharpedo, and together with Sharpedo itself, the two Pokémon use Dark-type moves to bite it. Regardless of the damage, the effect of Justice is activated.

This is also why Xia Yan arranged for Ditto to transform into Sharpedo.

It wasn't as the Megalodon thought, that it should be steamed or braised.

It is indeed a good choice.

Absol has mastered the "Sword Dance" technique, a fact that Natsuhiko has confirmed.

But against an experienced hunter like Clay, using sword dance in front of him would be tantamount to exposing one's weakness and waiting to be attacked.

Therefore, Xia Yan had no choice but to settle for second best and find a breakthrough by focusing on the characteristics of a righteous heart.

Of course, his arrangements were not limited to this.

Xia Yan and Absol are connected by the superpower of Yamcha.

Even when discussing tactics, there's no need to crouch down and whisper in its ear.

All of this was done for Clay's benefit.

Any normal person would not let such an opportunity pass them by.

This is the first trap set.

By taking advantage of Clay's incomplete understanding of Absol and his lack of knowledge that Absol had fully recovered, and by exploiting what the opponent perceived as a sneak attack and their underestimation of Absol, Clay was able to unexpectedly and instantly kill Ariados.

This is the second trap.

The battle quickly shifted from a one-on-three advantage to a one-on-two advantage. With the two triggers of Justice and the splitting of defense by Shuttle, the situation changed instantly due to one strengthening and one weakening effect.

Furthermore, as long as the opponent does not launch an attack, Xia Yan will continuously trigger Absol's Righteous Heart ability with Ditto and Sharpedo, constantly strengthening its attack. At that time, the balance of victory will tilt irreversibly.

Moreover, Absol had only ingested the Dragon's Saliva for a short time, and its medicinal effects were still working within its body.

The tiny scratches left by the Megalodon and Ditto healed in the blink of an eye.

Clay's face darkened.

He certainly knew what Xia Yan was doing; having fought Absol once, he knew Absol's characteristics very well.

He had originally looked down on this choice, and he was even too lazy to waste the elves' energy attacking Xia Yan.

Looking back now, it was incredibly stupid.

This "little guy" that he didn't pay any attention to is turning the tide with his own abilities.

Or rather, the situation has been turned around.

It's too late to attack Xia Yan now.

Absol, whose attack power has been enhanced, can only be defeated by Nidoking and Drapion working together.

But no matter what, we can't let Absol continue to accumulate the blessing of the Heart of Justice.

"King Nido..."

As Clay gave the order, the horns on Absolu's head gleamed.

Predict the future!

A glint of light flashed in Absol's red eyes; it had a general idea of ​​what was about to happen.

"Hmm," Absol hummed softly.

Then it slowly raised its foot and then floated down lightly!

Moves, one step ahead!

Get ahead of the game: Increase power and use the move your opponent wants to use first. If you can't use it first, the move will fail.

"The power of the earth!"

Nidoking raised one foot and stomped heavily on the ground. With a slight tremor, a fierce ground-type energy surged from the ground towards Absol.

Xia Yan took a few steps back with the elf.

He has done almost everything he was supposed to do; now it's up to Absol to do his part.

Xia Yan wouldn't interfere too much with how it fought; at most, he would offer his own judgment and advice at certain key junctures.

For example, right now.

Xia Yan moved his lips slightly, offering his understanding and suggestions at the opportune moment.

Absol was even faster than Nidoking's attack.

It landed before Nidoking's paws could touch it.

Therefore, the effect of the preemptive move is activated.

The power of the earth!

Furthermore, it is the power of the earth, amplified in strength.

It must be admitted that Absol's unique precognitive ability, coupled with the special nature of its preemptive strike, makes it seem quite overpowered in combat.

Clay wasn't surprised to see Absol use this move, as he had witnessed it before during his previous fight with Absol.

But he still chose this approach.

Since Earth Power is a special attack move, Absol's Righteous Heart enhances physical attack, not special attack. It doesn't provide a preemptive power boost; it simply increases the move's original power.

Nidoking, with its Force ability and Life Orb, enhances Earth Power moves just as much as Absol, and may even be stronger.

Converted to data, this increases the power of the move by 50%, and by forcibly adding the Life Orb, it increases it by 30% each, for a total of 60%.

Nidoran's Earth Power is even more powerful!

however.

Once again, something unexpected happened to Clay.

Nidoking's earth power struck Absol, but Absol's earth power struck...

Dragon King Scorpion!

Because of Xia Yan's suggestion.

Ground-type Earth Power deals double the damage to both Nidoking and Drapion.

Furthermore, compared to Clay, Xia Yan is more knowledgeable about the power calculations of these techniques.

Absol might win, or it might not, but the outcome doesn't matter, because this move won't defeat Nidoking.

Similarly, Absol, which is not affected by type disadvantages, will not lose even if it takes the hit head-on.

At most, they will suffer some damage.

But this is different for the Dragon King Scorpion.