Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

The key to preventing Xiaodai from sleeping is whether he can withstand a beating.

Those who can't handle it will end up like Xiao Mao, only able to grumble and complain as they collect the ball.

"I'm counting on you next, Exeggutor!" After taking over, Gary replaced him with a Psychic Grass.

The previous one, Duowu, had also used it, but Xiaomao's was clearly much more lush than the other one.

Moreover, since it was the baton that came on, Exeggutor started with a period of offense and defense. Although its speed was negative one, this seemed to be exactly what Shigeru intended.

"Pouch, come back here." Ash's eyes darted around, and he decisively recalled Pouch. "Next, it's your turn, Steelix!"

The second one on his side was a giant iron snake powerful enough to shake the entire arena!

As expected, Steelix was hit by a Stealth Rock Shot as soon as it appeared... However, with its four times resistance to rock, this one-thirty-second damage was only enough to break its Sturdy ability.

"They actually used this one?" Gary frowned. It seemed Ash had guessed his plan.

Given Steelix's size, which far exceeds that of its peers, it is naturally not fast at all.

Therefore, even if it does nothing on the field, it can still disrupt your own tactics...

"No matter what, let's attack first! Use the seed bomb!" Shigeru shook his head vigorously to clear his mind of distractions and directly made the Exeggutor throw out a huge seed that looked like a cannonball.

"An eye for an eye!"

Steelix showed no intention of dodging—in fact, it couldn't dodge at all, instead charging towards Exeggutor like a mobile fortress!

"Exeggutor, quickly use mental interference!"

The Seed Bomb left a shallow wound on Steelix's head, but it couldn't stop its advance at all. Gary was shocked and immediately instructed Exeggutor to unleash an invisible psychic wave, but it was also unable to stop the opponent's progress!

Bang!

The enormous snake head slammed down on the top of the coconut tree, even burying its feet directly into the ground, turning it into a tree that was truly rooted to the ground.

The Dark-type charged move, Retribution, doubles in power if it is used after the opponent has acted!

After this blow, the Exeggutor will definitely be severely damaged!

Meanwhile, Steelix quickly took over the entire field, using its massive body to completely surround Exeggutor!

"Don't underestimate me! Exeggutor, unleash your ultimate move... Awaken your power!"

hum!

A series of red-glowing energy blasts suddenly surrounded the Exeggutor, and then, under the influence of its superpowers, began to fire wildly in all directions!

"Crack!" Steelix cried out in pain. Its size was too enormous, and Exeggutor could deal full damage even without aiming!

As those energy beams continued to fire, the overwhelmed Steelix was forced to break free of the encirclement formed by its body!

"Use Dig!" Ash couldn't just stand by and watch Steelix take the attack, so he immediately commanded it to burrow underground.

"Hmph, now you know how powerful the Exeggutor is, right?" Shigeru finally felt a sense of triumph.

"It's really unexpected that it's a fire-type awakened power." Ash nodded in agreement.

This Exeggutor of Garys wasn't just temporarily transferred here, but was secretly trained all along, just to target Ash in the battle!

And what it's really targeting isn't Steelix, but something else entirely.

"Excellent, this is exactly what makes it interesting! It's been worth all this anticipation of battling you." Ash's eyes gleamed with excitement and fighting spirit. "Steelcore, show us your power!"

boom!

The entire area suddenly began to tremble violently; it was the giant steel snake moving continuously underground!

"This is... Oh no! Exeggutor, come back!" "Come out, Steelix!!"

The two gave almost simultaneous instructions, and just as Shigeru managed to catch the Exeggutor ball, the entire field was suddenly torn to pieces!

Boom! !

Countless rocks and soil were swept up and thrown into the air by the rampaging iron snakes. In the midst of the collapse of the sky and the sinking of the earth, the originally flat battlefield was instantly turned into a wasteland, with broken rocks and clods of earth everywhere.

"Thank goodness..." Looking at this scene, Xiao Mao couldn't help but feel lingering fear.

Steelix's earth-shattering burrowing technique would likely be difficult to escape even if it escaped into the air. If he hadn't reacted in time, he would have been buried alive like that Exeggutor!

"Invisible Rock~"

"Damn it!" Just as Shigeru was secretly rejoicing, Steelix suddenly shook its body and laid down a vicious Stealth Rock on the field!

It was only then that Shigeru discovered that the rock spikes he had initially placed on his Golem had been cleared!

"The invisible rocks are a state of the terrain and can be removed not only by defogging and high-speed whirlwinds, but also by completely destroying the terrain."

