Pokémon Battle Tournament (Final) Two-in-One Chapter

Pokémon Battle Tournament (Final) Two-in-One Chapter

The three drew lots by computer to determine the match order. Each person needed to fight two matches.

First match: Tang Yunqin versus Su Tingxi.

Second match: Lu Ze versus Tang Yunqin.

Third match: Su Tingxi versus Lu Ze.

The finals used a points system. A victory earned one point, while a loss earned none. The champion, runner-up, and third place would be ranked by points.

After drawing lots onstage, the principal explained the finals format to the first-year freshmen, then announced the start of the matches.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon."

"Go, Feebas!"

"Go, Dratini!"

The first match was Feebas versus Dratini. In terms of moves, Dratini had Thunder Wave to restrict movement, while Feebas had Dragon Breath and Ice Beam, a move capable of dealing double damage.

However, Dratini was more agile and had better resistances, while Feebas had trouble moving on terrain without water. Overall, it was a sixty-forty matchup, with Feebas at forty. But if it performed beyond its limits, it might be able to pull Dratini down.

Swish!

The flag dropped, and the battle began.

"Dratini—Thunder Wave!"

"Feebas—Ice Beam!"

Dratini fired a mass of yellow electricity that struck Feebas. Feebas, already slow to begin with, became even slower, while Dratini easily dodged the Ice Beam.

In the previous battles, Feebas had already revealed all its trump cards. Neither Ice Beam nor Dragon Breath had remained hidden, so Tang Yunqin used them immediately at the start, trying to catch Dratini off guard. Unfortunately, Su Tingxi had anticipated this and did not let her succeed.

"Dratini—Dragon Breath."

Su Tingxi gave the command calmly, as though everything was within his calculations.

"Feebas—Dragon Breath!"

Dratini straightened its body in midair and spat out a green beam. Feebas gathered energy and fired Dragon Breath as well. The two Dragon Breaths collided in the air, but Feebas's was weaker than Dratini's. Its attack was forced back, and Dratini's Dragon Breath struck Feebas along with it.

"Feebas!"

Tang Yunqin cried out worriedly as she watched Feebas get hit.

Fortunately, Dratini's Dragon Breath had lost some of its power during the clash. The damage that struck Feebas was limited and still within its endurance.

"Dratini—Dragon Breath!"

"Feebas—Ice Beam!"

Feebas, lying on the ground, had a determined look in its eyes. Watching another Dragon Breath shoot toward it, it took a deep breath and fired an ice beam thicker than the ones it usually produced during training.

The ice beam collided with Dragon Breath in midair. A moment later, the beam shattered into falling ice shards, while Dragon Breath dissipated. It had managed to block the attack in the end.

Su Tingxi's expression did not change as he continued directing Dratini.

"Dragon Breath."

"Feebas, Encore—Ice Beam!"

The two attacks collided and canceled each other out. But compared to Dratini's ease, Feebas was already panting. After two more exchanges like that, Feebas would definitely collapse first.

Tang Yunqin's heart softened as she watched Feebas panting. She had cared for it since it was born. Even in its matches against Lu Ze and Sui Yan, they had only gone as far as False Swipe. Not to mention the morning matches and the ones just now—either it had received a bye, or it had an attribute advantage. It had entered the top three with ease.

That was why it was the first time Tang Yunqin had seen Feebas like this. She could not bear it. She knew it would be difficult for her to win. Perhaps...

"Feebas..."

Tang Yunqin called out tentatively, wanting to concede.

But the glance Feebas gave her made Tang Yunqin steel herself. Determination shone through Feebas's somewhat vacant eyes, moving her deeply.

"If that's what you want, then go, Feebas! Use Hypnosis!"

It sounded like a long sequence of events, but it all happened in an instant. Su Tingxi continued directing Dratini as well.

"Dragon Breath."

Su Tingxi had expected Feebas to use Ice Beam again to resist Dragon Breath. Instead, Dratini's Dragon Breath passed through rings of pale purple ripples and struck Feebas squarely. Those purple ripples were Hypnosis, and they also struck the Dratini that had not dodged in time.

"Great chance, Feebas! Ice Beam!"

Seeing Hypnosis land, Tang Yunqin was overjoyed. She wanted to use Ice Beam's double damage to finish Dratini.

With difficulty, Feebas fired an Ice Beam that struck the sleeping Dratini.

Although Feebas had taken another Dragon Breath, its stubborn will let it endure the blow and launch a counterattack. But it was only putting up a brave front now. One more hit from a move would make it lose its ability to battle.

Su Tingxi frowned slightly. He watched the sleeping Dratini get struck by Ice Beam without making any move.

"Feebas, press the advantage! Ice Beam!"

Unfortunately, before Feebas could fire its Ice Beam, the hypnotized Dratini twisted its body and shed a transparent membrane in midair. It was Dratini's Shed Skin Ability, which could sometimes remove its own abnormal conditions by shedding its skin.

