bookbashuk Chapter 479 Although Ten Thousand People
Chapter 479 Although Ten Thousand People
Chapter 481 Though Millions of People
If you were to hold a poll among trainers worldwide: If you had the chance to improve one of your Pokémon's stats in a Pokémon battle, what would you most like to improve?
Excluding those who focus on special tactics or specialize in training other Pokémon abilities, the vast majority of people would probably answer with the same word: speed.
Although no single ability can completely determine the outcome of a battle, if we were to force a choice among the six basic attributes of health, attack, defense, special attack, special defense, and speed, the one that can most significantly influence the course of a battle would undoubtedly be "speed".
Although this ability does not directly manifest as destructive power or durability, it determines something more fundamental in combat: the order in which attacks are made.
Even if a Pokémon is mediocre in all other attributes, as long as it is fast enough, it can place its pieces before its opponent can act—whether it's unleashing firepower, setting up control, strengthening itself, or turning the tide of battle. This "half-step" advantage is often the first weight that tipes the scales.
Even for Pokémon known for their impenetrable defense or immense stamina, greater speed translates to more efficient survival. This is especially true for defensive Pokémon with recovery moves; a faster turn means they have an extra half-bar of health compared to other Pokémon of similar roles – a luxury in high-stakes, fast-paced battles.
At this moment, the Iron Rock standing in front of the group is by no means an opponent that can win by speed alone.
On the contrary, Iron Rock's physical attack and durability are already comparable to those of legendary Pokémon.
Even more terrifying is that even before "Electric Terrain" is triggered, its speed is already astonishingly fast—enough to easily outmaneuver Raikou's "Godspeed," Lucario's "Close Combat," and Chandelure's "Flame Vortex."
Now, this electrical field that it has actively summoned is giving its already terrifying speed a whole new dimension.
More initiative means a more rapid pace of attacks, shorter decision gaps, and a more precarious survival space. When your opponent's every move is a fraction faster than yours, the battle will gradually slide into a one-sided torment—you will always be reacting, always chasing, and always a step behind.
In a battle, half a beat often represents the difference between life and death.
"This can't go on."
Lila's voice cut in between the clashes of attacks, her calm demeanor masking a rare tension.
She had already released her Metagross into the battlefield. But the addition of this heavy steel fortress to the fray did not effectively compress Ironbeam's mobility; instead, it subtly made the already crowded corridor even more chaotic.
Faced with that orange-red afterimage that kept leaping and shifting in the lightning, more friendly units only meant more mutual obstruction, not an accumulation of firepower.
She turned to Wanlong and asked, "Can we cover the electric field with another area, or reverse the order of attacks using 'Trick Space'?"
"It didn't give us a chance at all."
Wanlong's gaze was fixed on the battlefield. The Crystal Chandelier Spirit's Ghost Flame had attempted to set up control moves several times, but each time it was interrupted by the Iron Rock's surprise attacks, as if it had been anticipated. "As long as our offensive has even the slightest gap—even just half a second to gather strength for a non-attacking move—"
It will immediately pounce and disrupt. Not just moves that change the terrain, but even attempts to boost speed like "High Speed Boost" will be precisely intercepted. This is definitely not the battle instinct of a wild Pokémon—someone is definitely directing it from behind, and that person's battle sense is terrifyingly sharp!
As if to confirm her words, the Iron Rock, amplified by "Electric Terrain," had transformed into an orange streak of light tearing through the darkness. Each of its returns created a deafening sonic boom, and each flash left new wounds on Raikou, Lucario, Metagross, or Chandelure.
It had just used "Rock Block" to block Raikou's lightning when, in the next second, its figure emerged ghost-like from the shadow of the rock pillar. Its heavy iron hooves propelled it into the air with the rebound force of Metagross, and the "Rock Blast" it unleashed forced Chandelure in the distance to retreat repeatedly like shrapnel.
Even though Lucario's "Polaroid" shot from the blind spot finally hit its target, the metal body only paused for a moment before lunging at the next target with even greater ferocity.
Even more deadly is that the "Strong Blade Attack" that ignores defense is like a guillotine hanging over everyone's heads, making any tactic of trying to restrain them with "Defend" or "Substitute" seem fragile and laughable.
"Its battery life is also abnormal."
Lila ducked to avoid a piece of rock falling from above—a Rockbreaker, in the midst of the chaos, managed to throw a "rockfall" at the trainer—
"Even a legendary Pokémon like Raikou can't maintain this frequency of high-powered attack bursts for long. I've seen countless strong Pokémon in the Battle Frontier, but in terms of individual strength and battle endurance—none are as extraordinary as it. It's practically—"
She stared at the still-bright orange halo beneath Ironrock's four hooves, and a chilling thought surfaced: "It's almost as if you can draw energy from the castle itself through the halo beneath your feet."
"And this may only be the first hurdle in the 'City Defense Division' defense system." Wanlong smiled wryly and lowered his voice. "Although I have a trump card up my sleeve, if there's something even more troublesome hidden in Jero's core area—I don't want to reveal it prematurely unless absolutely necessary."
