Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Chapter 535 Tactics for Fighting in Blind Spots

The violent shockwave from the explosion, like an invisible giant hand, pushed Infernape and Electivire backward simultaneously, and thick smoke instantly filled half the area, temporarily obscuring everyone's vision.

"Now, Infernape! Dig!" Ash's voice pierced through the smoke and dust, reaching Infernape's ears clearly.

"OKI!" Infernape forcibly stabilized its body while flying backward, its fists glowing white. Taking advantage of the cover of the explosion and the smoke, it suddenly burrowed downward and disappeared into the ground in an instant.

On the other side of the smoke and dust, the Electrified Beast, with its heavier body, was the first to regain its footing and shook its somewhat dazed head.

Shinji's focused gaze had already pierced through the thinning smoke and dust, noticing the spot where Infernape had disappeared. His eyes sharpened, and he acted almost without hesitation.

"Electrify! Use Earthquake at full power!"

Since Ash gave him this opportunity, Shinji naturally wouldn't waste it.

If this Earthquake can be successfully used, it will definitely defeat Infernape, regardless of whether the opponent is underground.

Shinji believed that his Electric Demon Beast could withstand the force of digging and breaking through the ground.

"EI!"

The electric monster obeyed the command, its massive body slightly lowering to gather strength, its thick right leg rising high, ready to stomp the ground with all its might.

However, just as the Electabuzz's right foot was about to touch the ground, an extremely intense heat surged up from the earth, and the ground beneath its feet turned red at a visible speed, radiating an astonishingly high temperature like a red-hot iron.

"EI—!!!"

A sharp, burning pain shot through the monster instantly, and it let out a agonizing roar. It instinctively tried to pull its raised right foot back, and the earthquake that was about to start was forcibly interrupted by this sudden turn of events.

"?"

Shinji, observing the unusual changes on the ground and the Electivire's painful reaction, showed a noticeable change in his usually cold face for the first time. However, he quickly regained his composure, realizing Ash and Infernape's plan, and instantly switched tactics.

"Hold on!"

What was originally an offensive battle instantly turned into a race against time to defend. Shinji knew that if his commands were slow, the Electabuzz would not be able to hold on in time.

Meanwhile, the electric monster Qiang endured the excruciating pain in his feet and tried to mobilize energy to build a protective barrier around his body.

But just as that pale green energy light began to condense—

boom!!!

The crimson ground beneath the feet of the Electrified Beast suddenly exploded, sending earth and rocks, along with scorching heat waves, flying wildly in all directions.

A figure enveloped in raging crimson flames burst forth from the earth with unparalleled momentum, like volcanic lava erupting from the ground, heading straight for the electric monster above, which had not yet had time to fully react.

Sand and stones flew, and flames rose.

In mid-air, Infernape's golden pupils, which seemed to burn with flames, met Electivire's wide eyes, which were staring in pain and astonishment.

"EI!"

In its haste, the Electrified Beast managed to erect a pale green protective barrier.

However, because it was launched too hastily, the coverage of the barrier was not perfect, especially with a noticeable gap directly below it.

This can be attributed to Electivire's habit of using Protect. Normally, when using Protect, you would protect yourself in front, behind, left, and right. Therefore, the shields surrounding your body will definitely open first, while the shields below will often form the slowest.

It was this habit that allowed Infernape's Flare Blitz to pinpoint this fleeting opening with incredible precision.

The flames, imbued with extreme heat and impact, relentlessly surged upwards into the barrier's interior.

Snap! Snap!

A piercing cracking sound rang out, and the already crumbling barrier shattered, turning into specks of green light that dissipated into the air.

With its defenses breached, Electivire had no way to withstand the attack.

"boom--"

"EI—?!"

The Electrified Beast let out a deafening howl of pain as the incomparably violent impact of Flame Charge slammed solidly into its chest and abdomen.

The massive body completely lost its balance and control, and was thus swept up by this enormous force and sent flying into the sky above the competition field.