After its Sleep condition was removed, Dratini elegantly twisted aside and dodged the Ice Beam.

Su Tingxi returned to his usual cold expression.

"Dratini—Water Pulse."

Dratini's Water Pulse, only slightly larger than Water Gun, struck Feebas. Feebas finally could not hold on any longer and collapsed.

"Feebas has lost its ability to battle. Dratini wins!"

"You worked hard, Feebas. Return."

With tears at the corners of her eyes, Tang Yunqin smiled as she recalled Feebas, whose eyes had turned to spirals, then walked off the stage.

Everyone below sent Feebas a round of admiring applause.

Once the applause gradually died down, the principal spoke.

"Thank you to both students for bringing us such an exciting battle. The next match will begin in half an hour. Both Pokémon should recover as quickly as possible."

Each match in the final showdown among the top three had a half-hour rest period for the contestants' Pokémon to recover.

"How are you? Are you okay?"

Lu Ze asked Tang Yunqin, who had just come down from the stage.

"I'm fine. Dratini's final Water Pulse wasn't very powerful. It was just enough to make Feebas lose its ability to battle."

"Mm, okay. Then hurry to the Pokémon Center and recover. Our match will be up soon."

Lu Ze patted Tang Yunqin's shoulder reassuringly.

Tang Yunqin broke into a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. In a bit, I'll tell the referee that I'm forfeiting the next match."

Lu Ze did not understand. "Huh? Why are you forfeiting?"

Tang Yunqin rolled her eyes at him.

"What, do you want to beat me up again in front of everyone? It's not like I've ever beaten you in a training battle."

Lu Ze scratched his head awkwardly.

"Alright, it's fine. Just remember to avenge me later."

After saying that, Tang Yunqin ran toward the referee without waiting for Lu Ze's response. After saying a few words to the referee, she received a nod, then smiled happily at Lu Ze before running off to the Pokémon Center.

Lu Ze laughed. "Ah, this girl."

Half an hour later.

"Second match: Tang Yunqin has forfeited. The match will now be Lu Ze versus Su Tingxi. Both contestants, please take the stage and prepare."

Tang Yunqin, holding Feebas, and Sui Yan stood on either side of Lu Ze. Upon hearing the announcement from the podium, they both extended their hands toward him.

"Good luck."

Lu Ze placed his hand over theirs, and the three hands slapped downward together.

"Good luck!" ×3

With the support of his two friends, Lu Ze walked toward the battle arena.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon."

"Go, Zubat!"

"Come out, Dratini!"

Swish!

The flag dropped, and the battle began.

"Dratini—Thunder Wave!"

"Zubat, dodge it! Confuse Ray!"

Zubat flew sideways to dodge the yellow orb, then fired a purple Confuse Ray, which Dratini also dodged.

The two sides had simply tested each other.

"Zubat—Air Slash!"

"Dratini—Aqua Jet!"

Both moves were unleashed at the same time and struck at the same time. Both Pokémon had trained their move speed, and their attacks were released extremely quickly.

Su Tingxi became interested. Ever since he had obtained Dratini, although he had never shown it off in class, whether in outside training battles, matches against students from other schools, or even today's Academy Battle Tournament, he had never encountered a Pokémon that could match Dratini evenly from the very beginning.

"Zubat—Air Slash!"

"Dratini—Aqua Jet!"

The two Pokémon's moves struck each other once again.

Lu Ze frowned. It was obvious that if this exchange continued, Zubat would not be able to outlast Dratini. It would definitely fall first.

Su Tingxi smiled faintly and continued directing Dratini.

"Dratini—Aqua Jet!"

"Zubat—Cross Poison!"

Zubat used the Cross Poison it had hidden all day. As a physical move, Cross Poison dealt more damage than Air Slash, a special attack move. It was also more likely to land a critical hit. Of course, it would be even better if it could inflict Poisoning along the way.

Zubat took another Aqua Jet, but the purple cross slashed toward Dratini. Though it did not land a critical hit, it successfully inflicted Poisoning.

Su Tingxi was no longer as composed as before. He had not expected Lu Ze to be hiding Cross Poison. If that Cross Poison had landed a critical hit just now, this battle would have become difficult for him. Fortunately, it had not.

"Dratini—Twister!"

"Zubat, dodge it and keep using Cross Poison!"

The Twister formed and swept toward Zubat. Left with no choice, Zubat forcibly flew toward the right side of the arena to escape the Twister's range.

"Dratini, close in and use Wrap. Don't let it use Cross Poison again."

While Zubat was dodging, Dratini quickly flew toward it. Before Zubat could use Cross Poison, Dratini had wrapped around it.

"Zubat—Poison Fang!"

Zubat bit the Dratini wrapped around it with teeth glowing purple. Dratini cried out in pain and released its body. Then another transparent membrane shed from it, successfully triggering its Shed Skin Ability. The Poisoning condition it had just received vanished like that.

