"How is this possible?"
Wren gasped at the sight before her, staring at the tagross on the field in disbelief.
Her Steelix, in both level and strength, was supposed to be superior to tagross.
While she felt that it could block the Iron Tail attack, it was the effortless way in which tagross did so that unsettled her.
"tagross, throw it out," Julian instructed casually.
"ta~"
With a dull thud, tagross's body lowered briefly before it shot forward and struck Steelix's tail using a Take Down move, sending the Steel-type Pokémon flying several dozen ters.
"Steelix, use Fire Fang!" Wren shouted.
Fire-type moves deal double damage to Steel-types.
Steelix quickly grounded itself by tapping its tail against the Earth, countering the recoil from the Take Down, and charged toward tagross with a fiery, gaping maw.
However, to his surprise, tagross had vanished from that spot.
Steelix instinctively scanned the area.
"Steelix, behind you! Counter with Fire Fang!" Wren's command rang out just as Steelix felt a rush of wind at its back.
Without ti to focus, it turned and instinctively bit behind it.
tagross's Bullet Punch collided with Steelix's Fire Fang, creating a sharp ringing sound.
Although Steelix's teeth cracked, it managed to clamp down on tagross's arm.
The fiery energy so close to his throat made tagross quite uncomfortable.
"Continue with Bullet Punch," Julian ordered.
Impressed with Steelix's capabilities, Julian noted that despite the odds, Steelix succeeded in landing a bite on tagross.
Their exchange of injuries had now beco a battle of resilience.
With four arms, tagross had the upper hand in that regard, while Steelix had only one mouth.
The Bullet Punch struck Steelix's chin, glowing with a silvery light, leading to a pained release.
"Unleash the Hyper Beam!" Wren commanded fiercely.
tagross now stood directly in front of Steelix.
At this close range, the accuracy of the attack was guaranteed.
However, the proximity ant that Steelix would also be caught in the blast when it detonated.
"Zen Headbutt, smash it!" Julian responded boldly.
If it weren't for the system's requirent for brute forcing against the opponent, Julian might have opted to have tagross use a defensive maneuver instead.
Despite tagross being a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Julian was confident in Steelix's toughness due to the intense pressure it had endured underground.
As the two Pokémon clashed again, their powers collided, resulting in a massive explosion that showered the arena with smoke and fire.
The energy shields rippled with the force of the blast.
Steelix was hurled backward, landing heavily several ters away from Julian.
In the chaos and smoke, neither Julian nor Wren could see their respective Pokémon or gauge Steelix's condition.
With visibility obstructed, Wren couldn't determine Steelix's position and was unable to issue precise commands.
"Steelix, use Defense Curl!"
Although she couldn't visually track Steelix, Wren was aware that Julian was equally in the dark about tagross's whereabouts, so it was wise to bolster Steelix's defenses until visibility returned.
"What a fortunate trainer," she thought, eyeing the distant tagross with envy.
Julian seed to be prepared to wait for the smoke to clear before engaging again.
However, she underestimated him.
A typical trainer might have chosen to do that, but Julian was no ordinary trainer.
In situations where visibility is compromised due to haze, smoke, or terrain, standard protocol advises against fighting.
Yet, Julian possessed the ability to sense aura, allowing him to locate tagross through the smoke.
"tagross it's at three o'clock—fire Hyper Beam!" Julian shouted.
Wren was taken aback. How did he know tagross's location? It felt impossible.
As she watched tagross begin to charge its attack, Wren quickly called out,
"Steelix, dig!"
Uncertain if tagross would actually strike Steelix, she wasn't willing to take the risk.
The hyper beam cut through the smoke, scattering it, and in that mont, she caught a glimpse of Steelix's tail disappearing into the ground.
'How could he have sensed tagross despite the smoke?'
Cold sweat trickled down Wren's forehead.
If she had hesitated before ordering Steelix to dig, the attack would have connected rcilessly.
What a narrow escape.
"Earthquake!" Julian commanded.
"No, Steelix, co back up!"
Wren's expression shifted dramatically.
As a pseudo-Elite Trainer, she had commanded Steelix to use Dig.
On the opposing side stood the son of the Walker family, who certainly wouldn't let tagross go without learning Earthquake.
It's important to rember that when Pokémon are underground, the damage dealt by Earthquake is doubled compared to when on solid ground.
tagross floated like a normal Body Slam, its powerful limbs crashing down onto the ground, causing the entire arena to tremble violently and fissures to appear across the surface.
Julian and Wren quickly grabbed the handrail nearby.
Although the venue was protected by an energy shield, it wouldn't block the seismic effects traveling through the ground.
In standard matches, certain moves are banned, including Earthquake and Draco teor, due to their large area of effect and difficulty in control.
A pseudo-Elite Pokémon unleashing Earthquake at full power could potentially devastate an entire town.
This battle club, being the premier venue in Lake City, allowed the use of Earthquake when most clubs would prohibit it.
Just one use of Earthquake could render the battleground unplayable.
Fortunately, tagross maintained so control over its Earthquake's power; otherwise, it wouldn't just be the arena suffering devastation.
After unleashing a powerful Earthquake, Steelix remained buried beneath the ground for an unusually long ti.
"Dig it out," Julian instructed.
tagross descended into the hole created by Steelix, and after a mont, erged with the unconscious Steelix in tow.
"Winner: tagross!" shouted the referee.
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