chsdbacks Chapter 144 "Laplace Lv.65"
Chapter 144 "Laplace Lv.65"
Chapter 144 "Laplace Lv.65"
"Rocket Team Minion A: Wow, the elites from headquarters are really something else! They climbed all the way from the foot of the mountain to this freezing cold, and they haven't even put on an extra layer of uniform! Look at those two, warming up their arms and legs!"
"Rockets' scumbag B: You don't understand! The elite team uses dynamic heat generation! See that? Those fluid tactical movements, the heat naturally builds up! Learn from them!"
"Team Rocket Minion A: Hey, I heard from the captain that those two were originally top elites from our Rainbow City underground base! I don't know why they were secretly transferred to this godforsaken place for surveillance, their ID cards have terrifyingly high access levels!"
"Rockets Noob B: Really?! Wasn't that base supposedly wiped out by the League? I heard only the most elite members managed to escape with top-secret information! Those are all incredibly skilled individuals, one in a million!"
"Rockets Minion A: I see. No wonder the captain was so polite to them and even gave them the precious suppressor!"
With these two big shots backing us up, this mission is practically a sure thing!
"Rockets's low-level center: Shut up! Stop gossiping about the big shots behind their backs! If they hear you, you'll be in big trouble!"
The whispers stopped abruptly.
Of course it's not because someone is stopping us. We're all small fry, so who's afraid of who?
It was because a composed Laplace was blocking their path ahead.
Its azure shell was covered with a layer of crystal-clear, hard ice armor, and it watched the group of uninvited guests with wary eyes.
The Rockets had no regard for Pokémon battle ethics and immediately raised their energy weapons upon seeing this.
The cold muzzle of the gun gleamed with a dangerous light, ready to be driven away or even annihilated by firepower.
"Wait!"
Chi Hong's clear, cold, and penetrating shout instantly silenced all the restless team members.
The team members instinctively parted to make way for him.
"Leave it to us."
Red, controlling Little Red, calmly led Little Ash to the front of the group and said in an unquestionable tone:
"We don't need powerful firearms to deal with it. If the commotion prematurely alerts our main target and causes the entire mission to fail, who will take responsibility?"
His main concern was that he didn't want the Rockets' underlings to use that dangerous weapon to hurt Laplace; resolving the issue through direct combat was currently the safest approach.
As the two approached their target, the Pokémon Pokédex was automatically scanned, and the data was displayed.
"Laplace Lv.65"
Attribute: Water/Ice
"Ability: Water Absorb (When attacked by Water-type moves, you will not take damage but will instead recover water)"
"Mastered moves: Shout, Sing, Water Gun - Mystic Guard, Ice Beam, Absolute Zero"
"Analysis: A Laplace that has lived year-round in the frigid core region of Twin Islands has undergone a mutation in its ice-attribute energy under special conditions, far exceeding its water-attribute energy. This has resulted in an indestructible layer of millennia-old ice armor permanently attached to its carapace, making it exceptionally powerful. Please proceed with caution!"
Enraged by the intruder, Laplace let out a long, furious cry.
A vast amount of ice energy emanated from its body as if it were a tangible substance, instantly enveloping everything around it.
The world changed color!
The gentle snowfall suddenly transformed into a violent storm of ice blades.
Rough, sharp ice shards pelted the Team Rocket fodder, causing them to grimace and groan in pain.
The sheer scale of the event caused the surrounding ground to tremble violently.
The thick snow layer that had accumulated on the mountaintop for countless years made a teeth-grinding "crunch" sound, as if it could collapse at any moment and turn into a devastating avalanche that would devour everything.
Once an avalanche occurs, no one present will have a chance of survival!
The live stream chat was instantly flooded with comments.
"Holy crap! What is this?! It's completely changed the weather?! This Laplace is on steroids!"
"It's not surprising that Laplace knows ice-type moves, but this setup—the range of Blizzard is wrong!"
"The important thing is an avalanche, guys! The snow above is collapsing! Run!"
Absolute zero!
Crimson was startled; he recognized the starting stance of this move!
That's an ultimate move that only a very few Ice-type Pokémon can master, possessing extreme power but also accompanied by an extremely long wind-up!
By gathering all the ice energy around him, he attempted to freeze his opponent and achieve a fatal blow!
Laplace's stance when launching his attack was perfectly matched.
Strangely, the range of this move was completely different from the Absolute Zero he remembered; it was almost a full-screen AOE attack, leaving nowhere to hide!
The area is too large!
We absolutely cannot let it succeed!
Otherwise, everyone will be doomed!
"Pikachu! Stop it! High-five!"
Crimson took the lead in command.
Pikachu transformed from Little Red's shoulder into a golden bolt of lightning, darting out with a few nimble zigzag leaps and appearing directly above Laplace's head.
