Chapter 303: Slaking vs. Gardevoir, Urshifu vs. Charizard!
"Come forth—Slaking!"
Kosuke's first Pokémon was predictably Urshifu, but the second Pokémon summoned caused a stir.
As soon as it appeared, it flopped lazily to the ground, leaning on one arm, eyes half-closed and yawning.
Slaking.
To be honest, Hikaru had once considered raising a Slaking.
Back when he obtained the [King of the Slackers] trait, Slaking's unique Truant ability and laid-back nature matched the trait perfectly.
Plus, Slaking's base stats were insane—150 HP and 160 physical attack.
If one could overcome its ability drawback and had the right potential, it could definitely become a monster.
But after acquiring Tyrunt, that thought had faded from his mind.
Hikaru activated [Eye of Insight]:
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[Pokémon: Slaking]
Ability: Truant
Gender: Male
Potential: King-tier
Level: 49
Moves: Slash, Encore, Yawn, Rest, Sucker Punch, Amnesia, Counter, Mega Kick, Blizzard, Bulk Up, Earthquake, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Protect…
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"Huh... quite the movepool."
Hikaru took a moment to think. Then, two Poké Balls appeared in his hands.
"Go—Charizard, Gardevoir!"
Against Urshifu—a Fighting/Water-style brawler—his best choice was Gardevoir, with its Psychic and Fairy typing.
Charizard, on the other hand, was someone Hikaru wanted to test.
Could this fight give him some insight?
At that moment, Hikaru equipped his [Battle Leech] (red trait) onto Charizard.
At the same time, he equipped the [Magical Girl] (gold trait) onto Gardevoir.
This golden trait added a percentage-based boost to special attack—meaning the stronger the stats, the more impactful it became.
"Garde~"
Feeling her power increase, Gardevoir instantly recognized who was behind it.
"Begin!"
As the referee's voice echoed, both Urshifu and Slaking assumed defensive positions.
Urshifu didn't rush forward—it waited in stance.
Slaking simply stayed slouched in front of Kosuke, clearly serving as a protector.
It was the same strategy Hikaru had seen before: defend and counter.
Hikaru narrowed his eyes and began channeling Aura commands:
'Charizard, this one's a great opponent for you. Plenty of stamina to burn—go with Fire Punch.'
'Gardevoir, stay sharp. When Charizard engages, use Teleport—then Psychic Spike!'
"Roar!"
Charizard let out a cry of excitement.
It had been so long since it was allowed to go all out in battle.
It was sick of sparring with that flashy frog every day.
White-blue flames gathered on its claws. Though Urshifu had stronger presence, Charizard showed no fear—he flapped his wings and soared forward.
"Urshifu—Detect!"
Facing Charizard's charge, Urshifu remained calm and used Detect once more.
It was aiming to repeat its earlier counter strategy.
'Flamethrower—now!'
Hikaru wasn't about to let Charizard get baited into close-quarters.
Mid-air, Charizard unleashed a torrent of pale flames.
To Urshifu, the fire looked big enough to swallow Charizard whole.
At the same time—
Gardevoir vanished from beside Hikaru.
A moment later, she reappeared high above Kosuke.
She focused her energy, forming a sharp spike of mental force.
Then, she hurled the Psychic Spike downward like a missile.
With Protect barriers in place, there was no risk to the Trainer.
Just as the spike descended—
Slaking moved.
With a simple flick of its hand, a white Protect barrier expanded and absorbed the hit.
This Slaking clearly had excellent control over defensive timing.
Boom!
Crash!
Two explosions rang out:
Charizard and Urshifu had engaged.
Gardevoir's Psychic Spike slammed into Slaking's shield.
'Teleport again, then Psychic!'
Hikaru didn't slow down with his commands.
He knew Slaking was built like a tank. Breaking it would take time.
From its skill set, he could tell—Slaking's role was to defend Kosuke, plain and simple.
'Hit Urshifu instead. It's the actual threat.'
Even though Slaking had monstrous stats, its Truant ability severely limited its reaction time.
Meanwhile—
Charizard's Fire Punch was being effortlessly read and countered by Urshifu.
Each strike was intercepted, and Charizard took hit after hit.
Against a martial arts master like Urshifu, Charizard's crude fighting style looked amateurish.
Charizard's usual aggression meant nothing here.
Urshifu moved with flowing precision—every punch, every step in perfect rhythm.
Still, this was exactly why Hikaru had brought Charizard—to learn.
Charizard's recovery ability and high endurance, enhanced further by recent energy cube boosts, let him endure.
And Hikaru's red trait—Battle Leech—had already started to work.
Though Charizard was clearly taking a beating, the faint, pale flames from its earlier attacks had begun to cling to Urshifu.
These flames weren't visible to the naked eye. They didn't burn fur or skin.
Urshifu ignored them at first—until it began to feel slower.
Its flexibility, stamina, and response time were all gradually degrading.
That's when it realized—this was the fire's true effect.
And in the sky above, the waves of psychic power grew stronger.
Urshifu knew it couldn't drag the fight out.
That incoming blast from Gardevoir—
If it connected, even the difference between Master and Elite level wouldn't help.
Kosuke's face twisted.
He hadn't expected Charizard to last this long.
"Exploding Fist—now!"
"ROAR!"
Urshifu let out a deep growl. Its fists glowed with a bright light.
Its rhythm broke. The strategy changed.
From fluid martial arts to pure explosive power.
Exploding Fist!
Charizard, caught off guard, couldn't react in time.
Even with Hikaru's Aura warning—
"Slash—now!"
—it was too late.
Charizard barely moved before Urshifu's Exploding Fist struck directly against its chest.
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