Swinub's First Battle

Day 31 after returning to the Orange Islands. Sunny.

The weather was pretty good today. It was also the fourth round of the Knockout Stage, the advancement match from thirty-two to sixteen. There was no need to say how important it was.

Only by reaching the top sixteen could he compete for a spot in the Elite Four Preliminaries. His opponent had also been decided and announced last night: that brat Shingo.

He hadn't expected that brat to make it this far. It seemed Shingo was genuinely skilled, but he didn't know whether Scizor had reached Elite-class. If it had, things would be troublesome.

The Red Flash wasn't just a fancy-sounding title. He had watched battle footage of Shingo's father; he was so fast that cameras couldn't even catch him, and he could only be seen through slowed-down playback.

Facing an incredibly fast Scizor was already difficult enough. Having to face an Elite-class, incredibly fast Scizor might even result in a one-versus-six sweep.

There was no use thinking too much about it now. He and Dunmei got up, washed up, and ate lunch at the cafeteria. After accompanying Dunmei to the Pokémon Center, he returned to his room in Competitor Village and let his Pokémon out for breakfast.

After everyone had eaten breakfast, he headed to Citrus Stadium for this Knockout Stage match against Shingo.

He had already asked Xiao Ming for intelligence on Shingo's strength and Pokémon. This man's battle style remained unchanged—he won through speed. Influenced by Scizor and his father, he valued the tactical principle that only speed could break everything.

His opening approach was always speed, so his Pokémon were all extremely fast. Against speedy opponents, things would be easier as long as their speed could be restricted.

When he arrived at Citrus Stadium, he heard