Chapter 272

Twenty minutes into the battle, Cloyster and Lapras could no longer withstand their injuries and were recalled by Kuzan, leaving his final Pokémon, Glalie, to take the stage.

Glalie was an intriguing Pokémon. From a game perspective, its base stats were all equal across the board, making it a well-rounded "jack of all trades" type, but lacking any standout traits.

In real-world terms, Glalie was balanced in terms of health, defense, speed, and attack power, making it a versatile Pokémon, especially since it could fly, a distinct advantage over other Pokémon with similar stats.

On the other side, Blissey appeared to be in peak condition with full health. In the previous rounds, Blissey had used moves like Soft-Boiled, Healing Wish, and Life Dew to restore its HP.

However, if Blissey were to be examined at a Pokémon Center or by someone with psychic abilities, they would discover that despite the healthy exterior, Blissey was "strong on the outside, but weak within."

In game terms, Blissey was currently suffering from multiple debuffs: Attack -6, Defense -6, Speed -6, and was still Frozen.

Blissey, much like Glalie , had a peculiar stat distribution, with its base stat total of 540 being heavily skewed toward HP (255) and Special Defense (135). Its Attack and Defense, however, were abysmally low at just 10 each.

This made Blissey a formidable tank against Special Attackers, but against physically powerful or high-HP Pokémon, it was much weaker. And unless Blissey had been taught certain offensive moves, its natural movepool mostly consisted of physical attacks, making it nearly useless in such a matchup.

Currently, Glalie was a dual-type attacker, but in the maritime world, most Glalie Pokémon focused on physical attacks.

Blissey's already weak Attack and Defense were now even worse due to the debuffs. Glalie , being faster and capable of flight, held a significant advantage.

If there was any solace, it was that Blissey had mastered a basic level of Haki, which allowed it to use Armament Haki to slightly bolster its defenses.

"Though there's no type advantage, the difference in their statuses is quite significant," Dak muttered as he glanced up at the sky.

Kuzan had summoned Glalie and immediately used the move Hail, turning the battlefield into a snowstorm. This environment boosted the defense of Ice-type Pokémon.

"If I'm not mistaken, that Glalie probably has the Ice Body ability."

Ice Body allowed Glalie to slowly regenerate health during snowy weather.

Dak couldn't help but be impressed and even clapped softly.

Among all the trainers, Kuzan was undoubtedly the most advanced in terms of using his brain during Pokémon battles. He fully understood the importance of utilizing strategy in Pokémon battles, which was a rarity among the trainers of the maritime world.

There were only a few who could play dirty, like Law, Sabo, Hannibal, and Pedro, but none of them could match Kuzan's level of tactical prowess.

"Glalie, use Double Team," Kuzan calmly commanded, his eyes focused on the battlefield.

In the earlier rounds, Kuzan had already figured out that Newgate hadn't bothered teaching his Pokémon any special moves. Instead, they seemed to rely entirely on their naturally learned moves.

This meant Blissey's move pool was quite limited—likely consisting mostly of physical attacks and a few low-damage special moves.

With Blissey's debuffed attack and Glalie's enhanced defense, the outcome seemed inevitable.

On the other hand, Newgate wasn't the type to strategize. He raised his Pokémon just like he did his crew, showering them with love and care. The result was well-developed Pokémon that relied on brute strength rather than complex strategies.

In battles against humans or Sea Kings, Blissey's incredible HP, healing capabilities, and mastery of Haki made it formidable, perhaps even worth a billion belly bounty.

Within the Whitebeard Pirates, aside from the division commanders and allied captains, there were few who could withstand three hits from Blissey.

But this was a Pokémon battle.

"Use Mimic."

Newgate frowned, sensing that something was off. "Is this some sort of trick?"

At first, he hadn't paid much attention, focusing solely on brute force. But now he realized that each time Blissey repeated an attack, it seemed to grow weaker and slower.

He glanced up at the falling snow.

Unfamiliar with Pokémon abilities, he couldn't figure out how to break out of the situation.

