Chapter 34: Use of Rules
In that brief moment when Arthur paused, Farfetch'd's leek missed and followed up again, wielding the leek like a blade, each strike chasing Froakie's retreating steps, for a moment, creating a flurry of sharp blade lights!
Move: Fury Cutter!
Under the effect of the move, Farfetch'd's swinging speed was significantly faster than before. The second strike forced Froakie to stop dodging and take the hit directly.
Arthur responded immediately.
"Pound!"
Froakie, who had been trained during this time, now had more independent fighting intelligence. Without Arthur needing to say too much, he could understand the full meaning of the command.
While retreating, he first placed one hand behind his back, and then, while using the move, swung his other paw in a wide arc, putting all his strength into it!
Even if it meant taking a few more hits, he wanted to use this powerful "Pound" to completely push the opponent back and regain the initiative.
"Bang!"
The huge paw, enlarged by the energy glow, collided heavily with the leek of Fury Cutter.
The violent force successfully sent the pursuing Farfetch'd flying several meters away, his body rising halfway into the air, before flapping his wings and landing back on the ground.
As a price, Froakie almost completely took the full brunt of the "Fury Cutter" during the charging phase.
But at least the opponent was temporarily pushed back.
"Keep jumping back while using Bubble!"
At this time, the smoke on the field had not yet dissipated. While maintaining ranged attacks, Froakie constantly retreated, trying to hide his body back into the cover of the smoke.
Even the official commentator praised this steady tactic, "A very smart strategy."
However, at this moment, an unexpected incident occurred.
Froakie, after jumping back only twice, suddenly stiffened as if electrocuted, his entire body going rigid. The action of spitting out Bubble was almost interrupted, and naturally, his action of retreating into the smoke was a beat slower, failing to hide himself in time.
What happened? - Arthur asked Froakie telepathically.
The answer he received was very surprising.
Froakie replied: his hand was numb.
Numb hand?
Wait!
He immediately remembered the scene of Froakie using the move "Pound" to clash with Farfetch'd's leek just now.
There was something wrong with that leek!
This time, Arthur proactively spoke for once, "Did you apply juice from the Paralyze Berry on that leek?"
Instantly, the whole place was in an uproar.
The player commanding area had microphones to pick up sound, to fully capture every part of the competitive match.
So Arthur's question instantly spread throughout the arena.
However, the opponent Darren was fearless, his expression still full of mockery.
Because—
"So what? It's not against the rules."
Arthur quickly glanced at the referee on the side and found that, as the opponent said, the referee did not make a call.
In formal matches, the rules only stipulate that the leek Farfetch'd uses cannot contain any non-plant ingredients, and is not allowed to have any Pokémon energy pre-attached. Other modifications are allowed without restrictions.
In other words, you can't use a white-green steel pipe and claim it's a leek, and you can't pre-enchant the leek with energy.
Everything else is allowed.
This was also written in the derived rules.
Darren did play some tricks: Paralyze Berries are one of the main ingredients used to make paralysis medicine. If Pokémon accidentally eat the berry, it will trigger an abnormal status similar to the additional effect of the move "Lick": paralysis.
But the juice of this berry is still a plant ingredient.
So his actions were still within the rules.
At this point, even the official commentators could only say impartially, "It seems that Mr. Darren has researched the derived rules quite thoroughly."
At the same time, Darren continued his verbal harassment: "What's wrong? Can't you take this? Is the only thing you're good at buying traffic online?"
The audience booed even louder.
However, none of this affected the ongoing match.
From the initial change to silent commands, trash-talking, and attempting to destabilize the opponent's mentality, to the discovery of the leek being coated with a paralyzing juice, Arthur had to admit that the opponent's familiarity and utilization of the competitive rules were far superior to his own.
He could be said to be using the rules to the extreme.
Making you incredibly uncomfortable, yet leaving you with no recourse.
For a moment, Arthur almost raised his eyebrows again, but he quickly suppressed it with a deep breath.
Getting impatient or angry at this time would mean falling into the opponent's trap.
The audience could boo, but he couldn't, he was still in the match.
Questioning or getting angry was meaningless because the opponent didn't break any rules.
Arthur could only choose to calm down first and continue commanding.
"Keep using Bubble, swing your arm in circles."
Froakie continued to use his Water-type move to maintain ranged suppression, while constantly swinging his right arm to alleviate the numbness.
Although the effect of the Paralyze Berry was strong, as long as the Pokémon didn't swallow it, just skin contact wasn't enough to trigger paralysis directly.
Otherwise, Froakie's "Bubble" would have been interrupted directly, instead of just pausing briefly.
So the fight wasn't over yet, it was just slightly disadvantageous.
"Hmph! No matter how much you persevere, it's useless."
Darren's words were, as always, toxic trash talk.
Farfetch'd received the command in his mind and started moving again, deftly dodging most of the water bubbles, closing in on Froakie at high speed!
He had the "Agility" move. Although this move wasn't as fast as "Quick Attack" for short-range direct lunges, it was more flexible, and he could change direction freely while moving. Since Froakie failed to successfully retreat into the smoke, Farfetch'd quickly caught up with him again.
At this moment, Farfetch'd suddenly sheathed his leek on one wing, making a motion similar to drawing a sword.
Arthur instantly understood this stance—
Normal-type move: False Swipe!
He didn't expect this Farfetch'd to know so many moves!
At this time, Darren's language harassment finally stopped, and a smile of excitement involuntarily crept onto his face.
"False Swipe" would be immediately followed by "Fury Cutter," this sequence of commands was already laid out in his mind.
Now, he was just waiting to enjoy the results!
This Golden Autumn Cup was a ticket competition with the prospect of advancement among semi-professional events, and it was crucial for his goal of entering the professional league. So even though he knew this kind of play style would be criticized, he was determined to do it.
He had to win no matter what!
As for whether it was glorious? As long as he won and made it into the top four, all of this was trivial! As for the newbie opponent, he could only blame his bad luck in the draw.
While he was thinking about these random things, his thoughts drifting, trying to relieve his mental pressure, he suddenly snapped back to reality when he heard loud cheers and screams from the audience.
"What?!"
He looked in surprise and found—
Farfetch'd's "False Swipe," had just been drawn, and Froakie had caught the leek with his bare hands!
Immediately after, black smoke poured out from Froakie's hands, instantly staining the section of the leek he was holding.
Arthur smiled slightly.
Now it was his turn to make a move!
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