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Chapter 220: Sylvie's Strength
🕑 Added 2025-09-24 15:24:45 +0000 UTCChapter 220: Sylvie's Strength
Contrary. This was one of the most broken Abilities in the Pokémon world.
This was because any Pokémon with this Ability had its stat changes reversed. Stats that were supposed to be raised would be lowered, and stats that were supposed to be lowered would be raised.
When paired with a move like Leaf Storm, which would normally drastically lower the user's stats, it would instead provide a massive boost.
Using a high-risk ultimate move... and not only do your stats not fall, but you get stronger and more fired up with every use.
Just thinking about such an insane, unnatural tactic was terrifying to Basalt.
But the heavens are fair. The more terrifying an ability, the lower its spawn rate.
Relatively speaking, Pokémon with the Contrary Ability were extremely rare. In some ways, they were even rarer than Pokémon with Abilities like Speed Boost, Huge Power, or Drizzle. "One in a million" wasn't an exaggeration.
"This is Sylvie's starter Pokémon? If it has Contrary, that Ability alone should have been enough to get her onto the city's representative team, right?"
Basalt's brow furrowed. He had absolutely no memory of a Sylvie in the provincial tournament.
It just... didn't add up.
"Unless... her Servine only just learned Leaf Storm."
Basalt's eyes flashed as another possibility occurred to him.
In theory, quite a few Pokémon could have the Contrary Ability. Shuckle, Spinda, Inkay, and Fomantis all had a chance.
However, for the Contrary Ability to be truly "broken," it had to be paired with the right moves.
Pokémon like Shuckle or Inkay, which lacked a move comparable to Leaf Storm, wouldn't see as obvious an effect. At most, they could just mess with the opponent a little.
"Energy Ball!"
On the battlefield, the Servine, having received a massive stat boost, became excited. The power of the moves it unleashed became exceptionally fierce.
Even though it was just a normal, mid-to-high-tier move, the power it displayed now was in no way inferior to that first Leaf Storm.
"Megaa~"
Meganium's legs were already trembling.
Although it was a tank-type Pokémon with excellent defenses and stamina...
...taking two ultimate-level hits back-to-back was more than it could handle.
More importantly, this little monster Servine was already launching its third wave of attacks. It was relentless, one wave after another, each stronger than the last.
It didn't even give Meganium a chance to breathe.
BOOM!
Another Energy Ball hit. Meganium's eyes spun, and it collapsed.
"Meganium is unable to battle!"
The referee quickly made the call, a strange look on his face.
This was only the second battle of the day with such a one-sided, overwhelming advantage. The first had been Basalt's Bronzong one-shotting Druddigon.
A stomp wasn't scary.
But when the one being stomped was also a genius, that was scary.
Vivi's expression was grim. She had thought the first match was in the bag, but she had been defeated so miserably, unable to even fight back.
"Come out, my warrior!"
Vivi released her second Pokémon. Shockingly, it was another starter.
"It's a Swampert!"
Basalt's eyes lit up.
This was a Pokémon he had always wanted but had never been able to obtain.
That powerful body, those thick arms... He loved it!
"Go, Milotic!"
At the same time, Sylvie threw out her second Pokéball.
Seeing this, the new students watching began to whisper. "Another same-type civil war. How interesting."
The two Pokémon faced off again.
One was brimming with explosive power; the other was peaceful and gentle. Once again, a stark contrast.
"I finally get to see Milotic's combat strength. I hope it won't disappoint me."
Basalt crossed his arms, quietly waiting for the match to begin.
"Swampert, Mud Shot!"
After a moment's pause, Vivi attacked first.
"Swamp-ert!"
Swampert swung its tail forcefully. A glob of yellow mud appeared, forming into bullet-like shapes in the air, each packed with power.
Mud Shot was a move that not only dealt damage but also lowered the opponent's Speed.
Clearly, Vivi was going for a debuffing strategy this time. It was a conservative approach.
