Chapter 602 - 602: 602. The first roaring tiger in the universe

"Incineroar, use Darkest Lariat on Dragapult!"

"Kingambit, use Sucker Punch on Dragapult!"

Facing the combined attack from Dragapult and Indeedee, Thurstan immediately ordered his Pokémon to strike back.

Dark-type energy burst from Incineroar's body as it spun around, its fist wrapped in dark power. It threw a punch, sending a massive fist made of Dark-type energy soaring through the air, straight toward Dragapult.

At the same time, black Dark-type energy surged around Kingambit, almost like dark flames wrapping its body, finally gathering on the blade mounted on its head.

Kingambit lifted its head sharply, then bowed forward and swung its blade downward. The gathered energy shot out as a crescent-shaped slash, cutting through the air toward Dragapult.

A giant fist of dark energy. A slash of dark energy.

Both tore through the sky, aimed straight at Dragapult.

Incineroar's Darkest Lariat and Kingambit's Sucker Punch struck toward Dragapult at the same moment, while it was still flying through the air.

Thurstan's plan was simple: focus both attacks on Dragapult to break through its defenses, then turn his attention to Indeedee.

"Darkest Lariat and Sucker Punch together, both Dark-type moves matching Incineroar and Kingambit's own types. If both attacks connect, Dragapult will take serious damage. But... Jacob's Dragapult knows Phantom Force, a move that lets it vanish into another dimension to dodge attacks."

"Thurstan might be acting a bit too rashly here. Jacob will surely have Dragapult use Phantom Force to escape."

"He probably should have targeted Indeedee first instead. Jacob's Dragapult isn't an easy Pokémon to deal with."

.....

"Dragapult, Phantom Force!"

Just as the commentator expected, Jacob didn't hesitate and immediately had Dragapult use its signature move.

Dragapult's golden form flashed and vanished into another dimension, dodging both Kingambit's and Thurstan's powerful attacks.

"What a shame. Jacob has taken the advantage once again."

"There it is!"

Even as the commentator spoke, Dragapult's Dragon Pulse had already struck Kingambit.

The surging Dragon-type energy engulfed Kingambit like a massive dragon, pushing it backward across the ground and leaving a long scrape in its wake.

At the same moment, Indeedee's Dazzling Gleam struck both Kingambit and Incineroar. The burst of Fairy-type energy felt like countless needles piercing their bodies, drawing pained cries from both Pokémon.

"Grrraah!"

"Even though Dazzling Gleam isn't a same-type move for Indeedee, it's clearly strong enough to hurt Kingambit and Incineroar. It looks like Jacob's Indeedee isn't just a support Pokémon. It must have developed real Special Attack strength as well."

"At this point, Thurstan's chances of winning look very slim."

"Thurstan is already considered a strong Trainer among his peers, but he's still completely outmatched by Jacob. It looks like Jacob might really pull off something remarkable here."

"Moving from Grade 3 to Grade 2 and then Grade 1, he could become the youngest Dragon-type Gym Leader in the capital!"

.....

At that moment, a rift tore open in the space around the field, and Dragapult's body tensed before shooting out like an arrow, its golden triangular head slamming into Kingambit with tremendous force.

"Kingambit, use Kowtow Cleave now!"

Facing Dragapult's sudden strike, Thurstan quickly ordered Kingambit to counter with its signature move.

Dark-type energy gathered once more on the blade atop Kingambit's head. It bowed forward sharply, and a slash of dark energy shot rapidly toward Dragapult.

"Dragapult, Protect!"

This time, Dragapult had no room to dodge, so Jacob quickly had it use Protect instead. A glowing barrier appeared and blocked Kingambit's attack completely.

.....

"Jacob's Dragapult is as troublesome as ever."

"Honestly, I've thought carefully about how I would beat Dragapult if I were facing Jacob, and I can only describe it with one word."

"Unbeatable."

"Unless I had a massive gap in strength working in my favor, I really can't think of a way to counter it."

"Jacob's Dragapult performs almost perfectly across Special Attack, Physical Attack, and Speed."

"Its Speed is top-tier, and for close combat it has Phantom Force, while Dragon Darts covers it from a distance."

"For special attacks, it knows moves like Shadow Ball, Dragon Pulse, and Fire Blast, and Jacob has surely taught it something like Thunderbolt too, just to widen its type coverage."

"Its only real weaknesses are Defense and Special Defense, but Dragapult can rely on its speed to keep its distance and avoid close-range fights."

"And even against long-range attacks, its speed lets it dodge most hits. Even in situations where dodging isn't possible, like just now, it can fall back on Phantom Force to escape into another dimension."

"Of course, Dragapult can't use Phantom Force repeatedly in a short time, but it can rely on moves like Protect and Substitute to stall until it's ready again."

"At my level as a Trainer, I honestly can't figure out a way to break through it."

"To be honest, if I were in Thurstan's position, I'd be furious by now. Losing to Jacob wouldn't be embarrassing at all. What would really be frustrating is not even landing a single hit."

"After battling for this long, neither of Thurstan's Pokémon has managed to land a single attack on Jacob's Dragapult."

The commentator wasn't the only one thinking this. Standing across from Jacob, Thurstan felt exactly the same way.

Kingambit, already at Quasi-Heavenly King level, had grown even more dangerous after using Swords Dance, its Attack reaching a frightening level. In most other matches at this level, it would already be sweeping through an opponent's whole team with its overwhelming physical power.

But facing Jacob's Dragapult made Thurstan feel like he was throwing punches at cotton, unable to land anything meaningful. It was an incredibly frustrating feeling.

Part of him wanted to shout at Jacob, "Stop running and fight me head-on!"

.....

Thurstan's eyes narrowed. He still wasn't ready to give up, so he shifted his focus to Indeedee instead.

Since attacking Dragapult together hadn't worked, he decided to go after Indeedee next, hoping to force it to waste its Protect.

"Kingambit, use Kowtow Cleave on Indeedee!"

"Incineroar, use Darkest Lariat on Dragapult!"

Hearing Thurstan's orders, Jacob reacted immediately, having Indeedee use Protect right away. "Indeedee, Protect!"

Kingambit's full-power Kowtow Cleave slammed into Indeedee's Protect and was completely blocked.

Meanwhile, Incineroar spun rapidly, Dark-type energy wrapping around it like a spinning black top, launching its attack straight at Dragapult.

Watching Kingambit and Incineroar attacking with everything they had, Jacob knew the time had come to finish the match.

He raised his hand and called out clearly to Dragapult, "Dragapult, Draco Meteor!"

.....