Baby Cup

Baby Cup

After breezing through the first five matches and claiming five straight victories, the sixth match onward would feature randomly selected opponents, most likely ones with high win streaks as well.

Soon, the results of the draw came out. When Lu Ze stepped onto the field, he found his opponent looked somewhat familiar.

Lu Jun looked at Lu Ze with a wry smile and said sadly,

"What a coincidence."

Only then did Lu Ze remember that this was someone from his school—the opponent he had defeated in the Academy Battle Tournament's top-five match. He just could not remember his name, only that he was from Class Five. (See Chapter 19.)

Lu Ze smiled and replied, "What a coincidence."

Then the referee informed them that the match was about to begin, and the two returned to their respective positions.

"Both sides, send out your Pokémon."

Lu Ze sent out Munchlax, while his opponent sent out Carkol.

Pokémon: Carkol

Gender: Male

Attribute: Rock type

Ability: Steam Engine (When hit by a Water-type or Fire-type attack, Speed rises sharply.)

Aptitude: Green Aptitude

Basic Moves: Tackle, Smokescreen, Rapid Spin, Smack Down, Flame Charge, Rock Polish, Ancient Power

Egg Move: Stone Edge

Carkol's information appeared before Lu Ze. Compared with its days as a Rolycoly, it had gained three moves: [Flame Charge], [Rock Polish], and [Ancient Power]. [Flame Charge] increased its Speed after attacking, and with the Fire type it gained upon evolving, its same-type attack bonus made Flame Charge quite powerful. Combined with Rock Polish, which also raised Speed, it was no wonder it had managed to keep winning.

After evolving from Rolycoly, Carkol gained the Fire type. While that gave it several extra resistances, it also left it with quadruple weaknesses to Water and Ground. Even though Carkol had decent physical defense, it still might not be able to withstand two Earthquakes from Munchlax.

"Whoosh!"

The flag dropped, and the battle began.

"Munchlax—Earthquake!"

"Carkol—Stone Edge!"

The two sides immediately exchanged attacks. Neither Pokémon was particularly fast, so there was no need to dodge. Unfortunately, the quadruple damage was far too painful for Carkol. One Earthquake nearly knocked it out, and it definitely could not take a second.

"Referee, I surrender."

Sure enough, after seeing that his Pokémon was nearly unable to endure the first exchange, Lu Jun decisively conceded. He had not expected the school Champion to have more than one Pokémon, nor had he known Munchlax had learned Earthquake so early. Caught off guard, he did not want to gamble on another exchange. It would be better to conserve his strength and earn more School Points.

"The opponent has surrendered. Munchlax wins."

The referee raised his flag and announced the result. Lu Jun walked over voluntarily and said,

"As expected of our school's Champion. You're seriously too strong. But aren't you worried about the Martial Trial in the National College Entrance Examination if you're training two Pokémon at once? I don't mean anything by it. I'm just curious."

Lu Ze smiled. "Do you think my current two Pokémon are strong enough to get through the National College Entrance Examination?"

Lu Jun froze for a moment, then laughed self-mockingly. "All right, that was a stupid question. But I still have to say it—you're amazing."

After saying that, Lu Jun gave Lu Ze a thumbs-up and turned to leave. He was probably in a hurry to earn more School Points.

After the sixth match, Lu Ze's tournament device displayed a pop-up after ten minutes of rest.

"Are you ready for the next battle?"

"Yes" "No"

Lu Ze tapped "Yes."

Soon, after the random draw results came out, Lu Ze headed to the designated arena to prepare for his seventh match.

"Both sides in position. Send out your Pokémon."

As usual, Lu Ze sent out Munchlax, while his opponent sent out Bunnelby, known as the strongest regional rabbit—or rat.

Pokémon: Bunnelby

Gender: Male

Attribute: Normal type

Ability: Huge Power (The power of physical attacks doubles / this Pokémon's Attack stat becomes twice its original value.)

Aptitude: Orange Aptitude

Basic Moves: Mud-Slap, Leer, Tackle, Sharpen, Quick Attack, Flail, Double Kick

Egg Moves: Rollout, Defense Curl, Snore, Mud Shot

Lu Ze's expression grew slightly solemn. Orange Aptitude, the Hidden Ability [Huge Power], and a Normal type with Fighting type as its only double-damage weakness. Fortunately, its Egg Moves were not too powerful, though Defense Curl combined with Rollout would still be very difficult to deal with.

"Whoosh!"

The flag dropped, and the battle began.

"Munchlax—Counter!"

"Bunnelby—Use Quick Attack to get close, then use Double Kick!"

The moment Lu Ze saw [Double Kick] in Bunnelby's move pool, he knew the opponent's Bunnelby would definitely seize the initiative at the start. Bunnelby was faster than Munchlax, and it also had Quick Attack, a move with priority +1. (Priority would be explained at the end of the chapter.)

Munchlax was also a Normal type Pokémon, and Fighting type moves were its only source of double damage. Therefore, a Bunnelby that knew Double Kick would certainly open with Quick Attack followed by Double Kick.

Quick Attack's priority +1 would hit Munchlax first, triggering Munchlax's Counter. The counterattack would also interrupt Bunnelby's Double Kick.

Back on the field, everything proceeded according to Lu Ze's script. After Bunnelby's Quick Attack struck Munchlax, it was hit by the reflected energy and sent flying. Its Double Kick also failed to go off.

The opposing Trainer's face was full of surprise. He had no idea whether Lu Ze had simply gotten lucky or had truly predicted it.

"Bunnelby, get close and keep using Double Kick!"