"Mii-luu~"
Facing the Mud Shot, Milotic willed it, and an endless torrent of water surged from beneath its body. In an instant, it formed a massive, several-meter-high wave to meet the attack.
BOOM!
The ferocious mud bullets were slapped down by the wave, swept up, and vanished without a trace.
As for the Milotic within the water, it had already disappeared.
But strangely, the water Milotic was controlling didn't spill outside the battlefield. It was as if there were an invisible glass wall around the arena, keeping the water contained.
"That water control... is insane!"
In the stands, the school team members glanced at each other, their mouths twitching.
Especially Bella Bai. Her Dragonite, back when it was a Dragonair, was also extremely skilled at water control.
But to achieve what this Milotic was doing? Not even in its dreams.
Sylvie's Milotic had water control that was already at an inconceivable level.
"Swampert, dive into the water!"
Vivi waved her hand, preparing for a head-on assault.
As a fellow Water-type, Swampert wasn't afraid of the water.
On the contrary, although the mud had been swallowed by the wave, the water had also become murky.
And that was advantageous for Swampert.
Because Swampert possessed eyes that could see clearly even in murky water.
And if it came to a close-quarters fight, that was even better news for the physically-oriented Swampert.
"Swamp-ert!"
Swampert nodded, roared, and charged into the water.
Upon entering the water, its protective eye membranes automatically closed, and its vision was completely unaffected.
Glancing around, Swampert quickly found Milotic's trail. It balled its fist and threw a punch.
Swampert is a powerhouse in the water, born with immense strength. It can easily drag a one-ton boulder, and a single swing of its rock-hard arms can shatter massive stones.
So when Swampert threw a full-power punch, it actually created a small vacuum underwater.
But very quickly, Swampert sensed something was wrong.
It realized that the water, which should have been helping it, now seemed to be working against it. It was a powerful resistance, flowing rapidly in the opposite direction of its punch, sapping its power.
Pow!
The punch was thrown with immense force, but by the time it landed on Milotic, 50% of its power was already gone.
And Milotic's body, being snake-like, was already slippery and hard to get a grip on.
On top of that, Milotic's scales seemed to be very special. Not only were they extremely hard and durable, but when it took damage, the point of impact would actually glow, increasing its defense.
So, although it took a heavy punch, Milotic was almost completely unharmed, still as full of life as ever.
Not only that, but Milotic also took the chance to counter-attack. It used its red "eyebrows" to gather a jade-green orb of energy and slapped it right onto Swampert's head at point-blank range.
BOOM!
The orb exploded, and a vivid green light blossomed brilliantly underwater.
"That's... Grass-type Hidden Power!"
Basalt's eyes went wide. He clearly recognized the move Milotic had used.
That aura, that color... Basalt was all too familiar with it.
"No doubt about it." Basalt's mouth twitched.
A short while later, the water receded. Milotic's body shimmered, like a lotus emerging from the mud, completely pristine.
Swampert, on the other hand, was already down, its eyes spinning.
"Another stomp!"
In the school team section, a member slapped his own face. "Captain, I feel like I'm seeing a younger version of you."
"Now that you mention it, the Captain and this Sylvie are really similar. Both so beautiful, both so strong, and both just crush their opponents."
"Well, she's tied to the legend of Azure Lake. How could she be weak?"
"One Sylvie, plus four Rookie Kings, and a Shane with a pseudo-legendary... this year's freshmen are way stronger than we were back in the day."
...
All the battles were over. Now, it was the school team members' time to show off.
They went through the freshmen's battles one by one, giving critiques and offering advice for them to consider.
"You are all reserve members, so the school should have arranged independent training rooms for you, right? However, to keep track of your progress, you must come here to train every Monday evening. The team members or a teacher will be here to supervise you."
Bella finished her speech. "Alright, that's all for today's assessment. Sylvie and Basalt, you two stay behind."
