Chapter 41 41: A Total Staller!
The match between Ralts and Pikachu made Lorze an overnight sensation. The pure white Ralts already had an astronomical level of attention, and with her performance being this spectacular, her popularity was virtually guaranteed to skyrocket.
The battle had been an extreme, non-stop offensive clash from start to finish. The audience was left breathless and addicted to the spectacle.
Even though they were still incredibly salty toward Lorze, they had to admit that his Ralts was cultivated with terrifying efficiency.
Various influencers and content creators began clipping the livestream footage, spamming it across all platforms with titles like "The Textbook Definition of a Rookie Battle." This inadvertently pulled even more massive traffic toward Ralts.
On the official forums, people were already predicting that this pure white Ralts might eventually challenge Xue Tong's legendary status.
However, those predictions were quickly met with a barrage of insults from Xue Tong's fanatical fanbase. Xue Tong herself was a powerful human psychic; not just any random person was qualified to be compared to her.
Trainers with Gardevoirs weren't exactly common, but Xue Tong wasn't the only one—yet has anyone ever threatened her throne?
A pure white Ralts was undoubtedly rare, but at the end of the day, it was just a color swap. Color didn't provide a combat buff.
In their eyes, whether this Ralts could even reach the Master Class was still highly debatable.
The comment sections turned into a chaotic battlefield of conflicting opinions, with both sides aggressively arguing their points.
But one couldn't deny that the hate was also a form of traffic. God only knows if the person making those predictions was an official plant—this could easily be a calculated move by the organizers to drive engagement.
"Look at that. The official forums are comparing you to Big Sis Xue Tong's debut everywhere. Me and my Pikachu have been reduced to nothing but background props for your fame. Do you have anything to say for yourself, superstar?" Anna Lee didn't leave after losing; instead, she followed Lorze straight into his competitor's lounge.
The sight of them walking side-by-side made the audience even saltier, practically confirming the rumors that they were a couple.
"Stop listening to that bullshit. It's obviously just someone stirring the pot for clicks. I'd rather spend time researching my next opponent," Lorze replied, showing zero interest in the forums. Right now, the only thing he took seriously was the tournament.
Only by winning could he secure the absolute right to defile his mother and Auntie however he pleased.
After fighting Anna, Lorze could vividly feel the pressure of the Top 16. Part of that was his bad luck in drawing Anna this early; in his opinion, her performance was worthy of the Grand Finals.
But it was undeniable that the remaining bracket was filled with opponents on her level, with some being even more specialized.
Take the match currently on the screen, for example.
According to the bracket, the winner of this match would be his next opponent. Both sides were impressive, but it was clear that one side held a crushing, absolute advantage.
"Are you worried about that Chansey?" Anna Lee asked, looking at the screen.
In the arena, a teenage girl was commanding a Chansey against an opponent's Charmeleon. The Charmeleon had the advantage in both speed and raw power, yet the Chansey seemed to be in total control. The Charmeleon was visibly exhausted, while the Chansey looked completely unfazed.
The reason was simple: this Chansey was a total staller.
This species had an incredibly extreme stat distribution. In the games, Chansey had a base stat total of 450, but its Physical Attack and Physical Defense were a pathetic 5. Conversely, its Special Defense was a solid 105, and its HP was a staggering 250!
For a newborn Pokémon just starting out, this thing was an insurmountable wall of iron.
The Charmeleon in the match was clearly a Special Attacker. Against Chansey's massive Special Defense, its flames were barely even a nuisance.
Even when the Charmeleon tried to pivot to physical moves like Fire Fang to break the stalemate, it would be violently repelled by Chansey's Hyper Voice shockwave.
Charmeleon had no choice but to keep using Flamethrower to slowly chip away at its health. This went on for minutes. But right when it finally managed to grind Chansey down to half health, the opponent used Soft-Boiled and instantly healed back to full.
The Charmeleon and its Trainer were being driven to the brink of a nervous breakdown.
A Charmeleon has a base Special Attack of 80 and it was still being tortured like this. Ralts's measly 45 Special Attack wouldn't even tickle that pink monster.
"I thought Chansey were strictly regulated Pokémon?" Lorze frowned slightly.
Normally, Chansey were exclusively assigned by the state to professional Pokémon Doctors. Ordinary people had virtually zero legal channels to obtain one.
Is that girl Trainer actually a Pokémon Doctor in training?
If you're supposed to be a doctor, what the hell are you doing in a battle tournament?!
"She's likely from the Qiao family. Is our invincible superstar actually afraid of a Chansey now?" Anna teased with a playful smirk.
Based on the power Ralts had shown so far, she genuinely couldn't beat a Chansey. Her telepathic waves would bounce off that Special Defense like a rubber ball. Stalling would be useless.
Against a target with infinite healing, playing a war of attrition was the height of stupidity.
If Lorze didn't have another trick up his sleeve, he was destined to suffer the same fate as that Charmeleon.
"I wouldn't say I'm afraid, but it's definitely going to be a massive pain in the ass." Lorze wasn't worried about the Special Defense as much as he was annoyed by the healing.
Against a self-healing tank, unless you can one-shot it, every attack is meaningless.
The problem was how to get that one-shot. He wasn't sure if his Thunder Punch would be enough.
He was definitely going to have to reveal Thunder Punch in the next round. Only a physical move could hope to bypass Chansey's absurd Special Defense.
But even with the Huge Power + Thunder Punch + Strength-Stacking combo, Chansey's terrifying HP pool made a one-shot kill highly unlikely. If he failed to secure the kill, the opponent would just heal back to full and stay on high alert for his combo, making a second chance impossible.
He had to find a way to grind Chansey down to at least half health first, then execute it before it could heal.
"Judging by your tone, you're definitely hiding a massive trump card. Why not tell Big Sis? It's not like we're competing against each other anymore~" Anna began plotting again.
"Not a chance," Lorze rejected her instantly.
"Don't be so stingy. At least tell me your Ability."
"I already told you."
"When?"
"Trace."
"Liar! Come on, spill it. If you're honest with me, Big Sis might even consider being your girlfriend~"
"Fine."
As the word left his lips, Lorze reached out and violently yanked Anna into his arms.
Anna let out a shocked gasp as her supple, bouncy breasts were crushed firmly against Lorze's chest. She had actually been... forcefully embraced?!
"What... what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Anna yelled, her face flushing with a mix of shame and arousal as she frantically tried to push him away.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to be my girlfriend?" Lorze asked, looking entirely innocent.
"I said I'd consider it after you told me your Ability!"
"But I just told you again."
"I swear to god—! GET OUT!"
Anna was genuinely pissed. She stomped out of the lounge, finally understanding why Little Xue always lost her cool around this guy. This bastard absolutely refused to follow the rules of a normal conversation!
He was a total shameless, perverted monster!