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Chapter 36: Cute and Cuddly? One Punch KO!
🕑 Added 2025-08-11 04:24:11 +0000 UTCEven though Combusken had boosted his speed once in the previous turn—now surpassing Ludicolo and gaining the right to move first—the last battle had clearly proven one thing: he wasn’t equipped with Flying-type moves to counter Ludicolo.
Cynthia guessed that, besides Baton Pass and Swords Dance, his remaining two moves likely corresponded to his types—Fighting and Fire.
At this moment, Combusken, who had already lost some HP to Fake Out, faced the incoming wave of bubbles and transformed into red light, retreating directly into his Pokéball.
Clearly, Brawly had determined that if Combusken stayed on the field, he would be one-shotted by Ludicolo. So he chose to switch without hesitation.
The familiar figure that appeared was none other than the same Makuhita from before. He took Combusken’s place, and the dense Bubble Beam struck his massive body. Without a type advantage, it didn’t deal particularly impressive damage—only about one-third of his HP.
A new turn began, and facing Makuhita, Cynthia fell into thought.
In the last battle, she had figured out part of Makuhita’s setup. With the Guts ability combined with Flame Orb, Makuhita’s Attack stat would receive a massive boost.
However, without the Swords Dance boost from Combusken’s Baton Pass, his Mach Punch shouldn’t be able to defeat Ludicolo directly. The best approach now would be to use Zen Headbutt immediately.
Still, she felt uncertain.
As Cynthia entered her command, the turn began. Ludicolo’s head glowed with pink psychic energy as he charged toward Makuhita.
[It’s super effective!]
Makuhita’s HP bar plummeted rapidly, dropping to less than one-fifth and flashing red.
But Cynthia’s expression darkened—she hadn’t KO’d him.
Since Makuhita didn’t use Mach Punch for priority, he must have chosen a different attack this turn. Given the game’s nature, could the opponent have given him Facade—a move that deals double damage under status conditions? Or perhaps another move designed to counter Ludicolo?
Either way, Ludicolo couldn’t tank it.
But just then, a pink light flashed across Makuhita’s robust body.
[Makuhita wanted to use Facade, but flinched!]
Lady Luck was on Cynthia’s side. Zen Headbutt’s secondary flinch effect had interrupted Makuhita’s Facade.
Faced with such a golden opportunity, Cynthia didn’t hesitate to choose Zen Headbutt again.
The pink light flashed, and Makuhita’s HP bar emptied completely.
This meant that, besides Combusken, Brawly had only his last Pokémon remaining.
At this point, the livestream viewers should have been cheering—Cynthia had defeated two of Brawly’s Pokémon without Ludicolo taking any damage. Under normal circumstances, this would be the time to pop the champagne.
However, the chat had a different tone.
[Everything looks smooth, but I feel a chill down my spine somehow]
[Yeah, streamer, you need to be careful...]
[Speed Boost Baton Pass Combusken, Guts self-harm Makuhita... hard to imagine what the last Pokémon will be...]
Clearly, the previous gym battle NPCs’ performances had made viewers wary. If it ended this easily, they’d actually find it suspicious.
As two Pokémon fell, Brawly sent out his final one.
It was a yellow-bodied Pokémon wearing boxing gloves—Makuhita.
The viewers instantly relaxed. Makuhita was still a first-stage evolution. Even with tricks or tactics, compared to second-stage evolutions like Combusken and Hariyama, the raw power gap was enormous.
As the chat scrolled, Cynthia, after a brief hesitation, had Ludicolo use Zen Headbutt. Against a Fighting-type, it was definitely the right call.
Ludicolo’s head glowed with pink light as he charged. With super-effective damage, it should have brought Makuhita to critical HP—or even KO’d him outright.
But Ludicolo’s attack missed.
Ninety-five percent accuracy sometimes caused moments of pure frustration.
The chat, however, didn’t seem concerned.
[As everyone knows, moves only have two accuracy rates: 100% and 0%.]
[It’s fine, missed is missed. The margin for error is huge this time.]
[Right, it’s just a Makuhita. Even if he boosts, he can’t break through the streamer’s team!]
[The little guy is pretty cute. Did he get lost?]
At that moment, Makuhita’s fists erupted with deep blue light. He charged straight at Ludicolo, landing a chilling punch.
[Makuhita used Focus Punch!]
[Makuhita’s Choice Band boosted the power of physical moves!]
[Critical hit!!]
In an instant, Ludicolo’s HP bar emptied completely.
The chat froze, then exploded:
[???]
[Huh? Where did my big Ludicolo go??]
[What the hell? Why this time too??]
[Alright, looks like Brawly wasn’t holding back...]
After the Choice Band Makuhita one-shotted Ludicolo, Grovyle, and Stufful took turns wearing him down. Eventually, Grovyle landed the final blow with just a sliver of health left.
But the nearly full-health Combusken was clearly too much for Grovyle to handle.
Cynthia’s second challenge ended in failure.
Armed with this experience, she started her third gym battle immediately. After several attempts, she finally executed a perfect fight—Ludicolo took down Hariyama without taking damage, and at the crucial moment, she switched to Grovyle to block Makuhita’s attack, preserving Ludicolo’s condition.
As Combusken fell under Bubble Beam’s assault, Cynthia finally cleared the second gym.
In front of the computer, Cynthia listened to the cheerful victory music, a different kind of brilliance flickering in her dark eyes. She leaned back, took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and smiled faintly.
That sense of satisfaction after an intense battle…
Really was… quite nostalgic.
