Pokémon Battle Tournament (2)

In the third seven-to-four battle, Lu Ze unfortunately did not draw a bye. His opponent was a Bonsly.

Pokémon: Bonsly

Gender: Male

Type: Rock type

Ability: Rock Head (Even when using moves that cause recoil damage, it will not lose HP)

Aptitude: Green Aptitude

Basic Moves: Fake Tears, Copycat, Flail, Rock Throw

Egg Moves: Headbutt, Rollout

Lu Ze became extremely wary after seeing his opponent's moves. Rock Throw, a Rock-type move, would deal double damage to Zubat. Even though Lu Ze had trained Zubat well, it definitely could not withstand a third Rock Throw.

Not to mention the opposing Bonsly's Copycat. It was an utterly disgusting move—whatever move you used would be copied and used against you. Absolutely disgusting.

"HAHAHAHAHA—hic!"

The moment both sides released their Pokémon, before the referee could even wave the flag to begin, a burst of laughter came from below the stage, drawing all three of their gazes over.

"Sui Yan, Tang Yunqin, what are you two doing?"

Seeing Sui Yan and Tang Yunqin laughing beneath the arena, Lu Ze rolled his eyes and asked.

Noticing so many people staring at them, Tang Yunqin's cheeks flushed slightly. She took a step back, exposing Sui Yan. Thick-skinned as ever, Sui Yan only laughed louder with so many people watching him.

"What are you two even doing?"

Sui Yan stopped laughing, pretended to wipe tears from the corners of his eyes, and said,

"It's nothing. You fight yours. I just saw that both of us got byes while you had to go onstage, so I couldn't help being happy."

"You're so boring..."

Lu Ze said speechlessly. Sui Yan had drawn a bye and came over to watch. But when he arrived at Arena Seven, he did not see Tang Yunqin, so he came to Lu Ze's arena instead. There, he found Tang Yunqin below the stage. After asking, he learned that she had also gotten a bye. Lu Ze was the only one who had not, so Sui Yan could not help laughing.

"Referee, it's fine now. He's just an idiot. Start the match."

Lu Ze returned to the arena and signaled to the referee.

Swish!

The flag fell, and the battle began.

"Zubat—gain altitude!"

"Bonsly—Copycat!"

Because Zubat had not used a move, Bonsly's Copycat failed.

Lu Ze smiled confidently.

"I knew you'd use Copycat."

"Zubat—Mean Look!"

"Bonsly, Copycat again!"

Zubat fired a black beam of light, and at the same time, Bonsly released an identical move.

"Damn it, Bonsly—Rock Throw!"

The opposing Trainer was annoyed. He had been read twice in a row. How bold. Normally, after Copycat failed the first time, the opponent would most likely use an attacking move, and Copycat would succeed on the next use. This trick had never failed him before, yet it had failed this time.

He had no choice but to use an attacking move first. If he kept using Copycat, Bonsly might collapse from exhaustion before anything else happened.

"Zubat, dodge—Confuse Ray!"

"Since you're not using Copycat anymore, I won't hold back."

Zubat easily dodged Bonsly's slow Rock Throw, then fired a purple-red Confuse Ray at Bonsly.

"Bonsly, use Copycat quickly!"

The opposing Trainer panicked. He also knew that if Bonsly was hit by Confuse Ray, the outcome would be settled. At Bonsly's speed, it could not dodge, so he could only try Copycat and see whether he could drag Zubat into Confusion too.

Unfortunately, Bonsly was too slow. Confuse Ray had already struck it before it could copy the move, and it entered Confusion first.

"Whew... Zubat, finish it with Air Slash."

Lu Ze let out a breath. He finally did not have to worry about being overturned, so he directed Zubat to finish its opponent.

"Nicely done, Zubat."

Lu Ze held Zubat in his arms, patted its head in praise, then carried it toward Sui Yan and Tang Yunqin beneath the arena.

"You two got byes. Was that really worth being so happy about?"

"Of course it was. Especially seeing that you didn't get one."

"Tch. Why don't you go back and watch the matches at your arena? See if there's anyone worth paying attention to. Don't be happy too early if you don't even make it to the finals."

Lu Ze rolled his eyes and warned Sui Yan. With Sui Yan's personality, Lu Ze would not be surprised if he somehow lost.

"I've watched everyone at my arena. You could basically say it was the weakest of all twenty arenas. But when I came over just now, Arena Four was surrounded by people. I squeezed in to take a look. Guess what I saw?"

Sui Yan suddenly spoke seriously to Lu Ze.

"I'm not guessing. Say it or forget it."

"Tch, no fun at all. You know that rich kid from Class Two, right?"

"Yeah, the one who sent Tang Yunqin a bunch of love letters. What about him?"

"I didn't read any of those letters, so don't drag me into this."

Tang Yunqin looked at Lu Ze somewhat nervously and said.

"Huh? So?"

Lu Ze looked confused. Why was she saying that?

"Fine, never mind. Hmph."

Tang Yunqin puffed out her cheeks unhappily and stopped talking.

"Go on. What happened to that rich kid?"

Lu Ze continued asking. Sui Yan gave Lu Ze a pitying look before answering.

"That rich kid's Pokémon is a Dratini. No one had ever heard about it until he brought it out when the Battle Tournament started today."

"Dratini!"

Lu Ze's expression turned grave. Everyone knew that in the early stages, Thunder Wave was an incredibly powerful control move. It inflicted Paralysis, reduced speed, occasionally prevented action, and had extremely high accuracy. On top of that, Fire, Water, Grass, and Electric-type damage was halved. Ice types were manageable, but Dragon and Fairy types rarely had powerful moves early on.

