Good Fortune Arrives

"Woobat—Air Slash!"

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

Woobat only dared to use long-range moves. Even though Munchlax had high Special Defense and low Defense, he didn't dare let Woobat rush in to use [Knock Off] at close range. If Munchlax caught it by accident, then with Woobat's Defense stat, one [Thunder Punch] would be enough to take it out.

Munchlax had already lost most of its stamina anyway. It could be slowly chipped to death from afar, so why gamble on that one hit? Even if he won the gamble, he would have to gamble again. If he lost, Woobat would be beaten to death in one punch. Not worth it. Definitely not worth it.

Woobat fired an Air Slash in the arena, striking Munchlax's belly. (No one knew whether Munchlax's belly had some move-attracting ability like Lightning Rod, and no one understood it either.)

Munchlax wiggled its tiny fingers and used [Metronome]. Then, a huge patch of pink suddenly appeared in the arena, and pink particles of light continuously flowed into Munchlax's body.

The opponent was clearly stunned. He had no idea what move it was, but it didn't look like an attacking move.

Lu Ze, however, was ecstatic. Pink—Fairy-type move. But it wasn't a field effect; he had never heard of a field effect that only affected one Pokémon. That meant the only Fairy-type move that didn't end after one turn was Xerneas's signature move, [Geomancy]. It absorbed the power of the earth for one turn, then at the end of the second turn, raised its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by two stages.

Although the opponent had no clue what had happened, he figured there shouldn't be any problem with backing off and attacking again.

"Woobat—Air Slash!"

After Woobat's [Air Slash] landed, a strengthening glow flashed across Munchlax's body. Its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed all rose by two stages.

"Woobat—Air Slash!"

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

The two sides continued like that: one [Air Slash], one [Metronome]. Neither could do anything to the other. The opponent was almost in despair. Munchlax had been burdened with a whole pile of negative effects, yet it still hadn't gone down.

Lu Ze wasn't doing much better. After so many [Metronome] uses, Munchlax had lowered the opponent's Special Attack by four stages, Special Defense by six, Attack stat by two, Defense stat by two, and Speed by two. Meanwhile, it had raised its own Special Attack by two, Special Defense by two, Attack stat by one, Defense stat by one, and Speed by three, and had restored its stamina once with [Aqua Ring].

Lu Ze was deeply saddened. The buffs it had stacked were enough to play Dungeon Fighter, yet it hadn't rolled a single attacking move. If just one had appeared, whether physical or special, victory would have been guaranteed as long as it hit.

Even the referee's face had darkened. In all his years as a referee, he had never encountered such a situation. Calling it bad luck wouldn't be right, since the moves [Metronome] had produced were all useful. But calling it good luck wouldn't be right either, since not a single attacking move had appeared. Fortunately, there was no commentator for the knockout tournament, or the commentator would have broken down too.

"Woobat—Air Slash!"

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

It was the same moves again. Just as everyone thought Munchlax would roll another status move, its body was suddenly enveloped by emerald-green energy. That energy lifted Munchlax into the air before sending it hurtling toward Woobat.

Woobat failed to dodge in time and was blasted away by the emerald energy. It crashed to the ground on the spot, Swirl Spirals in Eyes.

Lu Ze: ()

Opponent: ╭(°A°`)╮

Referee: (ˊˋ)*

No one had expected Munchlax to roll an unknown attacking move at that moment and directly one-shot Woobat.

Lu Ze was overjoyed. His luck really was good today. Not only had [Metronome] rolled Xerneas's signature move, [Geomancy], but it had ultimately rolled Rayquaza's signature move, [Dragon Ascent]. Though limited by Munchlax's body, [Dragon Ascent] couldn't compare with Rayquaza's version, but its damage was still enough to one-shot Woobat.

"Woobat is unable to battle. Munchlax wins!"

Once the referee announced the result with a sigh of relief, Lu Ze cheered and rushed into the arena, jumping up to hug Munchlax tightly.

"Munchlax, you're amazing!"

Though Munchlax was somewhat at a loss, it still smiled as it held Lu Ze up, letting him hang from its body.

Lu Ze was thrilled. Back when he played games, he had loved catching a Togepi early on and then using [Metronome]. Most of the time, it produced ordinary moves, or even, like Munchlax in this match, failed to roll an attacking move after ages. But whenever it occasionally rolled a Legendary Pokémon's signature move, he would get excited for quite a while.

This time, though, it was real life. Munchlax had actually rolled signature moves from Legendary Pokémon twice, and one of them was even Rayquaza's signature move, [Dragon Ascent], with its sheer coolness maxed out. No wonder Lu Ze was so excited.

Munchlax carried Lu Ze out of the arena. Lu Ze was still riding the high, occasionally kissing Munchlax on the forehead until Munchlax blushed a little.

"What are you two doing?"

Sui Yan's curious little head poked out from behind Munchlax, staring straight into Lu Ze's eyes.

Lu Ze's expression stiffened slightly. He jumped down from Munchlax and said calmly,

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Why are you here?"

Sui Yan patted his chest and declared boldly,

"I'm here for my eighth match. I only need three more wins to get ten straight victories and enter the main tournament."

