Chapter 359

"..."

Latias's attack continued, and Raichu on the ground could only dodge hastily. Although the Dragon Pulse prevented Raichu from immediately stepping on its tail and entering a gliding state, it was still very agile in its normal state.

However, this state of affairs could not continue indefinitely, and constantly dodging was not Chen Leizhong's style. Rather than dodging, he should launch a Hurricane and relentless attack, but given his current predicament, he had no other options.

"Raichu! Volt Switch!"

Suddenly, at Chen Leizhong's command, Raichu, who had been lying on the ground desperately running away, raised his head and his eyes flashed.

Immediately, a bright light erupted from Raichu's body, transforming into lightning and shooting straight towards Latias in the air. Meanwhile, Raichu's own body transformed into another beam of light and returned to the Poké Ball in Chen Leizhong's hand. At the same time, another Poké Ball on his waist opened, and a new Pokémon appeared on the Battle Court.

"... Well done. If this had continued, my Raichu would definitely have lost its ability to battle."

"However, switching in and out frequently is a privilege of Electric-type Pokémon. If you want to completely suppress an Electric-type Pokémon, it's best to completely disable its switching ability."

Chen Leizhong still seemed a little shaken, but as the Gym Leader of the Electric-type dojo, he did not forget his responsibility to provide Coaching.

Furthermore, he couldn't simply let Qiao Ran keep suppressing his Pokémon; it would be too regrettable if Raichu just fell down like that.

This Competition has only just begun.

"... Volt Switch... indeed." Qiao Ran stroked his chin and nodded.

Switching in and out is a common Pokémon strategy, especially for Electric-type Pokémon that can learn "Volt Switch," not to mention that Volt Switch itself deals significant damage.

As for Gym Leader not trading Pokémon —this Rules is a customary convention and not an official regulation. Moreover, it is indeed one of the characteristics of Electric-type Pokémon. If even this is restricted, I'm afraid a large number of Electric-type Trainer would take to the streets to protest, right?

A whole bunch of Pokémon that can learn the "U-turn" move Pokémon also have to rush out.

"In any case, let the Hilbert continue."

Chen Leizhong turned his attention back to the battlefield, while Qiao Ran also saw the other Pokémon that the opponent had sent out at this moment.

According to the effect of Volt Switch —after an attack, the attacking Pokémon will immediately leave the field, allowing another Pokémon from the Trainer's hand to switch onto the field.

Meanwhile, the other opponent that Chen Leizhong replaced was the one that Latias was now facing again.

Looking at that Pokémon with a slender neck, its body covered in golden yellow with black ring-shaped patterns in some places, and its body shape like a Pokémon, the most eye-catching thing is that there is a red ball on its tail.

Qiao Ran also recognized it

The other party's identity was revealed. Although this Pokémon has never had a very strong presence, its characteristics are still quite obvious.

"Ampharos?"

Ampharos – Pokémon with the pure Electric-type.

Despite its decent base stats, its unique characteristics are not particularly prominent among an increasing number of Pokémon.

"Ampharos has very low speed, so Trainer usually only use this Pokémon in special circumstances, right?"

Qiao Ran knew this Pokémon's weakness. Although it had Special Attack base stat of 115, its Speed was only 55. In the game, it was more like a heavy turret. If you wanted to fully unleash this Pokémon's potential, you had to activate a move called "Trick Room".

In Trick Room, the speed order of all Pokémon is reversed. Faster Pokémon become slower, and slower Pokémon become faster. In Trick Room, Heavy Turrets become terrifying meat grinders, crushing their opponents.

Of course, all of this is based on the game, since speed is the key to determining the turn in a game. However, in reality, this is clearly not a turn-based system.

Just like the Torterra that Qiao Ran faced at the Rongcheng Gym before, it's best not to make judgments based on past experience before actually battling these Pokémon.

"Special circumstances? You're probably referring to Trick Room skills, right?"

Upon hearing Qiao Ran's words, Chen Leizhong realized what she meant, but he shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no Electric-type Pokémon can learn this move. However, my Ampharos doesn't need those boosts."

Chen Leizhong seemed extremely confident in his Pokémon, and after seeing the level of the Ampharos, Qiao Ran understood the source of the Gym Leader's confidence.

"Ampharos, Level: 53"

This Pokémon's level is not only above 50, but has even reached 53. In other words, it has stabilized its level above the Elite Four level and may have even made some improvements. This Pokémon... Pokémon even be Chen Leizhong's ace Pokémon.

"Ampharos! Electric Terrain!"

As Ampharos entered the field, Chen Leizhong had it unleash the Ampharos Electric Terrain move once more. Countless Ember exploded from the golden dragon-shaped Pokémon, spreading to every corner of the Battle Court. Now, Ampharos seemed to generate a series of electric currents with every Stomping Tantrum, making it look like a thunder god, exuding an inexplicable sense of Pressure.

