Chương 880: Talent
As the referee, Beidou gave the signal, and Yuga's Sceptile and Astrid's Mega Absol simultaneously launched their attacks.
Mega Absol sprinted at high speed, using the Dark-type move "Throat Chop" to fiercely lunge towards Sceptile.
Sceptile's overall strength was inferior to Mega Absol's, but it was extremely fast. It used "Double Team," successfully dodging Mega Absol's pounce and confusing its eyes.
Over a dozen identical Sceptiles surrounded Mega Absol, running quickly while simultaneously using "Energy Ball," relentlessly bombarding the central Mega Absol.
Just as Mega Absol was about to be hit by the Energy Balls, it suddenly used its powerful hind legs to leap high into the air, successfully evading the Energy Ball onslaught.
After Mega Evolution, Mega Absol had two small wings on its back. Although it couldn't fly with them, they weren't just for show.
These small wings significantly enhanced Mega Absol's jumping ability, a feature Yuga had witnessed in his own Absol.
In mid-air, Mega Absol opened its mouth and unleashed a large burst of "Dark Pulse," sweeping over the more than a dozen shadowy Sceptiles on the field, causing them to dissipate.
The real Sceptile reacted quickly. When the Dark Pulse swept over, it used "Quick Attack" to narrowly evade the attack.
Seeing the true form of Sceptile, Mega Absol's Dark Pulse followed and swept past, but Sceptile's speed allowed it to narrowly avoid being grazed.
Astrid frowned deeply as she saw her Mega Absol's attacks not yielding results.
Mega Absol, after Mega Evolution, had entered a new level of strength, while the opposing Sceptile had clearly not reached the pseudo-Elite level yet. However, with its agility and flexibility, Sceptile had make Mega Absol helpless.
"This is the Gym Leader's Pokémon! It's really well-trained!" Astrid thought to herself.
"Sceptile! It's time to strike back!"
As Astrid appeared to lose focus, Yuga shouted to the Sceptile, who was rapidly moving thanks to Quick Attack. He knew that a pure defensive strategy wouldn't lead to victory.
Even though Yuga believed Astrid's strength was more than sufficient to earn the Verdant Badge, he had no intention of going easy on her.
Hearing Yuga's words, the charging Sceptile abruptly halted.
It opened its mouth and released a weather ball into the sky, causing the sun to suddenly intensify, signaling the use of Sunny Day.
Seeing Sceptile stop, Mega Absol lunged again with a claw strike, attempting to use "Sucker Punch" on Sceptile.
After Sunny Day concluded, Sceptile's peripheral vision caught Mega Absol pouncing toward it. It quickly took two steps back, narrowly avoiding Mega Absol's Sucker Punch.
Bang!
Where Sceptile had stood moments ago, the ground crumbled effortlessly under Mega Absol's claws.
The two yellow orbs on Sceptile's back started rapidly emitting a white light, creating a green circle beneath Mega Absol's feet.
Boom!
Countless green flames suddenly surged from the circle, engulfing Mega Absol in an instant. Mega Absol let out a piercing cry of agony.
In pain, Mega Absol tried to break free from the circle's confines but found thin, elongated vines springing forth within the circle. These vines ensnared it with lightning speed, binding it tightly.
As Mega Absol struggled violently, the more it resisted, the tighter the vines constricted around it, even piercing its skin deeply.
Gradually, Mega Absol realized its strength was rapidly dwindling.
The green circle, which had launched the green flames, and the green flames themselves were the effects of the move "Grass Pledge," while the binding vines were from "Leech Seed."
When Mega Absol pounced toward Sceptile, the latter had set up a trap in advance, planting the Leech Seed and laying the groundwork for the Grass Pledge.
Normally, the vines produced by Leech Seed weren't very sturdy, especially against a Pokémon as strong as Mega Absol. They could be easily broken.
However, Sceptile, being a Pokémon with a unique racial talent, had the ability to promote rapid plant growth with the two yellow orbs on its back.
Sceptile using its Overgrow ability to continuously reinforced the seemingly fragile vines, ensuring that Mega Absol couldn't break free.