Both Pokémon began using their respective moves, filling the battlefield with illusions. Countless copies of Glalie and Blissey filled the arena, making it impossible to tell who was the real one.

"Use Observation Haki to sense them," they both ordered simultaneously.

Both Pokémon had mastered Haki.

However, the clones created by Double Team were similar to the Shadow Clone Jutsu from the world of Naruto.

In other words, Observation Haki couldn't easily differentiate between the real and fake clones based solely on life energy.

However, Double Team wasn't as sophisticated as the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which made nearly perfect copies of the user.

The clones made by Double Team had certain tells—like subtle differences in their breathing, blinking patterns, and pupil reflections.

These small details were what Observation Haki could pick up on.

"Use Ice Fang."

Unlike most trainers who helped their Pokémon by analyzing the battlefield, Kuzan focused solely on Glalie.

He knew that without Observation Haki, it was pointless for him to try and figure out the clones. His role was to trust his Pokémon.

As soon as Glalie's body emitted a sudden burst of icy energy, Kuzan noticed it immediately, understanding that Glalie had found the real Blissey.

"Don't underestimate us, kid! Blissey, use Take Down!"

Coincidentally, Newgate, though not watching Blissey closely, had a strong bond with it, cultivated over years.

Having raised the Pokémon since it was a small Happiny, Newgate had developed an instinctual understanding of what it was about to do.

Back when Happiny would play pranks on his mustache, Newgate had learned to use Observation Haki all day long just to keep up with the little troublemaker. Now, even without Haki, he could sense Blissey's intentions.

Their bond was stronger than even Kuzan's connection with Glalie .

Kuzan was surprised that Newgate had been able to react at the same time. It was unexpected, but it didn't matter—Glalie would just have to take a hit.

Take Down was a powerful Normal-type move. Even with Blissey's weakened Attack, it could still deal decent damage.

But Kuzan wasn't planning on letting Glalie back down. He would make sure Glalie kept the pressure on, preventing Blissey from recovering.

With the snowy environment in place, Glalie could gradually recover health without needing to use a move, thanks to Ice Body.

Blissey's ability, Natural Cure, allowed it to recover from status conditions upon switching out. But with Newgate's other two Pokémon already down, Blissey couldn't be switched out.

In many ways, Pokémon battles were similar to ninja information warfare. If Newgate had taken the time to study Pokémon more thoroughly, he wouldn't have made so many mistakes in this match.

Perhaps he wasn't suited to be a trainer.

He was more fit to run a daycare or a breeding center.

Boom!

Blissey collided with Glalie , but the latter only winced slightly.

Crunch!

Glalie bit down on Blissey with its chilling, icy fangs.

Already frozen, Blissey's condition worsened, with a layer of frost forming over its body.

"Blissey!" Blissey cried out in pain.

Had this been when Blissey was still a Happiny, it would have sat down and bawled, leaving everyone in a state of confusion.

But Blissey had grown much stronger now. She no longer cried so easily.

"Hold tight! Use Sheer Cold."

This was the moment Kuzan had been waiting for. He had ordered Glalie to endure the damage so it could execute Sheer Cold.

Though Sheer Cold was a highly inaccurate move, at this close range, there was little chance of it missing.

Kuzan wasn't using it for the damage. The real goal was to make Blissey faint.

In this world, Pokémon already under the Frozen condition, when hit by Sheer Cold, were known to faint for an extended period.

Frost crept along Blissey's body from where Glalie had bitten, and soon, Blissey collapsed, unconscious.

There were no swirly eyes, indicating that Blissey hadn't been knocked out yet. If it could wake up, the battle would continue.

"Headbutt."

At this point, Kuzan and Glalie had free rein to attack.

"That's enough."

Newgate finally spoke, his voice deep. He looked down at Blissey's pained expression and softened, "I lost."

He couldn't bring himself to say "surrender," so he phrased it differently.

It had been a long, long time since he had felt such a strong sense of defeat and frustration.

It wasn't because he had lost the match.

It was because he realized the reason for the defeat—

It wasn't Blissey or his Pokémon who had failed.

It was him, the trainer, who had failed.

(End of Chapter)

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