Pokémon Court-Chapter 459: Absolute Defense

“What’s with this Beedrill!!”

In the arena of Fallarbor Gym, a challenger just over ten years old was wearing a startled look.

“Combusken, use Flamethrower again!” The boy gave his command, refusing to give up.

“Beedrill, defend!”

Terrance issued his order.

Swish!

Faced with the incoming flames, Beedrill didn’t even attempt to dodge. Instead, it swiftly brandished Twineedle, scattering light outward as if weaving threads into a sphere. When the flames descended, they collided with the white glowing shield, sending countless sparks and embers flying in all directions.

“Swords Dance and Twineedle… there are traces of Fury Attack in that too…”

Kotoko watched Terrance’s Beedrill, deep in thought. Beedrill’s twin stingers were its weapons of attack, powerful and deadly.

Yet this lethal weapon… was actually being used for defense?!

“How was it even trained? That defense feels completely impenetrable. If the opponent’s move isn’t overwhelmingly powerful, even flames would have a hard time breaking through it…” Kotoko thought to herself.

Beedrill’s Twineedle was its signature trait. If it were showcased in a Pokémon Contest without highlighting Twineedle’s uniqueness, the score would surely be low.

However, even when Coordinators did use Beedrill, they typically only displayed Twineedle’s sharpness and strength!

How many had ever used Twineedle in combination with Beedrill’s speed to forge a defensive technique?!

Watching the challenger break out into sweat, Terrance knew his opponent had fallen into a dilemma. Close combat… he had just tried that, and long-range attacks were no different. Beedrill’s defensive technique was flawless—no matter what attack Combusken used, it couldn’t break through.

“Is he about to give up?”

Terrance wondered to himself. The Beedrill he trained possessed both Absolute Offense and Absolute Defense, both relying on extreme speed. Of course, this “absolute” was only relative to weaker Pokémon…

For example, if an Altaria fired off a single Dragon Pulse, Beedrill would be gravely injured… No, it might end up in an even worse state.

The level of skill displayed here is such that for the challenger to break through, they would need to demonstrate power far surpassing Beedrill. Otherwise, they would have to find an entirely different approach.

Among the Bug-type Pokémon at the Fallarbor Gym, Beedrill’s Absolute Defense technique and Terrance’s trained Forretress’s combo of Gyro Ball and other moves make their defenses the most formidable. If one couldn’t overpower them with sheer force, the only way to break through their defense was with superior skills.

I’m already holding back…

Against a rookie challenger, Terrance had refrained from having Beedrill use its offensive techniques—that alone was already quite merciful……However, it seems that facing Beedrill’s Absolute Defense, the opponent is also unable to break through…

“It seems Ariados won’t need to take the stage.” Terrance thought to himself. At the same time, his main focus was on testing meditation. Throughout the battle, he had been maintaining the meditative state. He had tested it before—if he didn’t give commands, there was no problem, but the moment he spoke to give a command… his meditative state would break.

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This frustrated Terrance immensely, making him envious of Albus’s ability to communicate with Pokémon through Aura.

If he didn’t have to speak to issue commands, his skills as a Trainer would improve tremendously!

“It’s said that if psychic power is trained to a certain level, Telepathy becomes possible…”

Telepathy—some natural-born psychics are born with it. But for those who develop their psychic abilities later in life, achieving that level is much more difficult than developing psychic power.

“Damn it… Come back, Combusken.” The challenger reluctantly took out his Poké Ball, taking a deep breath.

“It’s up to you now, Poliwhirl!”

Seeing that Combusken was unable to affect Beedrill, the challenger recalled it and sent out another Pokémon.

Poliwhirl?

Terrance began speculating on his opponent’s intent. Speaking of which… what was worth paying attention to in Poliwhirl?

Thanks to his meditative state, his clear mind was able to quickly recall all known characteristics of Poliwhirl—even within the brief and tense moments of battle. He immediately simulated possible battle scenarios and made predictions.

“Poliwhirl, use Hydro Pump!”

The challenger swiftly commanded.

“It’s useless, you can’t break through the Absolute Defense of my Beedrill.” As the Gym Leader, Terrance spoke up, projecting an air of profound expertise.

Whoosh!

Hydro Pump surged forth, but its power still wasn’t enough to warrant Terrance’s concern. If it were a Hydro Pump from Castform—swift, concentrated, and powerful—it might be worth dodging. But this one? It could be completely ignored.

Even a Flamethrower, which had the type advantage, was ineffective. Hydro Pump?

The Twineedle was brandished through the air, streaks of light flickering like fine threads, forming what seemed like an impenetrable shield. In reality, it was simply that Beedrill’s Twineedle, combined with Swords Dance, was moving so fast that it created the illusion of a shield. At the same time, as the number of defensive maneuvers increased, Twineedle’s offensive power also grew. Moreover, the defensive capability was closely tied to Twineedle’s strength…

Bang!

The water, like flames, scattered in all directions, deflected by Beedrill. However, at this moment, the challenger smirked triumphantly, “You fell for it! Poliwhirl, now’s the time—Hypnosis!”

Using the splashing water from the Hydro Pump deflected by Beedrill as a visual distraction, Poliwhirl swiftly moved to a position where Beedrill’s line of sight was blocked. Hypnosis… activated!

“Just as I expected.” Terrance sighed inwardly. Poliwhirl only had a few viable moves—he had predicted this outcome long ago. Even without the clear mind from his meditative state, it wouldn’t have been hard to figure out.

Yet, Terrance didn’t warn Beedrill in advance. Even when he heard the opponent’s command, he chose not to issue an immediate counter-order.

If Terrance had given a timely command, Beedrill’s speed and reflexes would have easily allowed it to dodge. But since the challenger had finally thought of a way to bypass Twineedle’s defense, Terrance decided to play along and let Beedrill take the hit.

“It didn’t dodge…!” Seeing Beedrill succumb to Hypnosis and fall from the air, the challenger was ecstatic. “Poliwhirl, quick—use Wake-Up Slap!”

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

“He’s doing it on purpose, right?” Watching Terrance’s “shocked” expression, Kotoko’s lips twitched. The acting was way too obvious!

Even she knew that Beedrill should have at least attempted to dodge. Even if it failed, it should’ve tried!

But Terrance… he actually looked astonished as if he hadn’t expected this at all. What a drama king!

“Terrance once told me that a Gym Leader’s duty isn’t to defeat challengers, but to test them—to help them grow through Gym Battles…”

“Does that mean I’ll have to go easy on challengers in the future too?” Kotoko clenched her fists, watching the battle more intently.

“Hypnosis, huh…” Terrance spoke “in surprise.” “I was careless… I didn’t expect that at all…”

“Hehehe, my Poliwhirl’s Hypnosis is really strong!” The challenger said proudly.

“Is that so? Well, what a coincidence… Can you beat it?….Go, Ariados!”

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