"Zubat—Pursuit!"

"Dratini—Thunder Wave!"

Lu Ze pressed the advantage and had Zubat use Pursuit. Unexpectedly, Su Tingxi would rather let Dratini take the double-damage Pursuit than fail to inflict Paralysis on Zubat.

Dratini was sent flying by Pursuit and panted lightly, while Zubat also fell into Paralysis.

Zubat looked toward Lu Ze, but Lu Ze gave no indication.

"Haha, Dratini, Dragon Breath!"

Su Tingxi grew happy and directed Dratini to use Dragon Breath. In his view, the overall situation was settled. With Paralysis slowing Zubat drastically and occasionally leaving it unable to move, Dratini had more than enough to defeat Zubat.

"Zubat—Cross Poison!"

Just as Zubat was about to use its move, Paralysis triggered. It could not move, its attack failed, and it was struck by Dragon Breath.

Su Tingxi was somewhat puzzled as he watched Zubat get hit by Dragon Breath. At this rate, it would take around four more Dragon Breaths to defeat Zubat. Unfortunately, he did not have a move with an attribute advantage. The longer things dragged on, the more variables there would be.

"Dratini—Dragon Dance, then Dragon Tail!"

As Dratini prepared to perform the mysterious Dragon Dance, Lu Ze's eyes lit up.

"The chance is here. Zubat, use the Berry, then Cross Poison!"

Zubat ate a red cherry-shaped fruit—the Cheri Berry, which could remove Paralysis. This was what Lu Ze had told Sui Yan that morning he needed to prepare. When Zubat had first been inflicted with Paralysis, it had turned to look at Lu Ze, asking whether it should immediately use the Cheri Berry to remove the condition. But Lu Ze had given no indication, so Zubat could only continue as usual.

A Cheri Berry could only be used once. If it removed Paralysis immediately, it would be troublesome if the opponent inflicted another condition afterward. If they were going to fight, they should catch the enemy by surprise. So when Lu Ze learned that the opponent had Dragon Dance, a boosting move, he had made his decision. Paralysis drastically reduced speed, so the opponent would definitely greed for a boost to end the battle quickly. He would use that chance to remove Paralysis and catch him off guard.

Thus, after removing Paralysis, Zubat used Cross Poison to interrupt Dratini's Dragon Dance.

This time, Su Tingxi truly panicked. Given his family background, he naturally understood what Zubat's action just now represented. But he could not understand why. Held item usage was supposed to be taught only in university, so how could Lu Ze already be using it now?

"Zubat, give it the final blow—Cross Poison!"

"Dratini, use Substitute!"

In the games, Substitute consumed one quarter of the user's maximum HP, while in reality, it consumed half of its current stamina. It was an absolutely life-saving move, not something to use at the start of a battle.

On the field, Zubat's dark purple Cross Poison passed through the Substitute Dratini had created and struck Dratini's real body precisely.

Critical hit. The battle was over.

"Dratini has lost its ability to battle. Zubat wins!"

Thunderous applause immediately erupted from the crowd. Everyone had been impressed by the battle. Champion, that guy was so sneaky. They were all shocked by Lu Ze's endless tricks.

After the match, the two walked to the podium to wait for the principal to present the awards. Su Tingxi tilted his head and asked quietly.

"Zubat has the Infiltrator Ability, right?"

"That's right, Infiltrator."

Lu Ze answered. Su Tingxi became interested, and a light gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Are you free tonight? I'll treat you to dinner. Let's talk about Pokémon training."

Lu Ze looked at him in surprise. Seeing the look in Su Tingxi's eyes, like a child wanting something he loved, Lu Ze fell silent for a moment before saying,

"I'm fine with that, but I might have to bring two people. Is that okay?"

Su Tingxi asked curiously, "Who are you bringing?"

"There, her, and one other person."

Lu Ze pointed at Tang Yunqin, who had just come over.

Su Tingxi frowned. "Why bring a woman to a gathering between men?"

Lu Ze: ?????

"What's going on? Didn't you pursue her before?"

Su Tingxi explained awkwardly in a low voice.

"Uh, during the New Year, my uncle asked whether I had a girlfriend. I said no, and I really didn't like the way he looked at me afterward. So I decided I'd get a girlfriend next semester. But I like the best, so I pursued her. She ignored me, though. Later, after getting Dratini, I realized women weren't nearly as good as Pokémon."

Lu Ze patted him on the shoulder speechlessly.

"Young man, you're still too inexperienced."

Su Tingxi was full of question marks.

Tang Yunqin walked over, stood beside Lu Ze, and asked curiously, "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing."

Lu Ze replied, thinking, I thought he was some aloof rich second-generation heir at first. Who knew that after only a few words, he'd reveal himself to be such an idiot.