"oh--!!!"

A thunderous roar of surprise and uproar erupted from the audience; everyone was stunned by Infernape's sudden and perfect counterattack.

Shinji's heart tightened as he watched the Electrified Beast being blasted into the air, but he maintained his usual composure.

He quickly seized upon the extremely brief period of stability the Electrified Beast maintained in the air and issued the order to counterattack.

"Electrify! Use Thunder on Infernape below!"

In mid-air, the Electrified Beast endured the excruciating pain and sense of imbalance throughout its body, attempting to adjust its posture with its powerful willpower.

The two detonators behind it began to flash with dangerous electric light, preparing to gather power for a counterattack.

However, just as it managed to steady its vision and painfully looked down, its pupils suddenly contracted.

Apart from the charred crater left by the Infernape when it burrowed in and burst out of the ground, and the lingering dust, the ground was completely empty.

Infernape's figure simply vanished from the battlefield in Electivire's view.

According to Electivire, Infernape should have already burrowed underground, so the lightning attack should not have hit Infernape.

that's it.

The electric current that the Electrified Beast had just gathered paused for a moment, its massive body appearing somewhat bewildered and helpless in the air.

Shinji also noticed Electabuzz's unusual behavior, but he didn't understand what it was doing. He had already given the order and the lightning had been gathered, but Electabuzz in mid-air just didn't make a move.

Shinji's brows furrowed slightly.

The current situation was very unusual, and even he didn't know what was going on for the time being. But when Shinji looked at Ash on the other side of the field, he finally noticed a clue.

Ash was closing his eyes, and a faint blue light seemed to be flowing around him.

The power of waveguides.

This was Ash's first time using it at this year's Lily of the Valley Conference, because he wanted Infernape to be able to use techniques that were impossible to achieve without the assistance of Aura.

.....

at the same time.

Just as Electabuzz hesitated because it couldn't find its target, and its body began to fall faster due to gravity.

No one noticed that Infernape did not remain in place the moment Electivire was launched into the air.

After knocking Electivire away, Infernape immediately used its amazing speed and agility, combined with Ash's shared vision through Aura, to perfectly predict Electivire's trajectory and the area its line of sight might sweep across.

It moved with incredibly light yet swift steps, moving at high speed and silently across the ground, always cleverly positioning itself in a blind spot of the electric monster's vision, or hidden by the rising smoke and dust from the explosion, creating the illusion of "disappearing".

Just as the heavy body of the Electrified Beast was about to crash to the ground.

Right at this moment.

Infernape, which had been keeping itself in Electivire's blind spot, suddenly burst out from a position that Electivire had never anticipated, right below Electivire as it was about to land.

Infernape had already tilted its body to the side, and white light was gathering on its right fist.

"Sonic Fist!"

Even though he used the power of Aura, Ash couldn't help but shout out the command.

The sonic punch arrived as expected.

Bang!

The Electivire, which was just bracing for the impact of the landing, had no time to react before being struck in the abdomen by the sudden attack.

The immense impact brought its descent to an abrupt halt, and its massive body was once again uncontrollably sent flying into the sky by Infernape's full-force attack.

This is......

The brief moment of shock and confusion of the Electabuzz was clearly seen by Shinji.

Based on Infernape's continuous running around the field, Shinji instantly realized what was happening.

Using movement to create blind spots...

This is really troublesome.

Although Shinji was very surprised by Ash's tactics, the change in his expression only lasted for a moment, and this tactic was not unbreakable.

"Electric Beast! Ignore where it is! Use Thunder on the ground!"

Shinji's voice came, giving the Electabuzz, which had been blasted into the air, a direction.

"EI!"

In mid-air, Electivire still couldn't see Infernape, but out of absolute trust in Shinji, it obeyed the command.

The detonator behind him burst into blinding flashes of electricity once more, and a massive current condensed.

Boom! ...

