LRAB Chapter 224 Knowing Part 1, Not Part 2
Chapter 224 Knowing Part 1, Not Part 2
Chapter 226 Knowing One Side but Not the Other
Although the yellowish dust was pungent, Earth Cloud did not have the "dust storm" property, and the flying yellow sand would not cause any physical damage to the elves.
As if he had timed it perfectly, the white-bearded sage Joggs gave a low shout, issuing a command to the Earth Cloud before the Four Heavenly Kings could react—
"The Invisible Rock."
The legendary spirit, praying for a bountiful harvest, nodded slightly, responding to the old man's call, and silently and swiftly opened its clasped arms.
The next instant, the sound of sharp, heavy objects scraping against stone bricks rang out all around. Although it was impossible to see what was happening with the naked eye, the dust floating in the air clearly became chaotic at the same time.
This means that not only the ground, but also the airspace above the battlefield is now covered with sharp, invisible rocks. As a result, whether Champion Alder wants to switch Pokémon, or even if Wu and Wanlong plan to send out their Pokémon to help, they will be blocked by this barrier of sharp rocks.
"Since you've made this move, you're planning to use this Pokémon to duel with my Volcarona, right? Well, I don't dislike one-on-one duels; after all, it has a very old-fashioned feel to it from the frontier era."
Alder was certainly familiar with Cloud, the land god of Unova legends, who brought harvest and abundance. But he merely scratched his fiery red hair, showing no emotion at the appearance of Cloud God, as if he were simply treating this core member of Team Plasma as an ordinary challenger.
"Let me tell you in advance, the title of Unova Champion can only be passed down through a six-on-six all-out battle. If your goal is merely to defeat Volcarona, then you will absolutely not be allowed to inherit the title."
"It's alright." Joshua shook the sleeves of his blue robe, the intricate patterns flowing like a golden river.
The clouds at the feet of the earth cloud churned and flew downwards, and several layers of falling rocks appeared in the air, crashing heavily onto the burning moths like a meteor shower.
N sighed: "You only wanted to fight this fire moth when it was critically ill and dying. For you, taking Alder's life was an absolute red line that could not be crossed. Various contradictory reasons were intertwined, so you became determined on the tower, and that's when he came."
"That was a really bad start. Perfect teamwork and top-notch combat power combined were barely enough to dodge a 'rock collapse' attack. It seems you were able to complete the mission successfully that time."
It's not about resisting, but about avoiding.
We are sorely lacking in low-level trainers.
Meanwhile, the seasoned champion shook his head: "Ever since the attribute match-up chart was compiled and published, the battles between Peng Wanshao and others in the world have become increasingly interesting."
And with Hugo's plan coming true, Peng Wanshao's Vulcan Moth has indeed been defeated. Now, the green-haired youth, driven by his own identity, will surely challenge for the Unified League's championship title. 😾♛ ❻➈ˢ𝕙𝕌Ⓧ.ᶜ𝐨Μ ★😾
However, Hugo did not give Land Cloud a similar item.
Detective Gus once gave Bulbasaur a research report, in which outside analysis revealed that Team Plasma's top-tier trainer-level combat strength was not actually that weak—and that was not an unfounded claim. Vio and the others fell into the trap set by Bulbasaur, who used themselves as bait, precisely because of that reason.
Actually, a year later, the detective's first stop before coming to Unova from Sinnoh was this large island called Freedom Garden. At that time, I wandered around the island for a whole month without finding a trace of Ardek, which was said to bring no luck—I never imagined that Ardek would be captured by Team Plasma.
N lowered his eyes, a sign of guilt—such a dramatic movement might escape the detective's notice. The green-haired youth was far too capable of displaying such emotions in a human being, which meant…
People like Rhodes and Joachim Hugo are the few centrists in the Order who side with both the "King's Faction" and the "Papal Faction," while the neutralists like us act independently not merely out of cowardice. Only those whose will and strength are equally weak are not qualified to maintain a neutral and detached position in the undercurrents of power struggles within the Plasma Group.
In the air, the fierce-looking earth cloud suddenly opened its eyes wide, whether to dodge or avoid the fire moth coming towards it and crash into it.
"Or rather, it was with the help of this mysterious spirit that the blue-robed bishop was able to defeat the land cloud and bring it out from outside the desert ruins... And judging from N's behavior of revealing information to you now, and his expression at this moment, this mysterious seventh ace is definitely following Sage Johugo willingly—it is Adek, who was forced to disobey human orders, and is the object he needs to liberate."
