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"Weavile… let it make contact, then use Counter..."
Liam whispered to the Weavile whose movements had been blocked by the boulders.
"Weavile!"
Hearing Liam's command, Weavile's mouth curled into a sly grin. It then quickly stepped onto the boulders and dashed straight toward the Snorlax.
"Snor!"
Snorlax, seeing that Weavile dared to launch an attack even at this point, grew even more enraged. The purple psychic energy around it intensified, clearly signaling a power boost.
In such a confined space, Snorlax was confident its opponent had no way to dodge. Even a glancing blow would deal serious damage.
"Weavile!"
But Weavile's eyes held no fear as it charged straight ahead. In the blink of an eye, the two were upon each other. Just as it looked like Weavile and Snorlax were about to collide, Weavile suddenly pivoted sideways, trying to evade Snorlax's charge.
"Snor!"
But Snorlax wasn't about to let it escape that easily. It quickly twisted its bulky frame and slammed into the airborne Weavile, sending it crashing into a nearby boulder. With a heavy thud, Weavile tumbled to the ground.
"Snor!"
"Hahaha! Got it! Looks like I win this match! Hahahaha!"
After slamming Weavile to the ground, Snorlax landed with a thunderous roar. The burly man commanding it burst into laughter, shouting with excitement.
"Agh! So careless! It's over, it's really over now!"
"Yeah, with how powerful Snorlax's move was, there's no way that small Pokémon could've withstood it."
"Exactly, exactly…"
Seeing Weavile lying motionless, the crowd around them murmured in awe, all assuming the match was settled.
"Weavile, quit playing around. Finish it."
Liam frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice.
The surrounding spectators erupted in outrage at his words. One young man immediately stepped forward and pointed angrily at Liam.
"Hey! Can't you see your Pokémon's out of it? How can you say something like that! What kind of traine—Whoa!!"
Before he could finish, Weavile suddenly sprang to its feet, leaping up in a flash of black shadow and charging straight at Snorlax.
"What?!"
"Snor?!"
The burly man and Snorlax both shouted in disbelief, their eyes filled with shock.
"Weavile!"
Just as Snorlax froze in fear, Weavile flashed past its body like a bolt of lightning and appeared behind it. Then it stood upright and calmly turned back toward Liam.
"Sno...rlax…"
As Weavile turned, the surrounding boulders suddenly cracked apart, shattering into rubble. Snorlax let out a groan and fell forward like a toppled mountain, raising a cloud of dust. Its eyes turned into swirls—it was completely knocked out.
"This… This!! Snorlax!! No way! This can't be happening!!"
The burly man stared in disbelief, pointing at Liam but unable to say a word.
Liam knelt down and gently stroked Weavile's smooth fur, then looked up at the man with a smile.
"There's nothing unbelievable about it. That's just how it is."
"I don't buy it! You—you must've used some dirty trick! There's no way that thing took a direct hit from my Snorlax and came out unharmed! This makes no sense!"
The man raged, his voice hoarse as he stared at Weavile in disbelief.
"Sense? This is sense. Don't you know Zen Headbutt is a Psychic-type move? My Weavile is a Dark-type Pokémon—it's completely immune to Psychic-type attacks. So tell me, how would your attack have worked on it?"
Liam returned Weavile to its PokeBall to let it rest, then stood and mocked the man with a sneer.
"Oh… so that's it. The new type Professor Oak discovered—Dark-type. It really is immune to Psychic-type moves... That's incredible. No wonder that little guy wasn't even scratched!"
"This is the first time I've seen a Dark-type Pokémon! How lucky!"
"Yeah, same here!"
The crowd murmured in realization after hearing Liam's explanation.
"Shut up! You're all so annoying! Even if—even if what you said is true! Using Zen Headbutt was my mistake, sure—but I know my Snorlax's defense is rock solid! There's no way it should've been knocked out in one hit! You can't explain that away! Let's see what you have to say now!!"
Still unwilling to accept defeat, the burly man clenched his fists and called out to his companions, then grinned at Liam, thinking he had cornered him with this logic.
"Sigh… I already said, if you don't have the brains for it, you should study more. With that IQ, you have the nerve to show up for a Pokémon battle? Where'd you get the courage from—seriously? You don't even realize how you lost."
"First off, just because Snorlax has high defense and HP doesn't mean it can't be one-shot. My Weavile has high base damage to begin with, and it used Hone Claws earlier, boosting its Attack. Then I had it use Screech and Leer on your Snorlax, sharply lowering its Defense. And the finishing move was Counter, a Fighting-type move that's super effective against Snorlax's Normal-type. On top of that, Counter deals double damage if the user took a hit from a physical attack—which it did. Stack all that together—what exactly were you planning to use to survive my Weavile's attack?"
"Go home and study up. Pokémon battles aren't just about brute-force exchanges. Status moves are just as important. With the right buffs and debuffs, even a weak Pokémon can deliver incredible power."
Liam folded his arms and spoke with utter disdain, thoroughly dismantling the man's final argument. His tone carried the sharpness of a blade.
"..."
"..."
Silence.
Not just from the burly man—everyone watching was stunned into speechlessness, now looking at Liam with a completely different expression.
Of course, after a long moment, the man suddenly snapped back to reality. His face twisted with resentment, but he didn't explode again. Gritting his teeth, he took out Snorlax's PokeBall and recalled it, then turned and shoved his way through the crowd toward the Pokémon Center, not saying another word.
Liam watched him go, then glanced at the small notification showing his "Thousand-Win Streak" achievement had increased again. He sighed quietly. He knew he might've overdone it—his performance had probably been too overwhelming. Chances were, no one would challenge him after this…
Maybe he needed to find another way to draw opponents?
Just as Liam was wondering what other strategy he could use to get people to battle him, someone suddenly stepped forward from the crowd and walked to the challenger's side of the field. Liam looked at him in surprise—it was the same young man who had tried to scold him earlier for not caring about his Pokémon.
Seeing him take his place, Liam asked with a hint of curiosity, "Hmm? Even after watching that last match, you still want to fight me?"
The young man smiled, then pulled 3000 PokeDollars from his pocket and held it up in front of him.
"This is my tuition! Please, senior, have a battle with me. Let me see where I fall short. Let me learn… how to help my Pokémon truly reach their full potential!"
Liam: "…Heh heh heh… alright. Take the money, Moth."
"Moth...?" (Venomoth)