The first exchange had mixed results. ga tagross had shown off the raw physical might of a pseudo-legendary; its four steel arms were like an upgraded version of living weapons.
But ga Absol's attack power stunned the crowd as well. Every strike it delivered with its crescent blade carried intense slicing force.
If not for ga tagross's Steel typing, that Night Slash earlier would've made it suffer for sure.
After probing each other's strength, the two clashed again. But this ti, neither rushed in blindly.
"tagross, Gravity!" "Absol, Swords Dance."
The commands were issued simultaneously. ga Absol reacted faster, its whole body flashing red as it began buffing itself.
ga tagross was a beat slower, but Gravity took very little ti to activate. As soon as it took effect, ga Absol's body visibly sank under the added force.
Sato furrowed his brows…
Sothing was off!
Sure enough, as soon as ga tagross activated Gravity, it launched its attack.
Hamr Arm… Quad Combo!
Compared to the basic Bullet Punch, Hamr Arm was undoubtedly more powerful, but it had the drawback of reducing the user's speed, which made it much less practical.
But now, with ga Absol suppressed under Gravity, the biggest problem wasn't speed; it was reaction ti!
Seeing Hamr Arm slam toward it, ga Absol realized it needed to dodge, but its body clearly lagged behind.
"Iron Tail, defend."
At the crucial mont, Sato offered another solution!
In a flash of silver, Hamr Arm collided violently with Iron Tail. The rushed Iron Tail wasn't as strong, but ga Absol used the recoil to pull away!
"tagross, Hamr Arm again!"
"Dark Pulse, create distance."
Close combat required lightning-fast reactions, and under Gravity, ga Absol was clearly at a disadvantage.
If that's the case, then adjust to the Gravity first.
Dark Pulse spread wide across the field, successfully holding back the aggressive ga tagross.
Perhaps out of frustration, ga tagross slamd a Hamr Arm into the ground even though it couldn't reach ga Absol.
'Was it really frustration…?'
Sato's mind raced, trying to guess what Masaki was planning.
On the other side, ga tagross continued hamring with Hamr Arm, even though it kept getting slower!
That's it! 'ga tagross wanted to slow itself down!'
"Absol, Night Slash."
"Sol!"
ga Absol, who had been forced into defense the entire ti, suddenly launched a counterattack. With ga tagross now slowed, it couldn't dodge in ti.
But neither Masaki nor ga tagross looked panicked, in fact, they seed a little excited.
Zzzzt!
"ta-AH!"
Night Slash struck ga tagross hard. The Dark-type energy brought searing pain, making it cry out involuntarily.
Clearly, the damage wasn't low!
"Hang in there! USE GYRO BALL!"
With Masaki's command, the full strategy was finally revealed.
First, restrict the opponent with Gravity. Then, apply heavy pressure with Hamr Arm so the opponent has no choice but to evade.
If Hamr Arm hit, great. If not, it still served to slow ga tagross down.
Because ga tagross's true finishing move was never Hamr Arm!
It was…
Gyro Ball! The slower the user compared to its target, the greater its power. At max strength, it could rival Giga Impact.
Moreover, ga tagross was using all four of its steel arms to execute Hamr Arm, so it slowed down even faster than Pokémon with only two.
But once Sato understood Masaki's tactic, he actually relaxed.
The mont Masaki shouted the command "Gyro Ball," Sato gave a command at the sa ti: "Absol, Psych Up."
Psych Up: strongly "convinces" oneself and copies the target's stat changes.
Whatever speed ga tagross lost… ga Absol copied the sa drop.
True Dinsional Suppression!
By now, ga tagross had transford into a giant blue gyro with silver trim, spinning violently toward ga Absol.
Gyro Ball wasn't slow at all when launched, but as Psych Up gradually took effect, the speed of ga tagross's Gyro Ball visibly decreased.
In the end, when ga tagross reached ga Absol, it could barely keep spinning…
"Again. Night Slash."
Sato gave the command calmly, and ga Absol attacked just as calmly.
Night Slash struck cleanly once again. ga tagross staggered backward in pain, and even its high IQ couldn't process what had just happened!
Masaki… was no different.
Still, ga tagross was a pseudo-legendary. Even after being hit hard by Night Slash twice, it still didn't fall.
Masaki gritted his teeth. After all that setup, to have his strategy so easily countered… it was hard for anyone to accept.
But his "greatest" strength was his ability to regulate his emotions. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be battling after a 5-0 score.
That plan failed, so Masaki quickly ca up with another way to turn things around.
"tagross, use Miracle Eye!"
Sato: Haah…
'So… people still don't know that ga Absol's Ability is Magic Bounce?'
Magic Bounce makes the user immune to status moves from the opponent and reflects them instead, and Miracle Eye is a status move.
The dazzling rainbow light of Miracle Eye hit ga Absol's body… only to bounce back effortlessly off a mirror-like barrier.
The blinding light forced ga tagross to squint, and in that daze, it heard another command from the opposing Trainer…
"Night Slash."
Masaki didn't even need to say anything. ga tagross instinctively used Psychic…
In its mind, once Miracle Eye landed, Dark-types could no longer resist Psychic attacks!
A wave of deep purple Psychic energy surged forward, but ga Absol didn't dodge. Using the wings it gained through ga Evolution, it accelerated straight at ga tagross.
The third Night Slash… landed again!
Shnk…~
"tagross lost the ability to battle. Absol wins! Since all six of Trainer Masaki's Pokémon have been defeated, the winner of this battle is… Yuga, SATO!"
The battle ended. Absol ran back excitedly, even showing a rare gesture of wanting to be praised!
Sato chuckled, seizing the chance to vigorously rub its head…
"Well done~"
Feeling the warmth from Sato's palm, Absol suddenly ca back to its senses!
It quickly shook his hand off, held its head high, and stood to the side with an expression that said… 'Just because I won doesn't an you can pet … hn.'
Smiling silently, Sato looked around at the cheering, applauding crowd, then nodded slightly in response.
And with that one simple gesture… the audience erupted into even louder cheers and roars!
At that mont, a single thought seed to echo in everyone's hearts…
'The "Dark King" of Sinnoh, Sato… is truly back!'
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