"Munchlax—Earthquake!"

White light lit up around Bunnelby's legs as it charged at Munchlax, only to be interrupted by Munchlax's Earthquake once again.

Lu Ze did not dare let a Bunnelby with Huge Power land Double Kick, a physical move with double damage. Even with Munchlax's sturdy build, getting hit by Double Kick would definitely not feel good. It was questionable whether it could even withstand both kicks.

And if he used Counter against Double Kick, he could only return one portion of the damage. That meant taking two kicks and only returning one—far too much of a loss.

After taking a Counter and an Earthquake, Bunnelby was beginning to run out of stamina. It was still a first-stage Pokémon. Before evolving, even with the doubled Attack stat granted by Huge Power, it merely dealt high damage. Its stamina was still limited, nowhere near Munchlax's.

"Bunnelby, use Quick Attack to rush in, then Double Kick!"

"Munchlax—Mega Punch!"

The opposing Trainer had gone all in. This strike would decide everything.

Bunnelby dashed forward at high speed and slammed into Munchlax's belly, its two feet wrapped in white light as they kicked Munchlax.

Munchlax gave a muffled grunt and took a step back, but white light still flared around its right hand with [Mega Punch]. One punch smashed Bunnelby into the ground.

Bunnelby's eyes spun in circles. After checking it, the referee raised his flag.

"Bunnelby is unable to battle. Munchlax wins."

Upon hearing the referee announce the result, Lu Ze hurried onto the field to check on Munchlax.

"Munchlax, how are you? Can you still go?"

"Munch~"

Munchlax still looked cheerful. Smiling, it rubbed its belly and nodded, indicating that it was fine.

Lu Ze smiled at the sight. "All right. After we finish today's matches, I'll reward you with two Super Energy Cubes."

The moment Munchlax heard that, it became even happier. Thinking about eating Super Energy Cubes that night, it could barely stop itself from drooling.

Lu Ze had only recently made Super Energy Cubes. Their effect was to strengthen the body. Judging by the grading of Energy Cubes, they should have been A+ rank. However, Energy Cubes that strengthened the body were different from those that improved physical fitness.

The principle behind body-strengthening Energy Cubes was roughly this: eat one, sleep, and wake up stronger the next day. Energy Cubes that improved physical fitness, meanwhile, provided energy after being eaten, allowing for more and more effective training.

The former required no effort, while the latter did. But things that required no effort came at a great cost. First, they could not be eaten in large quantities. Even Munchlax, which had trained for a long time, could eat at most two a month. Any more than that, and its body would not be able to handle it.

Moreover, the Berries used as raw materials were extremely difficult to find. Lu Ze had asked Lu Ma for help, and Lu Ma had used Lu Ba's connections to obtain them. Altogether, he had made less than a box's worth. Of course, they tasted excellent too. Munchlax had only eaten one, yet it still could not stop thinking about them.

As for Golbat, even after evolving, it could only eat half of one of these Energy Cubes at a time.

After this match, Lu Ze sent a Fetion message to ask how the others' battles were going.

Lu Ze: How are you guys doing?

Tang Yunqin: I just finished another match. I'm on a four-win streak now.

Lu Ze: @Sui Yan @Su Tingxi, how are you two doing?

Tang Yunqin: No one's replying. They're probably still battling. You haven't said anything either—which match are you on?

Lu Ze: I'm already on a seven-win streak. If I'm lucky, I should qualify before noon.

Sui Yan: Are you a beast? I've been working myself to death and have only won five matches, while you're already at seven?

Lu Ze: Of course. Did you think I was like you?

Lu Ze: All right, I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going back to battling. I'll try to finish before noon.

Lu Ze smiled and put away his phone, selecting "Yes" on the tournament device's pop-up screen.

When he arrived at the designated battle arena, the two of them released their Pokémon with practiced ease before the referee could even speak.

Pokémon: Torracat

Gender: Male

Attribute: Fire type

Ability: Blaze (When stamina is low, the power of Fire type damage rises.)

Aptitude: Blue Aptitude

Basic Moves: Ember, Scratch, Growl, Lick, Roar, Fury Swipes, Bite, Double Kick

Egg Moves: Fake Out, Swagger, Fire Fang

Lu Ze glanced at the black-and-orange kitten his opponent had sent out in surprise. It was actually the number-one Incineroar in the universe—the muscle tiger. Back when Lu Ze had been obsessed with Double Battles, he had practically brought Incineroar into every match. Unfortunately, he later came to prefer Single Battles, where Incineroar was not especially strong, so he had gradually stopped using it. Seeing one again now made him feel rather nostalgic.

Although this Torracat did not have Intimidate, inheriting the core move [Fake Out] was still quite good.

"Whoosh!"

The flag dropped, and the battle began.

"Torracat—Fake Out!"

"Munchlax—Defense Curl!"

PS: Priority refers to move order that takes precedence over Speed. Most moves have priority 0, while [Quick Attack] has priority 1. Therefore, Quick Attack acts before most moves, while [Extreme Speed] has priority 2 and acts even faster than Quick Attack.

[Fake Out] has priority 3, acting faster than Extreme Speed. [Protect] has priority 4 and can block Fake Out.

There are also negative priority moves. For example, [Trick Room] has priority -7, while [Roar], which forces the enemy to switch Pokémon, has priority -6. These moves can only be used after the opponent has used their move.

There are also some special Abilities that can raise a move's priority. For example, Prankster on Whimsicott and Grimmsnarl gives status moves priority +1, while Gale Wings in the Fletchling line gives Flying type moves priority +1 at full health.