One Dig, one Brick Break.
Barely thirty seconds after entering the field, Jasmine's ace Magnezone was knocked out!
The terrifying sight sent waves of gasps through the audience.
[... Just like that? Isn't Pupitar's damage output a little too scary?]
[Beats me. The last time I saw Pupitar battle was over two months ago, back at Petalburg Gym.]
[I watched that one too. Pupitar straight-up used Gym Leader Norman's Kangaskhan as a punching bag. Isn't this improvement way too fast?]
[And that's not all. Pupitar's gotten so much bigger too. Looks almost two meters tall now. Wouldn't that mean over three meters after evolving into Tyranitar?]
[I thought Mega Steelix's Defense was just low after getting swapped earlier, but Magnezone's physical bulk isn't bad either.]
[Quadruple-effective damage really is terrifying!]
[...]
Xia Chi knew his own Pokémon inside out, so naturally, he wasn't nearly as shocked as the chat.
Sure, it looked like only a little over two months had passed, but System Bro had been putting in work too!
If Pupitar were still as strong as back when Norman had spun them like a top two months ago...
Wouldn't my cheats and all those Rare Candies have been wasted?
Honestly, at level 51, with equipment and Bond bonuses, plus a Dragon Dance boost...
Wasn't it perfectly reasonable to cripple an opponent with a quadruple-effective STAB move, then finish them off with a double-effective move that received half a STAB bonus?
Not to mention that the [Dark type] Bond's Fear had already reached 1,500 points, bringing the damage bonus to over 200%.
In short, Xia Chi successfully cleared the Wallace Cup's first Contest Battle round in a decidedly ungraceful fashion.
Two days later, he would face Skyla in the second round-the semifinal.
Generally, tournaments whose main participants were Gym Leaders