In the Diamond & Precious lore, the Elite Four member can use Dig and Flick Charge to burn away the Poison Spikes on the ground; similarly, Steelix can use Dig to bury all the Rock Spikes underneath.

"I can't believe it..."

Although Ash demonstrated it to him, none of Gary's characters could do it.

However, similar to Ash's team composition, Gary also has a player with a 4x weakness to entry hazards... In order to eliminate this menace in time, Gary has no choice but to honestly bring out his ace.

"My sweetheart, Blastoise, it's your turn!"

"Kame!" The heavily armored giant tortoise landed steadily on the ground, completely unfazed by the barrage of rock spikes it was immediately subjected to.

Its two cannons had already locked onto the Steelix's body immediately, even causing the latter to open its eyes wide involuntarily!

"Is it finally here..." Ash's expression gradually became serious.

He had Steelix set up Stealth Rock so that Blastoise would have to come out early and check on its condition.

Looking at it now, Gary's Blastoise is indeed very strong. Just the aura it exuded when it appeared surpassed all the Pokémon Ash had encountered in this tournament!

"Blastoise, U-turn!" With Gary's command, Blastoise transformed into a spinning top, clearing away all the rock spikes before hurtling straight at Steelix!

"Wait for it to come! We'll give it a taste of its own medicine!"

"Use water spray!"

Ash used the same old strategy, letting Steelix attack later to deliver double the damage. However, Blastoise suddenly spewed out a torrent of water from its shell just as it was about to get close to Steelix. The powerful impact even pushed Steelix's head high into the air!

Blastoise, however, used the recoil from its water spray to fly back to its original position, and after landing, it locked onto Steelix again with its cannon!

"Use the water spray one more time!"

"Use the dragon's tail while digging!"

After the test was over, Ash no longer needed Blastoise to stay on the field. As Steelix dug a hole and burrowed underground, it suddenly swung its exposed tail violently, sweeping Blastoise away!

"Don't give up, use the wave missile!!"

"What?!" Ash finally showed a look of astonishment.

Blastoise's Water Spray move was interrupted by Dragon's Tail, but as it flew back to the ball, it was able to gather a special Aura and accurately blast it into the hole dug by Steelix!

Boom! !

With a loud bang, Blastoise was forced to return to its ball, and Steelix was also severely injured underground...

Both sides suffer!

Chapter 225 Core Tactics: The Deception Space!

"Come back, Steelix, now get some rest."

After using Dragon Tail to force a switch, Ash didn't give any further commands, only letting Steelix emerge from the ground and then recalling it.

When it returned to the ball, Steelix's massive body was already covered in wounds...

Blastoise truly lives up to its reputation as Gary's prized ace. Not only are its special moves incredibly powerful, but its combat skills are also honed through countless trials. The fact that it was able to unleash a wave missile under those circumstances was something Ash hadn't anticipated at all.

"Hey, aren't you going to have it set up the venue again?" Xiao Mao asked, frowning.

In his opinion, although Steelix was seriously injured, it could still land another round of Stealth Rock.

Just as he could predict that Ash would bring Charizard, Gary also had many main Pokémon that would be countered by Stealth Rock, so Ash shouldn't have given up this opportunity.

"Steel Ironhide is not in good condition, I don't want it to stay on the field any longer, and I don't plan to use field tactics anymore."

"Okay, I admit defeat this time..." Xiao Mao pouted awkwardly, but he was actually relieved.

Although Blastoise seemed to have the upper hand at first glance, it actually lost the battle over the pit bull in the end.

As long as there are Stealth Rocks on the field, Blastoise will have to act as a sapper and re-enter the field. The end result is that it will be repeatedly chipped away at the opponent's health and ambushed, causing it to lose a key player before the final battle!

Ugh, this pervert...

Xiao Mao couldn't help but think to himself, "This guy is really too difficult to deal with."

That Steelix wasn't even Ash's main force; it was probably just added in to make up the six Pokémon and play a support role. Even so, it still managed to severely damage his ace!

If I hadn't assigned Blastoise a dedicated support character to help it stay alive, it might have already lost its temper...

"Next up, Lucario!" Before Gary could get there, Ash revealed his third Pokémon—the majestic Aura Wolf!

"You're waiting for it to come out, aren't you... Shigeru, bring out all your moves!"

"Luca!"

Ash pointed at Gary, and Lucario simultaneously unleashed its powerful Aura, challenging Gary to a duel!

"Then let's wait and see... Exeggutor, I'm begging you one more time!"