Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

Lucario broke through the opponent's impenetrable defense, while Milotic also inflicted terrifying damage on the fragile creature.

After the initial fierce exchange of attacks between the two sides, the real battle that would determine the outcome had only just begun.

"Lucario, close combat!"

"Melath, or leap from the abyss!"

It was still an incredibly fierce and aggressive clash. The two Pokémon's fast-paced, close-quarters combat drew waves of cheers and shouts from the audience, much like the rapid and intense aftershocks of energy on the river field.

"It's close combat, and Cynthia's command is still as bold and meticulous as ever."

Among the guest panel, Adek commented, "She was just hit by the water spray, yet she still dared to use [close combat], which reduces her own defense. I have to say, her control of the situation is too precise."

Leon chimed in, "That's right. The opponent is Milotic, a Pokémon with outstanding defense and recovery abilities. While using moves like Brick Break or Drain Punch would be risk-free, it would waste the previous [Screech]. The best option right now is undoubtedly to force Milotic to engage in close combat, making it unable to use a sustained battle move like Aqua Ring."

Alder shrugged and said, "This is Cynthia's Lucario's signature desperate fighting style. It uses powerful attacks to force the opponent into its own rhythm, and its rich experience and top-notch reaction allow it to use [Drain Punch] to lock its own stamina in a dangerous position that keeps it on the verge of death."

Leon nodded in deep agreement, "Another advantage of doing this is that there is a move called [Desperate Struggle] that allows Lucario to unleash terrifying explosive power at any time."

The two champions, both of whom had been defeated head-on by this style of play, exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile with a sense of mutual sympathy.

…………

Just as the two "Lucario victims" were sharing their experiences, a continuous, fast-paced battle had already broken out on the battlefield.

Just as Leon said, under Lucario's relentless and powerful combo, Milotic had no choice but to retaliate at the same frequency.

The rainy weather created by Leap of Faith greatly increases the power of Milotic's Water-type moves, but Lucario's skillful maneuvering allowed it to lock its health with the effect of Drain Punch.

Xia Chen frowned as he watched the situation on the field gradually become deadlocked, and the pressure on his heart suddenly increased.

He had thought that Milotic's current strength was no less than that of a top champion Pokémon like Garchomp, but Cynthia's progress was equally impressive.

Or perhaps, this is the true strength she has been hiding?

However, along with the increased pressure came increased excitement.

Xia Chen certainly hopes that his final match in his professional career will be spectacular.

"Milotic, dive!"

He made a decisive command, wanting Milotic to break free from the current rhythm controlled by Lucario.

In essence, Pokémon battles are nothing more than offense and defense, and the shifting of rhythm.

Unless the difference in strength is too obvious, the side that controls the pace of the game will often be the ultimate winner.

The torrential rain that lasted for nearly three minutes made the already wet river track even more humid. Although Milotic was not as fast as Lucario, it was still unstoppable if it wanted to run.

With a twist of its body, Milotic slipped away from Lucario's barrage of punches and leaped into the small river on the field.

Cynthia did not let Lucario continue the chase.

Are you kidding me? A land-type Pokémon and a water-type Pokémon fighting in the water?

Isn't that just asking for trouble?

"Sword Dance!"

Cynthia raised an eyebrow and immediately made the right choice: enhance Sword Dance.

My goal is simple: if you don't come out, I'll force you to.

Although it's a "basic" move that even novice trainers could come up with, it's undeniably useful.

Milotic's defense was already significantly reduced by [Screech], and now Lucario has greatly boosted its attack. Is it even worth fighting?

With a few drain punches, Lucario's life force will be fully drained.

Xia Chen, however, seemed unaware of this. Even as Lucario's first sword dance was about to be fully enhanced, he still did not command Milotic to surface and launch an attack.

What is it doing?

As the grand finale of the top-level competition, the venue was naturally equipped with cameras everywhere.

The screen switched, and the next second, Milotic, which was hiding in the water, appeared on the split screen.

"Is it using... the Butterfly Dance?"

Milotic's dancing movements in the water surprised Wataru.

He frowned and analyzed, "It doesn't make sense. Although Butterfly Dance can boost Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed ​​at once, at least two of them are not very useful."

"Lucario will definitely rely on physical attacks in this match, so raising its Special Defense will be useless. Moreover, given the speed difference between the two Pokémon, Milotic will need to use Quiver Dance at least twice to catch up, which is really not cost-effective."

Between the lines, Lance doesn't seem optimistic about Milotic using Butterfly Dance to counter Lucario's Sword Dance.

Rarely does comment on the match, but Cattleya chimed in, "No, there's no need to catch up with Lucario, just improve."

Wataru was slightly surprised, but as one of the top trainers, he immediately understood what Gadria meant after a moment's thought.

"I understand. So it seems that Butterfly Dance is indeed a good choice."

…………

The mystery surrounding the two champions left the audience somewhat puzzled, but the fast-paced match quickly revealed the answer.

The torrential rain on the field continued, and after both Pokémon finished their power-ups almost simultaneously, they both chose to use Swords Dance and Quiver Dance again!

The difference this time was that while Lucario was still performing its second sword dance, Milotic had already finished its butterfly dance and suddenly burst out of the water!

"It's Butterfly Dance! Milotic used Butterfly Dance!"

