Last Resort Skill

"It had finally begun."

"Shu Tong versus Wu Hongzhen—heh, this was exciting."

"Shu Tong, we're counting on you!" Qian Kaile shouted.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Who cares who wins in this situation? I'm recording the video first. The video Pan Zhehang and Xu Wei just recorded of Ponyta battling Weedle already has over a thousand likes, and people are even sending rockets."

"If that's the case, I hope Weedle wins. That would bring more traffic."

"Heh, wishful thinking. You have no idea how many trump cards Wu Hongzhen's Persian has." Yang Ke and Cheng Du snorted coldly.

"Meow."

Persian licked its paw, provocatively taunting Weedle.

The sight of Persian also made Weedle's eyes burn red. Last time, it had nearly beaten Weedle to death. If its Trainer had not awakened the Viridian Force, Weedle would have died long ago.

Retaliation. At that moment, retaliation was the only thing in Weedle's eyes—not for any other reason, but because its Trainer had repeatedly drained his body to help it absorb Poison-type energy.

"Ji!"

Weedle answered Persian's taunt.

Shu Tong's gaze remained fixed on Persian. There was no need to mention raw strength; Persian held the advantage in both level and number of moves.

And it also possessed the immensely powerful move, Last Resort. That was what worried Shu Tong most.

In the games, Last Resort could only be used after all the moves the Pokémon had learned during battle had been used.

But in reality, Last Resort required a Pokémon to temporarily shut off its perception of other types of energy and focus entirely on sensing Normal Type energy. Only then could it use Last Resort.

Actually, Last Resort was easy enough to counter. Once a Pokémon shut off its perception of other energy, it could only use Normal-type moves. In that case, switching in a Ghost-type Pokémon would render the move useless.

Unfortunately, Shu Tong did not have a Ghost-type Pokémon, so Persian could use Last Resort without restraint.

"The match begins," the homeroom teacher announced.

"Meow!"

Persian gave a disdainful taunt, then immediately fired a beam of Power Gem. Weedle did not hesitate, gathering String Shot to resist it.

The clash of moves triggered an explosion, a warm-up for the great battle about to unfold.

Persian began its attack pattern, charging toward Weedle with seemingly chaotic footwork. Thanks to the pads beneath its paws, Persian ran without making a sound, leaving Pokémon that relied on sound to determine direction helpless.

Taunt, Feint, Fury Swipes—these three moves formed Persian's usual combination. Against rookie Trainers, this sequence was practically crushing.

Persian had just used Taunt on Weedle, but it had little effect. That was because Persian's Taunt was only superficial; its proficiency was, at most, just at the "learned" stage. A move like this needed at least Mastery Tier proficiency to display its true power.

Only upon reaching Mastery Tier proficiency did one begin to touch upon the origin of energy. Taunt drew out the opponent's inner anger energy, allowing it to take control of the Pokémon and drive it into a frenzied offensive state. Support and enhancement moves would become ineffective, and it might not even dodge.

For a Weedle with such enormous Poison-type energy inside it, anger energy could never possibly take control.

Persian's Taunt was nothing but wasted effort.

Persian was now using Feint against Weedle, exploiting false and real attacks to strike unexpectedly. This move was exceptionally effective against rookie Trainers.

"Swing it," Shu Tong ordered.

Weedle fired String Shot into the sky. As its body spun, the String Shot formed a huge white protective barrier.

Persian's repeated attacks were all blocked outside the barrier.

"Shu Tong's using a secret technique, right? Did he train at some dojo?" Some classmates were still filming while excitedly discussing it.

"I think so too. Otherwise, how could he have improved so quickly in just one month? Even if the principal taught him personally, it probably wouldn't be this impressive."

"It's confirmed. Old Sun even invited Shu Tong to join the top students just now, but Shu Tong apparently turned him down."

"No way, seriously? No wonder Old Sun's nose got even redder."

"Quiet! Don't interfere with the match!" the homeroom teacher roared at the crowd.

The students all wore expressions as though they had already understood everything.

"Persian, Fury Swipes." Wu Hongzhen finally gave an order.

The energy around Persian's claws suddenly surged, instantly tearing an opening in the white barrier.

Weedle decisively cut off its String Shot, and Poison Sting rained toward Persian like a barrage of bullets.

Persian's battle instincts were still excellent. As Fury Swipes flew, the Poison Stings fell to the ground one after another, their Poison-type energy dissipating across the floor.

If Fury Swipes could already contend evenly with Weedle's Poison Sting, then Last Resort would definitely secure an overwhelming victory. Wu Hongzhen calculated inwardly.

Sure enough, Persian fought while retreating from Weedle, beginning its preparations for Last Resort.

The corner of Shu Tong's mouth lifted slightly. Haste makes waste. You fell for it.

It had to be admitted that Weedle's level was far below Persian's. If it wanted to win, it could only capitalize on its own advantages: Poison-type energy and move proficiency.

Mastery Tier proficiency and mere proficiency were worlds apart. Therefore, most Pokémon's move proficiency remained at the proficiency level. Without extraordinary talent, it was impossible to touch the origin of energy.

"Meow!"

Persian's Fury Swipes visibly slowed. It had begun sealing off its perception of other types of energy.

"It can actually prepare Last Resort while using Fury Swipes. That is rather beyond my expectations. But that only makes this battle more interesting. Weedle needs a battle like this to accumulate experience," Shu Tong said generously.

Wu Hongzhen sneered. "What, out of tricks? Trying to affect my judgment with trash talk? Dream on."

"It's coming—Last Resort!" Cheng Du said excitedly.

"Weedle is finished," Yang Ke added.

Qian Kaile clicked his tongue twice. "Do you two pieces of trash even understand what you're looking at?"

Qian Kaile had always been arrogant and overbearing as a filthy rich kid. Although Cheng Du and Yang Ke had allied themselves with Wu Hongzhen, they still did not dare talk back to Qian Kaile.

"Weedle, make your move," Shu Tong ordered.

The Poison Stings shot out even more densely, while hundreds more flew upward into the sky.

"It's here—Mastery Tier Poison Sting." Qian Kaile had once been subdued by this move himself. Seeing it again now gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

"What? Mastery Tier Poison Sting?"