Using the force of gravity as he fell, a slap with a shockwave landed hard on Laplace's face!
Snapped!
Laplace was afraid!
It doesn't cause much damage, but it's extremely insulting!
Laplace: ? ? ?
It wasn't actually hurt much; it was more stunned by the sudden slap.
Just when they were preparing their ultimate move, the opponent dared to directly slap them in the face!
The ice-type energy gathered around him caused a brief moment of stagnation, but this momentary stagnation was perfectly captured by Ash's keen battle intuition.
Although he didn't know exactly what kind of big move Laplace was going to unleash, the dramatic changes in the surrounding environment and the crisis on the mountaintop had already explained everything.
He instantly understood Crimson's intention.
"Pikachu! Electromagnetic wave!"
Pikachu appeared on Ash's shoulder.
The electric sac on his cheek flashed instantly, and a fine golden current transformed into a twisted electric chain that struck Laplace with pinpoint accuracy.
With a whoosh, Laplace's massive body trembled violently, and the violent energy fluctuations around him paused momentarily.
Laplace has fallen into a state of paralysis!
But this is far from enough.
The next goal is to subdue Laplace without arousing suspicion from the Rockets and get it out of danger completely.
So how can we quickly and effectively recruit players who fit the elite persona of Team Rocket?
A flash of inspiration struck his crimson mind.
I remembered a casual chat with Bai Zhou, during which he revealed a gameplay method that he had never shown in his live stream, which "theoretically" could greatly increase the capture rate!
He scoffed when he first heard about it, believing that capturing Pokémon required fair battles and strength!
But now, the situation is different!
"Phase two of the plan! Ash, cooperate with me!"
His crimson eyes narrowed, and he made up his mind not to give Laplace any chance to retaliate.
"Now! Everyone! Activate abnormal status!"
The Pokémon partners, who were already prepared, appeared instantly and swarmed forward!
However, their target is not Laplace's health bar, but its status bar.
Use whatever moves you have that can put your opponent into an abnormal state, such as poison, hypnosis, and bluffing!
Xiao Zhi immediately understood and gave the order in a loud voice.
"Let's go too! Pikachu, use—use—anything to support Red-senpai!"
His mind was a bit overloaded, and he didn't give orders arbitrarily.
Its main responsibility is to assist and control, and to avoid repeating invalid states and wasting opportunities.
It's important to know that duplicate buffs have no effect, so you can't waste your chance to use your skills.
A full half minute!
Laplace was almost completely unable to mount any effective counterattack!
The entire process was a painful cycle of "falling asleep -> being woken up by poison -> frantically hitting myself -> being paralyzed -> falling asleep again"!
The comments section was completely stunned by this "cruel" yet efficient tactic, filled with a complex mix of "accusations" and "learned something new."
"To be honest, there's a reason why the Red Legend joined the Rockets."
"Ah! My eyes! What kind of mental pollution is this?!"
Laplace: Please! Just give me a quick death!
"Is this the Rockets' elite tactic? A level 65 Laplace didn't even have a chance to fight back! It's too powerful!"
"No way, there are some basic rules in combat! It's been almost 30 rounds, and Laplace hasn't moved an inch!"
"This seems to be a tactic to increase the capture rate?"
Crimson didn't have time to explain to the viewers in the live chat.
He wasn't deliberately torturing Laplace; he was protecting him!
Didn't you see that he didn't even give any commands for his attack moves?
"Ash! Together!"
Red called out, and Ash immediately understood.
"Senior! I understand!"
After almost all the debuffs that could be stacked on Laplace were completed, the hypnotic state on it was just removed.
Recalling those unbearable seconds, the boundless humiliation and anger instantly drove it into a complete berserk state!
However, it had just attempted to unleash another blizzard.
call out!
Little Red's red and white ball hit it precisely on the forehead, and it instantly turned into a red light and was absorbed!
But the Poké Ball didn't even wobble in the air before it exploded into pieces with a "pop".
Laplace reappeared, his eyes bloodshot, and immediately locked onto Little Red, who was still in a daze after throwing the spell. A devastating beam of ice from his mouth had already formed.
But at this critical moment, whoosh!
Ash's Poké Ball arrived just in time, hitting its head precisely once again.
It was forcibly taken back once again.
Explode! Throw it again!
Explode! Throw it again!
Explode! Throw it again!
The entire process was repeated countless times.
Perhaps Laplace himself was driven to the brink of madness by this endless loop, or perhaps luck finally smiled on Ash's side.
When Ash threw another Poké Ball and it triggered a critical hit, the world became quiet again as the Poké Ball wobbled in the air and locked on.
"Laplace, Get☆Daze!"