Out of the corner of her eye, Lila noticed a stone embedded in the cap of a fountain pen on a page of the other person's notebook. A colorful glow, familiar to her pioneering mind, was faintly flowing on it.
"I understand." She nodded knowingly. "So now, we can only hope for progress on the handsome guy's side, and—"
She looked into the bottomless darkness at the other end of the corridor.
"—That thing you brought in."
The two had barely exchanged a few breaths when Iron Rock's next offensive had already begun, unfolding like a meticulously woven program.
Suddenly, the giant horn on the Pokémon's head transformed into a blade of light, solidifying into a blazing white energy sword—the Fighting-type move "Holy Sword"!
It lowered its head and fiercely slashed at Lucario, whose type was weak to its own!
The instant the attack was completed, without even paying attention to the opponent's reaction, Iron Rock's body began to flip vertically in a bizarre manner, pivoting on its feet. In a moment, the heavy metal torso completed a 180-degree turn in mid-air, like a runaway battering ram, and crashed backwards into Raikou, who was gathering "Rampage Volt"!
Legend has it that the Pokémon let out an angry roar. You should know that the benefits of "Electric Terrain" are not exclusive to the Pokémon Ironrock. In theory, this pure Electric-type Pokémon should be the king who reigns supreme over the thunder.
The next second, a magnificent golden thunderstorm erupted around Raikou once again. With the boost from Electric Terrain, the power of "Raging Volt" was greatly amplified. In an instant, this Thunder Pokémon transformed into a torrent of lightning that pierced the corridor, colliding head-on with the heavy "Tackle"—
boom!!!
The loud noise shook the walls.
Where the light exploded, there was a stalemate where everyone was evenly matched.
On the other side, Metagross used its massive body as a shield, allowing its heavy alloy armor to meet the "Holy Sword" beam head-on, forcing it to withstand the attack at the cost of a great deal of its stamina. Meanwhile, its ally, Lucario, had already shot out like an arrow from Metagross's side, fearlessly heading straight for Iron Rock's side!
"Comet Fist!"
The Aura Pokémon's right fist gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen; the Steel-type energy, which was super effective against Rock-types, was already highly compressed—
Clang—!
The metallic groan pierced the eardrums. That punch had struck Iron Rock squarely in the lower back joint!
However, Iron Rock's body remained motionless, only the orange light flowing from its horns and hooves trembled violently before brightening again, its radiance becoming even more dazzling in the darkness.
"Something's wrong! Lucario, watch out!"
Wanlong shouted loudly, her warning almost simultaneous with Chandelure's action. The latter immediately stopped its attempt to imbue Iron Rock with "Will-o'-the-Wisp" and quickly floated to the ground. It blocked Lucario's path, creating a light barrier and using the move "Protect".
—But it was still a fraction of a second too late.
Before their eyes, Iron Rock, using its right hind hoof as a fulcrum, spun its massive body clockwise like a top, precisely bypassing the edge of the "Guard" barrier. The energy accumulated around it—including the force of the "Comet Fist" it had just endured—was gathering, reversing, and expanding at a terrifying speed!
"Double the return!"
Before the energy of the counterattack could be fully unleashed, the resulting gale had already forced Lucario back half a step.
"It's too late—" Wanlong's hand gripped the pen in the notebook tightly, and a barely perceptible light began to shimmer on the stone cap of the pen—
However, at this critical moment, Iron Rock stopped.
Its ferocious forward momentum suddenly came to a halt.
As if bound by invisible shackles, the energy of the counterattack that was about to be unleashed twisted and dissipated in the air.
When the strong wind swept past Lucario, only a lingering aftershock remained.
at the same time-
"Don't use any attacks in this corridor! There are energy extraction and wireless transmission devices in the walls behind you! Every attack you make is just charging them!"
The handsome man's voice came from the other end of the corridor, sounding breathless and urgent.
His figure and that of the scoundrel emerged from a distorted halo—a brief visual disturbance created by Espeon's "Illusion Ray".
The Interpol agent had just sneaked up behind Iron Rock with the Bad Frog. Judging from his hurried appearance, he had just discovered the energy transmission mechanism hidden inside the wall structure.
However, it wasn't the handsome guy's partner who saved Lucario in the critical moment.
Another, smaller, yet exceptionally agile figure stood with its head held high directly behind Iron Rock.
It braced itself on its feet, the flames on its tail burning even more fiercely in the electric field, and pointed a finger straight at the steel behemoth, its wide-open eyes filled with undisguised disdain and anger—
"provocative".
That was another Pokémon that was inside a Poké Ball and sneaked into the back with the handsome guy.
The Chimchar, the starter Pokémon given to the three Elite Four members (excluding Cattleya) by the Unova Champion before the battle, stood there, its tail flames casting its earnest silhouette onto the cold metal ground.
What it hates most is cheaters.
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