"You've raised all your Pokémon really well."
Yushu said it sincerely.
It wasn't just a pleasantry.
Judging by their information, these Pokémon were in excellent condition, with no hidden injuries, which showed how much effort Ritchie had put into them.
"Thanks!"
A slight smile appeared on Ritchie's face. "Then let's get started!"
"Bring it on!"
The battle resumed.
Staraptor panted softly. Two consecutive battles had already drained more than half its stamina, but its eyes remained sharp, its fighting spirit still high.
"Staraptor, can you still fight?"
Yushu was a little worried about Staraptor's condition.
"Star!" (Of course I can! It's the last battle! How could I go down now!)
Staraptor flapped its wings hard, indicating that it could fight another three hundred rounds.
"All right, let's finish things off with this battle!"
Yushu's gaze grew focused.
Across from him, Ritchie grew serious too. He took a deep breath, then commanded loudly:
"Bibarel! Use Swords Dance!"
"Staraptor! Air Slash!"
A faint layer of blue swords of light appeared around Bibarel's body, spun once, then turned into specks of light that quickly vanished into its body.
Because of its Ability, Bibarel's Swords Dance was twice as effective as normal.
With just one Swords Dance, its Attack rose by four stages.
That was already equivalent to an ordinary Pokémon using Swords Dance twice.
"Star!"
Staraptor flapped its wings fiercely, sending several blades of wind shooting toward Bibarel.
"Tank it!!"
Ritchie shouted through gritted teeth.
Bibarel didn't dodge, taking the slashing Air Slash head-on.
The wind blades left several shallow cuts on its body, but it didn't budge.
Swords Dance was complete!
"Good, now! Use Headbutt!"
Bibarel leaped up, its head shining white, and hurtled toward Staraptor like a cannonball fired from a barrel.
"Fly higher!"
"Catch up! Aqua Tail!"
Staraptor climbed rapidly, but Bibarel suddenly swung its tail in midair.
A stream of water instantly gathered around that broad tail, forming a blade of water that swept outward!
Aqua Tail!
Staraptor was hit and plunged downward!
"What? That works too?"
Yushu clearly hadn't expected Bibarel to change the direction of its attack in midair either.
"Charge! Use Rollout!"
Bibarel didn't pause after landing. It curled into a ball and rolled toward Staraptor with its momentum.
Thud, thud, thud!
Yushu shouted, "Staraptor, counter with Wing Attack!"
Since it couldn't dodge, it would meet it head-on!
"Star!"
Staraptor's wings shone white as it slashed down hard at the rolling giant ball.
Bam!!!
Staraptor was sent flying backward by the impact, tumbling several times in the air before barely steadying itself.
Its wings trembled slightly, clearly showing that the collision had dealt considerable damage.
Bibarel was knocked off course by Wing Attack as well, rolling several meters before stopping.
But it quickly steadied itself again and rolled toward Staraptor once more.
At the sight, Staraptor hurriedly flapped its wings and took to the air, just managing to avoid Bibarel's attack.
"Don't clash head-on! Air Slash!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Staraptor flapped its wings, firing wind blades in rapid succession!
"Smash them with Aqua Tail!"
Bibarel spun around, its water-covered tail precisely shredding every wind blade.
"Water Gun! Keep using Water Gun!"
Bibarel opened its mouth, sending jets of water shooting toward Staraptor.
Staraptor dodged back and forth in the air.
At the start, Water Guns at this speed wouldn't have been any trouble for Staraptor.
But after two consecutive rounds of fighting, Staraptor's stamina was gradually failing to keep up.
Its feathers were gradually getting soaked too, its speed dropping and its reactions slowing.
Seizing this opportunity, Bibarel kicked hard with its hind legs and leaped high into the air, water gathering around its tail at the same time!!
Aqua Tail!!
"Go all in! Aerial Ace!"
Staraptor gave a powerful flap of its wings, charging toward Bibarel enveloped in a blue-green glow.
"Go! Aqua Tail!"
Bibarel swung its watery tail, smashing it toward Aerial Ace.
"Star!"
Yet just as the two were about to collide, Staraptor changed direction again.
It was exactly the same scene as when it had fought Sudowoodo earlier.
Yushu grinned:
"Fooled you! Staraptor! Brave Bird!!"
Ritchie's expression changed. "Seriously! You're doing that again?"
"Star!"
Azure energy flames ignited around Staraptor, turning the entire bird into a meteor as it dove down toward Bibarel!
"Bibarel! Aqua Tail!"
Bibarel spun and swung its tail, and the two forces collided explosively in midair!!
Boom!!!
The shock wave spread outward, smoke and dust filling the air.
Yushu and Ritchie both stared tensely at the center of the field, waiting for the dust to clear.
The dust gradually dispersed, revealing both Pokémon lying on the ground.
"A draw?" Ritchie murmured.
"Star...!"
Staraptor propped itself halfway up.
A draw? What kind of joke was that! It was Staraptor!!!
"Haji Staraptor, you little-!"
Before Yushu could even start praising it, then... the invincible Staraptor fell again.
This time, it really couldn't get back up.
"Huh... I lost."
Looking at Staraptor lying on the ground, Ritchie shook his head with a wry smile.
"Oh, right, Yushu. Are you entering the tournament in a couple of days?"
After the battle ended, Ritchie suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to ask him.
"What tournament?"
Yushu paused.
Ritchie looked a little surprised. "You don't know? The battle tournament your town is holding. I heard it's a decent size. I came all the way from Pastoria City specifically to check it out."
"I didn't know."
Yushu nodded honestly.
He had only been back for a little over a month, and he had spent most of his time dealing with soil and Berries. His information mainly came from chatting with Kaixin, so he was somewhat out of the loop.
Ritchie hadn't expected Yushu to genuinely not know, and said:
"Well, I heard from people in your town that this tournament seems to be held every year, and Devon Corporation is the sponsor. There are prizes for the top three."
"What prizes?"
Yushu immediately became interested.
He hadn't been very interested in this Little Cup, but prizes changed things.
He could get free stuff.
Ritchie thought for a moment. "First prize is supposedly a Pokémon Egg. The others seem to be special Poké Balls, Evolution Stones, things like that."
"But with Devon Corporation sponsoring it, they probably won't be too stingy, right? They're a big company, after all. It'd look bad if they fobbed people off with ordinary stuff."
Yushu began to think.
A Pokémon Egg? Evolution Stones? Special balls?
They all sounded pretty good. The prizes for this Little Cup were quite generous.
Yushu asked, "Then when does this tournament start?"
"In the next couple of days. Do you want to enter too, Yushu?"
"I could consider it."
His victory just now had given Yushu tremendous confidence, and he thought he might have a bit of talent for battling after all.
(Staraptor: Bullshit!)
Ritchie smiled wryly. "Ah, if you enter, I probably won't get first place. Looks like I'll have to aim for second or third."
Yushu said sincerely, "Don't say that. Your Bibarel is really strong too."
Ritchie merely took it as an attempt to comfort him, smiling without saying anything.
Just take it for what it was. If you took it seriously, you'd already lost.