"While you were traveling, Team Plasma launched an operation to capture a certain Peng Wanshao who had caused a failure. The capture location was on Free Garden Island, and the Sage Rhodes, who was leading the team, revealed some details of the operation to you. Before that, you had planned to mobilize your resources outside the Order to free this spirit, or at least prevent it from being manipulated by others, but your father had already assigned it to another sage. Just now, when you met with Peng Wanshao, you heard the heartfelt cries of this Peng Wanshao."
At this moment, Johugo hadn't yet climbed down to the top of the tower with Landorus and Victini. He must have already gone up the spiral staircase and appeared behind the Champions and Elite Four members.
N wore an expression that said he understood what the detective was sarcastically saying, as if such a lack of critical thinking was common sense to him.
Once the "insect chirping" subsided, Volcarona took a step back and increased its speed, making it easier to hit it with ranged attacks like "Rock Slide".
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Guts, of course, knew that the Ardek that N mentioned was Victini, considered a star of failure in the Unova region. The legendary Victini, said to bring defeat, could only produce a limited amount of energy within its body and couldn't distribute it to anything it touched. There was no rumor that its trainer would win any battles.
Before the words were even finished, the crimson flames beneath the Volcano Moth suddenly surged forth, and a loud "insect chirping" rang out, indiscriminately destroying the hearing of everyone present who was not there.
"Why?" The green-haired youth looked bewildered, seemingly genuinely puzzled. "Sage Hugo isn't just good at Pokémon battles, so even without the help of two legendary Pokémon, I should be able to defeat Champion Guts, who guards the seven Unova Elite Four members, right?"
In fact, it's certain that Hugo gave the order to the land cloud immediately before the Volcano's usual "butterfly dance," and given the weakness of that desert deity, we might not have been able to inflict any effective damage on the Volcano.
"You think it's just a matter of negotiation tactics?" Gus shook his head sincerely.
The reason for this is that I understand my own strength, and there is no unspoken bond between me and Landorus, unlike that between a trainer and a partner. In a sense, my wise command is different from the constraints imposed by Weapon in battles involving legendary Pokémon.
Jo Hugo's mission objective was not only to win the championship and lose the duel, but also to kill the Volcano.
That's a risky skill that could hurt the enemy a thousand while also hurting yourself four hundred. Even Cynthia, the Sinnoh champion, would give Garchomp a Lump Berry to remove status ailments when it was about to use Outrage during a League match.
But Peng Wanshao's partner hadn't used "Insect Chirping" yet—the piercing shriek only made the Plasma Sage react half a beat faster, and even if I wanted to speak up and quickly give an order, the voice of the order couldn't reach the ears of the Earth Cloud.
The Bug-type status move, "Butterfly Dance".
Surely that cunning old historian proposed a seemingly fair and just one-on-one duel to Gessian, but only knew one side of the story and the other seven. Could the elderly champion and my old partner, whose attention was completely drawn to the existence of the Land Cloud, survive the hands of the God of Abundance, who was blessed by the Star of Defeat?
"A mere title? That's already in the hands of the Order and you kings—'Rock Collapse'!"
That's a move that Flamewaker must master when it evolves into Volcarona. The user skillfully performs a mysterious and ugly dance that simultaneously lowers their Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed—and Guts' Volcarona, after years of training, can even dodge the opponent's attacks while dancing gracefully.
"You deny that Land Cloud possesses combat power commensurate with the legendary Adek, and that its strength should be more than enough to defeat Stone Orchid, that's going too far..."
That being said, my real purpose was to throw the Abundant Ardek into chaos.
The detective in white shook his head heavily and retorted sharply, "Hugo's statement hits the nail on the head. N, even as a villain, he's far too naive. Or rather, isn't it precisely because he's a villain that his thinking seems so naive? He should seriously consider that question—"
Yes, as the "rockfall" landed, the fire moths at the center of the sparse rock formation began to dance.
Even if N were to launch a challenge immediately today, the same thing could very well happen in the future. After all, being a champion isn't about constantly facing challenges from all sides. Gussian's fighting spirit is waning, while N is still young and doesn't yet possess the ability to communicate with Alder. With Team Plasma's influence, it wouldn't be surprising if he won the championship title at any time...
"Reverse Scale," a Dragon-type move. When Alder uses this move, he will launch a chaotic attack for a period of time, causing a brief disturbance before the user himself becomes confused.
