Pokémon: When the World Changed Chapter 277 - 273: Tactical Victory

"He hid again?!"

Lucien Foster's face darkened. If he couldn't find a way to stop that strategy, he could end up being completely defeated in this battle!

"Salance, use Flathrower again!"

However, after ntally reviewing all of Salance's moves, Lucien realized helplessly that he had no real way to deal with this situation. All he could do was keep ordering Salance to use Flathrower. If it managed to hit Sandslash, great—but if not, at least it would burn up the oxygen in the tunnel and force it to surface sooner.

"Groaarr!"

Salance, already weakened by the poison that was slowly draining its strength, roared in fury. With no other options left, it poured all its anger into a blazing fire that burst forth with scorching power.

Seeing this, Ethan smiled in satisfaction. He had already noticed—while Salance knew many powerful moves, it didn't have access to less conventional ones like Hyper Voice.

"Then this battle's already decided."

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Salance unleash more fire across the field.

In truth, when Sandslash trained Dig, Ethan had taught it several techniques to avoid tunnel-filling attacks like Flathrower or Surf.

The thod was simple. At that mont, Sandslash was hiding in a side tunnel, about a ter away from the main one, positioned in a vertical upward alcove.

It might sound complex, but imagine it like an "Air Mantle Cave": when the Flathrower entered through the main tunnel, the flas traveled downward along the passage to the end, then dispersed through the other vertical openings, venting back up to the surface.

In this way, Sandslash remained perfectly safe, calmly watching the flas roar just in front of it without taking the slightest damage.

Fuuu... fuuu...

But Salance couldn't keep breathing fire endlessly. After a series of continuous attacks, it stopped in midair, panting heavily. The prolonged use of Flathrower had further drained its stamina.

"Groaarr!"

At the sa ti, the poison took hold again—a purple glow spread across Salance's body, making it shudder violently. It nearly dropped from the sky.

When its attack ceased, Sandslash erged from underground. It looked up at Salance, who was struggling to stay aloft, its breath ragged.

"Groaarr!"

Upon seeing Sandslash appear, Salance roared in pure rage. But with almost no energy left, it couldn't attack anymore. It could only watch helplessly as Sandslash took a deep breath, relaxed for a mont, and then dove back underground.

"Damn it!"

Lucien clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.

"Groaarr!"

At that instant, Salance went completely berserk.

With a deafening roar, its eyes turned blood-red.

From the air, it dove straight down, its claws glowing with blazing dragon-type energy, and slamd into the ground with all its might.

BOOM!

The earth trembled as its claws struck, ripping up a massive chunk of soil and exposing the underground layer beneath the field.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Without stopping, the dragon continued to tear at the terrain, as though trying to rip the entire battlefield apart.

"Salance is no longer able to battle! Sandslash wins the match!"

Finally, Salance, completely consud by fury and exhaustion, fell victim to the poison.

When the referee announced the result, the entire stadium fell utterly silent.

Such a powerful Salance... had been defeated like that! Watching the proud dragon collapse, wild-eyed and drained, everyone felt a strange lancholy—like witnessing the downfall of a hero.

"He lost... just like that?"

"So this is what a true trainer looks like?"

"With the trainer's guidance, and the bond between trainer and Pokémon, a Pokémon's full potential can be unleashed..."

Aside from the most frenzied fans, every experienced trainer present fell into thoughtful silence.

Because, in terms of raw power, Ethan hadn't stood a chance against Lucien. In fact, not just Ethan—no other trainer there could have matched him.

After all, Lucien had used Dragonite, Salance, and Gabite—three dragon-type pseudo-legendaries! Any one of them alone was enough to battle another trainer's strongest Pokémon.

Ethan, on the other hand, only had Sandslash, Cacturne, and ltan. And in direct combat, probably only Sandslash could face one of those dragons head-on.

ltan had been defeated instantly by Dragonite, and Cacturne had been severely injured by Salance's Flathrower.

But even so, with just those three Pokémon, Ethan had managed to defeat all three of Lucien's dragon pseudo-legendaries! If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it possible.

If Dragonite's defeat could be attributed to a brief lapse in Lucien's attention, the rest of the match was a purely tactical victory.

In particular, Cacturne's role had been pivotal: sacrificing itself to poison Salance, and then using Destiny Bond to drag down the still-fresh Gabite.

In other words, Cacturne alone had eliminated two opponents, leaving Sandslash nearly unhard for the final showdown.

It was, without question, a tactical victory.

A triumph of strategy, surprise, and precision.

However, everyone also understood that if they were to battle again—this ti with Lucien fully prepared—Ethan would be crushed without rcy.

After all, only Sandslash could withstand direct combat against those three dragons. And even then, its odds against Dragonite or Salance would remain slim.

In terms of pure strength, Lucien's Pokémon were terrifyingly powerful. And precisely because of that, everyone could see just how brilliant Ethan's plan truly was: an unwinnable battle, conquered through sheer strategy.

At that mont, everyone who understood what they had just witnessed couldn't help but draw a sharp breath, looking at Ethan with genuine admiration.

Especially the five students from Duskwell City Pokémon University, who couldn't help but recall the exchange tournant from before.

Back then, they too had held the absolute advantage in strength—and yet they had still lost, and lost completely.

How ironic. The scene was almost identical.

Once again, a victory won purely through tactics.

(End of Chapter)