Chapter 202: Full Speed Ahead

"Now, let's give a roaring welcome to Ron's entrance!"

The announcer's hysterical voice echoed across the battlefield, instantly igniting the crowd's enthusiasm to the extreme.

This was the fifth round, a standard battlefield, with Ron's opponent releasing their Pokémon first and launching the initial attack.

After four rounds of intense battles, Ron had grown more cautious when facing new opponents. While the League's main strategy was likely to deploy someone to stop him in the upcoming six-on-six battles, he couldn't rule out the possibility that they might attempt to eliminate him in this very round with an unexpected move.

To prepare, he had Gardevoir use its special ability to sense any abnormalities. Finding none, he observed that his opponent's first Pokémon appeared ordinary, possessing Mid Elite strength.

Seeing this, Ron released his Nidoking to gauge the opponent's true strength.

After all, there was no guarantee that the opponent wasn't using some method to evade Gardevoir's detection.

Under Ron's command, Nidoking swiftly defeated the opponent's first Mid Elite Pokémon. Then, he switched to Bellossom, who effortlessly swept through two more Pokémon, confirming that this opponent wasn't one of the League's secret operatives.

With this victory, Ron successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.

Two more wins, and he would reach the finals.

As the number of remaining contestants dwindled, the sixth-round battle began the next day.

Just as before, Gardevoir detected nothing unusual. Ron decided to let his opponent make the first move, allowing him to adapt his strategy accordingly.

From this round onward, all matches would take place in standard battlefields, and from here, every battle would follow the six-on-six format, pushing each contestant to showcase their full strength.

This time, it was Ron's turn to send out his Pokémon first and launch the opening attack.

"Go, Nidoking!"

"Dodrio, it's your turn!"

By this stage, every remaining trainer had at least High Elite Pokémon.

Ron's opponent, Braun, possessed three High Elite Pokémon. Like Ron, he opted to send out Mid Elite Pokémon first, hoping to gain an early advantage with the first three.

"Nidoking, preempt with Earthquake! Prepare Thunder!"

With the initiative on his side, Nidoking stomped the battlefield, sending tremors throughout the arena.

Faced with the shockwaves from Earthquake, Braun had no choice but to order Dodrio to leap into the air to evade.

At that moment, a burst of orange-yellow lightning rained down from above.

Controlled by Nidoking, the Thunder attack transformed into a storm of electricity, leaving Dodrio with no room to dodge.

Losing its chance to turn the battle around, Dodrio was swiftly engulfed by the powerful currents.

Braun had hoped to capitalize on Dodrio's speed to close the distance and land close-combat strikes on Nidoking.

In his eyes, the seemingly sluggish Nidoking would be at a disadvantage against the nimble Dodrio, securing him the first win.

But who would have expected his tactics to fail so quickly? Worse still, the direct hit from Thunder overwhelmed Dodrio in mere moments.

In just a couple of minutes, Nidoking had secured the first victory.

With this momentum, the next battles became even easier.

Empowered by its Sheer Force ability and Life Orb, Nidoking's Thunder, Fire Blast, and Blizzard surged in power, enabling it to claim another victory and heavily weaken Braun's third Pokémon before finally being recalled.

Next up was Gardevoir, who easily dispatched the opponent's third Mid Elite Pokémon.

Using its Psychic abilities with cunning precision, Gardevoir drained energy from Braun's fourth Pokémon.

For his third Pokémon, Ron chose Bellossom.

With stellar performances in the fourth and fifth rounds, Bellossom had become incredibly popular among spectators.

Its mastery of swordplay combined with Leaf Blade had become a trend, even inspiring many to consider establishing dojos to teach sword techniques.

Utilizing Shave for high mobility and combining Finger Pistol with sword techniques for immense power, Bellossom swiftly defeated two of Braun's High Elite Pokémon.

Few noticed that compared to its battle against Lily, Bellossom's speed had further increased.

Seeing that Ron had only used three Pokémon to push him to the brink, Braun's expression turned grim. He realized that advancing any further was impossible.

Still, he wasn't going to surrender until the very last moment.

"Venusaur, use Petal Blizzard! Prepare Vine Whip and Razor Leaf!"

White petals swirled around Venusaur, its vines lashing out, while countless razor-sharp leaves floated in the air, waiting to detect Bellossom's location.

In an instant, a flash of sword light cut through the battlefield, turning everything black and white for a fleeting moment.

When reality returned to normal, Bellossom was already behind Venusaur.

The speed was so overwhelming that Venusaur's previous setup became nothing more than a joke.

A venomous bloom erupted on Venusaur's body, sending waves of agony through it as it roared in pain.

"Bellossom, One-Sword Style – Finger Pistol: Venomous Bloom!"

Once again, Bellossom coated its Leaf Blade with a deep purple poison, vanishing instantly with Shave before reappearing elsewhere.

"Venusaur, use Frenzy Plant!"

As Ron gave his command, Braun roared his own, snapping Venusaur back to clarity.

Following Braun's instructions, Venusaur unleashed an overwhelming cascade of Grass-type energy.

The battlefield trembled as massive roots burst from the ground, forming an impenetrable wall in front of Venusaur.

Then, a single sword light streaked through the chaos, carving a clear path through the tangled roots—already corroded by poison.

Bellossom had returned to its original position, and another dark purple lotus had bloomed on Venusaur's body.

The accumulated toxins from the previous strike intensified Venusaur's suffering.

Seizing the opportunity, Ron ordered Bellossom to finish it off with One-Sword Style – Finger Pistol: Iaido, ending the battle decisively.

With this, Ron advanced to the semifinals.

Defeating an opponent using only three Pokémon had solidified Ron's reputation as a championship contender.

Now, the League had only two more chances to eliminate him. That meant he needed to be cautious in every upcoming battle to avoid being taken down by their secret operatives.

Sensing the rising tension, Flint and Volkner, along with the agents from the Ghost Corps and Elite Four's Bruno, had all begun making preparations, just waiting for the League to make its move.

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TL/N:

In case you don't remember, Ghost Corps are the shadows of Giovanni, with the leader being the "Shadow" that keeps in contact with Ron.

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