"Since they're both raring to go, let's begin."
Lu Zhengjie nodded. "Sure, I'm ready."
"Alright, this spot will do."
Lu Ze walked over to the opposite side as he spoke.
"We'll flip a coin — whichever side lands, battle starts."
"Deal."
The two took their positions, their Pokémon facing each other.
"Deng~"
The coin flew into the air from Lu Ze's hand. Both Pokémon tensed at the sound.
"Puh—"
After the dull thud of the coin hitting the ground, commands from both trainers rang out simultaneously.
"Machamp, Bullet Punch!"
"Snorlax, Screech!"
The instant the coin landed, both sides issued their orders.
At the same time, Machamp charged toward Snorlax. Just as Snorlax was about to unleash Screech, a fist connected with its belly.
"Low Sweep!"
"Body Slam!"
"Bam!"
The two traded blows again — Bullet Punch landed, interrupting Snorlax's Screech.
Lu Zhengjie immediately seized the opportunity to press the advantage.
He knew that Low Sweep dealt massive damage to heavy Pokémon. The heavier they were, the more devastating it became. And Snorlax just happened to fall into the highest damage tier for Low Sweep.
So as long as Low Sweep connected, it would deal a enormous blow to Snorlax.
But he hadn't expected Lu Ze to counter in this way — dodging the damage from Low Sweep while turning the tables.
Rewind to that moment. After Bullet Punch landed, Machamp already had Low Sweep lined up.
The instant Lu Zhengjie's command came through, Machamp swept its leg toward Snorlax's knee.
But Snorlax didn't flinch. Its expression didn't change in the slightest.
Because it knew Lu Ze would find a way out of this.
Even if he hadn't, Snorlax had follow-up countermeasures ready. No need to panic.
So after Lu Ze's command registered, Snorlax's eyes crinkled with amusement. It even had time to raise an eyebrow at Machamp.
Strictly speaking, Lu Ze's command had come out first — heard by Snorlax first.
Snorlax leapt into a Body Slam, dodging Machamp's sweeping leg while landing directly on top of Machamp beneath it.
Snorlax's size, its weight, the Body Slam it executed — the visual alone made it look far more brutal than any other Pokémon's.
Lu Zhengjie watched with genuine concern as he stared at Machamp pinned beneath Snorlax.
"Machamp!"
His cry seemed to snap Machamp back to awareness.
Snorlax's expression suddenly shifted. It felt two hands grab hold of its belly.
Then, with a look of pure shock, Snorlax was lifted clean off the ground.
"That's it — use Seismic Toss!"
Lu Zhengjie cheered, waving his arm as he commanded.
Machamp hoisted Snorlax overhead, leapt into the air, and hurled it downward.
Snorlax crashed hard into the ground. Machamp came down right after.
"Zap~ Zap~"
"No wonder."
Lu Ze watched the electricity crackling over Machamp and finally understood.
Body Slam had triggered its追加 effect.
After Body Slam connected, there was a thirty percent chance to inflict Paralysis.
And once Paralysis set in, Machamp's ability — Guts — activated.
When statused, physical Attack rises by fifty percent.
That explained how Machamp managed to lift Snorlax.
"Snorlax, you okay?"
"Bikka!"
Snorlax got back to its feet, patted its own belly, then turned its back to Lu Ze and waved a hand — it was fine.
"Good. Then let's keep going. Snorlax, Earthquake!"
Snorlax's eyes went cold. The cheerful look from moments ago was completely gone.
It lifted one foot slightly, then slammed it down hard.
As it stomped, Snorlax also quietly shifted two steps closer to Machamp.
Sure enough, Machamp chose to jump to avoid the Earthquake.
But there was a problem — jump too low and the Earthquake still hit; jump too high and you became a sitting duck.
"Snorlax, Focus Blast!"
"Roar!"
Snorlax fired without hesitation at the airborne Machamp with no way to evade, all while casually edging forward another few steps.
"Bam!"
Focus Blast connected with Machamp in mid-air, but Machamp landed completely unscathed.
Wide Guard had successfully blocked Snorlax's Focus Blast.
But the momentum had already shifted — initiative firmly in Lu Ze's hands now.
"Snorlax, Close Combat!"
The decisive moment. Those few steps Snorlax had been edging forward earlier proved critical.
Since this wasn't a proper arena, the two Pokémon weren't far apart to begin with.
Between the two previous attacks and the repositioning after each strike, Snorlax had already been waiting directly beneath where Machamp landed.
The moment Machamp touched down, Snorlax gathered every ounce of its strength into its right arm and swung.
Machamp, having just landed, had zero time to react. It barely managed to cross all four arms in front of its body, trying to block the incoming blow.
But Snorlax hadn't eaten all those Energy Cubes for nothing. Its strength was genuinely monstrous. Even Lu Xingguo's Bewear would think twice before trading blows with Snorlax now, let alone Lu Zhengjie's Machamp.
In the training hall, Snorlax had beaten every Machamp there into submission. The Machamp in that hall privately called Snorlax the "Real Machamp."
Machamp couldn't hold it off at all. Even blocking with all four arms only slowed the blow for a moment.
In the end, Snorlax sent Machamp flying. Though it didn't crash to the ground hard — Deoxys's Psychic caught and gently set it down.
But even without the full impact, eating a direct Close Combat was enough. Machamp went down, spinning in circles with its eyes.
Snorlax's cheerful expression returned. It waddled over to Lu Ze with half-lidded eyes, and extended its palm.
"Good boy~"
Lu Ze dug through his bag with a helpless smile, pulling out an Energy Cube box. He took a Deluxe Strength Energy Cube from inside and placed it in Snorlax's waiting palm.
Deluxe Strength Energy Cube — regular use could slightly increase a Pokémon's strength, though it needed to be paired with actual training.
Snorlax popped the Energy Cube into its mouth in one go, then sat down contentedly beside Lu Ze to savor the taste.
Over on the other side, Lu Zhengjie sprayed some healing medicine on Machamp before returning it to its Poké Ball.
"Want to keep going with Snorlax? Or would you rather switch out?"
———
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