The Electric Terrain effect only affects Pokémon on the "ground." In the game, whether a Pokémon is on the Pokémon can only be determined by whether it is affected by Ground-type moves. However, in reality, many Pokémon that can fly can also avoid the effects of Ground-type moves.

Pokémon like Raichu, which glide through the air, are actually boosted by Electric Terrain.

While the theory that "the closer to the ground, the stronger the amplification" still applies, it seems to differ significantly from the game in other aspects. At least—judging from the current Ampharos, the visual effect of this amplification is far too powerful.

Latias! Psyshock!

To prevent the opponent from causing any more trouble, Qiao Ran decided to let Latias strike first. With Latias's speed, it would definitely not be a problem to Sheer Force suppress the Ampharos, which was only half its speed.

A burst of spiritual energy emanated from Latias and shot straight toward the Illuminate Ampharos on the ground. However, the Ampharos did not dodge or evade Latias's attack; it simply took the hit with its own body.

No, it couldn't be said that it took the hit head-on—a fine Electroweb actually appeared in front of the Ampharos. Just before being hit by Latias's Psyshock, it had already prepared its defense. Although its body was still impacted, the damage was reduced to an acceptable level by the diversion and buffering effect of the Electroweb.

"Dragon Pulse!" A glint flashed in Chen Leizhong's eyes. Thanks to Raichu's mistake, he had clearly figured out the type of his opponent's Pokémon. Since it was Dragon-type, he had to use Dragon-type Pokémon to fight it!

"Den!!"

The Ampharos let out a somewhat high-pitched Growl, and blue, energetic dragon-shaped beams of light shot out from its mouth, shooting back directly in the direction from which Latias had attacked.

"Get out of the way!"

Faced with the opponent's overwhelming attack, Qiao Ran could only use a quick dodge move. Dragon-type moves deal double damage to Latias, and no matter how resilient Latias is, it would definitely suffer if it took this attack.

"It's useless!"

Latias in the sky began to move quickly, barely managing to dodge the Dragon Pulse's attack range. However, because her body paused slightly when she used Psyshock, her starting speed was much slower, and she was still slightly grazed by the Dragon Pulse.

However, this won't have much of an impact on Latias, given Latias stamina.

The current situation,

Their strengths remain...

No... that's not right...

Suddenly, just as Qiao Ran was thinking this, a feeling like Bolt Strike struck his brain, causing him to instinctively cover his head.

His body froze in place for a split second.

"This... this is..."

He looked up at the sky, and sure enough, just like him, Latias in the sky was also experiencing a surge of tiny electric currents, clearly indicating that he had fallen into some strange state.

"Paralysis?"

Although Qiao Ran really wanted to curse, he was definitely not cursing at this moment. Latias was clearly in an abnormal state called Paralysis, and this state was also affecting his judgment.

After all, his and Latias's senses were completely connected.

"That's right, it's Paralysis. This is a unique characteristic of Electric-type Pokémon."

Upon seeing this scene, Chen Leizhong's lips curled into a wide, uncontrollable smile.

"My Ampharos's special ability is that all its Pulse-type moves carry a portion of Electric-type energy, causing Paralysis effect upon impact."

"This—it's all based on my and its understanding of electrical energy! The secrets of the Electric-type!"

"Even the fastest Pokémon, when Paralysis, can it still defeat my Ampharos?"

Paralysis is arguably one of the most disgusting and common negative statuses in the Pokémon World.

Besides interfering with Pokémon's movements, making it about one in four unable to move, it can also directly reduce the opponent's speed by half. Under this level of slowdown, even the fastest Monster would probably be moving in slow motion.

Even Latias, whose speed was originally twice that of Ampharos, was Sheer Force brought to the same level as Ampharos after being Paralysis. At this point, Qiao Ran basically understood why Chen Leizhong was so confident, preferring to follow his identity as the Electric-type Gym Leader rather than add a non- Electric-type Pokémon to his team.

With this playstyle, whether or not you can create Trick Room is no longer important. The only important thing is how to bring your opponent down to the same level as yourself.

Latia...

Qiao Ran naturally couldn't just sit and wait to die, but just as he was about to issue a command, his mind went blank for a moment, and Qiao Ran immediately went numb. This Paralysis not only affected the Pokémon, but also inflicted a debuff on the Trainer. Although he had experienced Pokémon entering abnormal states in previous battles, it had to be said that once his Pokémon entered an abnormal state, the impact was doubled, which greatly weakened his combat ability.

"Tsk..."

"Owner."

Latias also felt the discomfort of this state. Basically, when she went numb, Qiao Ran would also go numb for a moment at the same time. Normally, if it were just her alone, Qiao Ran could observe the situation when she couldn't control herself, but now, they could only be controlled by each other at the same time.

