Chapter 244: Machamp, Scyther, and Magneton
"Ninetales is unable to battle — Machamp wins!"
Gary's face darkened as he watched Ninetales collapse from a single Cross Chop.
Was Machamp this terrifying after activating Guts?
He wished he could slap himself.
Why did he have to get fancy with Flare Blitz earlier…? Wouldn't Extreme Speed have been safer?
Now, not only did he fail to wear Machamp down — he handed it a power boost on a silver platter.
Across the field, Machamp flexed its muscles, striking a Bulk Up pose. Its marble-like physique gleamed under the stadium lights.
Gary realized he couldn't delay any longer.
Without hesitation, he threw out his third Poké Ball.
"Go, Scyther!"
A flash of green — and Scyther appeared, its twin scythe-like arms raised and ready for battle. Its sharp gaze locked onto Machamp's weak spots, ready to strike at any moment.
"Gary's third Pokémon is Scyther!"
"As a Bug- and Flying-type, Scyther has a clear advantage over Machamp!" the commentator declared.
Gary's eye twitched. Please don't jinx me…
Despite the commentator's words, Gary didn't waste a second.
"Scyther — Double Team!"
Shing!
Scyther's form blurred as it created multiple shadowy copies of itself, circling Machamp.
In an instant, the battlefield was filled with over a dozen Scythers, all surrounding Machamp from every angle.
Machamp's eyes darted back and forth, its arms shifting in anticipation, but it couldn't tell which Scyther was real.
Realizing the danger, AJ quickly ordered, "Machamp, stay calm and defend!"
He planned to counterattack the moment Scyther revealed itself.
Machamp adjusted its stance — lowering its center of gravity and spreading its four arms wide, taking on the posture of a wrestler.
Then —
Swish!
All the Scyther clones moved in unison, raising their scythes.
Machamp's eyes sharpened, locking onto a target — then lunged forward.
But —
Slash!
Before Machamp could strike, several Air Slash attacks rained down from behind, slicing into its back.
A direct hit!
Machamp roared in pain and collapsed, unable to withstand the critical strike.
The afterimages of Scyther faded away, leaving only the real one standing tall, its scythe still raised from the attack.
Gary exhaled slowly, a confident smirk creeping onto his face. "Looks like you picked the wrong target."
"Damn it…" AJ clenched his fist as he recalled Machamp.
3–2.
Staring at Scyther, AJ knew Hypno was out of the question — it wouldn't stand a chance against Scyther's speed.
His Onix and Poliwrath had already lost, and he didn't have faith in a type-disadvantage battle.
Which meant…
"Go, Magneton!"
A flash of light — and Magneton appeared, its three magnetic bodies spinning as arcs of electricity crackled between them. Three unblinking eyes locked onto Scyther.
No sooner had it landed than Magneton's body lit up with a jolt of electricity — launching an immediate attack.
But Scyther reacted with lightning speed, flapping its wings and darting into the sky — narrowly dodging the electric blast.
And then — in a blink — Scyther wheeled around in midair.
Whoosh!
It dived straight at Magneton, slashing down with its scythe.
Magneton shuddered as it was knocked back by the impact, its magnets spinning wildly.
Just as Magneton was about to counter, a flash of red light enveloped Scyther — returning it to its Poké Ball.
"U-turn! It looks like Trainer Gary has no intention of letting Scyther fight the Magneton head-on despite the type disadvantage. Instead, he's opting to have Scyther use U-turn and switch to a backup Pokémon! I wonder which Pokémon Gary will send out?"
The commentator's words had barely faded when a flash of white light lit up the field.
The ground trembled slightly. Accompanied by a low growl, Nidoking, covered in venomous spikes and with a fierce glare, appeared on the battlefield.
"Gary!" "Gary!" "Gary!"
Seeing Nidoking — who had performed outstandingly in previous matches — take the stage, Gary's supporters and cheerleaders erupted in cheers from the sidelines.
The moment Nidoking landed, it immediately launched an attack against Magneton.
With a roar, Nidoking grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it at the Magneton floating in the sky.
Rock Tomb!
Of course, Magneton wasn't just going to sit there and take the hit. Hovering mid-air, it quickly darted around to dodge the incoming rocks.
From the sidelines, Asahi watched the battle unfold.
He had to admit — Magneton was a highly practical Pokémon.
With its Electric/Steel typing, Magneton boasted impressive resistances and very few weaknesses. It only had double weaknesses to Fire and Fighting, and a quadruple weakness to Ground...
But in reality, due to Magneton's constant electromagnetic levitation, Ground-type moves were usually ineffective against it...
"How will you handle this, Gary?"
Rocks rained down from the sky, and Magneton dodged whenever possible. If a rock was unavoidable, it would blast it away with an electric attack, either destroying or deflecting it.
For a while, the battle was at a standstill.
Nidoking couldn't hit Magneton, and even when a rock did manage to land, the damage was minimal.
Meanwhile, Magneton's Electric-type moves were completely useless against Nidoking...
Just as everyone thought this match would drag on, Asahi noticed Gary furrowing his brows. But beneath the surface, both AJ and his Magneton were growing restless. After all, they were at a disadvantage. If they wanted to win, they needed to turn the tide.
There was only one option — counterattack!
Making a swift decision, AJ gave his order.
"Magneton, Flash Cannon!"
Magneton swiftly ascended higher into the air, its metallic body glowing silver.
A concentrated sphere of silver energy began to form at the center of Magneton's body, aimed directly at Nidoking below.
As the Flash Cannon charged and was about to fire—
Instead of panic, a calm smile appeared on Gary's face. His previously furrowed brows relaxed.
"Finally, I've been waiting for this!" Gary said confidently. "Nidoking, now — Smack Down!"
The moment Gary spoke, Nidoking quickly formed an energy sphere in its hand. In an instant, the energy ball transformed into a rock, which Nidoking hurled forcefully at the charging Magneton.
Boom!
The energy-infused rock exploded upon impact.
Magneton, still mid-charge for its Flash Cannon, suddenly felt an intense weight pressing down on its previously weightless body.
It could no longer hover — Magneton plummeted to the ground, its Flash Cannon attack cut off mid-charge.
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