Lu Ze said disdainfully, "Oh? But I already have ten straight wins."

Sui Yan glanced at Lu Ze. "Is that so? Well, I don't compare myself to freaks."

"Tch." ×2

The two of them clicked their tongues in disdain at the same time, perfectly recreating Obito and Kakashi's opposing humphs.

"I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm about to enter the arena. Want to watch my heroic performance?"

"Sure. Then I'll watch how you lose."

Neither was willing to yield. Lu Ze had just left the arena, only to head back inside. When the referee saw Lu Ze enter again, his face darkened a little.

Sui Yan entered the arena while Lu Ze watched from the side. His opponent arrived soon afterward—it was the girl in the princess dress, Lu Ze's opponent from his ninth match.

Looking at the girl in the princess dress, Lu Ze didn't hold much hope for Sui Yan. After all, one had a pure Water-type Drizzile, while the other had a pure Fire-type Growlithe. Starter Pokémon didn't have many moves, and overturning the situation under such a severe type disadvantage would be difficult.

The girl in the princess dress spotted Lu Ze by the sidelines and clearly recognized him as the one who had just ended her winning streak. Her little brows furrowed as she walked over and asked,

"Why are you here? Don't tell me my opponent is you again?"

Seeing that the girl in the princess dress had completely ignored Sui Yan, who was already in the arena, Lu Ze helplessly pointed toward the field and said,

"Your opponent isn't me. It's him. I fought my last match here, and the one in the arena is my friend. I happened to run into him, so I'm watching his match."

The girl in the princess dress broke into a smile and said happily,

"Then that's fine. As long as it isn't you."

Without waiting for Lu Ze's reply, she walked lightly into the arena. In her eyes, as long as her opponent wasn't Lu Ze, getting ten straight wins with the strength of her Drizzile would be effortless.

In the arena, the referee instructed both sides to send out their Pokémon.

Sui Yan sent out Growlithe, while the girl in the princess dress sent out Drizzile. When she saw that her opponent's Pokémon was a Growlithe, she shot Lu Ze a smug look.

"Whoosh!"

The flag fell, and the battle began.

"Drizzile—Aqua Jet!"

"Growlithe—Agility!"

The girl in the princess dress commanded Drizzile to attack Growlithe with [Aqua Jet], a type-advantaged move with increased priority. But Growlithe's training hadn't been for nothing. With the speed boost from [Agility], it easily dodged the attack.

"Drizzile—Baby-Doll Eyes!"

"Growlithe—Bite!"

Seeing how fast Growlithe was, the girl in the princess dress had no choice but to alter her original plan. Since her moves couldn't land, she would first lower Growlithe's Attack stat and Special Attack, then fight at close range.

Drizzile looked at Growlithe with teary eyes. White light flashed across Growlithe's body as both of its offensive stats were lowered. But Growlithe was incredibly fast, and in that short time, it had already reached Drizzile. Its teeth, wrapped in pitch-black energy, snapped down fiercely. Even with its Attack stat lowered by one stage, the damage was still considerable.

"Nice one, Growlithe! Encore—Bite!"

"Drizzile—Aqua Jet!"

Growlithe had only just opened its mouth when Drizzile's [Aqua Jet] sent it flying. A priority-boosted move was still very quick to unleash.

"Drizzile—Water Pulse!"

"Growlithe—Flamethrower!"

Both commanded at the same time. The two Pokémon simultaneously fired blue rings of water and a thick red stream of flame. Their moves collided in midair, and the steam instantly created by the clash between water and fire reduced visibility across the entire arena.

"Growlithe—Bite!"

"Drizzile—Growl!"

Since neither side could see the other in the arena, the girl in the princess dress ordered Drizzile to use [Growl]. Since she couldn't see, she might as well use an area move to lower her opponent's attack.

But she had overlooked the fact that her opponent was a Growlithe. Growlithe's nose was extremely sharp. Sui Yan took advantage of this racial trait and directly ordered Growlithe to charge in with [Bite].

Because of the distance between them, although Growlithe had boosted its own Speed, [Growl] was still successfully used before Growlithe could attack Drizzile. Growlithe's Attack stat was lowered by another stage.

Its pitch-black fangs bit viciously into Drizzile's body. [Bite] was a Dark-type move and dealt normal damage. Although Growlithe's Attack stat had been lowered by two stages, it still inflicted considerable damage on Drizzile.

Hearing Drizzile's pained cry, the girl in the princess dress suddenly realized that the opposing Growlithe had probably found Drizzile by scent and injured it. She hurriedly commanded,

"Drizzile—Use Aqua Jet to knock it back!"

Sui Yan also heard Drizzile's pained cry and laughed loudly.

"Growlithe—Howl!"

After Growlithe was knocked away by Drizzile, it threw back its head and let out a wolfish howl, raising its Attack stat by one stage. However, due to [Baby-Doll Eyes] and [Growl], Growlithe's Attack stat had been lowered by two stages, then raised by one with [Howl]. Overall, it was still down one stage.

Lu Ze let out a sigh of relief below the arena. Although Sui Yan was at a type disadvantage, the battle had already shifted in his favor under Sui Yan's command.