Paralysis, or rather, an abnormal state, might just be Qiao Ran's most formidable enemy.

--Moreover, this is still an official battle, and Qiao Ran can't possibly climb into the Battlefield to give Latias medicine. In official Pokémon Competition, the use of any off-field items is not allowed, not even medicine. Imagine if this rule were broken, the Competition between the two sides would not be Pokémon Competition, but a medicine competition, and each Trainer would have to build a Small Mountain of medicine behind them.

While the Tokiwa Power can restore stamina to some extent and alleviate or even remove abnormalities, Qiao Ran has never used this power, which directly amplifies his own Pokémon, in battles against Trainer. In his view, this would be an interference with and a desecration of the battle, as well as a denial of his own Pokémon.

Just as Psychic wouldn't use their Confusion to punch their opponent's Pokémon while their own Pokémon is attacking, Pokémon Trainer still need to maintain a certain level of "martial ethics" in the Battlefield. As for battles outside the Battlefield, of course, everyone will use their own unique Parental Bond.

"There's no other way but to finish off the opponent as quickly as possible and end this battle."

So far, Qiao Ran has been unable to deal with the abnormal status on Latias. Although Latias has many support abilities, most of what she can do is to buff her teammates, such as putting herself in a low-health state and then giving a buff to the next teammate to enter the field.

As for removing her abnormal state, she currently has no way to deal with it.

"Psychic!"

Qiao Ran could only seek to Defeat his opponent quickly, but, just like before, when Latias's attacks struck, most of the skill's power was blocked by the Electroweb released by the opponent. This was the fate of ranged energy skills. But—if he abandoned his ranged advantage and engaged in close combat...

Seeing the Ember and lightning on the Ampharos's body, Qiao Ran decisively abandoned the idea.

"Why is this Ampharos so troublesome?"

Facing an Ampharos that he had previously thought was practically invisible, Qiao Ran suddenly felt the same way he did when dealing with Hua Wanshuang's Torterra.

The turret is just as troublesome, and most importantly, this Ampharos has the added interference of Paralysis compared to the original Torterra.

"Ampharos! Dragon Pulse!"

With Latias slowed down, the opponent's attacks became more unrestrained. Latias could only try to dodge, but if it didn't dodge in time, it would be grazed by the Dragon Pulse, causing the Paralysis debuff to be refreshed again.

"... We can't keep wasting resources like this."

Qiao Ran could clearly feel that Latias was expending its stamina much faster than its opponent. Although Latias's attacks could hit its opponent, the Psychic skills that did not counter the opponent's defense did not have the expected good effect. Meanwhile, Ampharos's Dragon Pulse dealt double damage to Latias.

Latias!

Qiao Ran reached out and grabbed a stone that she always wore around her neck.

A powerful light emanated from his hand and then passed to Latias.

-- Mega Evolution.

This is definitely one of Latias's most hidden trump cards. As one of the few Legendary Pokémon can Mega Evolution, Latias's abilities will be greatly enhanced after Mega Evolution. Although its speed will not change, the strength of its special attacks and its durability will be greatly increased.

This is the power that can change the course of a battle.

Mega Evolution!

"Oh my god! This Pokémon can Mega Evolution too?"

"... Quick, take a picture! Take a picture of it!"

The audience, who were already excited about the Competition, were even more thrilled. When they saw Qiao Ran reach out and pull out the stone, their DNA was instantly triggered. In previous Competition, Qiao Ran had demonstrated his Mega Evolution ability many times, and each time it basically started with this action.

"Roar!!"

Amidst the colorful light, Latias's body began to change. Her body color changed from red to purple, and her originally short arms became thicker. The two extended "wings" resembled a real airplane. At this moment, she not only looked more suited to flying than before, but her gaze also became much more resolute.

A powerful aura emanated from her, and even the audience could feel the strong visual impact.

The Ampharos on the ground stared intently at its opponent. Instead of taking advantage of its opponent's Transform to launch an attack, it glanced thoughtfully at its Trainer behind it— Chen Leizhong.

"Oh? So this Pokémon can Mega Evolution too?... I thought it would be later..."

Chen Leizhong stared at Latias for a while, but soon he turned his attention to Qiao Ran.

Then, a smile appeared on his face as he pulled out his other hand, which had been in his pocket, revealing a round, seven-colored sphere that surprised Qiao Ran greatly.

"Look at this thing, what is it?"

"Wait, that's... a key... stone?"

Qiao Ran was momentarily stunned as she stared at the object in Chen Leizhong's hand.

The audience outside the venue was equally silent for several seconds before erupting in thunderous cheers.

"Mage Evolution! Mega Evolution!"

They were all cheering and looking forward to what Chen Leizhong could do. Although Qiao Ran had previously demonstrated the existence of Mega Evolution, there was only one battle between him and Sabrina where both sides had Mega Evolution.