chsdbacks Chapter 251 Afterglow - An Ancient, Fading Lament
Chapter 251 Afterglow - An Ancient, Fading Lament
At the detective's command, the Turtwig's tender shoots emitted a white light. Before the opposing Pokémon could react, a fist-sized seed had already sprouted between its leaves.
"Hah!"
Obeying its trainer's command, the grass-green starter Pokémon seized the opportunity and used the "Bluff" move, making a face at the opposing Scavenger with an expression full of mockery.
The grass turtle waved its large head in an exaggerated motion, and taking advantage of the opportunity, it swung the seed that had grown on its head precisely at the opponent's position, which exploded in an instant like a flashbang with its fuse pulled.
A white light exploded in front of the Knight Snail. The blinding effect caused by the "flash" combined with the emotional guidance of "bluffing" to finally tint the Knight Snail's eyes under his helmet with a chaotic color.
On the other side, Piplup, also a beginner Pokémon, seemed to have its fur standing on end. The originally soft, light blue fur on its body stood up straight, almost making the entire Pokémon look bigger.
Immediately afterwards, the little creature violently flapped its short, small fins and legs, and a large amount of down feathers appeared out of thin air with its comical dance. The light blue down feathers then flew up like snowflakes, guided by the aura of the attack, towards the location of the agile bug.
With its agility, the nimble bug could have easily dodged the slowing effect of the "Feather Dance." But just as it moved to dodge, the nimble bug inexplicably stopped moving.
The culprit behind this phenomenon is naturally Pogaman.
At this moment, Pogaman's mouth was slightly open, and high-frequency sound waves, inaudible to the human ear, emanated from its not-so-sharp, pale yellow beak, reaching its opponent even before the fluttering feathers.
"Ultrasound"!
The fluffy feathers perfectly concealed the little penguin's deep breath as it gathered strength, allowing this other skill to strike unexpectedly at the agile bug's unprotected cochlea.
The very next second after the "Ultrasonic Wave" hit, taking advantage of the opponent's momentary stagnation, Piplup's "Feather Dance" move descended from the sky on a gentle breeze, successfully sticking to the strip-like mucus on Agile Bug's body, adhering to the opponent, and instantly slowing down the originally swift movements.
Logically speaking, since Hugo had clearly stated the moves he was about to command in front of everyone, it was impossible for Adek, as an experienced opponent, not to take any countermeasures.
However, the reality is that the two Bug-type Pokémon that were attacked seemed to be completely unprepared, and they took full advantage of the interference attacks from their opponents.
This was not due to Alder's arrogance or the two Pokémon's carelessness or underestimation of their opponent—but rather to another obvious reason.
A far more brutal clash erupted long before Turtwig and Piplup could even unleash their attacks. In the aftershocks of those frenzied attacks, the harassing moves of the two beginner Pokémon were utterly insignificant!
Garchomp was the first to launch an attack.
Commanded by Hugo to use "Earthquake," it did not choose to use the move in place. With the full power of the move, not only would Piplup and Turtwig, who were standing on either side of it, be in danger, but even Hugo, who was further behind, would be in danger.
However, Hugo's order was clearly not thoughtless. When Garchomp's dragon eyes noticed the detective's hidden gesture at its side, the last trace of confusion in its heart turned into a surging fighting spirit.
Right before our eyes, isn't there a magnificent piece of land waiting to amaze us?
With a powerful stomp of its feet against the ground, the expected tremor did not occur. Instead, the deep blue Garchomp soared into the air, like a jet plane taking off.
Adek narrowed his eyes, ignoring Hugo's other orders, and spoke to direct the Volcano Moth standing in the center of the field—
"The enemy is trying to fly to the next floor through the burrow, but the 'earthquake' there will turn into falling rocks and hit us. We can't give it that chance! Volcarona, use 'Charged Flame Strike' to catch up with it!"
The indoor temperature suddenly rose by several degrees. Just as Hugo felt this temperature change, the champion's Volcarona suddenly disappeared from the spot. Only when he looked up could he barely see a fiery red tail flame.