This Overgrow ability, though, was quite energy-consuming. That's why Sceptile had previously used Sunny Day to gather sufficient solar energy to sustain its operation.
If it weren't for this energy limitation, Sceptile would have been even more formidable in farming than in battle.
Of course, things might be different if a Sceptile were to break through to the Elite level.
At that moment, even without triggering its Overgrow ability, Sceptile's presence alone could naturally influence the growth of plants around it. The more powerful the Sceptile, the better the plants around it would flourish.
As Leech Seed continuously drained Mega Absol's energy and transmitted it to Sceptile, the energy consumption from using its Overgrow ability was rapidly replenished.
Leech Seed and Sceptile formed a favorable symbiotic cycle, almost as if Mega Absol was depleting its own energy to create restraints on itself.
Helplessly, as Mega Absol's strength continued to dwindle, the binding vines around it grew thicker, and its struggles became increasingly feeble.
Seeing Mega Absol completely losing ground, Astrid shouted desperately, attempting to awaken its counterattack.
However, with its strength steadily sapped by Leech Seed and its body tormented by Grass Pledge, Mega Absol's consciousness had become blurred.
It could only vaguely hear Astrid's cries through its bond with the Trainer, but it was futile.
Before long, Mega Absol's head tilted, losing consciousness completely, and reverted from its Mega Evolution form.
"How... how could this happen?"
Astrid was dumbfounded!
Her Mega Absol was pseudo-Elite level Pokémon now, yet it was defeated so easily? And it lost to a Pokémon that clearly wasn't at the pseudo-Elite level!
Astrid was astonished at her Mega Absol's defeat, but the onlookers, including the young siblings, Arata Sena, and Akihito, found it quite normal.
In their eyes, Yuga was the most formidable Trainer.
Of course, they all had their idol filters on when they looked at him, so reality might differ.
Seeing Astrid in shock, Yuga abandoned the idea of awarding her the Verdant Badge.
In terms of strength, she was undoubtedly qualified to receive the Verdant Badge, but the responsibilities of a Gym Trainer extended beyond merely handing out badges.
Recalling Sceptile into its Poké Ball, Yuga walked up to Astrid and said, "Unfortunately, I cannot give you the badge."
"I... I understand..."
With Mega Absol returned to its Poké Ball, Astrid wore a disheartened expression and prepared to leave the Verdanturf Gym.
"Wait..."
Yuga called out to Astrid, stopping her in her tracks.
Astrid turned back, puzzled, and looked at Yuga. She saw him smiling and saying, "Do you know why I didn't give you the badge?"
"Isn't it because I failed the challenge?" Astrid asked, still perplexed.
Yuga shook his head and replied, "It's not about the challenge. Most of the people who receive badges from me are not as strong as you."
"Then why..."
"You rely too much on Mega Absol, or rather, you rely too heavily on Mega Evolution."
Upon hearing Yuga's words, Astrid was taken aback, and then Yuga continued, "It's perfectly fine to nurture a Pokémon as your ace. Many Trainers do that, including League Champions and Elite Four.
But that doesn't mean you should become overly reliant on your ace.
Your problem is that you've placed too much importance on your ace and become overly confident. Mega Evolution is indeed powerful, but it's not all-encompassing, so you need to recognize the limitations of this power."
Yuga didn't leave Astrid with the usual advice to reflect on her issues by herself. Instead, he directly pointed out her problem.
While self-reflection could be more profound, if it took too long to come to a realization, it would be a complete waste of time.
Astrid's other Pokémon had respectable levels, but in terms of development, they couldn't compare to her ace Absol. And after Mega Evolution, she seemed overly confident in her ability to win, which led to significant emotional ups and downs upon defeat.
This state of mind was clearly very bad, which was why Yuga decided not to award her the badge.
Now, it was up to Astrid to see if she could come to terms with Yuga's words.
After listening to Yuga's advice, Astrid left the Verdanturf Gym, looking thoughtful, with less of the dejection and disappointment on her face.
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