Golden lightning tore through the air and struck the ground below.

Lightning bolts from above continuously and randomly bombarded every corner of the battlefield.

However, this linear attack poses no threat to Infernape, which moves at high speed guided by waveguides.

However, in order to avoid the thunder, Infernape's figure could not be perfectly hidden.

A crimson afterimage flashed past the edge of the lightning; it was Infernape, who had anticipated and dodged the attack.

Electivire finally caught a glimpse of Infernape in mid-air.

But it only lasted for a moment.

next second.

As its body continued to fall and its perspective shifted, Infernape's figure once again disappeared beyond its perception range.

Meanwhile, Infernape had already adjusted its stance and charged at Electivire, which was about to land, once again preparing to use the same trick.

"Now! Shock the monster, concentrate the current, cover your entire body!" Shinji's voice suddenly rose.

He had already seen through Ash's intentions. This tactic of using blind spots couldn't be used infinitely against Pokémon like Electivire. Successfully launching an unexpected ambush was already a success.

"EI!!"

The Electivire roared before landing.

The electrical energy in its body no longer released outwards, but instead frantically condensed on its surface. Crackling golden arcs of electricity covered its massive body like armor, emanating an extremely dangerous aura.

Was I seen through after all?

Ash opened his eyes, and his Aura slowly receded.

Against Electabuzz's near-omnidirectional electrical defense, continuing to use Sonic Punch for sneak attacks is pointless.

Then let's break through head-on and use the same old tricks.

"Infernape! Unleash its most powerful Flare Charge!!"

"OKI—!!!"

Infernape, its fighting spirit surging, flames shot skyward from its head, and its entire body was once again enveloped in intensely hot crimson flames. Its body seemed to transform into a burning meteorite as it fiercely attacked Electivire, whose body was crackling with violent electricity.

boom--!!!!

The collision of fire and lightning once again.

An even more violent explosion erupted in the center of the field, and everything seemed to be returning to its starting point at this moment.

The same collision of thunder and fire, the same explosion.

Even the two sides in the battle were once again blasted away by the enormous force of the explosion.

Is Infernape going to dig another hole next?

wrong!

This time is different from before.

Just as the two Pokémon were about to be completely separated by the violent explosion, a sudden change occurred.

A cunning glint flashed in the eyes of the Electivire, which was sent flying backward by the shockwave. At that moment, its two long detonators suddenly shot out and, under the cover of the smoke and light of the explosion, they precisely wrapped around the right arm of the Infernape, which was also flying backward.

"OKI?!"

As Infernape flew off, it felt a tightness in its right arm. The next second, a huge pulling force came, instantly interrupting its backward flight. Its body was uncontrollably carried by Electivire, flying in the same direction as Electivire.

boom--! ! !

boom--! ! !

The two Pokémon fell one after the other onto the battlefield.

The immense impact was painful for both Infernape and Electivire, but almost the instant they landed, realizing that the ensuing battle would be crucial to victory, both Pokémon endured the excruciating pain and struggled to get up and launch a counterattack as soon as possible.

However, because its right arm was entangled in Electivire's tail, Infernape was a beat too slow to get up.

"Thunder Fist!" Shinji's cold voice rang out.

Electivire had already gained its footing, and its right fist, crackling with golden electricity and carrying the terrifying power amplified by the baton, slammed mercilessly into the face of the Infernape, which was still standing close by.

That's too late.

Ash knew that Infernape had no room to dodge or use other more powerful moves at this moment.

All we have left is—

"Infernape! Block with Mach Punch!!"

Ash had no choice but to resort to Mach Punch to meet the challenge head-on.

"OKI!"

Infernape let out a low growl, and its empty left fist instantly condensed into white light, hastily meeting the terrifyingly powerful lightning punch.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Thank you so much to the user for the generous update! Thank you for your support!

(I haven't been in the right frame of mind for writing these past few days, hopefully I'll be back to normal by the May Day holiday.)