The most "serious" commentator in the guest panel, Adek, explained: "As we all know, speed-boosting moves like Quiver Dance and Dragon Dance not only increase the speed of the Pokémon itself, but also the speed at which the move is executed. And everyone knows the characteristics of Xia Chen's Milotic Pokémon: its move execution speed is much faster than that of opponents of the same level. So we can see that Lucario, which was already slightly slower in terms of execution speed, couldn't keep up with Milotic's rhythm during its second-stage boost. That's the effect of Quiver Dance, that's Xia Chen's command, and he regained the rhythm!"

As Adek said, this contest between the Butterfly Dance and the Sword Dance fundamentally changed the course of the battle.

Lucario was originally waiting on the shore to ambush its prey, but instead it was met with Milotic's strong counterattack.

Milotic, after completing its second Quiver Dance, experiences a significant boost in Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, while Lucario remains in an awkward phase before its second Swords Dance has finished.

If we don't continue, the enhancement will fail, and we'll lose out.

Keep going, you're bound to get beaten up, and you'll still lose out.

Lucario's current situation vividly illustrates what it means to be caught in a dilemma.

Cynthia's silent response was to continue her sword dance!

An orange-yellow glow flowed across Lucario's agile and lithe body, while its fighting spirit soared at the same time.

Milotic paid no heed to any of that. It propelled its long, muscular body forward at breakneck speed, its tail, adorned with iridescent, beautiful scales, whipping up a torrent of water that roared down like a water dragon, lunging at Lucario, who was still meditating with his eyes closed as he unleashed his sword dance.

boom--

The two Whirlwind Dances were no joke; the unprepared Water Cannon suddenly unleashed an extreme burst of power far exceeding the previous water spray, directly knocking the unstoppable Lucario back to the edge of the arena, leaving a huge crater embedded in the wall.

It should be noted that this arena is constructed from a special material mixed with Radiant Stone, making it far more sturdy than any move by an ordinary Elite Four Pokémon could destroy.

At this moment, under Milos's water cannons, the wall was as fragile as foam.

Clearly, this is the limit of the space, not the limit of the water cannon's power.

"Chase after them, keep going!"

Without giving Lucario a chance to catch its breath, before Xia Chen's command had even finished, Milotic launched itself with the grace of a dragon, heading straight for the location of the crater. At the same time, the next water cannon was already accumulating in its wide-open mouth.

The dust and smoke from the damaged wall obscured Lucario's condition, but it's not hard to guess that with the combined effects of Double Butterfly Dance and the rain, Lucario, whose body isn't exactly sturdy, must be close to dying.

If that water cannon hits again...

"boom--"

As everyone was lost in thought, the deafening roar of the water cannons echoed once again across the battlefield.

The director quickly switched the camera, but Lucario was nowhere to be seen in the huge hole in the wall.

"Behind Milotic!"

Lance's reminder caused the camera to quickly switch gears. Just as he said, at this moment, Lucario, covered in wounds, had somehow circled behind Milotic, raising his fists high with sharp, steel spikes.

A deliberate, deliberate punch!

…………

"Absorbing the fist... no, it's a desperate escape!"

Alder exclaimed, "What kind of confidence does she have to pull off such a desperate escape! The enhancement from Double Sword Dance could have allowed Lucario to recover a considerable amount of health through Absorb Punch, but she chose to escape by taking a desperate gamble!"

“That’s right, that’s what sets Cynthia apart from other trainers.”

Wataru echoed, "Even I would subconsciously use the Absorb Punch right now. The benefits are obvious, but the only drawback is that once Lucario recovers its stamina, it will be difficult to find another opportunity to use the Last Stand, even though that opportunity is extremely rare."

"High risk, high reward. Only Cynthia can handle moves like [Desperate Strike], where the minimum and maximum damage can differ by a factor of ten, with such ease."

As the commentator spoke, Lucario's fist had already been thrown out.

This time, it was Milotic that drew a beautiful parabola in the air.

First, a piercing sound lowers physical defense, then two sword dances greatly increase physical attack.

This kind of desperate rescue is arguably even more powerful than the water cannon from before.

In other words, it was Milotic that got hit. If it were someone with a weaker physique, or someone like Cygnus who was countered by Fighting-type attacks, they would have had a hard time surviving this fatal blow from "One-Punch Man" Lucario.

Caught completely off guard... or perhaps even prepared but powerless, Milotic ripped through the sky like a cannonball being fired.

The camera had to switch from one end of the venue to the other in just one second.

Even faster than the camera cuts was Lucario. With just a few jumps, its explosive power allowed it to traverse over a hundred meters of the arena and reach the other side where Milotic had been knocked away.

It's worth mentioning that instead of closing in quickly like Milotic did earlier, it maintained a proper distance, seemingly guarding against Milotic's counterattack.

However, such a scenario does not exist.

A red light suddenly appeared, and the camera panned to show Xia Chen directly recalling Milotic.

This unexpected choice caused a stir in the audience.

Adeker couldn't help but comment, "You're willing to take back the two Quiver Dance boosts? You could easily take down Gorilla with just one Hydro Pump... or even a Surf move like that. With the speed boost from Quiver Dance, even if it's a speed contest, Xia Chen's chances of winning won't be low."

Cattleya nodded and said calmly, "This is the ultimate manifestation of the difference between their styles. Beneath Cynthia's calm and almost cold exterior lies a burning heart that always wants to dance with swords, while behind Xia Chen's sunny and warm nature lies an extreme desire to control the rhythm."

Karune, the superstar who was reluctant to speak due to her early elimination, sighed wistfully, "Perhaps this is the end of the trainer's path..."

…………

Lucario did not leave the field, even though it was already in a very weak state, its fighting spirit was burning fiercely, completely inversely proportional to its condition.