"Ninetales, Protect."
After Qingyu unhesitatingly ordered Lucario to use Brick Break, Grusha froze for a moment, then quickly regained his composure and gave his command.
Fighting-type moves were indeed highly effective against Ice types, but Alolan Ninetales's Fairy type canceled that out, so strictly speaking, Brick Break wasn't a weakness of its.
But now that Aurora Veil, which could drastically reduce damage, had been destroyed in an instant, Grusha's only concern was cutting his losses.
Even with the boost to Ninetales's Defense from Snowscape, taking a hit for nothing would still cost it a fair amount of stamina. It wasn't worth it.
Protect was therefore the safest option at the moment.
Even if Brick Break quickly destroyed the barrier formed by Protect, Ninetales could use that opening to evade Lucario's attack.
Yet the moment Qingyu heard Grusha's command, a peculiar look crossed his face.
Under normal circumstances, Grusha's judgment would have been completely sound. It might even have been the best possible choice.
Unfortunately, Qingyu's Lucario wasn't exactly normal.
" Luca!"
Facing the thick Protect barrier, Lucario didn't hesitate. It quickly sensed the weak point through its Aura, then thrust out its other hand in a fierce punch.
Having passed Mustard's Final Trial on the Isle of Armor and learned the Isle of Armor Dojo's ultimate secret art, Unseen Fist, Lucario found Protect barriers as flimsy as paper, even though they could normally block most moves from opponents of equal strength.
Before Alolan Ninetales could react, Lucario brought its other hand down again in a chopping strike, landing a direct hit.
"Mi!"
Ninetales took two painful steps back, but quickly steadied itself.
Clearly, that blow had dealt a respectable amount of damage, but it was nowhere near enough to seriously injure it.
Qingyu wasn't surprised.
His main goal had been