Ash excitedly waved his fist and roared to the sky!
The comments section was filled with uproar and disdain.
"This works???"
"On the Importance of Strength in Numbers! Got it! From now on, catching legendary Pokémon will be all about overwhelming numbers with Poké Balls!"
"Dream on! First, you need to have Crimson Boss's debuff assembly line to wear down the boss until it's completely helpless!"
"I would call this the ultimate method of capturing a Pokémon through mental torture! The Pokémon, unable to bear the humiliation, ultimately chose to compromise!"
"Got it! (Takes out a notebook) From now on, when I encounter a Pokémon I like, I'll poison it, put it to sleep, or confuse it first."
"You'd better be referring to Pokémon!"
"Alright, stop being so extravagant, hurry up and treat it."
Red reminded him irritably that he was also quite interested in this special ice-armored Lapras, but it seemed that it preferred Ash.
"Oh, oh, oh!"
Ash then came to his senses and frantically manipulated Little Ash to summon Lapras, taking out a full-healing potion to treat it.
As soon as Laplace appeared, he snorted out a cloud of white vapor mixed with ice crystals, glared at Red, and made Red scratch his head in embarrassment.
Then it lowered its head, looked at the little Zhi who was busy on its body, and finally, as if resigned to its fate, turned its head away and let out a soft hum with a complicated meaning.
That's a reluctant way of acknowledging this trainer.
This Lapras was completely different from its kind, its body covered with a thick and gorgeous layer of ice crystal armor, a form that Ash had never seen before.
This inevitably reminded him of Laplace, the creature with whom he had formed a deep bond in real life.
I wonder how it's doing in its group now? Will I ever have a chance to see it again?
He shook his head, clearing his mind, and after finishing the treatment, he said to Crimson:
"Senior! Laplace has recovered! We can continue our journey!"
However, before they could even take a step, the group of Team Rocket swarmed around Little Red and began to frantically praise him.
"Team Rocket's weakling A: As expected of an elite from headquarters! He easily dealt with such a powerful obstacle Pokémon!"
"Rockets' weakling B: It's more than just a solution! The key is that brutal and efficient suppression! I never thought a match could be played like this! I've learned something!"
"No! That's not how it is!"
Crimson was so anxious that she almost became incoherent.
He's not that kind of person! He wanted to protect Laplace, not torture him!
Although the way it's presented might be a little unusual.
He wasn't worried about the NPCs' opinions, but he absolutely couldn't let Qinglu know about this! Otherwise, his reputation would be beyond repair!
He could even picture Qinglu's expressionless face suddenly breaking into a mocking smile upon hearing such unreliable rumors.
This is absolutely unacceptable!
"Rocket Team Minion C: Sir, you're too modest! You just said you wouldn't let us use firearms for fear of alerting Articuno, but it turns out it's completely unnecessary. You had a much more artistic way of handling things!"
"Team Rocket's weakling A: At this rate! Legendary Pokémon like Articuno are no problem at all!"
"Rockets nobodies: Exactly! Follow the big shots, and you'll eat nine meals in three days!"
Please stop talking!
I felt a burning sensation and started sweating profusely down my back.
Didn't you see Laplace's strange look over there again?!
Do you want to fight again?! Bastards!
Crimson was too weak to defend herself and too lazy to pay attention to these overthinking idiots.
Controlling Little Red, he almost fled in panic, taking the lead and breaking away from the crowd, heading quickly towards the mountaintop.
"Rockets' mediocre player A: An elite is an elite! Look at that cool and domineering demeanor! Even his departing figure exudes the air of a master!"
"Rockets's lowly center: Stop flattering us! The elites are all gone! Hurry up and catch up! Mission is the priority!"
Ash looked at Lapras, who seemed unwilling to stay in its Poké Ball for even a second longer, and scratched his head in confusion.
He wanted to spend more time getting to know his new partner.
So this Laplace has such an introverted personality?
Without much thought, he quickly controlled Ash to catch up with Red.
"Laplace: Let me state upfront! I absolutely did not succumb to the mental breakdown caused by that 'Debuff combo' plus 'Infinite Ball'! Absolutely not!"
"See that! Even the Rockets' ragtag players are completely convinced by Red's tactics! What does that prove? Gold shines wherever it is!"
"I always feel this playstyle is seriously out of place with the style of Crimson Legends. This strong unorthodox flavor reminds me a bit of a certain anonymous 'Salty Fish Teacher.' 'Is that even a question? Crimson Legends must have hired a master!'"
"The real essence lies in the praise from the nobodies! 'A more artistic approach,' hahaha!"
Amidst a barrage of skepticism and playful banter in the comments section.
The first assault team finally crossed the last frozen pass and arrived at their final destination.