Its own resistances were not low either. Shed Skin countered status conditions, while its Hidden Ability, Marvel Scale, even increased its Defense while affected by a status condition. Munchlax would be fine, but Zubat would truly have a hard time dealing with Dratini.

"So, are you confident?"

"Not very. I need something. Help me find it later."

Lu Ze whispered several words into Sui Yan's ear. Sui Yan raised a hand and made an OK gesture.

"This will improve my chances a little, but it'll still be difficult."

"It's fine. I believe in you. You're the one who managed to disgust me."

"Get lost. The next round is about to start. Why are you still standing here?"

Lu Ze laughed and cursed at him, watching Sui Yan and Tang Yunqin return to their own arenas.

"First match of the four-to-two round: Lu Ze versus Lin Jia. Both contestants, please come to the arena immediately and prepare for battle."

Lu Ze carried Zubat onto the arena, while a young woman stepped up from the other side. It was Lin Jia from Class Three.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon."

Lu Ze opened his hands, and Zubat flew into the air. Lin Jia released a Corsola. Pokémon without evolutions were still quite strong in the early stages.

Pokémon: Corsola

Gender: Male

Types: Water type, Rock type

Ability: Hustle (Its Attack increases, but its accuracy decreases)

Aptitude: Blue Aptitude

Basic Moves: Harden, Tackle, Water Gun, Aqua Ring, Endure

Egg Moves: Water Pulse, Confuse Ray

Lu Ze narrowed his eyes at the Corsola.

"It looks so familiar."

Swish!

The flag fell, and the battle began.

"Corsola—Water Pulse!"

"Zubat, dodge, then Air Slash!"

Corsola's Water Pulse was obviously not very practiced. Not only was it slow to fire, but its aim also seemed inaccurate. Zubat dodged it with ease, and Lu Ze wondered how this person had made it this far.

Bang!

Corsola staggered after being struck by Zubat's Air Slash. Water-type Pokémon without water on the battlefield truly had terrible mobility. After struggling for ages, it could only shift one step.

"Corsola—Aqua Ring!"

"Zubat—Supersonic!"

A ring of water appeared around Corsola, nourishing its body and restoring its HP at intervals.

"No wonder she made it this far. Aqua Ring's recovery, combined with its bulk, makes it difficult to deal with early on without powerful moves. Unfortunately, you ran into me."

Lu Ze directed Zubat to use Supersonic. The sound waves precisely hit Corsola, plunging it into Confusion, though Aqua Ring had already been established.

Lin Jia let out a breath on the other side, thinking, As long as Aqua Ring is up, it'll be fine. She stopped giving commands and simply waited for the Confusion to pass.

"Zubat—Poison Fang!"

Zubat rushed forward and drove its purple-glowing fangs deep into Corsola's body. Unfortunately, it did not inflict Poisoning.

"Zubat—Poison Fang again!"

Corsola, still in Confusion, endured another Poison Fang. This time, purple light flashed across its body as it was successfully poisoned. The Poisoning damage perfectly offset Aqua Ring's recovery. The young woman on the other side panicked and began issuing commands.

"Corsola—Endure!"

Corsola endured the pain of Poisoning and used Endure, but it still had plenty of HP, so the move was useless.

"Sigh. Zubat, take it down with Pursuit."

Lu Ze sighed. This girl was probably going to have a hard time with the National College Entrance Examination.

Then Zubat went all out, and two Pursuits successfully knocked Corsola out, leaving it with spiraling eyes.

"Corsola is unable to battle. Zubat wins."

The young woman sadly returned Corsola to its Poké Ball and hurried toward the temporary Pokémon Center set up by the school for treatment.

The second match at Lu Ze's arena also began. The winner would be Lu Ze's opponent in the next round.

On the field, Budew faced Diglett. Budew used Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, and Razor Leaf, quickly taking Diglett down. Budew was the winner.

Then Lu Ze went onstage. Zubat faced Budew, and right at the start, before Budew could release Stun Spore, it was taken down by Zubat's Air Slash.

Double Flying-type damage, combined with Budew's pitiful physical Defense, meant it could not withstand even one Air Slash from Zubat.

Lu Ze became the Champion of Arena Two. He went to Arena Seven, where Tang Yunqin's Feebas also quickly defeated her opponent's Geodude. Four times the damage from Water Gun was truly impossible to withstand.

Then the two of them went to Arena Five to watch Sui Yan's battle. Sui Yan's fight was relatively easy, but his opponent fought in an incredibly disgusting way.

A Cherubi with Sleep Powder, Tackle, Defense Curl, Morning Sun, Leafage, and Sweet Scent just kept using Sleep Powder, Leafage, Leafage, Leafage, Sleep Powder, Leafage, Leafage, Leafage...

The physical damage from Leafage against Torkoal was like scratching an itch. Tackle was the same, and Cherubi had no Special Attack moves. It could only mindlessly use Sleep Powder and then Leafage, trying to slowly scratch Torkoal to death. Sui Yan was getting furious, and even the referee was nearly put to sleep.

Finally, Sui Yan found an opportunity. Sleep Powder missed, and only then did he instantly take it out with Eruption.

Sui Yan came down from the arena, fuming as he cursed.

"Isn't that kind of thing way too disgusting? It could have killed me in one hit, yet it insisted on using Sleep Powder and Sweet Scent until my evasion was gone. If luck hadn't given us a gust of wind, the two of us could have dragged this out until nightfall."

Lu Ze patted Sui Yan's shoulder to comfort him.

"Alright, you're still the Champion. Let's go eat first, then we'll have the finals this afternoon."

"Yeah, let's go."

The three of them headed toward the cafeteria together.

By the time the arena matches ended, it was already noon. The finals would be held in the afternoon, and they would no longer be arena matches. They would be very physically demanding, so they needed to eat their fill.