If Garchomp leaping from the ground is like a jet plane powered by a high-pressure engine, then Volcarona at its peak is as fast as an aero-rocket attempting to break through the atmosphere.
The latter's six insect wings fluttered at a speed invisible to the naked eye, catching up with the Garchomp that was about to pass through the hole in the blink of an eye.
Alder waved his hand and shouted, "Flash Charge!"
"Use 'Tornado' to block the flow and continue the operation."
The detective spoke in a low voice into the communicator clipped to his black collar, which was connected to a miniature speaker attached to Garchomp's head. He had taken the time to check it out during his earlier standoff with Alder, and the device didn't seem to have been destroyed by the Double Ice's "big bang."
"Tornado" is Garchomp's STAB move, which deals double damage to Pokémon in flight and can sometimes even cause opponents to flinch. If Garchomp used this move, it could at least slow down Volcarona's attack... Before Hugo could even finish thinking about it, reality shattered his fantasy.
The preparation for "Flame Charge" did not slow down Volcarona's pursuit of its opponent; instead, it helped it accelerate further.
At the end of its suddenly elongated tail flame, the fiery red meteor crashed through the blue wind blade thrown by Garchomp, and its speed did not decrease at all, hitting the flying Garchomp straight in the middle!
A furious dragon roar echoed through the air, and Hugo's earpiece emitted a piercing beep, signaling the destruction of the communication device.
However, the deep blue jet was not destroyed—
As the smoke and firelight dissipated, Garchomp's body was half charred black, with sparks still lingering on its rough skin. However, its two scythe-like claws remained stubbornly embedded in the ceiling, half a step away from the shattered crater, like steel nails.
Similarly, its enemies did not retreat.
Even though in theory the reflected damage from "Flame Charge" and "Rough Skin" should put a considerable burden on Volcarona, to the naked eye, this blazing star shows no signs of dimming and is completely unscathed.
It was as if they could launch another attack at any moment.
And it was precisely at this moment, just as Volcarona and his trainer were about to continue their pursuit, that another unexpected event occurred, from a direction unpredictable to those involved—
Directly below the aerial battlefield, the energy from the "Flash" and "Feather Dance" moves exploded brilliantly on the ground!
This caused the champion partners, who were about to unleash their next move and give their next instructions, to pause simultaneously.
""earthquake"! "
Not missing the fleeting opportunity, the detective in black suddenly shouted, repeating the initial command once again.
Only in this way could his commands be clearly and accurately transmitted to Garchomp's ears.
Click.
The sickening sound of rocks shattering replaced the shouts and answered the detective's command.
Hanging upside down in the air, with its dragon claws deeply embedded in the ceiling, Garchomp revealed a ferocious smile.
A very simple deduction—
The Tower of Heaven is an ancient structure that has stood for hundreds of years. Conversely, no matter how sturdy and reliable this structure is, it has already withstood the erosion of time for hundreds of years. Existence itself is not proof that something is indestructible; even the Tower of Heaven, which has existed for hundreds of years, cannot guarantee that it will not collapse the next day.
A very simple principle—
Objects contract inwards when exposed to cold conditions and expand outwards when exposed to high temperatures. In the past, when miners encountered rocks that they could not be mined, they would have Water-type and Fire-type Pokémon take turns using their own type moves on them. In no time, the rocks that could not be moved by human power would crack on their own—this is the principle of thermal expansion and contraction.
A very simple opportunity—
It's not only by standing firmly on the earth that one can shake everything. The three-toed claws on the hind legs of the deep blue earth dragon have already gripped the white stone bricks in front of it tightly.
The turbulent ground-based energy flowed into the cracks in the rocks along the dragon's claws. As if one could hear the mournful cries of colliding molecules, this hard and ancient rocky land finally began to rejoice.
The situation has spiraled out of control to this point, and further developments are now inevitable.
Around the spot where the dark blue earth dragon hung upside down, the three-story ceiling, which already had a large hole, suddenly developed a dense network of cracks resembling a spider web.
These cracks, like plant roots sprouting from the "Crazy Plants" technique, rapidly multiplied and extended until they covered the entire dome.
This is the moment when the Tower of Heaven will crumble and break.