Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 296: Wallace’s Flashy Move

With one rising and the other falling, it was no surprise that Walrein eventually lost the ability to battle. The eldest student was left stunned and confused.

'Why had Walrein fallen like that? Walrein's greatest strength was supposed to be its massive stamina!'

And with that, the three-on-three friendly match ended in a complete sweep for Sato's side.

The three girls all fell into silence. They had always taken pride in being Juan's students; whether in the academy or when handling challengers at Sootopolis Gym, they had mostly faced more wins than losses.

Gradually, the three had come to believe that few of their peers could actually beat them.

But now, they had been crushed one after another by Sato's group, shattering all their previous pride.

If the matches had been a mix of wins and losses -if they had even won one- they wouldn't have felt so far behind Sato and the others.

But the reality was a three-match sweep.

Mark's win in the first battle had been close; Arbok only secured victory over Crawdaunt with a bold, last-minute gamble.

The second match had been a complete stomp, with Joseph's Gogoat crushing Pelipper after only taking one Hurricane at the beginning. The rest had been a clean, flowing combo.

By the time it was Sato's turn, things had turned downright bizarre. To this moment, the eldest student still didn't understand why her Walrein lost... how it lost, and what exactly caused it to suddenly collapse.

Juan had already felt uneasy when his second student lost. He had actually been watching the battles all along.

His intention had been to use Sato's strength as a way to humble his rather prideful students.

But things didn't go the way Juan expected. He knew how strong Sato was; he'd already proven himself in the Gym Leader Qualification Tournament.

But the fact that Mark and Joseph also possessed considerable strength had completely caught him off guard.

As expected, excellent people only surround themselves with excellence.

'Still, a complete 3–0 defeat... was this lesson too harsh? Would it crush the spirits of my students entirely?' Juan couldn't help but consider stepping in to salvage the situation.

"Sato, I want to challenge you!"

Wallace suddenly spoke, cutting off Juan's impulse to step in.

When it came to Wallace, Juan often felt a sense of frustration. In terms of skill, Wallace far outclassed his fellow students, but his introverted personality held him back.

Now he'd turned his battle style into a chaotic mess: flashy but impractical.

And yet, Wallace was as stubborn as a Tauros. No matter what anyone said, it was useless. He looked determined to go all the way down that path.

Still, no matter what, Wallace's strength was real. Maybe... he coul-

"Of course. One-on-one?"

Sato held back the eager Cacturne. He couldn't be so casual when facing Wallace.

"One-on-one, winner takes all. I'll be using Milotic!" Wallace ignored the protests and complaints of his three fellow students as he walked up to the command platform.

"Sharpedo, this one's yours."

The moment he saw Milotic, Sato's long-dormant competitive spirit ignited once again.

This elegant, serene, and regal Milotic... its future strength was probably beyond even Wallace's own understanding.

"Then... BATTLE!"

"Sharpedo, Aqua Jet!"

"Milotic, Twister!"

Sato and Wallace's voices rang out at the same time. Sharpedo acted first, zigzagging at high speed through the air, rapidly approaching Milotic.

Milotic didn't appear to move at all; suddenly, a water twister burst violently from beneath the surface, lashing through the air like a whip and striking at Sharpedo.

Aqua Jet and the water-infused Twister collided. Surprisingly, it was Sharpedo -despite looking far more aggressive- who was the first to be pushed back.

Sato looked more closely and quickly saw the trick: the Twister had been formed by Milotic using its tail underwater.

Infusing Twister with water increased its power. This was one of Juan's signature moves; that Wallace had learned it didn't surprise Sato.

But clearly, Wallace had modified the technique. While using the water-infused Twister, Milotic swayed its tail up and down rhythmically.

That motion might slightly disperse the power of the Twister, but against a powerful linear move like Aqua Jet, it had a unique advantage.

The wavelike Twister constantly shifted its impact points, making Sharpedo's direct-charge Aqua Jet slip off its target and lose momentum.

Plus, the water Twister looked beautiful.

Others might not know this, but Sato had seen glimpses of Wallace's future battles. No matter how intense the match, Wallace could turn it into a performance and then stylishly bring down his opponent.

To Sato, that was far more difficult than simply winning. But for now, Wallace's seemingly over-the-top behavior was clearly not recognized by his mentor or peers.

The battle continued. Under Sato's commands, Sharpedo kept trying to close the distance with Milotic for close combat.

After all, Milotic's Special Defense was extremely high, and with Recover -one of the most broken restoring moves- if the fight stayed long-range, Sharpedo would eventually be worn down.

But Sharpedo couldn't get close!

Sato frowned as Sharpedo was once again pushed back by a Water Pulse. He couldn't help but admit... Wallace had a lot of flashy tricks up his sleeve.

The wavy Twister had only been the appetizer. What came next were six consecutive Water Pulses, forming a 360-degree barrier of crashing water around Milotic that blocked Sharpedo entirely.

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Then came a combo of Dragon Tail + Twister, creating a repelling storm all around its body. Sharpedo still couldn't break through.

Sharpedo's ranged moves -Dark Pulse, Hydro Pump, and so on- were all countered by Milotic using Mirror Coat, Recover, and other such moves head-on.

The damage was minimal, but under the glow of all those sparkling, colorful energy effects, Milotic looked more dazzling each time.