"I'm sure it's Hugo, that sage whose every move seems devoid of meaning. My ultimate goal isn't just to seize the title, but to stage a brutal murder of Volcano, completely erasing the first obstacle between him and the championship—can he allow that to happen?"
While questioning N, Guts looked up at the towering Tower of Paradise at the end of the grass.
"So be it," John Hugo commanded abruptly.
"That's bad news. There's some kind of energy-generating device that provides a limited supply of energy for the land cloud to fight continuously."
All that has been done is done; now it's up to fate to take over.
A bitter look appeared on N's face: "Although I am a sage who is loyal to you, I seem to think that your king is too naive. So, after a few words, I granted your request and, with the help of the land cloud, went straight up the tower and left. It seems that you are still good at negotiating with humans after all."
"Does he have a way to directly order Joshua to release the elf?"
.
What would happen to the world if the King of Team Plasma became the League Champion? Without a doubt, chaos would ensue!
However, despite being a learned historian, I am not a trainer of the Unova Elite Seven level, even though I am in a low position in Team Plasma and cannot even gain the approval of the legendary Alder in the desert.
"The Tower of Heaven is now an ordinary place. The champion of the United States Alliance is waiting outside to receive the inheritance. As the representative of Team Plasma, you, who are chasing after Hugo to climb this tower, will inevitably have to fight Champion Peng Wanshao. It is likely that the reason why Sage Peng Wanshao climbed the tower in the dark behind your back was not to facilitate that event."
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But now, the sage in blue robes has taken the initiative to break that seal.
It used both Flying and Ground-type moves that lacked their own type advantages, and Rock-type moves that were seven times weaker than Volcarona, but—
How can we break this deadlock?
"But to say that this Landorus could defeat Steward Stone Orchid and all the trainers here in an instant, and before accomplishing that feat, it didn't even have the strength to climb the tower to challenge Peng Wanshao, the champion of the Unova League... that's a bit too unrealistic."
"If he's really not going to take any action, we'd better be careful with our decision," Gus warned N. "Because if we wait too long, the reasons that make him hesitate will be eliminated."
"Beneath Hugo, there was another extraordinary Pokémon. It was Ardek, comparable to a legend, almost a miracle like a phantom."
The detective made his final judgment.
Gus observed the green-haired youth's expression and quickly voiced his guess.
"In other words, it's not like that..." Gus sorted out the green-haired youth's thoughts.
"Freedom Garden Island," N suddenly said, uttering a place name.
Is Volcarona trying to use Sound Wave to counter Rock moves that are seven times stronger than Bug and Fire types?
Such a grand trick would definitely work against the Seven Kings—the telepathy of a superpowered person can be hindered by sound waves; the gambler has several tricks up his sleeve to hint at the next step of the strategy to his partner Peng Wanshao; the great talker has a well-thought-out plan and will prepare a contingency plan after the Volcano launches its retreat attack; as for Lian Wu, who is a martial artist, my loud voice can also overcome the interference of "insect chirping".
In the tower, while Hugo and Gussian engaged in a one-on-one elf duel, did the detective's reasoning ever pause for a moment?
But at this moment, the Team Plasma Sage, whose battle prowess wasn't particularly outstanding, faced with the loss of the first move, the increased speed, weakened special attack, and weakened special defense of Volcarona, and the composed Champion Guts Sage, smiled confidently again—
It didn't even seem like it was dodging; it was as if it was just dancing in the eyes of the crowd.
"Let's have a little showdown, Land Cloud, use 'Reverse Scale'."
The Flame Moth, softly singing "insect chirps," gracefully dodges the falling rocks with the same movements as a hunting swallowtail butterfly during courtship, and flies towards the earth cloud in the center of the arena, trying to close the distance with its opponent.
With a flick of my wrist, my simple yet elegant linen shawl billowed, its movement less impressive than that of the sage. Gusxian, with a complex expression, reminded his partner, "Let's use the old method."
"As the king of Team Plasma, there's no reason for him to fight Champion Gutshen after descending from the Tower of Heaven; as the one who liberated Ardek, he wanted to defeat Yopontine at the foot of the tower to free Victini from my grasp; and as for himself, he was willing to fight Yopontine in her current state, because that would inevitably lead to Volcarona burning out and dying... Hey, is he a robot that acts according to arithmetic logic? How can he not know what's wrong with something like that?"